GOING HEAD TO HEAD – Jerusalem

No one was able to answer Him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask Him another question. Cornelius noted as the Pharisees walked away that the one called Nicodemus kept looking back at Jesus, and he wondered if maybe Jesus reached him. Sure enough, he did.

That night, like all the nights that Jesus spent in Jerusalem since the festival, they were in the house of Simon the former leper. Cornelius remembered Simon as the leper that he witnessed healed when Jesus gave that Sermon on the Mount last year. Simon’s house was in the village of Bethany, a rich community two miles south of Jerusalem. He had a son, his name is Lazarus and two daughters, Martha and Mary. As they finished their evening meals, a servant of the house announced the arrival of a visitor who wanted to see Jesus. It was Nicodemus. Jesus then asked if they can use one of the upper rooms. Simon nodded his head in the assent. He and Nicodemus started for the stairs. He also called Peter, James and John to follow. It was a long while until they came back down. Cornelius wondered what went on up there, but Nicodemus had a perplexed look about, like he wasn’t so sure about himself.
It was the day after the Sabbath. They were in the home of a rich merchant who invited Jesus and his followers for a noon day meal. The rich merchant was a friend of Nicodemus who was also expected to join them. Nicodemus rushed in to where they were all lounging around the dining table. He went to Jesus and told him of an impromptu meeting of the Pharisees that was held yesterday regarding an incident of him healing a blind man on the Sabbath.

Cornelius recalled what happened yesterday. They were walking through the City of David towards the south entrance of the Temple Mount when the disciples came upon a blind man begging for alms at the bottom of the wide marble steps. Inquiring about him, they discovered that he was born blind.

Some of them asked, “Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?”

Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

As he said this, he bent down, spat on the dirt and made clay of the spittle; after which he applied it to the blind man’s eyes. Cornelius was intrigued for Jesus only had to speak and he would see but yet he was doing something different and unusual. Then Jesus told the blind man to go to the pool of Siloam and wash the mud away and he will see. That was the last time they saw him.

“The Sanhedrin was summoned to the hall of meeting, but we knew not why,” Nicodemus said. “As I entered and took my place, Gamaliel, the head of our section, was already questioning this man. He asked how he received his sight. The young man who was excitedly joyful spoke of how you applied clay to his eyes and told him to wash it away and then he can see.

“But a number of my colleagues started to protest, ‘This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.’ While others were saying, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ I tell you that there is division among us over you.

“Then Gamaliel called the assembly to order and asked the young man about what he says about you, since you opened his eyes. And he said, ‘You are a prophet.’ Now some in the gallery started to accuse him that he was never really blind and that this was a trick. So, they summoned his parents.

“So, when they entered the assembly room, they looked fearful; for the word had gone out that anyone who publicly support you as the Messiah will be put out of the synagogues.

Gamaliel questioned them, saying, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?’ His parents answered that he was their son and that he was born blind. But at how he is able to see, they could not say.

“The assembly was divided and could not agree on what action they were to take against you. So, Gamaliel told the young man, ‘Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.’

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The story continues on in my next post.

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