Just the Facts, Ma'am

In John 9, Jesus provides sight for a beggar man who had been blind since birth.  John 9:6-7 He (Jesus) spit on the ground, and made mud from the saliva, and applied the mud to his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash in the pool of Siloam"  So he left and washed, and came back seeing.  

Immediately, people began questioning how this could happen.  John 9: 8-9  So the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is this not the one who used to sit and beg?" Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him."  

The Pharisees were irritated that Jesus was healing on the Sabbath, believing no work, even if it was good work, should be done on the Sabbath. John 9:16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This Man (Jesus) is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath."  

Some doubted that the man had been blind and wanted confirmation from his parents.  John 9:18-21  The Jews then did not believe it about him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and they questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?  Then how does he now see?"  His parents then answered and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know, or who opened his eyes, we do not know."

The healed man knew how he was healed, and would not stray from the facts even if it put himself and his parents in danger.  Three times he was questioned, and three times he provided straight facts.

1.  John 9:9-11 The man kept saying, "I am the one." So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?"  He answered, "The Man who is called Jesus made mud, and spread it on my eyes, and said to me, "Go to Siloam and wash", so I went away and washed, and I received sight.

2.  John 9:15  Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight.  And he said to them, "He applied mud to my eyes, and I washed, and I see."

3.  John 9:17  So they said again to the man who was blind, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?"  And he said, "He is a prophet."

Even when the Pharisees accused Jesus of being a sinner, the once blind man kept to the facts.  John 9:25 He then answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."

The once blind man didn't know why gaining his sight happened, but he knew what happened, how it happened and who did it.  He reported what he knew for sure, and did not alter his story for safety, approval, or convenience.  He didn't embellish the details, and he didn't deny the details.  Jesus doesn't need us to sell Him.  He needs us to share Him. 

At the very end of the story, while recognizing his new found vision, it is his new found faith that the once blind man highlights.  John 9:32-33  Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.  If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."   Often Jesus told those he healed not to tell others about his miracles and identity because it was not His time.  But that was not the case for the once blind man, and it is not the case for us today.  When Jesus opens our eyes as to who He is, we will change, and some will ask how we changed.  Our answer is the same as the once blind man's answer.  If Jesus were not God, He could not open eyes to see who He is and what He has to offer.

But....but....but

The most well known example of disciple Thomas doubting is in John 20:19-29  Now when it  was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were together due to fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said to them, “Peace be to you.”  And when He had said this, He showed them both his hands and His side.  The disciples then rejoiced when they saw the Lord.  So Jesus said them again, “Peace be to you; just as the Father sent Me, I also send you.”  And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained.”  But Thomas, one of the twelve, who was called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.  So the other disciples were saying to him, “We have seen the Lord!”  But he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”  Eight days later His disciples were again inside, and Thomas was with them.  Jesus came though the doors having been shut, and stood in their midst and said “Peace  be to you.”  Then he said to Thomas, “Place your finger here, and see My hands; and take your hand and put it into My side; and do not continue in disbelief, but be a believer.”  Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and My God!”  Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you now belief?  Blessed are they who did not see and yet believed.”

Two things I wish I could ask clarifying questions on.

1.     When Jesus appeared on the first day of the week, He showed the ten disciples who were present (no Judas or Thomas) His hands and side right after greeting them.  These ten had their proof without needing to ask for it.  When they told Thomas that they had seen the Lord and he expressed his need to see the wounds, did they tell him that Jesus had shown his hands and side to them when he visited?

2.     Did the 10 received the Holy Spirit on this first visit (Jesus breathed on them and said “Receive the Holy Spirit”)?  If yes, when did Thomas get it? Eight days later after he believed?  Or not until Pentecost in Acts 2?  Or did all eleven not get the Holy Spirit until Pentecost in Acts 2?  John 7:39 makes it sound like Jesus needs to ascend into heaven before the Spirit is given, making a case for Pentecost.  But this He said in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

But this was not the first time an unconvinced Thomas had a few more concerns.  John 11:7-8  Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”  The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now going to stone You, and yet You are going there again?”  John 11:14-16  (Jesus)  “ Lazarus died, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let’s go to him.”  Therefore Thomas, who was called Didymus), said to his fellow disciples, “Let’s also go so that we may die with Him.”  This was biblical sarcasm on Thomas’ part.  Jesus was stirring up a lot of anger among the Jewish leaders with His claim to be the Son of God and His miracles, putting them all in physical danger.  Jesus planned to raise Lazarus from the dead without even being near him so that the disciples would believe.  Thomas was more convinced he would die over this plan, than have his faith strengthened.

In John 14, again Thomas was a little too literal.  John 14:1-5  (Jesus) “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many rooms.  If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.  And you know the way where I am going.”  Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how do we know the way?”

