Jeremiah 23 and 24 speak against the prophets and priests of Israel and Judah because they have led the people astray, allowing them to commit sinful acts against their covenant with God. They will be punished by death. The kings also will be judged harshly for leading the people astray. They all are called the shepherds of the people. They were given the responsibility for taking care of God’s people and they fell down on the job.

God does speak now of the outcome for those who will be taken into bondage in Babylon. God will restore them to the Promised Land and they will again become his people. There are strong references to Jesus in this passage.

John 9 is a story about the nature of sin. The blind man was considered sinful because he was blind. When he could see then he was no longer to be considered sinful. Jesus healed him on the Sabbath, which according to the Pharisees, was a sin. Therefore they would not accept the blind man’s redemption because it was done by a “sinful man.” Jesus pointed out that, in fact, the Pharisees were the blind ones. They were unable to see who Jesus really was. They were unable to believe that God was doing a new thing. When the blind man spoke to the Pharisees he said, “I don’t know if he is a sinner or not, I only know that I was blind and now I see.”

Even though we may struggle with believing in who Jesus is we must acknowledge that once we were dead in our sins and now we are free. If we fail to acknowledge what Jesus has done for us we will remain as blind as the Pharisees.