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Blind at Birth - The Gospels · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

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  Speaker 1: Let us pray. And he answered and said, Whether he
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  Speaker 1: be a sinner or no, I know not. One thing
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  Speaker 1: I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.
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  Speaker 1: John 9.25 Jesus, as you move in my life, I
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  Speaker 1: understand that there are people who are bent on trying
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  Speaker 1: to hold me to my past condition. However, because it
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  Speaker 1: is you who has healed me, and transformed me. I
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  Speaker 1: will stand boldly and proclaim your truth, even if it
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  Speaker 1: means I may be thrown out of certain circles and relationships.
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  Speaker 1: I declare that you came so that the blind can
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  Speaker 1: see and receive new life, so that those who are
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  Speaker 1: focused on traditions will be silenced because you value faith
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  Speaker 1: and a humble and contrite heart before pride and ego.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for opening my eyes, Jesus. Thank you for
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  Speaker 1: taking the time to sit and talk with me when
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  Speaker 1: I felt so thrown out and abandoned by those close
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  Speaker 1: to me. Through your power, Jesus, I now walk with
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  Speaker 1: a new vision and a new outlook on life. I
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  Speaker 1: once was blind, but now I see, and I have
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  Speaker 1: you to thank for it, Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.
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  Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.
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  Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible
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  Speaker 1: in a Year. Brought to you by Bibleinayear.com.
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  Speaker 2: Christ, compassion, community. These three characteristics connect all believers. Here
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  Speaker 2: at Christian Healthcare Ministries, We prioritize our shared faith-based values
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  Speaker 2: by offering programs for every Christian.
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  Speaker 1: Why?
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  Speaker 2: Because that every Christian is you. From flexibility in picking
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  Speaker 3: In our last story, Jesus defended a woman caught in
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  Speaker 3: adultery from being stoned to death. She was drug out
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  Speaker 3: into the public half-naked for all to shame her. Yet
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  Speaker 3: Jesus stood up to the religious leaders and proclaimed that
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  Speaker 3: whoever was without sin could throw the first stone. Since
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  Speaker 3: none of them had a rebuttal for Jesus, they left,
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  Speaker 3: and the woman was forgiven. Now we see Jesus exposing
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  Speaker 3: the wicked hearts of the religious elite by giving sight
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  Speaker 3: to a blind man. This young man would be caught
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  Speaker 3: in the crossfires of the legalistic Pharisees and the compassionate Christ,
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  Speaker 3: inspired by the Gospels.
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  Speaker 4: Hello and welcome to another edition of the Bible in
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  Speaker 4: a Year podcast. Once again, this is Jack Graham. In
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  Speaker 4: our previous episode, we heard how Jesus frustrated the plans
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  Speaker 4: of religious leaders who wanted to trap him with a
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  Speaker 4: choice to either follow the law of the letter of
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  Speaker 4: the law or simply ignore what was written in the
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  Speaker 4: law of Moses. Instead of playing their game, he challenged
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  Speaker 4: them to evaluate their own sinfulness and he exposed their
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  Speaker 4: sin and then extended grace and forgiveness to a woman
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  Speaker 4: caught in the act of adultery. Today we'll hear how
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  Speaker 4: Jesus lovingly corrects the misconceptions of the disciples who seek
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  Speaker 4: to understand why a young man was born blind. And
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  Speaker 4: we'll see once again how the legalists attempt to trap Jesus.
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  Speaker 4: But in doing so, they expose their own heartlessness and
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  Speaker 4: lack of love and compassion for people in need. Let's
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  Speaker 4: listen now to the reading of God's Word.
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  Speaker 3: The town of Capernaum was bustling with life. Vendors set
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  Speaker 3: up their shops in the marketplace streets. Men and women
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  Speaker 3: went to and from their homes with their children. Jesus
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  Speaker 3: looked at them with fatherly affection. Though not all of
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  Speaker 3: them knew him, he knew all of them by name.
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  Speaker 3: He knew their fears, dreams, and personalities. It was his
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  Speaker 3: absolute joy to serve them and ultimately die for them.
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  Speaker 3: As Jesus and his disciples were passing through the streets,
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  Speaker 3: they passed by a man who had been blind from birth.
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  Speaker 3: He sat on a blanket on the side of the road,
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  Speaker 3: holding out his hands for any form of kindness from strangers.
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  Speaker 3: The disciples looked at the man with concern. Teacher, who
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  Speaker 3: sinned to make this man born blind? Was it him
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  Speaker 3: or his parents? Jesus stopped walking and turned to them.
