JEREMIAH SESSION 41 — GOD’S INDESTRUCTIBLE WORD

Text: Jeremiah 36

If I were to give today’s Bible study a title, it would be, “God’s Indestructible Word.” In today’s chapter of Jeremiah, you will see an attempt by King Jehoiakim to destroy the Word of God. Why did he want to destroy it? Because he did not like what it said.

It is the same today. Many false prophets and rebels are trying to destroy the Word of God by any means possible. The rebels politicize it and weaponize it to inspire revolutions. 

The false prophets twist it until it is unrecognizable, preach another Jesus (2Corinthians 11:4), delete scriptures that disagree with their views — I could go on endlessly, for they are endlessly foolish and arrogant. 

And today’s infants in Christ (1Corinthians 3:1) love their words! So they never bother themselves to check the Word of God to see if what they are being taught is true.

The false prophets and rebels are fools, for it is a fool’s errand to attempt to destroy the truth of the Word of God! His Word stands forever (Psalm 119:89) and will never pass away (Matthew 24:35). 

Do you not know from even a brief review of history? He cannot be silenced by man.

Many such fools physically destroy Bibles, or rewrite the Word of God so it contains nothing but ear-pleasing words, or they banish, imprison or kill the Lord’s Spirit-filled bondservants who dare speak the unedited Word of God.

But His Word remains forever, O fools! The One who authored the Word can effortlessly speak it through another one of his Spirit-filled bondservants whom you have not yet banished, imprisoned or killed. 

Verses 1-3 —

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, ² “Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. ³ Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.”

At this point, Jeremiah had been prophesying for 22 years —  eighteen years during the reign of King Josiah, and four years under Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim. 

So it took about a year for Jeremiah to dictate all of those prophecies to Baruch, Jeremiah’s scribe, and then sit with Baruch to make sure the completed scroll was error-free. 

When the LORD said, “Perhaps” in Verse 3, He knew full well that they would not turn back to Him. So the “perhaps” in Verse 3 meant that through the reading of all the words He had given Jeremiah, He was giving them another chance to repent. 

If Judah heeded all those exhortations and warnings from Him, and they all turned from their evil ways, He would forgive them. If not, all that He had spoken would come to pass. All — every man — had to turn back in order for the LORD to forgive them.

Verses 4-6 —

Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him. ⁵ Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am restricted; I cannot go into the house of the LORD. ⁶ So you go and read from the scroll which you have written at my dictation the words of the LORD to the people in the LORD’S house on a fast day. And also you shall read them to all the people of Judah who come from their cities.” 

So Jeremiah called Baruch, and Baruch wrote all the prophecies the LORD gave Jeremiah, at Jeremiah’s dictation. Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch to go and speak them, because Jeremiah was imprisoned. 

Jeremiah specified that Baruch was to speak all the words of the scroll on a fast day which would be declared in the future. In the days of Jeremiah, a fast was declared only if there was an emergency. In such a case, all of Judah would come to Jerusalem to participate in the fast. What would the emergency be? 

Judah would hear a report that the Babylon army was crossing the border into Judah, having overrun the coastal Philistine city of Ashkelon which was located on the border between Philistia and Judah, and was only 39 miles from Jerusalem (see Feinberg in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary).

Verses 7-8 —

Jeremiah continued speaking to Baruch, saying —

“Perhaps their supplication will come before the LORD (that is, they might pray to Him, begging for His mercy), and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people.” ⁸ Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book (scroll) the words of the LORD in the LORD’S house.

What was the purpose of writing the scroll and reading it to the people on a fast day? That all of Judah would hear the word of the LORD and pray to Him, begging Him for mercy, and that they all would turn from their evil way. 

The word of the LORD which was written on the scroll would reveal to them that they were under God’s wrath. They had angered Him by abandoning Him, their Husband (Isaiah 54:5)  to follow false gods that are nothingness and emptiness.

So Baruch did all that Jeremiah commanded him to do. When the fast day was declared, he read from the scroll all the words of the LORD, in the temple.

Verses 9-10 —

Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the LORD. ¹⁰ Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD’S house, to all the people.

In the fifth year of the reign of King Jehoiakim, the emergency came to pass and the people — not the king — proclaimed the fast day, just as Jeremiah had told Baruch. As I have said, the Babylonian army was about to cross from the Philistine border city of Ashkelon into Judah, and overrun the cities of Judah as it marched toward Jerusalem. 

So Baruch read from the scroll, in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah. He would have been a Levite, a minister to the LORD, and likely was a scribe, like his father. 

The chamber was in the upper court, at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple of the LORD. So all the people who had gathered for the fast day heard the words of the scroll, just as Jeremiah had commanded Baruch.

Verses 11-12 —

Now when Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the LORD from the book, ¹² he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there — Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.

Gemariah’s son Micaiah then went down to tell the king’s officials what he had just heard. The king’s scribe and all the officials were there, and heard his report.

Verses 13-15 —

Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. ¹⁴ Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and went to them. ¹⁵ They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. 

Micaiah spoke all the words he had heard. Remember, Baruch had read 22 years worth of prophecies, so his ability to remember them was an act of God. 

Then all the king’s officials sent a messenger to Baruch, and ordered him to bring the scroll to them. When he arrived, they asked him to read it to them, and he did.

Verses 16-19 — 

When they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one to another and said to Baruch, “We will surely report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” ¹⁸ Then Baruch said to them, “He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” ¹⁹ Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”

The king’s officials turned to each other in fear, for they understood that they were under God’s wrath and that He was angry with them. They asked Baruch if Jeremiah had dictated all the words Baruch had written and then spoken. 

