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The Parents’ Failure: John 9:1-41

Published April 2, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 9:1-41 (NLT)

1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”

But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”

10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”

11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”

12 “Where is he now?” they asked.

“I don’t know,” he replied.

13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”

The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”

18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”

20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”

25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”

27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”

30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”

34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”

37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”

38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”

41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

Read John 9:1-41 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

One reason why I believe the Bible to be accurate is that it doesn’t seem to brush past people’s failures or faults. In this passage, had I been the one developing this story as a work of fiction, I would have changed one relatively minor detail because it would make the two least relevant characters appear better than they currently do. This detail wouldn’t change the outcome of the event, but it would simply sound better – at least in my mind.

Between the two interrogations of the formerly blind man, they call in his parents to question them. In verses 20-22, we read what actually happened. The formerly blind man’s parents, responding to the Pharisees say, “‘We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.’ His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue.”

John shares that the parents were more interested in aligning with the Jewish leaders, and being accepted into their synagogue than they were about sticking up for their healed son. If I were creating this event as fiction, I would change the parents’ response to sticking with their son, or framed their current response in a way that made them look like miracle supporters.

But the Bible doesn’t minimize people’s failures. It may actually emphasize them. It is in short verses like these that we learn that those living then faced similar tension that we do now, and when there is failure, it simply reveals that we need a Savior to help us. There was nothing the blind man could do to regain his sight on his own, revealing his need for a Savior. The formerly blind man’s parents struggled with how to interpret Jesus’ actions in the face of outright opposition, and they needed a different kind of Savior – One who they believed would take care of them spiritually if they lost favor with others relationally and/or socially.

The formerly blind man’s parents faced a challenge we all face: picking either God’s favor or other people’s favor when you can only choose one. In our culture today, the trend is to eliminate God as much as possible, and minimize His significance in the world. When we are pushed to choose, which direction will we go? To acknowledge and serve God, or to hide God and serve man – the choice is yours.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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It’s Not About Us: Luke 10:1-20

Published April 1, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 10:1-20 (NCV)

1 After this, the Lord chose seventy-two others and sent them out in pairs ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. 2 He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers. So pray to God, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. 3 Go now, but listen! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals, and don’t waste time talking with people on the road. 5 Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If peace-loving people live there, your blessing of peace will stay with them, but if not, then your blessing will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go into the streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be better for the people of Sodom than for the people of that town.

13 “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles I did in you had happened in Tyre and Sidon, those people would have changed their lives long ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show they had changed. 14 But on the Judgment Day it will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the depths!

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever refuses to accept you refuses to accept me. And whoever refuses to accept me refuses to accept the One who sent me.”

17 When the seventy-two came back, they were very happy and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”

18 Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Listen, I have given you power to walk on snakes and scorpions, power that is greater than the enemy has. So nothing will hurt you. 20 But you should not be happy because the spirits obey you but because your names are written in heaven.”

Read Luke 10:1-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

As Jesus was training His followers to carry on the Christian movement after He returned to heaven, He sent them out on a mission trip to the surrounding countryside. In His mid-ministry commission for His followers, Jesus shares some interesting instructions that are relevant for us living today.

Near the end of this commission, Jesus draws the focus of everyone present onto how Jesus’ disciples could be treated when arriving at a town. Some towns might accept the message Jesus’ disciples brought with them, while other towns might not. Here is how Luke’s gospel shares Jesus’ words: “If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. Heal the sick who live there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go into the streets and say, ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the kingdom of God is near.’ I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be better for the people of Sodom than for the people of that town.” (v. 8-12)

As I read Jesus’ words, I am impressed that it is not up to us to get other people to listen to God’s message. Because Jesus had to warn the disciples in this way, it might be surprising to think that there were towns in that region that refused to accept God’s message. We might think that it was easier for those back in the first century to share about God than it is for us today, but this is not necessarily true. About the only conclusion we can make between those sharing God’s message in the first century and us living in the 21st century is that we live in two different worlds and in two different cultures.

Sharing Jesus in the first century is simply different than sharing Jesus in the 21st century. They had different methods than we have today, and we have different tools than they had living 2,000 years ago.

But while we might get caught up worrying about how to share Jesus most effectively, the simple truth that I see in this passage is that when we share (regardless of the ‘how’ question), those who are listening in can either accept or reject the message. When they have made their choice, they are not accepting or rejecting us – they are accepting or rejecting Jesus.

While the stakes are incredibly high in this decision and no one should make their choice lightly, when we share Jesus with others, God’s Holy Spirit steps in and helps guide the conversation and the hearts of those listening. Sharing Jesus is not about you and I – it is about Jesus, and everything He has done for us.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Preparing For His Return: Luke 12:35-59

Published March 28, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 12:35-59 (NCV)

 35 “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. 36 Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. 37 They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him. I tell you the truth, the master will dress himself to serve and tell the servants to sit at the table, and he will serve them. 38 Those servants will be blessed when he comes in and finds them still waiting, even if it is midnight or later.

    39 “Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, he would not allow the thief to enter his house. 40 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him!”

 41 Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this story to us or to all people?”

 42 The Lord said, “Who is the wise and trusted servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? 43 When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. 45 But suppose the servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ and he begins to beat the other servants, men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the others who don’t obey.

    47 “The servant who knows what his master wants but is not ready, or who does not do what the master wants, will be beaten with many blows! 48 But the servant who does not know what his master wants and does things that should be punished will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. And from the one trusted with much, much more will be expected.