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  Speaker 3: He was upset at their question, for it revealed a
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  Speaker 3: poor understanding of God's character. Neither he or his parents
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  Speaker 3: have done anything wrong, Jesus answered. He turned to the
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  Speaker 3: blind man and knelt down to him.' This man is
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  Speaker 3: blind so that God's compassion might be displayed,' he said.
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  Speaker 3: Jesus picked up some dirt beside the man and spat
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  Speaker 3: in it. He began to form clay out of the
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  Speaker 3: spit and dust. As he was doing this, he spoke
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  Speaker 3: to the disciples.' Night is coming. In that time, nobody
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  Speaker 3: will be able to do the will of God, but
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  Speaker 3: for now it is day, and we must use that
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  Speaker 3: time to help others.' As long as I am in
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  Speaker 3: the world, I will be a light for all. Jesus
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  Speaker 3: finished molding the clay in his hands. He took it
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  Speaker 3: and spread it across the man's eyes. Jesus helped the
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  Speaker 3: man to his feet and whispered, Go and wash your
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  Speaker 3: eyes at the pool of Siloam. So the man went
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  Speaker 3: a few yards east and began washing the mud out
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  Speaker 3: of his eyes. As he was wiping his face, light
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  Speaker 3: emerged from the darkness. The all-consuming blackness was replaced with
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  Speaker 3: marvelous colors and shapes. The man was healed from his blindness.
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  Speaker 3: The man passed right by Jesus and walked away since
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  Speaker 3: he did not know the sight of him from before.
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  Speaker 3: As he was walking the city streets, taking in all
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  Speaker 3: the new images, people began to notice him. Isn't that
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  Speaker 3: the blind beggar? they asked themselves. No, it can't be,
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  Speaker 3: they replied. The man heard them and said, You are right,
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  Speaker 3: I was the blind beggar that sat by the road.
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  Speaker 3: The people were astonished. How were your eyes opened?
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  Speaker 4: They asked.
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  Speaker 3: The man replied, The man called Jesus made mud and
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  Speaker 3: anointed my eyes with it. He asked me to wash
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  Speaker 3: it off by the pool, and then my eyes were
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  Speaker 3: given sight. Where is Jesus?
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  Speaker 4: They asked.
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  Speaker 3: How would I know? the man replied. I did not
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  Speaker 3: see him before my sight was given to me. Some
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  Speaker 3: of the skeptics brought the man to the Pharisees, who
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  Speaker 3: had made themselves the enemies of Jesus. The man stood
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  Speaker 3: before them, wondering why he was being judged for being healed. However,
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  Speaker 3: it was the Sabbath, and the religious leaders had made
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  Speaker 3: many laws preventing people from doing any sort of work,
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  Speaker 3: good or bad, that day. The Pharisees lifted their noses
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  Speaker 3: high and asked, How did you come by your new sight?
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  Speaker 3: The man sighed. As I have said before, Jesus put
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  Speaker 3: mud in my eyes and asked me to wash them off.
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  Speaker 3: When I did, my sight was given to me. The
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  Speaker 3: Pharisees scoffed. They argued amongst themselves whether Jesus had done
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  Speaker 3: anything good at all. since he healed a man on
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  Speaker 3: the Sabbath. They turned to the man and asked, What
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  Speaker 3: do you think about Jesus? Is he a sinner or
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  Speaker 3: a savior? I believe he could be a prophet, the
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  Speaker 3: man said without thinking. This answer displeased the Pharisees. They
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  Speaker 3: did not want to believe Jesus would do something so kind.
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  Speaker 3: They wanted to villainize him. So they brought up the
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  Speaker 3: man's parents to validate that he was indeed born blind.
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  Speaker 3: Was your son in fact born blind? they asked the parents.
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  Speaker 3: Both the mother and the father feared the Pharisees. They
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  Speaker 3: did not want to answer, since they were known to
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  Speaker 3: throw disagreeing people out of the synagogues. Our son is
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  Speaker 3: of age, they said. You may ask him yourself. So
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  Speaker 3: the Pharisees asked the young man again what he believed
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  Speaker 3: about Jesus. The man paused for a moment and considered
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  Speaker 3: the question. He closed his eyes to remove distraction. A
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  Speaker 3: single tear fell from his face as he smiled. He
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  Speaker 3: looked up to the Pharisees and said, All I know
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  Speaker 3: is that I was born blind, but now I can see.
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  Speaker 3: The Pharisees shook in their seats. What did he do
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  Speaker 3: to you?
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  Speaker 4: They yelled.
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  Speaker 3: How did he open your eyes? The young man was
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  Speaker 3: beginning to grow tired of their questions. He answered and
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  Speaker 3: said to them, Why do you keep asking me? I
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  Speaker 3: have told you what he did. Do you ask me
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  Speaker 3: because you want to be like him or become his disciples?