Even with the New Testament and the Holy Spirit, we may still experience doubt like Thomas. It is often in this doubt that we lean more into God – praying (asking for answers), reading His word (looking for answers), and being still in the Holy Spirit.  As a doubter, Thomas did not throw up his hands in disbelief.  He sought additional information or direct answers that addressed his concerns so that his faith would be strengthened.

Jesus knew Thomas’ strengths and weaknesses, just like he knows ours.  And He uses both for His good.  In one of my Bible study classes, someone pointed out that Jesus spoke Thomas to Thomas. He knows when we are struggling with doubt and what we need to hear.  Peter was impulsive and jumped into the water on two different occasions to get to Jesus, once when human Jesus walked on water and again when he saw resurrected Jesus on shore.  Thomas loved Jesus just as much as Peter.  He just needed a few more words to ponder over before he took his leap in faith.

Moses: Who Me? A Hebrew?

Growing up in the 70s, when you watched TV, you watched whatever the networks were playing.  There was no Netflix, no streaming, not even TiVo.  The story of Moses and the Exodus in the 1956 movie "The Ten Commandments" was on every Easter Sunday, which was ironic since it had nothing (unless you look for symbolism) to do with the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  My family watched it every single Easter.

In the movie, before Moses is sent down the Nile in a basket, his mother, Jochebed, covers him with a Hebrew blanket.  He is rescued by Pharaoh’s sister.  A snitching servant, Memnet, threatens to present Pharoah the blanket proving that adult Moses is actually a Hebrew and is promptly tossed off the balcony by Nefertiti. But Nefertiti fails to hide the blanket, Moses discovers it, forcing her to explain where it came from. This makes for great drama, but the only part that is biblical is that Moses was put in the Nile by his mother to save him from Pharoah's order to execute all baby boys, and that he is a Hebrew.  No blanket, the basket rescuer was actually Pharoah's daughter (not his sister) and there was no Memnet murder.

So if there was no reported blanket, how did Moses actually find out he was a Hebrew?  Did he ever think he was an Egyptian prince?

We know that when Pharoah's daughter found Moses she recognized he was a Hebrew boy, but we don't know exactly why.  Exodus 2:6 When she opened it (basket with baby Moses), she saw the child, and behold, the boy was crying.  And she had pity on him and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children."  Was there a Levite blanket as depicted in the movie?  Was it his features or skin tone?  Or did she just assume because she knew of the "kill the Hebrew boy babies" decree by her father Pharoah?  The bible does not say how she knew, but she definitely knew.

Pharoah's daughter's suspicion might have been confirmed when Moses' sister, Miriam, who had been watching the basket at a distance (Exodus 2:4) approached her and offered a solution that would benefit all women involved.  Exodus 2:7-10  Then his sister (Miriam) said to Pharoah's daughter, "Shall I go and call a woman for you who is nursing from the Hebrew woman, so that she may nurse the child for you."  Pharoah's daughter said to her, "Go ahead."  So the girl went and called the child's mother (also, her mother, Jochebed).  Then Pharoah's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages."  So the woman took the child and nursed him.  And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharoah's daughter and he became her son.  And she named him Moses and said "Because I drew him out of the water."

A few more questions here...Why was Moses safe with Jochebed to nurse and be paid, when he wasn't safe before which is why she sent him down the Nile?  Did Pharoah ever question his daughter as to where this baby (or maybe a toddler if not introduced until after being weaned) came from?  Or did Pharoah know Moses was a Hebrew, and it wasn’t an issue until Moses killed an Egyptian? Moses wrote Exodus, so he evidently didn't feel like these were necessary details since the next time we hear about Moses is when he is an adult.  

Exodus 2:11  And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out into his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren.  Not to get too much into the weeds (or reeds), but the two different English translations for "brethren" were actually from two different Hebrew words.  "He went out into his brethren" could be referring to his Egyptian brothers who had the burden of overseeing the work.  The Hebrew word for "brethren" used the second time, "and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren", is definitely referring to a Hebrew brother, but did Moses know it at the time?  Moses was maybe driven to stand up for injustice, no family ties involved, as he did for the Midianite shepherdesses just 5 verses later.  Exodus 2:16-17  Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came to draw water and filled the troughs to water their father's flock  Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.

In the burning bush incident, God did tell Moses He was Moses' God, the God of the Hebrews.  Exodus 3:6  And He said, "I am the God of your father - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob."  So if Moses did not know it yet, now it was perfectly clear that he was a Hebrew.  And a hesitating Moses who didn't think he was up for administering the plagues was about ready to meet his Hebrew brother (specifically a Levite)Aaron, who would serve as his spokesperson to Pharoah.  Exodus 4: 14  Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, "Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite?  I know that he speaks fluently.  And moreover, behold, he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be overjoyed."