Baruch told them that Jeremiah had dictated (spoken) all the words of the scroll to him, and he had written them down on the scroll, as Jeremiah spoke them. Then the king’s officials warned Baruch to go back to Jeremiah, and that they both must hide and let no one know where they were. 

Why? They knew the king would want to kill Jeremiah and Baruch, for he would hate their words. 

Verses 20-21 —

So they went to the king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king. ²¹ Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king.

The officials did not want to give the scroll to the king, so they left it in the chamber of Elishama, the king’s scribe. But the king found out, and sent Jehudi the messenger to get it. So Jehudi brought the scroll to the king, and read it to him and all his officials who stood beside him.

Verses 22-23 —

Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. ²³ When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier (hearth). 

It was winter, so the king was in his winter palace, warming himself by the brazier, which was like a hearth. The text of the scroll was written in columns, as with all scrolls. Jehudi, the messenger, read a few columns, and then the king cut the scroll with a scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire, until the whole scroll was consumed!

The king arrogantly burned the entire scroll. Why? He hated the words that were in it. The LORD’s words did not agree with the ear-pleasing lies of his false prophets. They had lied, saying  —

— Thus says the LORD, He will give you victory against Babylon! The LORD said it, so it will be done.

— Judah belongs to the LORD, so He will not send you into exile, even though we refuse to repent for worshiping false gods. 

— He will not punish us for what we have done as part of worship of our false gods — even offering our live children to be burned in fires to them and setting up idols to them in the temple (see Jeremiah Chapters 7 and 33)!

Verses 24-26 —

Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments (a sign of repentance). ²⁵ Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.

King Jehoiakim and his officials who surrounded him were arrogant. They did not fear the words of the LORD, so they did not tear their garments as a sign of repentance. They refused to repent. 

Even though the LORD’s scribes and the king’s officials pleaded for the king not to destroy the scroll, he would not listen to them. He defied the LORD, burning every bit of the scroll. He foolishly thought that since he had destroyed the scroll, the words that were written on it would not come to pass.

Verses 27-28 —

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, ²⁸ “Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned.”

The LORD then directed Jeremiah to take another scroll and again have Baruch write everything that had been on the first scroll that was burned by the king. The LORD does not stop speaking because someone burns a scroll or book containing His words. He simply speaks them again to His servants, and they write them and speak them and proclaim them again!

Verse 29 —

“And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the LORD, “You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make man and beast to cease from it?’” 

AsKing Jehoiakim burned the scroll, he asked why Jeremiah had written the words about Babylon overrunning Judah and making it desolate and devoid of man or beast.

Surely, because the LORD said it, His words would come to pass. Death awaited those who refused to obey the LORD’s command to go into exile and live (Jeremiah 27:12, 17, etc.).

Verse 30 —

^“Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night.”

Jehoiakim was killed by the Babylonians during the siege of Jerusalem. His dead body was not buried in the tombs of the kings of Judah. Instead, it was cast out into the open, to rot. It was a shameful end for a shameful king. and what appeared to be the end of the line of King David. 

His son ruled for just three months, as a puppet king who served at the whim of Babylon in Judah. Then he was captured and taken into exile. His uncle, Zedekiah, became the last puppet king of Judah. Ever since the day he was taken into exile, there have been no more kings of Judah. 

But was the line of King David thereby ended? No. The eternally existent son of God has been a king over Judah and over all the earth. When He was sent by His Father and walked the earth, He was of the natural lineage of King David! And in the future, He will rule forever in the new heavens and new earth (Jeremiah 23:6, Revelation 20:21). 

He is king of Kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16). The LORD declares it in His Word, and His Word is not only true, but the very embodiment of truth (Psalm 119:160, John 17:17).

Verse 31 — 

“I will also punish him and his descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them — but they did not listen.”

The LORD does not punish the innocent. He punishes those who refuse to listen to and heed His words. He punishes those who attempt to destroy His Word, like King Jehoiakim.

The king’s descendants and servants would also be punished for joining him in  worshiping false gods and performing the terrible acts to supposedly placate them and gain favor with them. They would all go into exile or die trying to escape.

Why does the LORD hate false gods and punish those who worship them? They are nothingness and emptiness, and those who worship them become like them (Psalm 115:4-8). Therefore, He punished His people who left Him to follow them.

He punishes those who refuse to listen to His exhortations to repent and His warnings of the consequences if they do not. He does not warn and exhort them just once, but in His great mercy, He exhorts and warns them again and again.

The purpose of His punishment is that they would repent. He does not desire that any perish, but that all should come to repentance (2Peter 3:9). 

It is His mercy to offer today’s infants in Christ the opportunity to repent for their worship of the false god of self that false teachers, preachers and prophets teach in today’s so-called church.

Verse 32 —

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them. 

Just as the LORD commanded, Jeremiah dictated the LORD’s words to his scribe, Baruch. He dictated the words that were in the scroll that the king had burned. And the LORD also gave him many similar words. 

The king burned the first scroll to ashes, thinking he could erase the truth and continue to believe his own version of it, without fear of judgment. As I have said, only fools do such things.

Exhortation to those who destroy His Word

As I said at the beginning, many arrogantly attempt to destroy the Word of God today. Who does it, and how do they attempt to destroy it?

Those in positions of power in today’s unrepentant church attempt to destroy the Word of God. And their followers love their words! And as I have said, politicians twist it to make it fit their political agenda, and rebels weaponize it to cause revolutions.

