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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 it. 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.

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Speaker 2: Com christ Compassion Community. These three characteristics connect all believers.

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Speaker 2: You're at Christian healthcare ministries. We prioritize our shared faith

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Speaker 2: based values by offering programs for every Christian. Why because

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Speaker 2: that every Christian is you. From flexibility and picking providers

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Speaker 2: to the ability to personalize your care with affordable options,

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Speaker 2: you'll see Biblical unity in action as our members make

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Speaker 2: a difference. Learn more by visiting chministries dot org slash.

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Speaker 3: Pray blind at Birth.

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Speaker 4: In our last story, Jesus defended a woman caught in

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Speaker 4: adultery from being stoned to death. She was drug out

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Speaker 4: into the public half naked for all to shame her.

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Speaker 4: Yet Jesus stood up to the religious leaders and proclaimed

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Speaker 4: that whoever was without sin could throw the first stone.

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Speaker 4: Since none of them had a rebuttal for Jesus, they

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Speaker 4: left and the woman was forgiven. Now we see Jesus

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Speaker 4: exposing the wicked hearts of the religious elite by giving

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Speaker 4: sight to a blind man. This young man would be

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Speaker 4: caught in the crossfires of the legalistic Pharisees and the

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Speaker 4: Compassionate Christ inspired by the Gospels.

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Speaker 5: Hello, and welcome to another edition of the Bible in

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Speaker 5: a Year podcast. Once again, this is Jack Graham. In

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Speaker 5: our previous episode, we heard how Jesus frustrated the plans

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Speaker 5: of religious leaders who wanted to trap him with a

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Speaker 5: choice to either follow the law of the Letter of

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Speaker 5: the Law or simply ignore what was written in the

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Speaker 5: Law of Moses. Instead of playing their game, he challenged

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Speaker 5: them to evaluate their own sinfulness, and he exposed their

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Speaker 5: sin and then extended grace and forgiveness to a woman

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Speaker 5: caught in the act of adultery. Today, we'll hear how

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Speaker 5: Jesus lovingly corrects the misconceptions of the disciples who seek

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Speaker 5: to understand why young man was born blind. And we'll

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Speaker 5: see once again how the legalists attempt to trap Jesus,

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Speaker 5: but in doing so, they exposed their own heartlessness and

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Speaker 5: lack of love and compassion for people. Indeed, let's listen

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Speaker 5: now to the reading of God's word.

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Speaker 4: The town of Capernium was bustling with life. Venders set

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Speaker 4: up their shops in the marketplace streets. Men and women

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Speaker 4: went to and from their homes with their children. Jesus

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Speaker 4: looked at them with fatherly affection. Though not all of

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Speaker 4: them knew him, he knew all of them by name.

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Speaker 4: He knew their fears, dreams, and personalities. It was his

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Speaker 4: absolute joy to serve them and ultimately die for them.

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Speaker 4: As Jesus and his disciples were passing through the streets,

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Speaker 4: they passed by a man who had been blind from birth.

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Speaker 4: He sat on a blanket on the side of the road,

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Speaker 4: holding out his hands for any form of kindness from strangers.

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Speaker 4: The disciples looked at the man with concern. Teacher, who's

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Speaker 4: sin and to make this man born blind? Was it

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Speaker 4: him or his parents? Jesus stopped walking and turned to them.

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Speaker 4: He was upset at their question, for it revealed a

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Speaker 4: poor understanding of God's character. Neither he or his parents

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Speaker 4: have done anything wrong, Jesus answered. He turned to the

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Speaker 4: blind man and knelt down to him. This man is

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Speaker 4: blind so that God's compassion might be displayed, he said.

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Speaker 4: Jesus picked up some dirt beside the man and spat

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Speaker 4: in it. He began to form clay out of the

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Speaker 4: spit and dust. As he was doing this, he spoke

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Speaker 4: to the disciples. Night is coming in that time, nobody

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Speaker 4: will be able to do the will of God. But

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Speaker 4: for now it is day, and we must use that

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Speaker 4: time to help others. As long as I am in

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Speaker 4: the world, I will be a light for all. Jesus

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Speaker 4: finished molding the clay in his hands. He took it

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Speaker 4: and spread it across the man's eyes. Jesus helped the

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Speaker 4: man to his feet and whispered, go and wash your

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Speaker 4: eyes at the pool of Siloam. So the man went

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Speaker 4: a few yards east and began washing the mud out

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Speaker 4: of his eyes. As he was wiping his face, light

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Speaker 4: emerged from the darkness. The all consuming blackness was replaced

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Speaker 4: with marvelous colors and shapes. The man was healed from

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Speaker 4: his blindness. The man passed right by Jesus and walked away,

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Speaker 4: since he did not know the sight of him from before.

