This morning I am thinking about the story of the man born blind, found in John's Gospel, chapter 9. What interested me today was the charge that Jesus did not keep the Sabbath, and could not be from God (John 9:16). Here is the story of the healing - John 9:1-11 NIV:
[1] "As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
[3] “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. [4] As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. [5] While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
[6] After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. [7] “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
[8] His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
[9] Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
[10] “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
[11] He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
The issue the Pharisees had with the healing is that Jesus made mud. The commandment concerning keeping the Sabbath is found in Exodus 20:8-11 NIV:
[8] “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. [9] Six days you shall labor and do all your work, [10] but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. [11] For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."
The parallel between "any work" and God's creative work, after which He rested on the seventh day, was the basis for the Sabbath guidelines that had been created and expanded in the Talmud. The Jewish teachers had expanded this commandment into 39 categories of what exactly was work and not allowed on the Sabbath. Basically any creative effort, where one was affecting one's environment was considered work. Thus, spitting on the ground to create mud from dirt, was considered work.
To the normal person this seems ludicrous, but to the strict observing Jew, this was huge. The commandment was appended later in Exodus 31:15, stating that anyone who broke the Sabbath should be put to death. I don't believe they enforced the punishment anymore during Jesus' time, but the "breaking" of one of the commandments surely disqualified Jesus as a serious Jew, and clearly as Messiah.
I am so grateful that Jesus didn't come as a super-Pharisee, one who was hyper-focused on righteousness by the law. He didn't come and add to the laws, but rather fulfilled the law's requirements and set us free from them. He was constantly calling to people's minds the differences between religion and relationship. He wanted people to understand that the Father was not some rule-enforcing authoritarian, but rather a God of love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness. In His interaction with the blind man, He clearly states that what He was about to do was for the Glory of His Father, and that God's works might be displayed in him (the blind man). If God's works included creation, then that is what Jesus did, effectively creating new eyes for the man out of the dirt mixed with His spit. Jesus was demonstrating that love of God and honoring Him (operating in relationship with Him) was more important than following the letter of the law.
This is such an important perspective for us to gain, for it is supposed to be the way we view our life and guide our interaction with "sinners". Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to further emphasize this concept (Luke 10:30-37). Each of the people who did not help the man laying helpless on the road had legitimate "lawful" excuses for not helping. They did not want to become unclean, and thus not able to perform their duties. They put the law before loving another and Jesus clearly told us to do the neighborly thing, loving and caring for the man. He encourages us to love God and to love one another (Matt 22:37-40).
So the question this morning is whether or not we use religious observance to judge ourselves and others. Jesus used a much simpler guideline, that of love and honor. If we are using the rules to judge others, rather than loving them, we might be missing the whole example of Jesus. He extended love and mercy, relationship and redemption to those sinners he encountered. Let us endeavor to do the same.
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