    49 “I came to set fire to the world, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a baptism to suffer through, and I feel very troubled until it is over. 51 Do you think I came to give peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I came to divide it. 52 From now on, a family with five people will be divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 They will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

 54 Then Jesus said to the people, “When you see clouds coming up in the west, you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it happens. 55 When you feel the wind begin to blow from the south, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it happens. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to understand the appearance of the earth and sky. Why don’t you understand what is happening now?

    57 “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right? 58 If your enemy is taking you to court, try hard to settle it on the way. If you don’t, your enemy might take you to the judge, and the judge might turn you over to the officer, and the officer might throw you into jail. 59 I tell you, you will not get out of there until you have paid everything you owe.”

Read Luke 12:35-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, while teaching the disciples, Jesus shares a powerful illustration about always being ready for His return. This illustration opens with Jesus telling His disciples, “Be dressed, ready for service, and have your lamps shining. Be like servants who are waiting for their master to come home from a wedding party. When he comes and knocks, the servants immediately open the door for him. They will be blessed when their master comes home, because he sees that they were watching for him.” (v. 35-37a)

The servants in this parable are blessed because they are ready when the master arrives because they were watching for him. While the servants don’t know exactly when that night the master would return, they determine that it is better to prepare for his arrival as if it were happening within the next five minutes, while also being conscious that it might be another few hours.

In our own lives, when we look forward to Jesus’ “soon” return, we have the same challenge that the servants in this illustration have. While it would be amazing for Jesus to return tomorrow and end this age in history, it would be foolish to base 100% of our decisions as if this hope were fact.

Equally foolish would be always believing that Jesus’ return will always be months, years, or even decades in the future. Believing that we have plenty of time to prepare – in the future – will guarantee that we will be caught unprepared.

With these two ideas pulling us in opposite directions, we should learn to manage this tension and filter our decisions through both filters. Wisdom in the servant’s case is watching and being ready, but not assuming or guessing the time of the master’s arrival. Wisdom in our case is always being ready for Jesus to come within this hour, but also understanding that we must not do things that would harm us long-term if His return is later than we expected it to be.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Reassured By Jesus: Luke 10:1-20

Published March 26, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 10:1-20 (NCV)

1 After this, the Lord chose seventy-two others and sent them out in pairs ahead of him into every town and place where he planned to go. 2 He said to them, “There are a great many people to harvest, but there are only a few workers. So pray to God, who owns the harvest, that he will send more workers to help gather his harvest. 3 Go now, but listen! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. 4 Don’t carry a purse, a bag, or sandals, and don’t waste time talking with people on the road. 5 Before you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If peace-loving people live there, your blessing of peace will stay with them, but if not, then your blessing will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. A worker should be given his pay. Don’t move from house to house. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go into the streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dirt from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the kingdom of God is near.’ 12 I tell you, on the Judgment Day it will be better for the people of Sodom than for the people of that town.

13 “How terrible for you, Korazin! How terrible for you, Bethsaida! If the miracles I did in you had happened in Tyre and Sidon, those people would have changed their lives long ago. They would have worn rough cloth and put ashes on themselves to show they had changed. 14 But on the Judgment Day it will be better for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No! You will be thrown down to the depths!

16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever refuses to accept you refuses to accept me. And whoever refuses to accept me refuses to accept the One who sent me.”

17 When the seventy-two came back, they were very happy and said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we used your name!”

18 Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Listen, I have given you power to walk on snakes and scorpions, power that is greater than the enemy has. So nothing will hurt you. 20 But you should not be happy because the spirits obey you but because your names are written in heaven.”

Read Luke 10:1-20 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus and you have ever feared what people thought about you as a follower of Jesus, you are not alone.

Many people throughout the past 2,000 years have wondered that – from the first Christians stretching all the way up to us living today. I have also been challenged by this fear of what others might think. If you have struggled with these thoughts, or are currently facing doubts about what others will think, Jesus has something reassuring to tell you in this journal entry’s passage.

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, He decides to send the disciples out in pairs to all the villages in the region. We could call this an outreach training exercise. However, some of the disciples, probably the introverted, reserved ones like me, were a little worried about what might happen to them and what others would think.

I believe this is why Jesus finishes His instructions with the following words in verse 16, “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever refuses to accept you refuses to accept me. And whoever refuses to accept me refuses to accept the One who sent me.”

Jesus is basically saying: It’s not about you!

Too often, our fears and insecurities stem from not feeling good about ourselves. However, Jesus wants to step into this area of our lives and tell us that we should not have any worry or concern over what others think of us as followers of Him. If we do our best to be like Jesus, then if there are those who reject us, Jesus tells us they are really rejecting Him, and also the One (God the Father) who sent Him.

In my own life this has taken a huge burden off of my shoulders. Jesus takes the fear that wants to distract us in our relationship with Jesus, and He redirects it onto Himself. This means that I can more fully focus on being like Him, without any worries about what others think of me. What matters most is that I am growing closer to Him each and every day.

Jesus may be telling you the same thing today. If you consider yourself a follower of Jesus, your life is not about you. If others reject you, they are really rejecting Jesus and the Father. Don’t injure your relationship with Jesus over something that Jesus has taken away. Our focus is to be on growing our relationship with God, and being like Jesus. If something distracts you away from that goal, then it is not something God wants for you.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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