But such fools neglect to mention that when He walked the earth, Jesus Christ never spoke a word against Rome, nor did He rebel against their cruel, harsh, unfair rule over  His people. Why?

The freedom He promises is true freedom from the sin which enslaves all mankind (John 8:31-36)!

If you continue in His word, you will know the truth by experiencing it, for you will obey Him and stay and wait to be filled with the Holy Spirit as He commands. And you will rejoice that His truth has set you completely free from slavery to sin, for when you are filled, He crucifies your sin nature which prompted you to sin, and purifies your heart (Galatians 5:24, Acs 15:4). And then He and the Father and the Spirit permanently and fully indwell you.

That is true freedom. But today’s foolish leaders, teachers and prophets will not teach it, even if they have read about it in the Word of God. Why? It disagrees with their narrative. 

So they foolishly choose to deceive themselves and you, O infant, with their lies. By lying to themselves and you, they reveal that their father is Satan, the father of lies, says Jesus (John 8:44).

Therefore, turn from those who foolishly try to destroy the Word of God! Turn to Jesus Christ’s Spirit-filled bondservants who speak the truth of the Word of God, and teach His words.

If you continue in His Word that His bondservants speak, He says you will personally experience freedom from slavery to sin, no matter what social status you occupy. He equally welcomes everyone who will believe and stay and obey — every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Revelation 5:18)!

Lord Jesus, continue to give me words to speak boldly and bluntly (Ephesians 6:20) to today’s church that is filled with liars and those who love their lies. The purpose is that they would repent. Make it so, I pray. Amen.

JUDGING HIS VINEYARD

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[SW482] 05/8/2021 message notes by

Pastor Susan J. Wynn

Judging His Vineyard

Text: Isaiah 5:1-7, etc.

Israel is surely the vineyard the Lord planted, but so is His church. He has sent me to exhort the sinning church to repent and warn them of the consequences of their sin, if they refuse to repent.

Just as He judged His vineyard, Israel, He is even now judging His vineyard, the sinning church. And He will yet judge you on the day of judgment, unless you repent and return to the real Jesus Christ!

You will say, “Oh, no, you are wrong. Our Jesus will not judge the sinning church!” But your Jesus is another Jesus (2Corinthians 11:4), not the real Jesus Christ! 

I say to you that this word is just as sure as any He has ever given me to speak, and it aligns perfectly with the exhortations and warnings of Paul, Peter and the rest. 

Why is He judging you? I will show you, from Isaiah 5 and from Matthew 21:40-44. The Lord says to you, “Listen and live!” 

Verse 1 —

Isaiah sings this song of mourning —

Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.

Oh, He is my well-beloved and I am His (Songs 2:16, 6:3)! So like Isaiah, I sing this song of mourning about the sinning church, the second vineyard that He carefully planted on a fertile hill. 

He planted it, not you! He planted it on a hill, so it would be raised up above all the false religions of this world, and raised up above the world system that defies God.  He planted it on a hill so His banner proclaiming His kingdom and His gospel would be raised up and seen from afar.

He planted the church in fertile soil that contained the nutrient needed for it to flourish. What nutrient? He commanded all believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5). Why?

So they would bear His fruit, so they would be the light of the world, so they would be His witnesses here, and so they would be ones through whom the world will believe that the Father sent the Son. But they denied and disobeyed and dismissed His commandments regarding the Spirit.

Verse 2 — 

He dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. 

And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; then He expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones.

The hands of the Father and the Son cultivated the fertile soil and planted it with the very best vine, Jesus Christ, so it would produce His fruit. But they rejected His commandments regarding the Spirit, so they produced nothing (John 15:5).

Jesus was the Vine, and they were the branches (again, John 15:5). But they disobeyed His commandments regarding the Spirit, so He was not in them and they were not in Him. 

Their sin nature was not crucified and their hearts were not purified (Galatians 5:24, Acts 15:9). Therefore, sin — the stumbling stone — remained in them, and they greedily snapped up Satan’s temptations.

The Lord had built a tower in the middle, so the watchmen in the church could watch over it and tend it. But the sinning watchmen in today’s sinning church do not watch over it, for they have been blinded by the poison of the poisonous gospel they teach.

The Lord expected a harvest, and even prepared a wine vat for it.  But the sinning infants in the sinning church did not produce His divine fruit (Galatians 5:22-23), but the poisoned fruit of the sin nature, as I have said.

But the Spirit-filled remnant who have obeyed His commandments regarding the Spirit are even now filling His wine vat with their harvest. They continually bear His divine fruit, and they continually bring in His harvest!

Verses 3-4 —

“And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between Me and My vineyard. ⁴ What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless (poisoned) ones?”

And now, O sinning church, judge between Him and you! What more could He have done to make you fruitful? He left nothing undone!

So why have you produced only worthless, poisoned fruit? It is because you have chosen to believe and take into yourself a poisonous, false gospel. It appeals to your sin nature with its lusts and desires. Therefore, you can produce nothing but the poisonous fruit of the false gospel. If you eat poison, you become poisoned.

The Judgment

Verses 5-6 —

“So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. ⁶ I will lay it waste (demolish); it will not be pruned or hoed, but briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it.”

Here is Jesus Christ’s judgment, O sinning church! Even now He is judging the poisoned church, worldwide. His commandments regarding the Spirit have been ignored by you, and you are full of sin. 

So He will remove His protection from you— both the hedge and the wall! You will be consumed by His fiery judgment. You will become trampled ground, for Satan, the king of the world system you have relied upon and trusted in for your prosperity, will trample you.The Lord will demolish you.

