Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 22

January 22;   John 9:22;   77/260(VI);   ‘Eternity at Stake’

John 9:22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.

Jesus healed a man born blind.  Neighbors and others brought the healed man to the Pharisees so they could talk to him.  The Pharisees did not believe this man was born blind so they called for the man’s parents to come.  The parents confirmed that this was their son and that he was born blind.  The parents must have known that their son was healed by Jesus based on this verse.  If they told the Pharisees it was Jesus who healed their son, they would be put out of the synagogue.  Think of this, the Pharisees must have heard, as all of the people did, about all of the miracles the Lord Jesus was doing.  The pride of the Pharisees and their jealousy of Jesus jeopardized their eternal destiny.  They would not acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah.  For the parents, fear of man, the comfort and familiarity of religion, or whatever the reason, the parents would not acknowledge that Jesus healed their son.  We must earnestly seek truth concerning the things of God since eternity is at stake.  The Lord Jesus said we should not fear men who could only take our life physically.  He went on to say, fear the Lord who holds your eternal destiny in His hands.  There is great freedom in accepting the truth concerning Jesus and confidently declaring that He is your Lord.  There may be some persecution when you declare that Jesus is your Lord.  That is fine, think of what He did for you.  When you find the truth and know that it is the truth, let nothing hinder you from accepting that truth, whatever the cost.