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Speaker 4: As he was walking the city streets taking in all

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Speaker 4: the new images, people began to notice him. Isn't that

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Speaker 4: the blind beggar, they asked themselves. No, it can't be,

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Speaker 4: they replied. The man heard them and said, you are right.

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Speaker 4: I was the blind beggar that sat by the road.

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Speaker 4: The people were astonished.

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Speaker 3: How were your eyes opened? They asked?

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Speaker 4: The man replied, the man called Jesus made mud and

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Speaker 4: anointed my eyes with it. He asked me to wash

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Speaker 4: it off by the pool, and then my eyes were

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Speaker 4: given sight. Where is Jesus? They asked, how would I know?

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Speaker 4: The man replied, I did not see him before my

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Speaker 4: sight was given to me. Some of the skeep brought

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Speaker 4: the man to the Pharisees, who had made themselves the

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Speaker 4: enemies of Jesus. The man stood before them, wondering why

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Speaker 4: he was being judged for being healed. However, it was

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Speaker 4: the Sabbath, and the religious leaders had made many laws

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Speaker 4: preventing people from doing any sort of work good.

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Speaker 3: Or bad that day.

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Speaker 4: The Pharisees lifted their noses high and asked, how did

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Speaker 4: you come by your new sight? The man sighed, as

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Speaker 4: I have said before, Jesus put mud in my eyes

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Speaker 4: and asked me to wash them off.

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Speaker 3: When I did, my sight was given to me. The

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Speaker 3: Pharisees scoffed.

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Speaker 4: They argued amongst themselves whether Jesus had done anything good

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Speaker 4: at all, since he healed a man on the Sabbath.

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Speaker 4: They turned to the man and asked, what do you

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Speaker 4: think about Jesus?

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Speaker 3: Is he a sinner?

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Speaker 4: Or a savior.

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Speaker 3: I believe he could be a prophet.

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Speaker 4: The man said, without thinking. This answer displeased the Pharisees.

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Speaker 4: They did not want to believe Jesus would do something

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Speaker 4: so kind. They wanted to villainize him, so they brought

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Speaker 4: up the man's parents to validate that he was indeed

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Speaker 4: born blind. Was your son, in fact born blind? They

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Speaker 4: asked the parents. Both the mother and the father feared

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Speaker 4: the Pharisees. They did not want to answer, since they

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Speaker 4: were known to throw disagreeing people out of the synagogues.

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Speaker 4: Our son is of age, they said, you may ask

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Speaker 4: him yourself. So the Pharisees asked the young man again

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Speaker 4: what he believed about Jesus.

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Speaker 3: The man paused for a moment.

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Speaker 4: And considered the question. He closed his eyes to remove distraction.

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Speaker 4: A single tear fell from his face as he smiled.

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Speaker 4: He looked up to the Pharisees and said, all I

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Speaker 4: know is that I was born blind, but now I

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Speaker 4: can see. The Pharisees shook in their seats. What did

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Speaker 4: he do to you? They yelled, How did he open

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Speaker 4: your eyes? The young man was beginning to grow tired

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Speaker 4: of their questions. He answered and said to them. Why

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Speaker 4: do you keep asking me? I have told you what

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Speaker 4: he did. Do you ask me because you want to

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Speaker 4: be like him or become his disciples. The Pharisees stood

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Speaker 4: to their feet and scoffed. Of course not, they exclaimed,

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Speaker 4: We are disciples of Moses. Only Jesus is a stranger.

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Speaker 4: The man shook his head. This is outrageous, he replied.

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Speaker 4: You say he is a stranger, yet he opened my eyes.

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Speaker 4: You and I both know that God does not do

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Speaker 4: this sort of thing through evil men. Never have you

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Speaker 4: or I ever heard of a mere man opening the

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Speaker 4: eyes of someone born blind. Yet here I stand before you.

