John 9:3-4 (WEL) Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; on the contrary, it was that the works of God might be made evident in him. 4 “I must be busy doing the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night comes when no one can work.
V3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; on the contrary, it was that the works of God might be made evident in him.
Jesus gives the final word. There should never be anyone who can claim, proclaim, or teach that sickness is always a consequence of a person’s personal sins.
In this case, Jesus specially tells them that this happened to this man so that Messiah would be glorified showing His mercy, compassion, and ability to heal any sickness.
Why would this happen to the man; why would God do this? Maybe, this is the means of his hearing the Gospel and placing faith in Jesus alone for salvation. God tailors His approach to open a person’s mind and heart to believe in Jesus.
Mine was hearing the Gospel in a rescue mission when I was 11 years old.
Jesus also is going to use this healing to illustrate that He is the Light of the World.
What are some uses of light in the Bible?
- Physical light.
- Emotional light would refer to understanding, recognition, the time of sudden understanding and comprehension of something, realization, etc.
- Spiritual light refers to truth—truth about our sin nature, our deserving of God’s punishment, our inability to please God by anything we do (Romans 3:20-21), our realization of the total condemnation we deserve. When God initiates salvation by His grace to open our eyes, minds, and hearts (Acts 16:15) and conviction, understanding the deep problem we have with God, guilt (John 16:8), then He frees our will to understand the God and make a decision of believing (faith) in Jesus Christ alone for salvation and calling on His name (Acts 4:12, Luke 18:13-14, Romans 10:13).
4 “I must be busy doing the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night comes when no one can work.
Jesus states that the opportunity for His ministry is right then, so He must continue because after He is gone, there will be no one who can do what I am doing.
The night refers to a time when people are so evil, and the number of evil so many, that truth and the Gospel of Jesus Christ is nearly hidden. We need to remember that evil never shuts out the light.
God’s Spirit is always working.
Believe the Gospel while there is time.
Principle: Those who have believed and placed their faith and trust in Jesus alone for salvation have been adopted by God the Father and need to be doing what He wants us to do.
We learn:
- Jesus again appeals to these Jews that He is Messiah doing the deeds of Messiah (Isaiah 11:1-5 and Isaiah 61:1-5).
- Jesus’s priority was to do what His Father wanted and commissioned Him to do.
Questions:
- What are you doing for God’s glory?
- How do you make a Gospel appeal?