Lessons from the Gospel of John

I have been attending Bible Study Fellowship weekly since September, where we doing an in-depth study of the book of John. I have been so blessed by this Bible study, by what I am learning and by the friendships I have made with other moms...

I have so wanted to share here what I am learning, but time has not permitted me to do so. With homeschooling and just being a mom and a wife, time for blogging has been limited. However, today I have several hours to myself and thought I would take the time to share!

I want to share what we learned from John chapter 9...


In John chapter 9 Jesus heals a blind man. This blind man received physical as well as spiritual sight. Once the blind man is healed, he begins to face difficulties and persecution. However, through these difficulties and persecution he begins to see even more clearly who Jesus is.

As this blind man received greater spiritual sight he became bolder in his witness. You see, he had come to know this Jesus personally, He had touched him, He had healed him... so he boldly stood up for Him.

As a result of this man's bold witness he is thrown out of the synagogue. Yet, Jesus found him and brought him to Himself! Isn't that just precious... Jesus knew what had happened due to his bold witness, He knew what a big deal it was to be thrown out of the synagogue, so He went searching and found the man whom He had given sight to, physical as well as spiritual. And in finding this man and bringing him to Himself, Jesus revealed even more of who He was to him.

(The following portion is from our notes and so spoke to my heart... I wanted to share it...)

The Jews had thrown the man out of God's temple, Jesus, the true Lord of the temple, found him and brought him to Himself. Jesus never leaves any person alone who witnesses for Him. If the witness leads to rejection by one's fellow men, it always brings Jesus nearer than ever before. Jesus says, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in Heaven" (Matthew 10:32). Jesus stood with the blind man and shared in the rejection that was really a rejection of Him.

To have the true approval and personal companionship of Christ is worth any loss. In fact, only after we have given up something for Christ's sake do we discover that what we have lost in order to belong to Christ seems only like waste or refuse in comparison with the intense joy and satisfaction - the excellency or supreme value - of knowing Jesus personally in a real way (see Philippians 3:8). The blind man lost earthly prestige, but he gained for all eternity. He is an example of bold, courageous testimony in face of difficulties, and of the experience of being found by the Lord and brought near to Him. This applies to us. Jesus says He will acknowledge before the angels of God those who truly acknowledge Him now (Luke 12:8).
(from notes on John, Chapter 9, Lesson 15, BSF, pages 6 and 7).

May these truths from John encourage you to stand bold in your witness for Christ. And if you have experienced rejection and difficulties due to your stand for Christ, may these truths encourage and strengthen you as they have me...