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Speaker 4: If Jesus was not of God, I would not be here.

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Speaker 4: You are a mut born from hell.

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Speaker 3: The Pharisees yelled.

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Speaker 4: They called for the temple guards to seize him, and

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Speaker 4: the man was cast out from the courts. The young

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Speaker 4: man was tossed out of the synagogue into the stone streets.

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Speaker 4: He slowly raised to his feet and brushed the dust

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Speaker 4: off his clothes. He was happy to have sight, yet

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Speaker 4: sad at what he had seen. Even his own parents

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Speaker 4: would not defend him. He walked to the the old

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Speaker 4: curb where he used to sit and beg he watched

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Speaker 4: the people pass by him, wondering if all people looked different.

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Speaker 4: Of course, he did not know, since he had been

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Speaker 4: born blind. As he let his mind wander, a stranger

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Speaker 4: sat beside him. He looked at the young man with

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Speaker 4: a warm smile. In fact, it was probably the first

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Speaker 4: smile he had seen in his life. Do you believe in.

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Speaker 3: The Son of God?

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Speaker 4: The stranger asked, I wonder who he is. I would

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Speaker 4: like to believe in him. The young man answered. The

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Speaker 4: stranger nodded, you have seen him. It is he who

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Speaker 4: is speaking to you. The young man turned his head

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Speaker 4: quickly and observed the stranger's face. It was him, Jesus,

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Speaker 4: the man who had healed his blindness, the one and

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Speaker 4: only begotten Son of God. Lord, I believe, and the

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Speaker 4: young man fell at Jesus's feet and worshiped him. Jesus

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Speaker 4: propped him up and embraced him. I have come that

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Speaker 4: those who are blind might see Jesus, and those that

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Speaker 4: can see will become blind. Some of the Pharisees passed

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Speaker 4: by as Jesus spoke these words. They were riled up

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Speaker 4: by his statement and interrupted, saying, are we the blind ones?

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Speaker 4: They asked Jesus did not answer for a moment. He

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Speaker 4: could see the concern lying behind their tough exterior. If

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Speaker 4: you were blind, you would not feel the inner guilt

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Speaker 4: you are feeling right now. But since you feel the

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Speaker 4: need to tell me of your sight, your blindness obviously remains.

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Speaker 5: Today's scripture begins in the public market, just as our

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Speaker 5: last episode did. This time, Jesus was with his disciples

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Speaker 5: walking through the streets on the Sabbath. They come upon

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Speaker 5: a young man who has been blind since birth. Seeing him,

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Speaker 5: the disciples pose a question to Jesus, but their question

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Speaker 5: is different from the pharisees. They are seeking to understand

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Speaker 5: and to find wisdom, not to trap the teacher, but

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Speaker 5: to try truly understand why this man was in his condition.

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Speaker 5: They asked who's sin to cause this man to be

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Speaker 5: born blind, because this was the prevailing idea of the time,

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Speaker 5: sickness and disability happened as a direct result of some

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Speaker 5: sin or wrongdoing, as punishment from God for bad behavior.

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Speaker 5: The question of these men was sincere, but it revealed

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Speaker 5: a deep understanding of the true loving nature of God.

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Speaker 5: So Jesus gently corrected them, saying his parents had done

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Speaker 5: nothing wrong. He didn't mean that they were without sin,

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Speaker 5: of course, only that the blindness this man's blindness was

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Speaker 5: not a result of punishment for anyone's sins. In fact,

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Speaker 5: difficult as it was for this man, his blindness had

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Speaker 5: a purpose to show God's power and his compassion. The

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Speaker 5: truth is, we often can't answer the why question, why

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Speaker 5: something is happening, why something bad happens to bad people

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Speaker 5: or good people. We can understand maybe why bad things

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Speaker 5: happened to bad people, but why does it happen to

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Speaker 5: so called innocent people. When we face a white question,

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Speaker 5: something that we cannot answer, we should really begin to

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Speaker 5: ask the what question, God, What are you doing in

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Speaker 5: this situation? What is your purpose? What is your plan?

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Speaker 5: Jesus then spat on some dirt and rubbed it in

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Speaker 5: the man's eyes and told him to go wash in

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Speaker 5: the pool of saloon. For the first time ever, this

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Speaker 5: man could see the world around him, a world that

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Speaker 5: up to that point had been filled only with darkness.

