Thursday, September 8, 2016

Devotion - Thursday, September 8

The Gospel of John differs significantly from the other three.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke each have a particular perspective on the story of Jesus.  There is a reason why they wrote their own accounts.  We are reasonably sure that Matthew and Luke had access to Mark's gospel as they were writing.

As John tells the Jesus story, he continually inserts his perspective.  John unabashedly includes in his account what these events mean.  

John 9 is the text for today.  What might in other accounts be a simple story of healing, in John there are numerous back and forth exchanges.  The particulars are important.  The one who is healed in this story is blind from birth.

At one point in the story, John makes clear his reasons for spending so much time telling this story.  While many who are blind are healed, none of them were blind from birth.  Giving sight to one who had never been able to see means that Jesus does not merely fix something that is broken - he creates that which has never existed.  

While we may tend to lump all healing stories together, John reminds us in the 9th chapter that Jesus is more than a soothsayer - of which there were many during Jesus' lifetime.  While we may brush over the incredible act described in these verses, John wants to make sure we not only know what happened but understand its significance.

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