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Speaker 1: Let us pray. And he answered and said, whether he

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Speaker 1: be a sinner or no, I know not one thing.

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Speaker 1: I know that whereas I was blind, now I see

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Speaker 1: John nine twenty five. Jesus, As you move in my life,

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Speaker 1: I understand that there are people who are bent on

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Speaker 1: trying to hold me to my past condition. However, because

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Speaker 1: it is you who has healed me and transformed me,

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Speaker 1: I will stand boldly and proclaim your truth, even if

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Speaker 1: it means I may be thrown out of certain circles

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Speaker 1: and relationships. I declare that you came so that the

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Speaker 1: blind can see and receive new life, so that those

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Speaker 1: who are focused on traditions will be silenced because you

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Speaker 1: value faith than a humble in contrite, heart before pride,

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Speaker 1: and thank you for opening my eyes, Jesus. Thank you

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Speaker 1: for taking the time to sit and talk with me

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Speaker 1: when I felt so thrown out and abandoned by those

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Speaker 1: close to me. Through your power, Jesus, I now walk

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Speaker 1: with a new vision and a new outlook on life.

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Speaker 1: I once was blind, but now I see. Then I

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Speaker 1: have you to thank for Lord in Jesus name. Amen,

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Speaker 1: Listening to these daily prayers strengthens your relationship with God.

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Speaker 1: Continue hearing from the Lord by listening to today's Bible

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Speaker 1: in a Year, brought to you by Bible in a

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Speaker 1: Year dot com.

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Speaker 2: At Birth. In our last story, Jesus defended a woman

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Speaker 2: caught in adultery from being stoned to death. She was

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Speaker 2: drug out into the public half naked for all to

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Speaker 2: shame her. Yet Jesus stood up to the religious leaders

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Speaker 2: and proclaimed that whoever was without sin could throw the

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Speaker 2: first stone. Since none of them had a rebuttal for Jesus,

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Speaker 2: they left and the woman was forgiven. Now we see

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Speaker 2: Jesus exposing the wicked hearts of the religious elite by

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Speaker 2: giving sight to a blind man. This young man would

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Speaker 2: be caught in the crossfires of the legalistic Pharisees and

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Speaker 2: the compassionate Christ. Inspired by the Gospels.

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Speaker 3: Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Bible in

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Speaker 3: a Year podcast. Once again, this is Jack Graham. In

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Speaker 3: our previous episode, we heard how Jesus frustrated the plans

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Speaker 3: of religious leaders who wanted to trap him with a

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Speaker 3: choice to either follow the law of the Left of

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Speaker 3: the Law or simply ignore what was written in the

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Speaker 3: Law of Moses. Instead of playing their game, he challenged

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Speaker 3: them to evaluate their own sinfulness, and he exposed their

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Speaker 3: sin and then extended grace and forgiveness to a woman

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Speaker 3: caught in the act of adultery. Today we'll hear how

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Speaker 3: Jesus lovingly corrects the misconceptions of the disciples who seek

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Speaker 3: to understand why a young man was born blind. And

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Speaker 3: we'll see once again how the legalists attempt to trap Jesus,

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Speaker 3: but in doing so, they exposed their own heartlessness and

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Speaker 3: lack of love and compassion for people in need. Let's

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Speaker 3: listen now to the reading of God's word.

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Speaker 2: The town of Capernium was bustling with life. Vendors set

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Speaker 2: up their shops in the marketplace streets. Men and women

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Speaker 2: went to and from their homes with their children. Jesus

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Speaker 2: looked at them with fatherly affection. Though not all of

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Speaker 2: them knew him, he knew all of them by name.

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Speaker 2: He knew their fears, dreams, and personality. It was his

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Speaker 2: absolute joy to serve them and ultimately die for them.

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Speaker 2: As Jesus and his disciples were passing through the streets,

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Speaker 2: they passed by a man who had been blind from birth.

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Speaker 2: He sat on a blanket on the side of the road,

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Speaker 2: holding out his hands for any form of kindness from strangers.

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Speaker 2: The disciples looked at the man with concern. Teacher, who

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Speaker 2: sinned to make this man born blind? Was it him

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Speaker 2: or his parents? Jesus stopped walking and turned to them.

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Speaker 2: He was upset at their question, for it revealed a

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Speaker 2: poor understanding of God's character. Neither he or his parents

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Speaker 2: have done anything wrong, Jesus answered. He turned to the

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Speaker 2: blind man and knelt down to him. This man is blind,

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Speaker 2: so that God's compassion might be displayed, he said. Jesus

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Speaker 2: picked up some dirt beside the man and spat in it.

