Jesus
Heals a Man Born Blind
John 9 As
Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born
blind. 2His disciples asked him,
"Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind? Was
it his own or his parents' sin?"
3Jesus
answered, "His blindness has nothing to do with his
sins or his parents' sins. He is blind so that God's
power might be seen at work in him. 4As long
as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me;
night is coming when no one can work. 5While I
am in the world, I am the light for the world."
6After
he said this, Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud
with the spittle; he rubbed the mud on the man's eyes 7and
told him, "Go and wash your face in the Pool of
Siloam." (This name means "Sent.") So the
man went, washed his face, and came back seeing.
8His
neighbors, then, and the people who had seen him begging
before this, asked, "Isn't this the man who used to
sit and beg?"
9Some
said, "He is the one," but others said,
"No he isn't; he just looks like him."
So
the man himself said, "I am the man."
10"How
is it that you can now see?" they asked him.
11He
answered, "The man called Jesus made some mud,
rubbed it on my eyes, and told me to go to Siloam and
wash my face. So I went, and as soon as I washed, I
could see."
12"Where
is he?" they asked.
"I
don't know," he answered.
The Pharisees Investigate
the Healing
13Then
they took to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14The
day that Jesus made the mud and cured him of his
blindness was a Sabbath. 15The Pharisees,
then, asked the man again how he had received his sight.
He told them, "He put some mud on my eyes; I washed
my face, and now I can see."
16Some
of the Pharisees said, "The man who did this cannot
be from God, for he does not obey the
Sabbath law."
Others,
however, said, "How could a man who is a sinner
perform such miracles as these?" And there was a
division among them.
17So
the Pharisees asked the man once more, "You say he
cured you of your blindness--well, what do you say
about him?"
"He
is a prophet," the man answered.
18The
Jewish authorities, however, were not willing to believe
that he had been blind and could now see, until they
called his parents 19and asked them, "Is
this your son? You say that he was born blind; how is it,
then, that he can now see?"
20His
parents answered, "We know that he is our son, and
we know that he was born blind. 21But we do
not know how it is that he is now able to see, nor do we
know who cured him of his blindness. Ask him; he is old
enough, and he can answer for himself !" 22His
parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish
authorities, who had already agreed that anyone who said
he believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled
from the synagogue. 23That is why his parents
said, "He is old enough; ask him!"
Solomon's Address to
the People
(1 Kings 8.12-21)
2 Chronicles 6 Then
King Solomon prayed,
"LORD, you have chosen to live in clouds
and darkness.
2Now
I have built a majestic temple for you,
a
place for you to live in forever."
3All
the people of Israel were standing there. The king turned
to face them and asked God's blessing on them. 4He
said, "Praise the LORD God of
Israel! He has kept the promise he made to my father
David when he said to him, 5'From the time I
brought my people out of Egypt until now, I did not
choose any city in the land of Israel as the place to
build a temple where I would be worshiped, and I did not
choose anyone to lead my people Israel. 6But
now I have chosen Jerusalem as the place where I will be
worshiped, and you, David, to rule my people.'"
7And
Solomon continued, "My father David planned to build
a temple for the worship of the LORD
God of Israel, 8but the LORD
said to him, 'You were right in wanting to build a temple
for me, 9but you will never build it. It is
your son, your own son, who will build my temple.'
10"Now
the LORD has kept his promise: I
have succeeded my father as king of Israel, and I have
built a temple for the worship of the LORD
God of Israel. 11I have placed in the
Temple the Covenant Box, which contains the stone tablets
of the covenant which the LORD made
with the people of Israel."
Solomon's Prayer
(1 Kings 8.22-53)
12Then
in the presence of the people Solomon went and stood in
front of the altar and raised his arms in prayer. (13Solomon
had made a bronze platform and put it in the middle of
the courtyard. It was eight feet square and five feet
high. He mounted this platform, knelt down where everyone
could see him, and raised his hands toward heaven.) 14He
prayed, "LORD God of Israel,
in all heaven and earth there is no god like you. You
keep your covenant with your people and show them your
love when they live in wholehearted obedience to you. 15You
have kept the promise you made to my father David; today
every word has been fulfilled. 16Now, LORD God of Israel, keep the other promise
you made to my father when you told him that there would
always be one of his descendants ruling as king of
Israel, provided that they carefully obeyed your Law just
as he did. 17So now, LORD
God of Israel, let everything come true that you promised
to your servant David.
18"But
can you, O God, really live on earth among men and
women? Not even all of heaven is large enough to hold
you, so how can this Temple that I have built be large
enough? 19LORD my God, I
am your servant. Listen to my prayer and grant the
requests I make to you. 20Watch over this
Temple day and night. You have promised that this is
where you will be worshiped, so hear me when I face this
Temple and pray. 21Hear my prayers and the
prayers of your people Israel when they face this place
and pray. In your home in heaven hear us and
forgive us.
22"When
people are accused of wronging others and are brought to
your altar in this Temple to take an oath that they are
innocent, 23O LORD,
listen in heaven and judge your servants. Punish the
guilty ones as they deserve and acquit the innocent.
