An Eye-Opening Experience

 "Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." – John 9:32-33

A man who was blind from birth had been healed, but no one seemed too happy about it.

In John 9, Jesus took mercy on a blind beggar … in sort of an unusual way. On a certain Sabbath day, Jesus spat on the ground, made some mud pies out of the wet dirt, placed them on the blind man’s eyes and told him to go and wash his eyes. According to verse 7, the man “went and washed, and came home seeing.” The formerly-blind beggar was beyond excited! And you would think that everyone who knew him would be beyond excited. But instead, he was met with skepticism and unbelief.

First, the healed man was interrogated by the Pharisees to find out what had happened. In verse 16, some of them objected, “This man [Jesus] is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” According to Jewish tradition, all kinds of everyday activities were forbidden on the Sabbath—including kneading wet dirt into mud pies and using spit to heal.

Next, the Pharisees spoke to the man’s parents, but Mom and Dad were too afraid of these powerful religious leaders to take any chances. They simply admitted he was their son, he had been born blind, and now he could see. But as for anything else, they said, “Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself” (v. 21).

So the Pharisees returned to the man and tried to trick him into admitting that Jesus was a sinner. But he stuck to the facts: “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see” (v. 25). In frustration, the Pharisees finally snapped: “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where He comes from!” (vs. 28-29). But the healed man pointed out, “We know that God does not listen to sinners…. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing” (vs. 31-33). Well, the Pharisees didn’t want to hear any more from HIM, so they tossed him out of the synagogue.

But for the healed man, the story has a happy ending. He met Jesus again, who told him that He was the Son of Man—the promised Savior of the World. Immediately, the formerly-blind beggar believed that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of the living God. He was saved.

And here are two Life Lessons that we can draw from this inspiring account. First, because Jesus is your light and your salvation, be courageous when you’re under attack. And second, when man kicks you out, Jesus will take you in. And once Jesus takes you in, you will see the goodness of the Lord.

Dane Davis is the pastor of Impact Christian Church. Join us for the Christmas season, on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. or 10 a.m. at 16209 Kamana Road in Apple Valley, or livestream us on Facebook or YouTube. For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.

Jesus is the Gate

“Jesus said, ‘I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.

He will come in and go out, and find pasture.’” – John 10:9

Earlier this summer, I was down the hill visiting my wife’s family. My father-in-law, an avid hiker, asked if my wife and I would like to join him for an early morning hike. The three of us woke up bright and early and started our trek. But after only about 10 minutes, we hit an unexpected obstacle: A large, locked metal security gate blocked the trail. Normally a city employee would have unlocked the gate by this time, but obviously he was running late. What had started out as a pleasant outing came to an abrupt end, reminding us of a very important reality: Everyone needs an open gate.

In John 10, Jesus tries to explain this reality to the Pharisees. He had just healed a blind man in the temple courts, and as they tended to do, the Pharisees had a problem with this healing. When they confronted Jesus, he told them they were more blind than the man had been before his healing—because they were spiritually blind. Jesus then shifted to a familiar scene in Israel: a sheep pen. He said, “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep” (John 10:1-2).

You see, in Jesus’ day, most shepherds in Israel had small flocks, and it was common for small villages to have only one sheep pen for the whole village. The pen was usually a wall of large rocks with only one break, or gate, through which the shepherds would usher their sheep every night. In the morning, each shepherd would come to the entrance of the sheep pen and call his sheep by name. Although the flocks were intermingled overnight, a sheep would only come out when it was called by its own shepherd.

During the night, a watchman guarded the entrance to the pen, so an intruder would have to get past him … unless they scaled the wall. But since a sheep would answer only to the voice of its own shepherd, the only way for the thief to get the mutton out of the pen was to kill it, then throw it over the wall and harvest the victim’s remains for its meat or wool. As Jesus describes in verse 10, the thief came to steal, kill and destroy.

When Jesus depicted a scene where true shepherds lead their sheep, while bogus shepherds steal and kill other people’s sheep, he was clearly rebuking the Pharisees as bogus, fake pastors.

Theologians have debated what the sheep pen represents. Since the sheep enter and leave each day, it doesn’t seem to correspond to salvation or heaven, since we don’t commute back and forth from either of those. The best interpretation I’ve heard is that the sheep pen represents Israel. Just as the pen protects the sheep within its walls, over the centuries God repeatedly protected and preserved Israel, His people. This interpretation makes even more sense when we read what Jesus says in verse 16: “I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen…. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” Doesn’t that sound like God’s plan for welcoming Gentiles to the fold through Jesus Christ?

For us today, the sheep pen may represent our comfort zone. We need to venture out of it to graze and be nourished by God’s teaching, or eventually we’ll starve. But first, we all must listen to our good shepherd’s voice. Jesus tells the Pharisees, “I am the gate for the sheep…. Whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture” (vs. 7b-9).

By rejecting Jesus, the Pharisees were rejecting the only true gate—the only real door to salvation, freedom and green pastures. May we never be so foolish as to follow in their footsteps.

If you’ve been missing out on a relationship with God, if you’ve been feeling hungry for more satisfying spiritual food, or if you’ve been feeling trapped in whatever sheep pen you find yourself in--Jesus is the gate. Jesus is the doorway to the peace with God and the freedom and joy you’ve been missing.

 Dane Davis is the Lead Pastor of First Christian Church in Victorville. For more information,

visit www.fccvv.com  and join us for worship Sundays at 10 a.m.