All we can say for certain is that before He began his mission to bring the Hebrews out of Egypt, he knew he was Hebrew.  Exodus 3:10  And now come, and I will send you to Pharoah, so that you may bring My people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt."

Made in His Image

Genesis 1:27, So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female.  And He is happy with the results in Genesis 1:31, And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good.  It was the breathing into Adam's nostrils the breath of life in Genesis 2:7  that gave us humans a soul or spirit similar to God's.  This soul sets us apart from the animal world that God gave us dominion over in Genesis 1:28.  

This likeness in image allows us to communicate with God in prayer.  And while we don't have His characteristics of omnipresence (always everywhere) and omniscience (all knowing), we all have God's moral, spiritual and intellectual nature.  The more sin we encounter, the less holy (like God) our character, and the more distorted our image.  But we cannot lose our image no matter how broken we are.  And because we always have our image of God (our spirit/soul), we can be redeemed or reclaimed by God.  This is why God sent His Son Jesus.

Look at the parallels between a human parent and their child, and God the Father and all the children of the human race.

·       Like a child to a mortal parent, a follower of God still longs to be in His presence even when he feels struck down at the hands of God.  You hear heartbreaking stories of how children cling to very abusive parents simply because they are their parents.  The tougher my circumstances, the more I cling to God.  I may yell at Him for allowing things to happen and question Him as to why my Jesus worthy prayers are not being answered, but while doing so, I am grasping onto Him and His promises.

·       Parents don’t hate their babies when they fill their diapers. Good parents, most of whom do not soil their own pants, are wiser and greater than that.  They cannot relate to living in poopy pants, but recognize their babies cannot help it.  If God were little, he would despise us because we are little; if He were weak he would hate us because we are weak; if He lied he would have nothing to do with us because of our deceit.  The greatness of God is the reason why He despises no one.  He is so great because He is flawless, and our flaw filled lives are not what He considers most significant about each and every one of us. 

·       Like a loving parent, it devastated God seeing Israel suffer for sins they brought on themselves throughout the Old Testament.  His message was always the same, "Worship only me and do what I tell you to do."  He deals with us gentiles the same way.  We human parents, made in God’s image, call this “tough love”, refusing to bail out a child making the same mistakes over and over again.

·       Like God, a good parent’s reprimand must be combined with teaching and explanation.  God spoke directly to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; through the prophets; and to the rest of us through Jesus Christ, all of which we learn about in the Bible.

·       A loving parent shows grace, gentleness, forgiveness and longsuffering with their children as God does with us.  Children who grow up without this become discouraged, feeling like the whole world is against them because they feel their parents are against them.

·       Do you know any loving parent that will not help their child when they are clinging to them for guidance and assistance?  God never turns His back on anyone who chooses to come to Him.

The only instance that I don’t see this parent/child comparison is when it comes to pushing our kids out of the nest.  Human parents typically want our children to figure things out and learn to be independent, only coming to them when they need guidance.  God the Father always wants us to lean on Him, not ourselves, and to go to Him with everything.  Holy human parents push their kids to be self-sufficient from them, but always reliant on God.  For God the Father, self-sufficiency from Him has led to demise ever since the fall of Adam and Eve.  We can live Godly lives without our human parents. But we cannot do so without our God the Father.  Living independently of God is the greatest human sin.

I recently attended a seminar where Rabbi Chaim Eisen asked, “Do you believe your life has intrinsic meaning?” Do you believe you are internally wired to accomplish specific things in life?"  He pointed out that a theist (believer in God or gods) and an atheist would answer this question very differently.

 According the the Rabbi, a believer says “Yes! I am made in God’s image and designed to know, love, and obey His word so that I see and live out the life He has for me."  An atheist says “No!  Life offers passing pleasures that I will appreciate as much as possible as this is all there is.  And by dismissing the  existence of God, a nonbeliever is not likely to realize the purpose for which he was created since God’s love is ignored."

Jesus taught scripture, highlighted vital lessons with parables, performed a few miracles and then invited Jew and Gentile to receive or reject Him.  Never does Jesus force people to believe.  He wants our willing commitment to Him.  Throughout the gospel, we see Jesus invite, never coerce.  Rev. 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock”, Jesus says at the close of Scripture.  “If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”  

And aren't we made in this same image?  Would you want to go out to dinner with someone who constantly ridicules your life choices?  What about with someone who questions the existence of God but truly wants to learn more?  Most of us choose to dine with those who are welcoming, interested in sharing their thoughts and listening to ours. We know when to "shake off our sandals and leave" (Matthew 10:14) and when to dine with the fellow sinner and share (Matthew 9:10-13).