There will be no one to tend what is left of you, for you will be ruined. When He has judged and destroyed you, only prickly briars and thorns will grow in your ruins. You will be desolate. You will receive no living water from Him, because you have refused it. So you will shrivel up and die.

Why? You have loved the poisonous lies of false ones. You are not filled and are taught the lie that you do not need to be filled. So your sin nature is alive and well, instead of crucified (Galatians 5:24), and your heart is full of sin instead full of the Holy Spirit and therefore purified (Acts 15:9).

Verse 7 —

For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah His delightful plant. Thus He looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress.

Isaiah and I continue our song of mourning. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is Israel AND the church. He loved them and was delighted when He planted them.

But they no longer delight Him! They have chosen to make themselves poisonous by following a poisonous false gospel. So, they can only do injustice and unrighteousness. They bear the poisonous fruit of the sin nature —  

Galatians 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh (sin nature) are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities (hostilities), strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions (divisions), ²¹ envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God

They strike each other with wicked fists (Isaiah 58:4)! Cries of distress are heard by those whom they have targeted — that is, the Spirit-filled bondservants of Jesus Christ. They try to silence His servants, even banning them from their midst. But they fail, for His bondservants remain steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord (1Corinthians 15:58)!

Verse 13 — 

The LORD says —

“Therefore My people go into exile for their lack of knowledge; and their honorable men (men exalted by them) are famished, and their multitude is parched with thirst.”

He has already exiled the sinning church from His presence. They have refused His commandments regarding the Spirit, so they completely lack intimate knowledge of Him.

They have not hungered and thirsted for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). So they are not containers for the overflowing living water of the Spirit. They have refused to take the bread of His truth into them, so they are spiritually starving.

They are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked (Revelation 3:17), though their poisonous false leaders assure them that they are rich and wealthy and in need of nothing. 

Unless they repent, He will vomit them out of Himself (Revelation 3:16). They will no longer in Him.

Verses 18-19 — 

Isaiah warns of what the LORD has said in his ears (see Verse 9) — 

Woe to those who drag iniquity (inner twisted-ness) with the cords of falsehood, and sin as if with cart ropes; ¹⁹ who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it; and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw near and come to pass, that we may know it!”

The infants in today’s sinning church drag their inner twisted-ness with the cords of lies. And with cart ropes, they drag a cartful of sin behind them. 

But the poisonous false leaders tell them that God is blind to their sin, and that once they are saved, they are always saved, even though they keep on sinning. And the infants foolishly believe their poisonous lies.

When Spirit-filled bondservants of Jesus Christ come along and exhort and warn them regarding their spiritual condition, they mock and belittle them, thus mocking and belittling Jesus Christ. 

And they brazenly challenge Jesus Christ to judge them, if He intends to judge them. They do not see that He is already judging them and will yet judge them in the day of judgment for their rebellion against Him.

Verses 20-21 —

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! ²¹ Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight!

Woe to them! The poisonous false church and its poisoned infants band together to call evil good, and good evil. Woe to them! They call the darkness within themselves light, and call the light within Spirit-filled believers darkness. 

Woe to them! They are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. They use man’s wisdom and man’s ways to create the illusion that their poisonous gospel is the truth. But the poisonous false leaders are blind, and they and their poisoned, blind infants will fall into the pit of hell (Matthew 15:14).

Verse 24 —

Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, so their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. 

He is about to judge you, O poisoned church! Like stubble and dead grass are consumed by fire, you will be endlessly consumed by fire, in hell. 

Your inner rottenness will make you shrivel up and die, and the poisonous blossom you bear will blow away in the tempest of the Lord’s fierce anger against you!

Why does He judge you? It is because you have rejected His commandments regarding the Spirit and you have despised Him and His truth, preferring poisonous lies. You have rejected Him, so He rejects you. That is His righteous judgment.

Judgment of the false church

You will say, “This scripture is from the Old Testament. I have been taught that none of that applies to me.” Thus you reveal that you have believed that poisonous lie taught by your poisonous leaders. 

Here is the truth — God has not changed! He is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He has always been the Righteous Judge! 

His righteousness and justice are revealed in both the Old and the New Testament! That is why He directed me to use His words to Isaiah to show you His righteous judgment of you!

So here is what the Righteous Judge, Jesus Christ, says to you who have loved the poisonous lies of false teachers and have become poisoned —

Matthew 21:40-44 “Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” ⁴¹ They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons.” ⁴² Jesus  said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES’?⁴³ Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.”

You have rejected the real Jesus Christ, preferring another Jesus. Therefore, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you. Do you not know? No sinner will enter the kingdom of God (1Corinthians 6:9)!

You will say, “But Jesus was judging the Jews who rejected Him, the Chief Corner Stone of His kingdom.” Yes, He was! 

But He is also judging you, O sinning infant, for you have rejected Him! The evidence of your rejection of Him is that you bear the poisonous fruit of a false gospel (2Corinthians 11:4), instead of the fruit of the Holy Spirit! 

Unless you repent and obey His commandments regarding the Spirit, He will take away the kingdom of God from you and give it to those who have obeyed Him. He will give it to those who produce the fruit of the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God is in them! 

The Lord cries out, “Listen and live!” Heed and act upon His words. Let it be so, Lord Jesus. Amen!

JEREMIAH SESSION 40 — A LESSON ON OBEDIENCE

Text: Jeremiah 35:1-19

If I were to give today’s Bible study a title, it would be “A Lesson on Obedience.” The Rechabites are an example for Judah, and for today’s infants in Christ (1Corinthians 3:1).

