John 9:16c: And there was a division among them.
With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote a large portion of the New Testament. One of the themes among his many epistles was the concept of unity within the church. He recognized there is little unity in the secular world, so a distinguishing feature of the church should be united brethren. This doesn’t mean everyone had to be exactly the same – he knew people had different giftings or God-given abilities. What they were to be united by, though, was the Lordship and obedience to the risen Jesus Christ.
In today’s verse, the Pharisees are trying to deal with a man who had been blind, but Jesus had recently healed him on the Sabbath. Generations of Jewish people had added to the original intent of the Sabbath – it was to be a day of rest from the typical workday. They made pretty much doing anything but sitting and laying around on the Sabbath unlawful. So what has some of their noses out of joint is they’re not upset that the man was healed of his blindness, but the fact that Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. That should give you an idea of the condition of the hearts of these alleged religious leaders.
Today’s verse says there was division among the Pharisees. Some were saying Jesus was a sinner because He didn’t keep the Sabbath. Others were saying how could He be a sinner by doing such a sign as healing a man from blindness? What was the real question that was causing the division? Was it the healing on the Sabbath or was it Who was doing the healing? Jesus, Who knows all things, knew the hearts of the Pharisees, and there is no doubt that He healed this man on the Sabbath for two reasons: 1) He wanted to heal the man – God is a God of healing and restoration; and, 2) He wanted to challenge the hard-heartedness of the Pharisees. They were more concerned about obedience to the Law than they were over the welfare of a human being.
With Jesus comes the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of God is not of this world. The world we live in is currently under the rule of Satan. These two worlds are in constant conflict because the Kingdom of God is rooted in goodness, while the world we live in is rooted in evil. Jesus, being God, demands of the hearts of all men and women to consider Who He is and what Kingdom we choose to live in. In Luke 12:51, Jesus Himself said, “Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division.” Is He contradicting the Apostle Paul’s exhortations for unity?
No – the division that Jesus is speaking of is with His appearance and validation of an alternative Kingdom to choose from, there will be those who choose Him and His Kingdom, and there will be those who deny Who He is and reject His Kingdom. To be sure, His desire that everyone should be saved, but He sadly knows there will be those who will remain deceived of the truth of Who He is. This is the division that Jesus is speaking of – whether or not each of us will choose to believe in Him or deny Him.
What truly brings unity among humanity – the plum line to which we all can ascribe to – is to receive the truth of Who Jesus is. The truth cannot be changed – truth is constant. This is how so many different types of people can get along within the church – a common trust in the love God has for them. Yes, we are all different, but we can all agree on one thing – God loves us, and He proved that by sacrificing His only begotten Son, so we could be forgiven of our sins and reconciled to Him. Out of that common confession comes love for Him and for others, and that is what brings unity to the church. Jesus said a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. Neither can a heart – is yours divided over Who Jesus is? If you want unity, you’re going to have to stand for Him. Will you?