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  Speaker 3: The Pharisees stood to their feet and scoffed. Of course not,
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  Speaker 3: they exclaimed. We are disciples of Moses only. Jesus is
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  Speaker 3: a stranger. The man shook his head. This is outrageous,
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  Speaker 3: he replied. You say he is a stranger, yet he
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  Speaker 3: opened my eyes. You and I both know that God
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  Speaker 3: does not do this sort of thing through evil men.
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  Speaker 3: Never have you or I ever heard of a mere
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  Speaker 3: man opening the eyes of someone born blind. Yet here
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  Speaker 3: I stand before you. If Jesus was not of God,
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  Speaker 3: I would not be here. You are a mutt born
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  Speaker 3: from hell, the Pharisees yelled. They called for the temple
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  Speaker 3: guards to seize him, and the man was cast out
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  Speaker 3: from the courts. The young man was tossed out of
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  Speaker 3: the synagogue into the stone streets. He slowly raised to
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  Speaker 3: his feet and brushed the dust off his clothes. He
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  Speaker 3: was happy to have sight, yet sad at what he
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  Speaker 3: had seen. Even his own parents would not defend him.
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  Speaker 3: He walked to the old curb where he used to
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  Speaker 3: sit and beg. He watched the people pass by him,
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  Speaker 3: wondering if all people looked different. Of course, he did
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  Speaker 3: not know, since he had been born blind. As he
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  Speaker 3: let his mind wander, a stranger sat beside him. He
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  Speaker 3: looked at the young man with a warm smile. In fact,
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  Speaker 3: it was probably the first smile he had seen in
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  Speaker 3: his life.' Do you believe in the Son of God?'
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  Speaker 3: the stranger asked.' I wonder who he is. I would
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  Speaker 3: like to believe in him,' the young man answered. The
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  Speaker 3: stranger nodded.' You have seen him. It is he who
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  Speaker 3: is speaking to you.' The young man turned his head
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  Speaker 3: quickly and observed the stranger's face. It was him. Jesus.
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  Speaker 3: The man who had healed his blindness. The one and
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  Speaker 3: only begotten Son of God.' Lord, I believe. And the
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  Speaker 3: young man fell at Jesus' feet and worshipped him. Jesus
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  Speaker 3: propped him up and embraced him. I have come that
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  Speaker 3: those who are blind might see, Jesus said, and those
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  Speaker 3: that can see will become blind. Some of the Pharisees
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  Speaker 3: passed by as Jesus spoke these words. They were riled
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  Speaker 3: up by his statement and interrupted, saying, Are we the
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  Speaker 3: blind ones? they asked. Jesus did not answer for a moment.
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  Speaker 3: He could see the concern lying behind their tough exterior.
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  Speaker 3: If you were blind, you would not feel the inner
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  Speaker 3: guilt you are feeling right now. But since you feel
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  Speaker 3: the need to tell me of your sight, your blindness
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  Speaker 3: obviously remains.
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  Speaker 4: Today's scripture begins in the public market just as our
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  Speaker 4: last episode did. This time Jesus was with his disciples
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  Speaker 4: walking through the streets on the Sabbath. They come upon
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  Speaker 4: a young man who has been blind since birth. Seeing him,
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  Speaker 4: the disciples pose a question to Jesus. But their question
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  Speaker 4: is different from the Pharisees. They are seeking to understand
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  Speaker 4: and to find wisdom, not to trap the teacher, but
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  Speaker 4: to truly understand why this man was in his condition.
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  Speaker 4: They ask whose sin to cause this man to be
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  Speaker 4: born blind, because this was the prevailing idea of the time.
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  Speaker 4: Sickness and disability happened as a direct result of some
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  Speaker 4: sin or wrongdoing, as punishment from God for bad behavior.
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  Speaker 4: The question of these men was sincere, but it revealed
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  Speaker 4: a deep understanding of the true loving nature of God.
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  Speaker 4: So Jesus gently corrected them, saying his parents had done
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  Speaker 4: nothing wrong. He didn't mean that they were without sin,
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  Speaker 4: of course, only that the blindness, this man's blindness, was
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  Speaker 4: not a result of punishment for anyone's sin. In fact,
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  Speaker 4: difficult as it was for this man, his blindness had
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  Speaker 4: a purpose, to show God's power and his compassion. The
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  Speaker 4: truth is, we often can't answer the why question, why
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  Speaker 4: something is happening, why something bad happens to bad people
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  Speaker 4: or good people. We can understand maybe why bad things
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  Speaker 4: happen to bad people, but why does it happen to
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  Speaker 4: so-called innocent people? When we face a why question, something
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  Speaker 4: that we cannot answer, we should really begin to to
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  Speaker 4: ask the what question. God, what are you doing in
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  Speaker 4: this situation? What is your purpose? What is your plan?
