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Outside the Box

Outside the Box
Words of Faith 11-18-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 9
[13] They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. [14] Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. [15] Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."
[16] Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."
But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
[17] Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened."
The man replied, "He is a prophet."

Exactly who had the bright idea of bringing the man who had been blind to the Pharisees we do not know. The probable motivation was to prove to them that Jesus was someone special, a prophet or even Messiah.
They asked the man to give his testimony before them. It is a delightful testimony because of its brevity and simplicity. In just 13 words he describes the biggest thing that had ever happened in his life. "He put mud on my eyes and I washed, and now I see." No emotional build up. No description of how terrible it was to be blind. No self-justification as to why he had been chosen for this miracle. Straight and to the point. Not even an opinion about who Jesus was or why this might have happened.
Of course some of the Pharisees did not see it that way. They were the religious legalists and quickly pointed out that while Jesus might have healed the man of blindness, He did it on the Sabbath!
The Pharisees placed enormous significance in the Sabbath viewing it almost as an extension of God Himself. The meticulous rules observed by the Pharisees were designed to build a hedge of protection around the Sabbath so as not to defile it in any way. In their view, healing was a form a work and therefore Jesus had broken the Sabbath. They reasoned that Jesus could not be from God.
But even the Pharisees were divided on this issue. It simply did not make sense. How could such a wonderful thing as a miracle come from a man who was not from God? How could a creative miracle like this not come from God? Some “miracles” or signs might be counterfeited by a demonic spirit but not creation itself!
At an impasse, they finally asked the man what he thought. Of course he was not a trained theologian. He had never studied with a rabbi and his knowledge of Scripture would have been limited due to his disability. But, for the man born blind, now looking into the faces of the religious voices he had heard all his life, the answer was easy. “I’d say he’s a prophet…” Pretty good bet. Having been blind my whole life. Now I can see. Yep. Prophet in my book.
Obviously the Pharisees had created a religious box that kept them from seeing things as clearly as this uneducated man. Religious people tend to do that. We often get an idea in our minds of how God is supposed to work and then our system gets upset when God chooses to work another way.
Remember though, the one thing we know for sure about God is that He is God and we are not. Theology is important and doctrine is significant. But we must be willing to be awed by the mighty work of God, even if it doesn’t fit our understanding or our system.
Are you open to be awed today? Are you willing to see the power of God should He choose to reveal it in the simplest or most dramatic of ways?

Lord, I am watching. I am listening. I desire to see You at work around me. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear. In Jesus’ name.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.