24"When
your people Israel are defeated by their enemies because
they have sinned against you and then when they turn to
you and come to this Temple, humbly praying to you for
forgiveness, 25listen to them in heaven.
Forgive the sins of your people and bring them back to
the land which you gave to them and to their ancestors.
26"When
you hold back the rain because your people have sinned
against you and then when they repent and face this
Temple, humbly praying to you, 27O LORD, listen to them in heaven and forgive
the sins of your servants, the people of Israel, and
teach them to do what is right. Then, O LORD, send rain on this land of yours,
which you gave to your people as a permanent possession.
28"When
there is famine in the land or an epidemic or the crops
are destroyed by scorching winds or swarms of locusts, or
when your people are attacked by their enemies, or when
there is disease or sickness among them, 29listen
to their prayers. If any of your people Israel, out of
heartfelt sorrow, stretch out their hands in prayer
toward this Temple, 30hear their prayer.
Listen to them in your home in heaven and forgive them.
You alone know the thoughts of the human heart. Deal with
each of us as we deserve, 31so that your
people may honor you and obey you all the time they live
in the land which you gave to our ancestors.
32"When
foreigners who live in a distant land hear how great and
powerful you are and how you are always ready to act, and
then they come to pray at this Temple, 33listen
to their prayers. In heaven, where you live, hear them
and do what they ask you to do, so that all the peoples
of the world may know you and obey you, as your people
Israel do. Then they will know that this Temple I have
built is where you are to be worshiped.
34"When
you command your people to go into battle against their
enemies and they pray to you, wherever they are, facing
this city which you have chosen and this Temple which I
have built for you, 35listen to their prayers.
Hear them in heaven and give them victory.
36"When
your people sin against you--and there is no one who does
not sin--and in your anger you let their enemies defeat
them and take them as prisoners to some other land, even
if that land is far away, 37listen to your
people's prayers. If there in that land they repent and
pray to you, confessing how sinful and wicked they have
been, hear their prayers, O LORD.
38If in that land they truly and sincerely
repent and pray to you as they face toward this land
which you gave to our ancestors, this city which you have
chosen, and this Temple which I have built for you, 39then
listen to their prayers. In your home in heaven hear them
and be merciful to them and forgive all the sins of your
people.
40"Now,
O my God, look on us and listen to the prayers
offered in this place. 41Rise up now, LORD God, and with the Covenant Box, the
symbol of your power, enter the Temple and stay here
forever. Bless your priests in all they do, and may all
your people be happy because of your goodness to them. 42LORD God, do not reject the king you have
chosen. Remember the love you had for your servant
David."
The Day of Judgment Is
Near
Malachi 2
17You have tired the LORD
out with your talk. But you ask, "How have we tired
him?" By saying, "The LORD
Almighty thinks all evildoers are good; in fact he likes
them." Or by asking, "Where is the God who is
supposed to be just?"
Malachi 3 The LORD Almighty answers, "I will send
my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then the Lord you
are looking for will suddenly come to his Temple. The
messenger you long to see will come and proclaim my
covenant."
2But
who will be able to endure the day when he comes? Who
will be able to survive when he appears? He will be like
strong soap, like a fire that refines metal. 3He
will come to judge like one who refines and purifies
silver. As a metalworker refines silver and gold, so the
LORD's messenger will purify the
priests, so that they will bring to the LORD
the right kind of offerings. 4Then the
offerings which the people of Judah and Jerusalem bring
to the LORD will be pleasing to
him, as they used to be in the past.
5The
LORD Almighty says, "I will
appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once
against those who practice magic, against adulterers,
against those who give false testimony, those who cheat
employees out of their wages, and those who take
advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners--against all
who do not respect me.
The Payment of Tithes
6"I
am the LORD, and I do not change.
And so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not yet
completely lost. 7You, like your ancestors
before you, have turned away from my laws and have not
kept them. Turn back to me, and I will turn to you. But
you ask, 'What must we do to turn back to you?' 8I ask
you, is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course
not, yet you are cheating me. 'How?' you ask. In the
matter of tithes and offerings. 9A curse
is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me.
10Bring the full amount of your tithes to the
Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put
me to the test and you will see that I will open the
windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all
kinds of good things. 11I will not let
insects destroy your crops, and your grapevines will be
loaded with grapes. 12Then the people of all
nations will call you happy, because your land will be a
good place to live.
God's Promise of Mercy
13"You
have said terrible things about me," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'What have we
said about you?' 14You have said, 'It's
useless to serve God. What's the use of doing what he
says or of trying to show the LORD
Almighty that we are sorry for what we have done? 15As
we see it, proud people are the ones who are happy. Evil
people not only prosper, but they test God's patience
with their evil deeds and get away with it.'"
16Then
the people who feared the LORD
spoke to one another, and the LORD
listened and heard what they said. In his presence, there
was written down in a book a record of those who feared
the LORD and respected him. 17"They
will be my people," says the LORD
Almighty. "On the day when I act, they will be my
very own. I will be merciful to them as parents are
merciful to the children who serve them. 18Once
again my people will see the difference between what
happens to the righteous and to the wicked, to the person
who serves me and the one who does not."
|