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  Speaker 4: Jesus then spat on some dirt and rubbed it in
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  Speaker 4: the man's eyes and told him to go wash in
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  Speaker 4: the pool of Siloam. For the first time ever, this
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  Speaker 4: man could see the world around him, a world that
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  Speaker 4: up to that point had been filled only with darkness.
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  Speaker 4: Just think how incredible, how amazing this would be to
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  Speaker 4: see for the very first time a whole new world
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  Speaker 4: had opened to this man. When those who knew him
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  Speaker 4: saw this man, they were incredulous. How could this man
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  Speaker 4: born blind who begged in the streets so long now see?
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  Speaker 4: But he insisted, yes, it was him. A man called
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  Speaker 4: Jesus cured his blindness. He'd never had a chance to
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  Speaker 4: see Jesus, though, so he could not point him out
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  Speaker 4: to anyone. This man's story was so amazing that they
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  Speaker 4: took him before the Pharisees who, rather than praise God
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  Speaker 4: for the healing of a man in need, immediately began
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  Speaker 4: to find fault. The man had been healed on the Sabbath,
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  Speaker 4: and in their limited vision of God, they believed that
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  Speaker 4: this was somehow against God's law. The Pharisees could not agree, however,
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  Speaker 4: if this man named Jesus was good or a sinner.
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  Speaker 4: So they asked the beggar what he thought, and he
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  Speaker 4: told them he believed Jesus was a prophet. This didn't
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  Speaker 4: help matters. They still weren't satisfied, so they asked the
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  Speaker 4: man's parents if he was truly born blind. The parents
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  Speaker 4: refused to get involved. For what reason we don't know,
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  Speaker 4: but in this moment the blind man found himself standing alone,
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  Speaker 4: being questioned by these religious authorities. What was meant to
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  Speaker 4: be a joyous day for him has somehow now become
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  Speaker 4: a battle, a burden, because of the lack of insight
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  Speaker 4: and compassion of the legalists. But he stayed with his
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  Speaker 4: story because he knew it was true, saying that all
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  Speaker 4: he knew was once he was blind and now he
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  Speaker 4: could see. What a powerful testimony. And it was Jesus
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  Speaker 4: who gave him his sight. So the Pharisees angrily sent
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  Speaker 4: him away, refusing to believe in Jesus or this man,
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  Speaker 4: who to them was nothing but a worthless sinner. Jesus
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  Speaker 4: then shows up. He spoke to the man who did
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  Speaker 4: not know him yet since he had never seen his healer.
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  Speaker 4: Jesus asked him a simple question. Do you believe in
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  Speaker 4: the Son of Man? We hear the man's response of
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  Speaker 4: eagerness to believe as he asked, Where is this man
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  Speaker 4: that I might believe in him? And Jesus reveals himself
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  Speaker 4: to the man whose response found in John 9, 38
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  Speaker 4: reflects perfectly what our response should be to Jesus. And
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  Speaker 4: he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. When
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  Speaker 4: we believe in Jesus, we bow before him and give
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  Speaker 4: our lives to him. When Jesus opens our blind eyes,
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  Speaker 4: our response is to say, yes, Lord, I believe. and
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  Speaker 4: I worship you. As for the religious crowd, Jesus spoke
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  Speaker 4: to them saying that they were not blind to their
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  Speaker 4: own sin. They knew it very clearly. Their blindness was spiritual,
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  Speaker 4: a blindness that, though they failed to realize it, Jesus
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  Speaker 4: was and is the only one who can heal. Dear God,
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  Speaker 4: thank you for today's scripture and the power of Jesus
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  Speaker 4: to open our eyes that we may see you. Thank
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  Speaker 4: you that you came to this earth, to heal our
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  Speaker 4: spiritual blindness, because you are the light of the world.
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  Speaker 4: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to today's
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  Speaker 4: Bible in a Year podcast. I'm Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas.
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  Speaker 4: You can download the Pray.com app and make prayer and
• 16:53
  Speaker 4: Bible study the priority of your life. And if you
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  Speaker 4: enjoyed this podcast, tell someone about it. Pass it on.
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  Speaker 4: Let others know, because it is our desire to get
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  Speaker 4: God's Word to as many people as possible. as fast
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  Speaker 4: as possible. And if you want to know more about
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  Speaker 4: what it means to be a Christ follower, what it
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  Speaker 4: means to be a disciple of Jesus, then go to jackgraham.org, jackgraham.org.
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  Speaker 4: And we have many resources that are available for you there.
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  Speaker 4: God bless you.