JESUS THE DISCERNING LIGHT
by Pastor Paulus Budiono
Lemah Putro, Sunday, June21, 2020
Shalom,
We should keep glorifying the sacrifice of Christ that has already saved us, made us alive and even enabled us to endure the difficulties of life in these days of uncertainty. We should also be thankful that we can still study the living Word of God through the Bible that we have.
Jesus – the Word – has the power to perform miracles. What miracles is He trying to reveal today? Do the miracle in John 9: 1-41 still apply to us today? What did Jesus do at that time; how did the blind respond and what does it mean to us now? “Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. “…As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.”
It turns out that the disciples (including us) automatically judged and related it to karma or the results of sinful acts when they saw someone stricken by disasters, illness, successive misfortunes etc. without realizing that they were also sinners themselves.
But Jesus firmly answered that it was not his sin nor his parents’ but that God's works could be revealed in him. It was clear that Jesus not only healed the blind man, but had a further plan namely to use that person to reveal the works of God.
What about us who have healthy (physical) eyes? Jesus reminded, “And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see (blind) may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”(v.39). How was the reaction of the Pharisees who heard this saying of Jesus? They asked, “Are we blind also?” (v. 40). It was proven that Jesus could perform miracle not only to heal physical eyes, but to impact more expansively to heal the spiritual eyes: our conscience. It is far more important than being physically blind; that is why He came to help those who were “blind”.
Speaking of "blind", Jesus came to "judge" two kinds of people:
- Blind people were made to see so as to be able to see God's works.
- Seeing people were made blind (spiritually) so that they wouldn’t be able to see the great works of God.
Why did Jesus end this incident with harsh words? Because He knew that the former blind person whose eyes could see was later rejected and cast out of the synagogue because the Pharisees were angry for Jesus made a miracle on Sabbath day (vv. 35-35).
Jesus made miracles of healing, casting evil spirits and even resurrecting the dead with a purpose that the people He visited would become His witnesses to declare the works of God. Ironically, the man who had experienced the miracle went to the temple of God wanting to glorify and testify about the work of God, but ended up being cast out.
From the experience of the former blind man whose eyes could see, we can conclude that:
- The (physically) blind man was made to see to testify the works of God but he was cast out from the synagogue,
- The Pharisees were able to see (physically) but blind spiritually; as the result, they were not used by Jesus to declare the great and eternal works of God.
It turned out that Jesus’ miracles were not always positively responded. What was the proof? “Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?” Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.” (v. 8- 9)
Seeing how Jesus healed the man whom they knew was blind from birth did not make the people directly glorify Him; instead, they doubted Jesus’ miracle. Thus, the testimony from the healed man was necessarily needed to convince them.
It is a challenge for us because the Bible states that the Gentiles are the blind whose eyes need to be opened to return from the darkness to light and from the power of the devil to God (Acts 26:15-18). Paul, a Pharisee, was once blind (physically) after seeing the bright light from the sky (Acts 9:3, 8-9). Having encountered with Jesus, Paul repented (his spiritual eyes opened) and used by the Lord to preach His name to the Gentiles, including to us (Acts 9:15).
Truly, it’s by grace that we are able to see and read the Word of God and through the Apostle Paul’s writing that our spiritual eyes were opened.
Application: Let our (spiritual) eyes not blind to see God's work, because there is still much of His work which must be revealed and we must be ready to be insulted, ridiculed and even rejected.
Jesus said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Likewise, as long as we live in this world, we must work to open the spiritually blind eyes of our close people (family, neighbors, classmates, co-workers), so that they can see God's work manifested in us, through our life transformations.
Do not worship God as a habit or a routine of merely doing religious works! The Church of God, whose spiritual eyes have been opened by the power of His Word, must have the courage to testify about the miraculous experience of life restoration, just as done by the former blind man who met Jesus directly and felt the touch of His hand on his blind eyes.
When he was asked how he could see, the former blind man mentioned that someone whose name was Jesus, had opened his eyes. Although he had been blind, he had sharp memory and hearing to record the words of Jesus, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam”
He did not know Jesus yet at the time but only knew His Name. Who is this Jesus? The word Jesus in Hebrew language means God the Savior. His faith came from listening to the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
Hearing that person mentioned the Name of Jesus, who had healed his eyes, the Pharisees were even more displeased because Jesus performed miracles again on the Sabbath.
When they asked him further, he explained that Jesus was a prophet (who knew anything in the past, present and future) and was convinced that Jesus was a true prophet – not a false one who liked deceiving people.
The Pharisees still did not believe and began questioning other witnesses: the parents of that man, but they, unfortunately, did not dare to acknowledge the miraculous experience of their child because they were afraid of being ostracized (vv. 18-22).
The Pharisees interrogated the newly-opened-eyed man even more detail. Fearlessly he confessed that Jesus was certainly a godly person who did the will of God and came from (sent by) God; if not, He could not have done it (vv.31-33).
His recognition of Jesus became clearer and deeper. The Pharisees, who were so fanatical about Moses, got even angrier and then drove him out of the temple of God (v. 34).
Introspection: Do we really know Jesus whom we call out in our prayers? How far do we know Him? As we grow in the knowledge of God, we are made well prepared to face pressure and rejection from people who hate Him.
The more we read the Bible, the more it’s revealed to us as how to get His help; moreover, we will grow spiritually mature in acknowledging Jesus as the Son of God, the Redeemer of sins and the Messenger of God.
Whatever happens we should not reject Jesus as the Helper sent by God although we are facing the risk that our names are erased from the list of the church’s members.
How was the condition of the person whose eyes were healed after being driven out by the Pharisees? Jesus asked him whether he believed in the Son of God. Doubtlessly he believed and immediately knelt down worshipping Jesus when He revealed that He Himself was the Son of God (vv. 37-38).
This person begged no more; instead, he testified everywhere about what he experienced. Wasn't the Apostle Paul also being chased and hunted to be killed by the Jews because he preached Jesus was the Son of God and Messiah (Acts 9: 20-23)?
And we can see the evidence that a believer may be ostracized from church but it does not dampen his faith as long as he is willing to deny himself, take up the cross and acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah. His worshipping the Lord is not restricted only in Jerusalem or Samaria because he can do it anywhere as long as he worships Him in spirit and truth (John 4: 23-24).
Do we believe that Jesus' miracle still exists today? What miracle do we need? Is it a miracle of healing, financial recovery, etc.? We actually need the miracle of life renewal that can display the wonderful works of God so that many people will believe in Him and have eternal salvation in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Video: Ibadah Minggu Raya - 21 Juni 2020 - Pdt. Paulus Budiono.