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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
4. Testimony to the wisdom of Christ, “Herein is a wondmus th ing ; ye know not whence He is, and yet He h ath opened mine eyes.” (v. 30). 5. Testimony to His authority, “ If this m an were not of God He could do nothing” (v. 33)i 6 . Testimony to Jesus, as Lord, “Lord, I believe” (-v. 37). 7. Worship of Jesus, “And he wor shipped H im” (v. 37). The first revelation of Christ, as Mes siah, was made to the woman a t th e well. The second revelation was made to th is blind man, who was excommuni cated by the Pharisees. • The testimony of th e man is sincere, noble, convincing, steadfast. Christ’s work will bear examination. There is a great change manifest in one whose eyes are open. P arents, friends and neighbors will be able to see it. There has been a great transform ation in the world since Christ came into it. Un belief becomes h ard er and- h arder un til finally th e unbeliever is left in d ark ness. Note the effect of his testimony,— a controversy— a soul saved. Sin brings misery bu t also excites mercy. Blind ness provokes benevolence. Men know th a t they are sinners, but many do not know th a t th ere is a Savior. The blind man was rejected by the Jews, and ejected from the synagogue, bu t -he was received by Jesus, and elect- ted to the society of saints. The blind man obeyed th e command of Jesus and was given sight. The Jews objected and were left in darkness. The te st of tru e testimony is found in v. 25 “ I was blind, but now I see. Topics fo r S tu d y ' (1) Do many Christians seek to evade th e responsibility th a t .re sts upon them? (2) Is fear an element th a t hinders
(Acts 7:57-59) and again tow ard -P au l (Acts 22:22, 23). “A n d th e y grave h im a u d ie n c e u n to th is w o rd , a n d th e n lif te d u p th e ir v o ic e s a n d s a id , A w a y w ith s u c h a fe llo w fr o m th e e a r th ; f o r i t is n o t fit t h a t h e s h o u ld U v e.” The continued* resistance of testi mony blinds the faculties, and hardens the heart. Blindnéss to tru th is a se rious sin. When professing Christians refuse to receive the tru th , refrain from th e reading and study of God’s Word, they are blinding th eir eyes. • Note th e message of Jesus (John 15 :22 ). « I l I h a d n o t c o m e a n d s p o k e n u n to th e m , th e y h a d n o t h a d s in ; h u t n o w th e y h a v e n o e lo k e foi* th e ir s in .”’ The sin of some Christians is inex cusable. They have Moses, and the prophets. They have Christ and the apostles. They are w ithout excuse, and many are suffering th e ju st judgm ent of God for th is inexcusable sin. The careless man will be condemned by his own carelessness. The selfish Christian who fails to lay up treasu re in heaven will be judged by his own selfishness. The indifferent Christian who has no care or love for lost souls, án d who is indifferent as to th e loss of those souls, must be judged by his own indifference. ( 3 ) THE BESTOWMENT OP L IFE , vs. ¡35-41. We have come to the climax of a wonderful lesson. A whole chapter is devoted to this one miracle¿‘|a n d th a t m iracle the healing of a poor, blind beg gar. We cannot utilize all of th e pre cious lessons in this chapter, bu t we can briefly scan th e order of development in the im partation of th e life of God. 1. . Obedience to the command of Christ, “ Go wash in th e pool of Siloam.” 2. Testimony to the Pharisees re garding the command, “A man called Jesus told me to go, wash, • and I w ent” (v. 7). 3. Testimony to Christ’s office, “He said, He is a prophet.” (v. 7).
TO IGNORE (See Page 439)
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