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Speaker 5: Just think how incredible, how amazing this would be to

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Speaker 5: see for the very first time a whole new world.

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Speaker 5: It opened to this man, And when those who knew

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Speaker 5: him saw this man, they were incredulous. How could this

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Speaker 5: man born blind who begged in the streets so long

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Speaker 5: now see? But he insisted, yes, it was him. A

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Speaker 5: man called Jesus cured his blindness. He had never had

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Speaker 5: a chance to see Jesus, though, so he could not

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Speaker 5: point him out to anyone. This man's story was so

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Speaker 5: amazing that they took him before the Pharisees, who, rather

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Speaker 5: than praise God for the healing of a man in need,

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Speaker 5: immediately began to find fault. The man had been healed

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Speaker 5: on the Sabbath, and in their limited vision of God,

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Speaker 5: they believed that this was somehow against God's law. The

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Speaker 5: Pharisees could not agree, however, if this man named Jesus

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Speaker 5: was good or a sinner. So they asked the beggar

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Speaker 5: what he thought, and he told them he believed Jesus

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Speaker 5: was a prophet. This didn't help matters. They still weren't satisfied,

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Speaker 5: so they asked the man's parents if he was truly

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Speaker 5: born blind. The parents refused to get involved, for what

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Speaker 5: reason we don't know. But in this moment, the blind

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Speaker 5: man found himself standing alone, being questioned by these religious authorities.

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Speaker 5: What was meant to be a joyous day for him

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Speaker 5: had somehow now become a battle a burden because of

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Speaker 5: the lack of insight and compassion of the legalists. But

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Speaker 5: he stayed with his story because he knew it was true,

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Speaker 5: saying that all he knew was once he was blind,

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Speaker 5: and now he could see. What a powerful testimony, And

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Speaker 5: it was Jesus who gave him his sight. So the

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Speaker 5: Pharisees angrily sent him away, refusing to believe in Jesus

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Speaker 5: or this man, who to them was nothing but a

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Speaker 5: worthless sinner. Jesus then shows up. He spoke to the man,

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Speaker 5: who did not know him yet, since he had never

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Speaker 5: seen his healer. Jesus asked him a simple question, do

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Speaker 5: you believe in the Son of Man? We hear the

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Speaker 5: man's response of eagerness to believe, as he asked, where

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Speaker 5: is this man that I might believe in him? And

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Speaker 5: Jesus reveals himself to the man, whose response found in

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Speaker 5: John nine thirty eight, reflects perfectly what our response should

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Speaker 5: be to Jesus, and he said, Lord, I believe, and

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Speaker 5: he worshiped him. When we believe in Jesus, we bow

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Speaker 5: before him and give our life lives to him. When

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Speaker 5: Jesus opens our blind eyes our response is to say, yes, Lord,

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Speaker 5: I believe and I worship you. As for the religious crowd,

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Speaker 5: Jesus spoke to them saying that they were not blind

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Speaker 5: to their own sin. They knew it very clearly. Their

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Speaker 5: blindness was spiritual, a blindness that, though they failed to

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Speaker 5: realize it, Jesus was and is the only one who

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Speaker 5: can heal. Dear God, thank you for today's scripture and

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Speaker 5: the power of Jesus to open our eyes that we

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Speaker 5: may see you. Thank you that you came to this

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Speaker 5: earth to heal our spiritual blindness because you are the

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Speaker 5: light of the world. In Jesus's name. Amen, thank you

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Speaker 5: for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast. I'm

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Speaker 5: Jack Graham of Dallas, Texas. You could download the prey

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Speaker 5: dot com app and make prayer and Bible study the

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Speaker 5: priority of your life. And if you enjoyed this podcast,

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Speaker 5: tell someone about it, pass it on, let others know,

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Speaker 5: because it is our desire to get God's word to

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Speaker 5: as many people as possible, as fast as possible. And

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Speaker 5: if you want to know more about what it means

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Speaker 5: to be a Christ follower, what it means to be

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Speaker 5: a disciple of Jesus, then go to Jack Graham dot

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Speaker 5: org Jack Graham dot org, and we have many resources

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Speaker 5: that are available for you there. God bless you.