 The Lord showed me this truth —

— The motive for obedience is love. If you love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:21).

— The fruit of obedience is honor for Him whom you obey, and honor for you, from Him.

— The motive for disobedience is selfishness. If you do not love Him, it is because you want what you want, not what He wants. So He is not honored by you. And you will not be honored by Him.

— The fruit of your disobedience is this — He will sentence you to perishing (Romans 6:23).

The Rechabites were the descendants of Jonadab, whose father was Rechab. Their forefathers served King David, over 200 years prior to the time Jeremiah was sent to them. Their forefathers had formed a separate sect of Judaism that dwelled in tents and moved around the land of Israel as nomads. The Rechabites loved their forefathers; therefore, they obeyed them. 

In this chapter, the LORD uses Jeremiah to act out a lesson on obedience for Judah,  and then speak His words to them. Why?

Judah disobeyed the LORD, abandoning Him to worship false gods, though He is their Husband and Father (Isaiah 54:5, 63:16). By disobeying Him, they revealed that they did not love Him. They dishonored Him, so they were not honored by Him. 

Therefore, He did not honor them. He abandoned them to the Babylonian army, and exiled them from His presence which was in the Temple.Yet they were disobedient to the end! Many perished because they refused to obey His command to surrender and go into Babylon exile.

It is the same today. Infants in Christ reveal they do not love God because they disobey Jesus Christ (John 14:24). He has commanded them to stay and wait to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5), so their sin nature is crucified and their hearts are purified (Galatians 5:24, Acts 15:9) and they obey Him always. But they have said they do not need “that.”

Because they have disobeyed Him, they have dishonored Him. So He will not honor them. He separates them from Himself (Isaiah 59:1-2), because of their sin. And unless they repent and obey Him, they will perish (Romans 6:23). If they choose to continue to rebel, they will forfeit their salvation, and will be judged by Christ and sentenced to hell, on the day of judgment (Matthew 25:30, Revelation 3:5, etc.).

Verses 1-2 —

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ² “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 

The Lord instructed Jeremiah to go to the house of the clan of the Rechabites, Jews who were the descendants of Jonadab, whose father was Rechab. Then Jeremiah was to bring them into the temple, and into the chamber of a man of God — one who was obedient to Him — inside the temple. And he was to give them wine to drink. So Jeremiah did as the LORD commanded. He went to the Rechabites. 

Verse 3-4 — 

Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites, ⁴ and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the doorkeeper.

Though it does not say so in this passage, he surely told them that he came to them at the LORD’s command.  Therefore, they agreed to go with Jeremiah, and he brought them into the temple, and then into that specific chamber. 

Verses 5-6 —

Then I set before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine!” ⁶ But they said, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father (forefather), commanded us, saying, ‘You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever.’”

Then he set before them pitchers full of wine and cups for the wine. And he said to them, “Drink wine!” 

But they said they would not drink wine, for their forefather had commanded them, saying they were not to drink wine — neither they nor their sons — forever. Because they loved their forefather, they had faithfully obeyed their forefather for hundreds of years. 

Verses 7-8 — 

“You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but in tents you shall dwell all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.” 

The Rechabites’ forefather also commanded them not to build a house, sow seed, or plant a vineyard. They were not to settle down in one place. They were to dwell in tents all their days. If they obeyed him, they would live many days in the land in which they traveled about, during the course of their lives.

And they obeyed him, as you will see in the next verse. They obeyed him because they loved him.

Judah did the opposite. They did not love the LORD, so they disobeyed Him and thus did not honor Him. Therefore, they would not be honored by Him. They would go into exile or be killed by the Babylonians.

Today’s infants have not obeyed Jesus Christ’s command to be filled, or they would no longer be infants! Their disobedience reveals that they do not love Him (John 14:24). 

So they do not honor Him. And He will not honor them. The fruit of their disobedience will be to perish forever! 

How tragic! If they obeyed, they would be filled with His eternal life, here and now. And they would have eternal life with Him forever, after their bodies die!

Verses 8-10—

“We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons or our daughters, ⁹ nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed. ¹⁰ “We have only dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.” 

As I said at the beginning of this week’s Bible study, they always obeyed the voice (the words) of their forefather. They obeyed him in all that he commanded them — they never drank wine, never built houses, never  planted crops or grapevines, and only dwelled in tents. They did all their forefather had commanded them to do, because they loved him.

But do you always obey? You would always obey if you stayed and waited, as He commands. But you refuse, saying you do not need “that.”  So you reveal that you do not love Him. You disobey Him, and dishonor Him. So He will not honor you. The fruit of your disobedience will be to perish forever, when He judges and sentences you in the day of judgment.

Shame on you! Repent for your lack of love for Him and your disobedience, and obey His command to be filled! Then you will obey Him always because you love Him with His love (Romans 5:5) with which He will fill you to overflowing!. So you will honor Him, and He will honor you here and now, by fully and permanently indwelling you, and He will honor you by receiving you to Himself when your body dies, or when He snatches you up (1Thessalonians 4:17).

Verse 11 — 

“But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come and let us go to Jerusalem before the army of the Chaldeans and before the army of the Arameans.’ So we have dwelt in Jerusalem.”

Now the Rechabites explained why they were not presently dwelling in tents and moving about across the land, as their forefather had commanded. The army of King Nebuchadnezzar — which included Babylonians and armies of many nations he had conquered — was approaching! So the Rechabites had come to Jerusalem and were dwelling there.

Verses 12-13 —

Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words?” declares the LORD. 

