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Explore the Bible Lesson for November 3: Doubting Jesus’ Power?
Sherra Still, writer, University Hills Baptist Church, Charlotte
October 24, 2013
2 MIN READ TIME

Explore the Bible Lesson for November 3: Doubting Jesus’ Power?

Explore the Bible Lesson for November 3: Doubting Jesus’ Power?
Sherra Still, writer, University Hills Baptist Church, Charlotte
October 24, 2013

Focal Passages: John 9:8-11, 13-17, 35-41

Have you ever realized that you made something much more complicated than it ever needed to be? Maybe it was a task you were trying to accomplish or a relationship you were trying to figure out. In retrospect, you thought, “I made that so much more difficult than I needed to.” Or, perhaps you are trying to explain something to someone and they just didn’t get it. It seems so simple to you, but they just cannot wrap their mind around it. It seems that was the case in our scripture passage this week. The formerly blind man tried to explain the simplicity of his healing, and his listeners just would not accept the truth of the miracle.

First, the healed man’s neighbors and “those who formerly had seen him as a beggar” questioned the man and themselves. They asked for an explanation over and over again. I can imagine the healed man feeling he needed to speak slowly and repeat his explanation. There was mud and there was washing the mud off, and that was it. His listeners evidently thought it had to be much more complicated than it was.

Secondly, the common folk took the man “who used to be blind to the Pharisees.” It was as if they thought they weren’t smart enough to understand this miracle, so the Pharisees could interpret it for them. Once again, more questions were asked of the healed man. Where the community folk doubted the blind man, the Pharisees chose to doubt Jesus. They cast doubt toward the character of our Savior. The blind man simply confessed, “He’s a prophet.” As the healed man went on to defend Jesus, his confession was more than the Pharisees could take, so they threw him out of the temple (John 9:34).

Why is the truth so hard to see at times? Jesus identifies the religious leaders as being spiritually blind. Oh, may we all have eyes to see Jesus at work. As we see Jesus work miracles today, let’s cast doubt aside and be the first to praise Him!