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Speaker 2: He began to form clay out of the spit and dust.

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Speaker 2: As he was doing this, he spoke to the disciples.

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Speaker 2: Night is coming. In that time nobody will be able

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Speaker 2: to do the will of God. But for now it

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Speaker 2: is day, and we must use that time to help others.

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Speaker 2: As long as I am in the world, I will

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Speaker 2: be a light for all. Jesus finished molding the clay

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Speaker 2: in his hands. He took it and spreaded across the

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Speaker 2: man's eyes. Jesus helped the man to his feet and whispered,

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Speaker 2: go and wash your eyes at the pool of Siloam.

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Speaker 2: So the man went a few yards east and began

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Speaker 2: washing the mud out of his eyes. As he was

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Speaker 2: wiping his face, light emerged from the darkness. The all

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Speaker 2: consuming blackness was replaced with marvelous colors and shapes. The

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Speaker 2: man was healed from his blindness. The man passed right

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Speaker 2: by Jesus and walked away, since he did not know

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Speaker 2: the sight of him from before. As he was walking

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Speaker 2: the city streets taking in all the new images, people

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Speaker 2: began to notice him. Isn't that the blind beggar, they

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Speaker 2: asked themselves. No, it can't be, they replied. The man

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Speaker 2: heard them and said, you are right. I was the

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Speaker 2: blind beggar that sat by the road. The people were astonished.

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Speaker 2: How were your eyes opened? They asked. The man replied,

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Speaker 2: the man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes

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Speaker 2: with it. He asked me to wash it off by

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Speaker 2: the pool, and then my eyes were given sight. Where

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Speaker 2: is Jesus? They asked, How would I know? The man replied,

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Speaker 2: I did not see him before my sight was given

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Speaker 2: to me. Some of the skeptics brought the man to

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Speaker 2: the Pharisees, who had made themselves the enemies of Jesus.

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Speaker 2: The man stood before them, wondering why he was being

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Speaker 2: judged for being healed. However, it was the Sabbath, and

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Speaker 2: the religious leaders had made many laws preventing people from

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Speaker 2: doing any sort of work good or bad. That day.

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Speaker 2: The Pharisees lifted their noses high and asked, how did

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Speaker 2: you come by your new sight? The man sighed, as

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Speaker 2: I have said before, Jesus put mud in my eyes

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Speaker 2: and asked me to wash them off. When I did,

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Speaker 2: my sight was given to me. The Pharisees scoffed. They

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Speaker 2: argued amongst themselves whether Jesus had done anything good at

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Speaker 2: all since he healed the man on the Sabbath. They

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Speaker 2: turned to the man and asked, what do you think

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Speaker 2: about Jesus? Is he a sinner or a savior? I

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Speaker 2: believe he could be a prophet, the man said, without thinking.

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Speaker 2: This answer displeased the Pharisees. They did not want to

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Speaker 2: believe Jesus would do something so kind. They wanted to

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Speaker 2: villainize him, so they brought up the man's parents to

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Speaker 2: validate that he was indeed born blind. Was your son

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Speaker 2: in fact born blind? They asked the parents. Both the

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Speaker 2: mother and the father feared the Pharisees. They did not

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Speaker 2: want to answer, since they were known to throw disagreeing

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Speaker 2: people out of the synagogues. Our son is of age,

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Speaker 2: they said, you may ask him yourself. So the Pharisees

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Speaker 2: asked the young man again what he believed about Jesus.

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Speaker 2: The man paused for a moment and considered the question.

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Speaker 2: He closed his eyes to remove distraction. A single tear

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Speaker 2: fell from his face as he smiled. He looked up

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Speaker 2: to the Pharisees and said, all I know is that

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Speaker 2: I was born blind, but now I can see. The

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Speaker 2: Pharisees shook in their seats. What did he do to you?

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Speaker 2: They yelled, How did he open your eyes? The young

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Speaker 2: man was beginning to grow tired of their questions. He

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Speaker 2: answered and said to them, why do you keep asking me?

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Speaker 2: I have told you what he did. Do you ask

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Speaker 2: me because you want to be like him or become

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Speaker 2: his disciples. The Pharisees stood to their feet and scoffed.

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Speaker 2: Of course not, they exclaimed, we are disciples of Moses.