Then the LORD commanded Jeremiah to go and say to Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem that they should take note of the obedience of the Rechabites. And the LORD declared to rebellious Judah, “Will you not learn from the Rechabites, and from the words I am about to speak?” 

He asks the same of today’s infants! Yet most do not listen and learn and turn and obey Him. It is because they do not love Him. So they do not honor Him, and He will neither honor them by indwelling them, nor honor them with eternal life with Him. They will perish forever!

Verse 14 —

“The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are observed. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again; yet you have not listened to Me.” 

The LORD said the words of the forefather of the Rechabites were observed by the Rechabites. To this day — that is, more than 200 years after those words were first spoken by their forefather — they did not drink wine, and they obeyed all of their forefather’s commands. 

No one had to speak to them again and again. They always obeyed their forefather’s commands because they loved him. They honored him by obeying him. And the LORD will honor them, as you will see at the end of this chapter.

Yet even though the LORD had spoken to Judah and Jerusalem again and again through His prophets, they disobeyed the One who was God their Father! So they dishonored Him, and He would dishonor them. They would be exiled in Babylon, or be killed during the invasion.

Despite His words which He speaks today through His Spirit-filled bondservants, today’s infants do not listen. They choose to rebel and disobey Jesus Christ’s command to be filled. Thus they dishonor Him. And He dishonors them now, separating them from Him, and will yet dishonor them if they do not repent. They will perish forever!

Verse 15 —

“Also I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘Turn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.” 

The LORD sent all His servants the prophets again and again, exhorting them to repent and warning them of the consequences of their sin. But they continued to do evil, rather than good. They continued to abandon Him and worship other gods.

The Rechabites’ forefather had said that if the Rechabites obeyed his commands, they would live many days. Had Judah and Jerusalem obeyed God their Father, they would have dwelled in the land which the LORD had given their forefathers. But they neither humbly bent their ears toward the words He spoke through His prophets, nor did they heed Him.

Again and again, the Lord has spoken through His servants to today’s infants, exhorting them to repent and warning them of the consequences of their sin. But they do not humble themselves and repent. Thus they dishonor the Lord who saved and reconciled them. Therefore, He will dishonor them. They will receive the fruit of their disobedience — perishing.

Verse 16 — 

^“Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.”

Indeed! How remarkable! The Rechabites observed the command of their forefather, but Judah and Jerusalem had not listened. They had not heeded and obeyed the words of the LORD! 

The Rechabites obeyed their earthly forefather, but Judah refused to obey God their Father! It is because the Rechabites loved their forefather, but Judah did not love God their Father! 

And by their disobedience, today’s infants reveal that they do not love the Lord. They do not heed His words and do them. They refuse to obey, and thereby dishonor Him who would set them free from slavery to sin (John 8:31-36), if they would simply obey Him. So He will dishonor them. They have chosen to receive the fruit of their disobedience — perishing.

Verse 17 —

“Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

Judah and Jerusalem refused to listen to and obey Him, the LORD who is over all the armies of God, the LORD who is God over Israel and all the earth! So He will bring on Judah and Jerusalem everything He warned them He would do, because of their disobedience.

Because they did not listen, Babylon would overrun them and carry many into exile. And because He called them and they refused to answer, those who refuse to go into exile would be killed. He keeps His Word! Shudder, O disobedient infants, and then repent and obey Him!

Verses 18-19 — 

Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands and done according to all that he commanded you; ¹⁹ therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me always.”

The LORD spoke again to the Rechabites after His stinging rebuke of Judah and Jerusalem. Because they obeyed their forefather, doing all that he commanded, He makes this promise to them — they will live, and in the day their bodies fall away, they will stand before Him forever, in His presence. 

It is the same for those who obey Jesus Christ and stay and wait to be filled. But when they are filled, they do not only stand before Him. The Father, the Son and the Spirit stand within them, permanently and fully indwelling those who obey His command. And they will yet stand before Him when they are with Him immediately, after their bodies die (2Corinthians 5:8) or they are snatched up. 

Where do you stand, you who are watching this Bible study today? You cannot stand before Him, and He will not stand within you until you obey Him. Only then have you honored Him. Only then will He honor you by indwelling you. And only then will He also honor you when you go to Him, for you will stand before Him forever. 

But if you refuse to obey Him, He will not honor you. Jesus Christ will judge and sentence you to hell. Therefore, repent!

Lord Jesus, I have spoken these words to a rebellious generation of infants who disobey You continually. Use these words to reveal their wicked hearts to them, so they repent and obey Your command to be filled. Let it be so, I pray. Amen.

SURGERY 5/21/21

Just wanted to give you some advance notice that I am having arthroscopic surgery on 5/21/21 to repair a complete tear of a rotator cuff tendon and partial tear of a biceps tendon in my right shoulder. I injured it on 3/1/21 when I was lopping down a bush in our yard.

So, I will not be recording video messages on Youtube and Vimeo for 5/22, 5/29, and 6/5, and will not be posting notes for 6-8 weeks because I will be in an immobilizing sling. I believe I will be able to preach as of 6/12, but will not be able to type up notes because of the sling.

The notes for the prerecorded Jeremiah Bible study have already been done, though, and will be automatically posted all the way through July 14.

If you have been watching my videos, you might say, “But Pastor Sue, you have been gesturing and moving your arms like you always do!” That is the Lord — all glory to Him! The orthopedic surgeon is amazed that I am able to move my right shoulder in ways that I should not be able to move them, considering the extent of the injury. But Jesus Christ moves me! It isn’t painful until afterwards, and even then, He blunts the pain.

