In the Gospel of John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. It is His way of revealing that He is the Light of the world, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” John 8:12. This discourse was followed by that healing outside the temple gate. It was an exclamation point on His office as the Son of Man and the reason for which He came into the world.
As in every aspect of Christ’s ministry, the Pharisees were watching and seeking to trap Him. Their purpose was plain, to catch Him breaking the Law of Moses and to discredit the reason He came among them in the first place. In every instance of Christ’s performance of miracles, the Pharisees were at bay. They sought to preserve the old ways of Judaism. A time when they were in charge and anyone who wanted ministry had to come before them for acceptance and theological approval in the name of authority. Should anyone defy this, they faced persecution, accusation, and being put out of their temple and synagogues. They would be shunned under the Pharisees’ interpretation of the Law. In doing this, they denied the man was even blind [9:18] and began an investigation.
In v18-22, we find that the parents of the man were summoned before the Sanhedrin to answer for their son’s condition. In the questioning, the parents denied knowing who had opened their son’s eyes for fear they would be put out of the synagogue [v22]. They insisted the Pharisees question their son since he was of age. The Pharisees fixation was so focused on the determination of proving Jesus to be a fraud that they would go to any lengths to have their way even if it meant doing it in the name of Jehovah.
The man born blind who had now been healed began to tell them [v30-33] that if He were not from God He could not have healed him. So why do they ask where He came from? With this response they reviled him claiming him to be a sinner when they were the righteous ones [v34].
The prevailing attitude toward Christ in relation to the Pharisees was a constant barrage of attacks and challenges. They were trying to trap Him based on their own interpretation of the Law. They created an atmosphere of legality that was too heavy a burden for the Jewish people. Jesus came to set them free from that and give them Life in the Spirit. Jesus obeyed the instructions of the Law as set forth in the Torah and the Prophets. He did not necessarily adhere to the Scribes and Pharisees interpretation of it but rather He brought correction to those misguided interpretations. This is what caused the friction with the Jews.
It did not matter to them that men were being set free from their afflictions, it only mattered that the Sabbath Day in their thinking was being violated. This is the condition of the New Testament church today throughout America. We seek revival and clamor for His miracles questioning Him as to when. His answer is the same, “I am waiting for you.” The Pharisees stood as the watchmen of the Law of Moses. They would not open their eyes to anything that would bring about the Messianic move of God outside of their interpretation of it. Jesus did not fit their agenda or their theological understanding. They were so fixed on the Law that any blind eyes opened, raisings from the dead, lame cripples walking, or sick servants being healed, if performed on the Sabbath Day was a violation of the Law. In their minds the Messiah would not violate the Sabbath Day. What they hardened their hearts too, was that Jesus never broke the Sabbath Law. The hardness of their hearts because of their misguided understanding blinded their eyes to Jesus as the Messiah. Many churches are doing the same thing today to outside ministries! They reject the work of God in the traveling ministry because it does not fit their understanding of the work of God. They have set Pharisees with the title of watchmen among their brethren to keep watch and control their behavior by any means necessary. It usually comes in a rebuke and discrediting of the work that is being done. Quickly running to the leadership of the church that seeks to discredit those who are doing God’s legitimate work. Saints beware, the Pharisees walk among you!
Many churches today have blinded their eyes to the work of God in their regions. They are self-centered in their understanding of their church and their ministry “having a form of godliness although they denied its power” 2 Timothy 3:5.
In recent days, the Lord began to impress upon me the vision I had as follows:
The Lord showed me a well-finished dresser in His Father’s house. In that dresser was a white robe made of the finest linen in the kingdom. The robe was for the occasion of service to the king and was to be worn for just those occasions. When it came time for the robe to be worn and presented before the king, the servant of the king went to the dresser to prepare the robe. And when he opened the drawer to his surprise moths flew out in different directions. On these moths were written the titles of Gal. 5:19-21; “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, and carousings” Within those titles were sub-plots and sub-titles such as gossip, hatred, back-biting, controlling attitudes, disrespect, and murder, not only of reputations but of life. To the servant’s alarm, he picked up the garment and noticed that what was once a beautiful white linen robe was now tattered, eaten by the moths, having holes all throughout the material. He had nothing else to wear in having to present himself to the king. All he could do was to wear the tattered robe and come before the king in humility. When the king saw him coming, he said to him, “Did I not give you a well-finished dresser to keep the garment I entrusted to you in my Father’s house? Yet, you appear before me in a tattered cloth!” The servant was asked to give an account as to why the robe was tattered. He said to the king, “I am not aware of how this happened. I kept the cloth in a safe environment and only placed it on me for this special occasion.” The king asked him why he never checked the dresser to keep the condition of the garment safe and without disrepair. He asked him why he never let the laborers of the house maintain the condition of the garment or to check for any pestilence that might harm the condition of the cloth. He questioned him and said, “Did I not send these laborers to you to make sure the cloth remained in a fine condition? Yet, you refused to let them check the cloth and you refused to take their advice on how to keep the condition of that cloth in the finest of condition.” “They reported to me, said the king, that you also put them outside of the house claiming your method of conditioning was good enough to keep the integrity of the cloth. You also criticized and dishonored them believing them to be against you in their understanding about maintaining the integrity of the fabric.” The king continued, “Are you aware that today I was giving your house the highest honor in my kingdom but now how am I to present you in this condition? Therefore, I am giving this honor to another.” Go from me said the king and purchase new linen and make for yourself a new robe cleansing your dresser of all pestilence lest this happen again. Then come and present yourself to me.
The Pharisees wear tattered cloths believing them to be robes of righteousness, but they are filled with every form of evil and in that they have deceived themselves into believing something they should be, but are not. Saints beware, the Pharisees walk among you!
Always in Him,
Dr. Steve Rocco.
Dr. Steve Rocco Ministries 