John 9:16

The Pharisees are quick to point out their perceived violation of the Sabbath. “This fellow cannot be Godsend!” they protest, “He does not even keep the Sabbath as it should be kept. Others within the group of religious leaders are not swayed by this argument. They ask, “How can a person perform such demonstrations of divine power if he is a sinner, as you claim he is?” There is a definite clash of opinions. John 9:16 EFP 

I have to ask myself, are these religious leaders truly convinced Jesus is not from God or are their interests in conflict with the message of this unlicensed itinerant teacher?  Can they not honestly see the miracle through the morass of laws related to correct Sabbath-keeping? Although they do not mention Jesus by name, I am almost certain they know whose handiwork this is.

The Pharisees overlook the miracle of a man born blind who now stands in their presence totally sighted due to the work of a man they do not even want to mention by name—that Galilean! They establish a contrast between the alleged miracle-worker and the obvious Sabbath-breaker. For them, one thing is certain—Jesus is a law-breaker, thus unworthy of being used by God to perform any miracle. The implication is thinly veiled—he is a minion of Satan, not a servant of God!

This opposition is not monolithic in the gathering. Other more level-headed Pharisees ask the obvious question, at least it seems to be obvious to them. How can a person do godly miraculous signs if God is not with them? And Jesus is doing good for the sake of doing good and not in order to benefit or gain any financial benefit from the exchange.

The danger of making my personal understanding of truth the bedrock of my faith is manifested in the first group. But faith and beliefs are not the same thing! Our beliefs are how we see truth. Faith is the anchor of our salvation. Jesus is both the Truth that pales all other truths we filter through our personal belief system, and He is also the Rock onto which our anchor of faith is secured. Given the time that has elapsed since the days when Jesus waged his war against man-made beliefs and rules, I have no excuse to fall into these traps. I cannot lose sight of Christ trying to protect my beliefs. Christ trumps everything!