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Sometimes things just don't add up. When we look at all the supposed facts, something is amiss and it causes us to reassess what we knew (or thought we knew). Today's message contains a passage in which an occasion similar to the above took place. Consider it carefully with me.

“So they [the Pharisees] again called the man who was blind, and said to him, ‘Give God the glory! We know that this Man [Jesus] is a sinner.’ He answered and said, ‘Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.’” (John 9.24-25). Notice the opposing views in this text. The Pharisees said that they knew that Jesus was a sinner. The man who was previously blind said he didn't know whether Jesus was a sinner or not, but that he did know that he once was blind but now he could see.

Herein was the problem; things just didn't add up. The Pharisees were right about one thing: God ought to receive the glory for the blind man's healing; this was true because God was the obvious source of the notable miracle. The blind man was also right in the fact that he had formerly been blind, but now he could see. The Pharisees had checked our his story and it had no holes in it. The man's parents had told the Pharisees what they knew: 1) “This is our son,” and 2) “He was born blind.” When the Pharisees added up all the facts, two plus two seemed to equal 5.

At times like these, our choices are few. We can choose to ignore the facts and remain entrenched in whatever erroneous position we hold. Or, we can reassess what we believe to be the facts and come to a position that squares with all the facts. The Pharisees took the easy way out – easy for them at the present time (but spiritually fatal to them in the long haul). They simply chose to ignore some of the facts and live in their comfort zone. Let's look at what they could have done and how easy the “facts” would have been to reconcile.

First, they knew that only God could perform such miraculous feats; this was evidenced by the fact that they said that God ought to receive the glory for healing the blind man. Secondly, they knew that the man in question was formerly blind but now was sighted. Thirdly, they knew that the man called Jesus had directly charged the blind man to obey Him by washing the clay from his eyes in the pool of Siloam. Finally, they knew that after the man obeyed Jesus, he could see.

Look at the above scenario again and see what was amiss. What fact would the Pharisees of necessity have to accept in order to square their beliefs with the known facts of the case? I am convinced that there was one and only one fact which they refused to accept which caused their entire perspective of the matter to be wrong. All they had to do was admit the fact that Jesus was God in the flesh! This would have removed the difficulty they were having in reconciling the healing of the man with what they knew and what they believed. In short, their theology stood in the way of their acceptance of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. That, dear reader, is a sad commentary in any age and with any person or group of persons.

Is it possible that our beliefs sometimes stand between us and God? What if those beliefs are firmly held beliefs rooted in religion? For instance, how many so called ministers allow their failure to trust the scriptures as complete and inspired to stand in their way of knowing the God of the Bible? What can one do to avoid such dilemma's? It is simple, but not always easy. When the “facts” don't add up, go back to square one and reconcile your beliefs with what you absolutely know to be true. Know the truth!

Questions:

1. Why would the Pharisees not admit that Jesus was God in the flesh?

2. Why was the man so forthright in telling them exactly what happened?

3. Why were his parents somewhat less than forthcoming in telling what they knew about the matter?

4. How can we avoid such dilemma's?

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

The Best Ace