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Speaker 2: Only Jesus is a stranger. The man shook his head.

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Speaker 2: This is outrageous, he replied. You say he is a stranger,

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Speaker 2: yet he opened my eyes. You and I both know

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Speaker 2: that God does not do this sort of thing through

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Speaker 2: evil men. Never have you or I ever heard of

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Speaker 2: a mere man opening the eyes of someone born blind.

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Speaker 2: Yet here I stand before you. If Jesus was not

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Speaker 2: of God, I would not be here. You are a

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Speaker 2: mud born from hell. Well, the Pharisees yelled. They called

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Speaker 2: for the temple guards to seize him, and the man

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Speaker 2: was cast out from the courts. The young man was

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Speaker 2: tossed out of the synagogue into the stone streets. He

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Speaker 2: slowly raised to his feet and brushed the dust off

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Speaker 2: his clothes. He was happy to have sight, yet sad

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Speaker 2: at what he had seen. Even his own parents would

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Speaker 2: not defend him. He walked to the old curb where

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Speaker 2: he used to sit and beg. He watched the people

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Speaker 2: pass by him, wondering if all people looked different. Of course,

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Speaker 2: he did not know, since he had been born blind.

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Speaker 2: As he let his mind wander, a stranger sat beside him.

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Speaker 2: He looked at the young man with a warm smile.

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Speaker 2: In fact, it was probably the first smile he had

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Speaker 2: seen in his life. Do you believe in the Son

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Speaker 2: of God? The stranger asked, I wonder who he is.

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Speaker 2: I would like to believe in him. The young man answered.

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Speaker 2: The stranger nodded, you have seen him. It is he

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Speaker 2: who is speaking to you. The young man turned his

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Speaker 2: head quickly and observe the stranger's face. It was him, Jesus,

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Speaker 2: the man who had healed his blindness, the one and

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Speaker 2: only begotten son of God Lord, I believe. And the

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Speaker 2: young man fell at Jesus's feet and worshiped him. Jesus

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Speaker 2: propped him up and embraced him. I have come that

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Speaker 2: those who are blind might see, Jesus said, and those

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Speaker 2: that can see will become blind. Some of the Pharisees

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Speaker 2: passed by as Jesus spoke these words. They were riled

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Speaker 2: up by his statement and interrupted, saying, are we the

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Speaker 2: blind ones? They asked. Jesus did not answer for a moment.

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Speaker 2: He could see the concern lying behind their tough exterior.

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Speaker 2: If you were blind, you would not feel the inner

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Speaker 2: guilt you are feeling right now. But since you feel

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Speaker 2: the need to tell me of your sight, your blindness

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Speaker 2: obviously remains.

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Speaker 3: Today's scripture begins in the public market, just as our

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Speaker 3: last episode did. This time, Jesus was with his disciples

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Speaker 3: walking through the streets on the Sabbath. They come upon

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Speaker 3: a young man who has been blind since birth. Seeing him,

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Speaker 3: the disciples pose a question to Jesus. But their question

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Speaker 3: is different from the pharisees. They are seeking to understand

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Speaker 3: and to find wisdom, not to trap the teacher, but

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Speaker 3: to truly understand why this man was in his condition.

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Speaker 3: They asked whose sin to cause this man to be

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Speaker 3: born blind, because this was the prevailing idea of the time,

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Speaker 3: sickness and disability happened as a direct result of some

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Speaker 3: sin or wrongdoing, as punishment from God for bad behavior.

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Speaker 3: The question of these men was sincere, but it revealed

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Speaker 3: a deep understanding of the true loving nature of God.

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Speaker 3: So Jesus gently corrected them, saying his parents had done

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Speaker 3: nothing wrong. He didn't mean that they were without sin,

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Speaker 3: of course, only that the blindness this man's blindness was

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Speaker 3: not a result of punishment for anyone's sins. In fact,

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Speaker 3: difficult as it was for this man, his blindness had

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Speaker 3: a purpose to show God's power and his compassion. The

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Speaker 3: truth is, we often can't answer the why question, why

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Speaker 3: something is happening, why something bad happens to bad people

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Speaker 3: or good people. We can understand, maybe why bad things

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Speaker 3: happen to bad people but why does it happen to

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Speaker 3: so called innocent people? When we face a why question,

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Speaker 3: something that we cannot answer, we should really begin to

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Speaker 3: ask the what question, God, What are you doing in

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Speaker 3: this situation? What is your purpose? What is your plan?