I covet your prayers as I recover. I trust Him in all things.

BLIND FROM BIRTH

[SW481] 05/1/2021 message notes by

Pastor Susan J. Wynn

Blind From Birth

Text: John 9:1-41, etc.

NOTE: The Lord miraculously healed me of progressive MS, on September 1, 2001 — twenty years ago this September. Glory to Him for His wonderful work! 

But today, I testify that He healed me from a far worse condition than MS — I was spiritually blind from birth! Yet Jesus Christ opened my eyes, November 1, 2001, twenty years ago this November! 

How did He do it? In the same way he healed the man blind from birth, in John 9, but spiritually. He applied His word — the anointed Word of God — to my eyes.  Then He said, “Go and wash in the pool called Sent.” 

He commanded me, so I went where He sent me! It was there that His truth healed my spiritually blind eyes and I was washed clean on the inside! I was blind, but now I see!

He has sent me out to speak the truth that all humans are blind from birth — spiritually blind. Just as He did with me, I will apply the Word of God to your eyes. Then you will hear Him say, “Go and wash!” When you obey Him, you will see, just as I see! And the works of God will be seen in you. I will show it to you, from John 9.

Verses 1-2 —

 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. ² And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” 

Jesus was passing by, and saw me. Like all humans, I was born with a sin nature, so I sinned. And I was spiritually blind, like Jesus’ disciples when He walked the earth. 

They relied on what they had been taught by the rabbis — that babies born blind or with some other problem are that way because their parents sinned, or the baby sinned in the womb.

Verses 3-4 — 

Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might(would) be displayed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.”

So Jesus corrected His disciples. It was not that the man had sinned. He was born blind so that the works of God would be seen in him. And the purpose of what Jesus was about to do in me was not what sin I had sinned, but so that the works of God would be seen in me. 

Do you not know? We must work the works of God the Father, who sent Jesus Christ, as long as it is day. 

Night is coming — there will be a day when the Spirit and those who are Spirit-filled will no longer be in the world. Who will be left? Those who worship the world system that defies God, and the sin-filled church that denies Him by teaching another Jesus (2Corinthians 11:4). 

They have never worked His works, because they are not His. And unless they turn to Him, repenting from the heart, and obey Him, He will judge them in the day of judgment..

Verses 5-7 —

“While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” ⁶ When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. 

I testify that the Light of the world is still at work! The Son of God worked His works in me! He applied the anointed truth of His Word to my eyes. That is always the first step toward seeing. But I could not see yet.

Then He sent me to the pool called Sent, to be washed there. Like the man in this passage, I had no idea what would happen. Jesus had not promised me anything. I just went when He sent me, and came back seeing! 

Oh, I tell you the truth, I went! And He washed me completely clean, on the inside! He crucified my sin nature and purified my heart (Galatians 5:24, Acts 15:9)! I came back spiritually seeing, for He and the Father and the Spirit came into me to fully and permanently indwell me, just as He promised to all who obey Him (John 14:23)!

I was filled with the Spirit because He commanded me to seek to be filled. I did not know until later that He commands all believers to be filled (Luke 24:49, Acts 1:4-5). I just obeyed Him! 

He will inwardly cleanse and fill any who obey Him. I am applying the anointed truth of His Word to your eyes today. Surely, you will then hear Him say, “Go and wash.” And if you obey His command to go and wash, He will wash you completely clean, on the inside, just like me!

Verses 8-9 —

Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”

I used to be a spiritual beggar — everyone thought of me as a nice person, but I was a sinner. But when my neighbors — and even my husband, Jeff — saw me after I went where the Lord sent me, they asked each other, “Is this Sue?” I looked the same on the outside, yet something was very different about me. 

Jeff testifies that when I came through the front door after being filled, he knew something had happened to me. He says my countenance and my whole being was different. He asked, “What has happened?” I replied with great joy, “I have been filled with the Spirit!” 

At that moment, the Lord showed Jeff that I was going to walk on with Jesus, and he could see me way out ahead of him. So he immediately panicked, and began to seek the Lord. He was filled with the Holy Spirit  on the ninth day of his seeking.  And ever since then, we walk arm-in-arm, gladly and always obeying Him!

Verses 10-12 —

So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is He?” He  said, “I do not know.”

The change in my countenance and my whole being was evident to everyone who knew me. Those at my church did not have to ask how my eyes were opened. My pastor knew what the Lord had done, and ordered me to preach from a passage he had selected. I obeyed, and the moment I opened my mouth, the Lord’s words came out! I could feel the Spirit’s power within me! 

So they asked among themselves, “How did that happen?” I knew they were asking among themselves. So I told them what had happened — Jesus applied the anointed truth of His Word to my eyes, and sent me to the pool called Sent, where I was washed clean on the inside!

If they had been filled with the Spirit, they would not have needed to ask. So I said, “He is right in front of you, holding out His hands to you!”

Verse 13-15 —

They  brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. ¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”

Well, this was too much for many of those who heard my testimony. That is not for today, after all. No one needs “it” (that is, the infilling of the Spirit), because you receive everything when you are baptized in water. 

So they began to judge me. They scrutinized and interrogated me. They did not rejoice over what Jesus had done so that the works of God would be seen in me.

Verses 16-17 —

Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them. ¹⁷ So they  said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”

Then they judged Jesus. Why was Sue healed and filled, and not the one we think is more deserving? The other one should have been filled by Jesus Christ. So they accused Him of making a mistake! They did not rejoice over that which Jesus had done so that the works of God would be seen in me.

