THE MAN BORN BLIND, AND LAZARUS.
One Sabbath day, most likely the next Sabbath day after the Feast of
Tabernacles, Jesus saw a blind beggar out of doors. That poor man had
always been blind. He had never been able to see at all. Jesus spat
on the ground, and put the wet earth on the blind man's eyes, and said,
'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.' And the man went and washed, and
came back able to see. The people who met him began to ask him, 'How
were thine eyes opened?' And the man told them. Then they wanted to
know where Jesus was. But the man did not know that. Then the people
brought him to the Pharisees to see what they would say. And the
Pharisees said, 'How is it that you can see now?' And the man told
them.
Then the Pharisees turned him out of the synagogue. Jesus heard about
that, and He came to the lonely man, and said, 'Dost thou believe on
the Son of God?' And the man said, 'Who is He, Lord, that I might
believe 'on Him?' And Jesus said to him, 'THOU HAST BOTH SEEN HIM, AND
HE IT IS THAT TALKETH WITH THEE.' Then the man fell down at the feet
of Jesus, saying, 'Lord, I believe.'
And now Jesus turned to the Pharisees, and told them that _they_ were
very blind. They could see things with their eyes, but they could not
see that their hearts were full of sin. Then Jesus preached one of the
most beautiful of all His sermons. In it He said, 'I am the Door of
the sheep; by Me if any man enter in he shall be saved. I am the Good
Shepherd; the Good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep. I am the
Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine; and I lay down
My life for the sheep, And other sheep I have which are not of this
fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there
shall be one flock under one Shepherd.'
[Illustration: The shepherd's care (2nd version).]
The 'other sheep' Jesus spoke about meant the Gentiles, the people who
are not Jews. It meant you and me, and it meant all the heathen. He
has called us. He is calling the heathen. And many sheep, many quiet
little lambs, have heard the voice of Jesus, and are following Him.
Have you heard Him calling you? Have you followed Him? if not, oh,
make haste to go after Him now.
Soon after Jesus had gone away from Bethany, His friend Lazarus became
very ill. Martha and Mary longed for Jesus now, and they thought, 'If
Jesus were here, our brother would not die;' and they sent a messenger
to Him to say 'Lord, he whom Thou lovest is sick.' When Jesus heard
that, He stayed on quietly where He was for two days longer. Then He
came to Bethany, and by this time Lazarus had been in the grave for
four days. Presently somebody came to Martha, and said to her quietly,
'Jesus is coming.' When Martha heard that, she got up, and went out to
meet Him. And when she saw Jesus, she said, 'Lord, if Thou hadst been
here, my brother would not have died; but I know that even now whatever
Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee.' Jesus said to her, 'Thy
brother shall rise again.' When Jesus saw how unhappy Mary and Martha
were, He too felt very sad, and said, 'Where have ye laid him?' And
they said, 'Lord, come and see.' And then----Jesus wept. 'See how He
loved Lazarus,' said the Jews; and they wondered that Jesus had let His
friend die.
Now they had come to the grave. It was a hole in the side of a rock,
and there was a heavy stone over it. Jesus said, 'Take ye away the
stone;' and they rolled it away. Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and
thanked God that He had heard His prayer and given Him back the life of
Lazarus. And then He cried with a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth.'
And the man who had been dead came out of the cave alive. When the
Jews saw what was done, some of them believed, but others hurried off
to Jerusalem to make mischief as fast as they could.
After a time Jesus crossed the Jordan and again came into Perea, and
then He came slowly down through Perea to Jerusalem.
[Illustration: The shepherd's care (3rd version).]