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Speaker 3: Jesus then spat on some dirt and rubbed it in

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Speaker 3: the man's eyes and told him to go wash in

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Speaker 3: the pool of Saloam. For the first time ever, this

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Speaker 3: man could see the world around him, a world that

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Speaker 3: up to that point had been filled only with darkness.

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Speaker 3: Just think how incredible, how amazing this would be to

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Speaker 3: see for them the very first time, a whole new

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Speaker 3: world it opened to this man. And when those who

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Speaker 3: knew him saw this man, they were incredulous. How could

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Speaker 3: this man born blind, who begged in the streets so

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Speaker 3: long now see? But he insisted, yes, it was him,

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Speaker 3: A man called Jesus cured his blindness. He had never

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Speaker 3: had a chance to see Jesus, though, so he could

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Speaker 3: not point him out to anyone. This man's story was

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Speaker 3: so amazing that they took him before the Pharisees, who,

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Speaker 3: rather than praise God for the healing of a man

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Speaker 3: in need, immediately began to find fault the man had

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Speaker 3: been healed on the Sabbath, and in their limited vision

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Speaker 3: of God, they believed that this was somehow against God's law.

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Speaker 3: The Pharisees could not agree, however, if this man named

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Speaker 3: Jesus was good or a sinner. So they asked the

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Speaker 3: beggar what he thought, and he told them he believed

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Speaker 3: Jesus was a prophet. This didn't help matters. They still

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Speaker 3: weren't satisfied, so they asked the man's parents if he

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Speaker 3: was true born blind. The parents refused to get involved,

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Speaker 3: for what reason we don't know. But in this moment,

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Speaker 3: the blind man found himself standing alone, being questioned by

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Speaker 3: these religious authorities. What was meant to be a joyous

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Speaker 3: day for him has somehow now become a battle, a

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Speaker 3: burden because of the lack of insight and compassion of

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Speaker 3: the legalists. But he stayed with his story because he

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Speaker 3: knew it was true, saying that all he knew was

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Speaker 3: once he was blind, and now he could see. What

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Speaker 3: a powerful testimony, and it was Jesus who gave him

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Speaker 3: his sight. So the Pharisees angrily sent him away, refusing

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Speaker 3: to believe in Jesus or this man, who to them

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Speaker 3: was nothing but a worthless sinner. Jesus then shows up.

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Speaker 3: He spoke to the man who did not know him yet,

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Speaker 3: since he had never seen his healer. Jesus asked him

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Speaker 3: a simple question, do you believe in the Son of Man?

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Speaker 3: We hear the man's response of eagerness to believe, as

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Speaker 3: he asked, where is this man that I might believe

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Speaker 3: in him? And Jesus reveals himself to the man, whose

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Speaker 3: response found in John nine point thirty eight, reflects perfectly

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Speaker 3: what our response should be to Jesus, and he said, Lord,

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Speaker 3: I believe, and he worshiped him. When we believe in Jesus,

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Speaker 3: we bow before him and give our lives to him.

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Speaker 3: When Jesus opens our blind eyes, our response is to say, yes, Lord,

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Speaker 3: I believe and I worship you. As for the religious crowd,

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Speaker 3: Jesus spoke to them saying that they were not blind

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Speaker 3: to their own sin. They knew it very clearly. Their

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Speaker 3: blindness was spiritual, a blindness that, though they failed to

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Speaker 3: realize it, Jesus was and is the only one who

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Speaker 3: can heal. Dear God, thank you for today's scripture and

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Speaker 3: the power of Jesus to open our eyes that we

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Speaker 3: may see you. Thank you that you came to this

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Speaker 3: earth to heal ours our spiritual blindness, because you are

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Speaker 3: the light of the world. In Jesus' name. Amen, thank

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Speaker 3: you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.

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Speaker 3: I'm Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas. You can download the

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Speaker 3: Prey dot com app and make prayer and Bible study

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Speaker 3: the priority of your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast,

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Speaker 3: tell someone about it, pass it on. Let others know

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Speaker 3: because it is our desire to get God's word to

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Speaker 3: as many people as possible, as fast as possible. And

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Speaker 3: if you want to know more about what it means

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Speaker 3: to be a Christ's follower, what it means to be

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Speaker 3: a disciple of Jesus, then go to Jack Graham dot

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Speaker 3: org Jack Graham dot org and we have many resources

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Speaker 3: that are available for you there. God bless you.