They asked Jeff, “What will happen to her faith when she falls?” They refused to believe what they could see with their natural eyes.

When Jeff told me what they had said, I went to them and they said, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And I said, “He is the Son of God, the Christ, my King forever, He and the Father and the Spirit fully indwell me (John 14:23), and with God, all things are possible!”

So there was a division among them, because some said, “The change in Sue is obvious! Look at her face! The Lord shines from it! Listen to her words and see the spiritual insight she now has! It is all from the Lord!”

And they said, “Look! You have seen that she is healed, and that she is no longer paralyzed in both feet, and her legs no longer legs shake because they were paralyzing!”

They said, “She walks with ease, no longer needing forearm crutches or a walker to walk. And her violent and uncontrollable head tremor is gone, and her mind is no longer muddled by MS!” 

But others were offended by what Jesus had done in me, and wanted to investigate me. They did not rejoice at what Jesus had worked in me so that the works of God were seen! 

Verses 18-19 —

The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, ¹⁹ and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”

So, they did not believe me, that I had been spiritually blind but now I see. They did not rejoice over what Jesus had done so that the works of God would be seen in me. So they asked Jeff, “How does she see?” And he told them, for the Lord had done the same thing in him!

Verses 20-23 —

His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹ but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. ²³ For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

The parents of the man in this passage were afraid to say that he was born blind. Why? They knew they would be ostracized from the community — banned from the synagogue, and also blocked from all contact with their community. They would not be able to earn a living, and would have no place to live.

It is the same in today’s sin-filled church. When someone’s eyes have been opened, the infants in Christ (1Corinthians 3:1) are convicted by the truth that they are spiritually blind. That makes them angry, and they want to remove the seeing one from their midst. They do not rejoice over what Jesus has done so that the works of God are seen. 

Many refused to admit, “Yes, Sue was born blind, but now she sees.” But there were and are now those who freely speak of it, even though they risk being banned. Why do they take that risk? He has done the same in them!

Verses 24-25 —

So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.”  ²⁵ He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 

So at a church conference, the leaderscolded any who would tell someone they were not healed because they did not have enough faith. He was looking for a confession of sin, from me. Those who had not rejoiced over what Jesus had done had lied to him about me. 

So I told the leader that I never said that, but that I surely always encourage others that if they seek Him, He will do the same in them as He did in me! After all, He does what He does so the works of God are seen!

I say to everyone, “One thing I know — though I was blind, now I see! I cannot stop speaking of what I have seen and heard (Acts 4:20)!”

Verses 26-27 —

So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”

I was questioned many times. “How was it that you were spiritually blind, yet now you see? How were you filled?” 

And I am glad to tell them again and again, praying that some would become Jesus Christ’s disciples. He has made me His witness here (Acts 1:8), one through whom the world will believe, when they see Him in me and heed the truth that I speak (John 17:21).

Again, they did not rejoice over what Jesus had done in me so that the works of God would be seen in me. They just continued questioning what He had done.

Verses 28-31 —

They reviled him (abusively and angrily insulted him) and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” ³⁰ The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.”

Many were upset and angry at me when I encouraged them to do as I had done. They claimed that they knew God, but they only knew about Him. If they had known Him, they would have rejoiced over what Jesus had done in me so that the works of God were seen in me.

And I say, “He opened my eyes! Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, passed by. He saw my spiritual blindness, and did what only He can do, when I obeyed Him. So I was spiritually blind, but now I see!”

Verses 32-34 —

“Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” ³⁴ They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.”

Never before had anyone made a person who was born blind able to see. The Old Testament prophets healed the sick and raised the dead, but none of them performed that miracle. Just as with the Jews who investigated the healing of the man born blind, those who questioned me knew it was the work of the Lord. 

Yet they rejected Jeff and me anyway, and tried to ban us, even after we had become associate pastors. They did not yet know that the superintendent, who had rejoiced over what Jesus had done in me, and then in Jeff, was about to send us out to continue to preach, teach and live what the Lord had done in us, so that the works of God would be seen in us!

Verses 35-38 —

Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” ³⁸ And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. 

Jesus watched all that had happened, after He had made me spiritually see! Unlike the man in John 9, I had already said to Jesus Christ, “Lord, I believe!” And ever since He healed me and then filled me, I have continuously worshiped Him! 

The judgment

Verses 39-41 —

And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”

Jesus issues His judgment on the sinning infants in today’s church, just as He issued His judgment on the Jews that had abused one whom He had worked God’s works, so they could be seen.

Do you not know? He came into the world for judgment. He heals the blindness of those who know they cannot see. But He judges those who think they can see but are blind.

Many were offended by His judgment of them in the days when He walked the earth. They said, “We are not blind!” So do the infants in today’s sin-filled church. 

But I tell you the truth, Jesus Christ judges those who do not rejoice over what He has done so that the work of God is seen in me. He says to you, “If you would agree with Me and repent when I say that you are blind, I would completely cleanse you of the sin nature in your heart. But since you deny that you are spiritually blind and say you can see, your sin nature will remain inside of you.”

Do not be deceived. No one who sins will enter the kingdom of God. This truth is written by Paul in 1Corinthians 6:9, and spoken many times by Jesus, in the gospels. 

Therefore, repent, O infant! Ask Jesus Christ to forgive you for disobeying His commandments regarding the Spirit, and stay and wait until it is done! Then you will joyously say with me, “I was blind, but now I see!”

Lord Jesus, You have made me Your bondservant. As you have commanded me, I have given this testimony so that the hearts of many would be convicted of their sin and repent. Let it be so, I pray. Amen.