Songs In The Night

⁹ Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” – John 9:9

Born Blind

Imagine being born blind. What would it be like to hear the voices of your parents but never see their faces? Hearing discussions of sunrises and rainbows but never experiencing them. The majesty of mountains, the splendor of trees in the fall, and the beauty of flowers in blossom would be lost on us. Obviously, certain things need to be seen to be fully appreciated.

Like the man in the ninth Chapter of the Gospel of John, your world would be one of constant darkness. You would be unfamiliar with light or colors. From a visual perspective midnight and midday would be one and the same. The same could be said of plaid, herringbone and stripe patterns. To you they would all be the same. Realities you could not relate to.

For those of us who take sight for granted, imagining such a life is next to impossible. In addition to the experiences we would miss, would be added an extra degree of dependency. Certainly, the blind man in today’s text depended on others not only for many of life’s menial tasks, but even for his survival.

Light and Mud

One day, in the course of his begging, our blind friend encountered Jesus. As Jesus and His disciples were walking by the blind man, the disciples saw in him an opportunity for a lesson on sin. But while they saw him as an object lesson, Jesus saw him as a mission field. Accordingly, Jesus gave them a lesson on service. Theology is important, but the work of the Father must never be neglected. So, Jesus got to work.

It was time for the beggar living in darkness to meet the Light of the World. It was time for the works of God to be displayed in the blind man. So Jesus spit on the ground, and then applied the mud He had made on the eyes of the blind man. Once his eyes were anointed, Jesus then instructed him to rinse his eyes in the pool of Siloam.

When the man came back, he could see. Now he could put faces with voices. Now he could witness the beauty of a sunset. So many things that had formerly been described to him he could now experience for himself. But his bliss was tempered. The beauty of nature was overshadowed by the ugliness of humanity.

Mistaken Identity

After having his sight miraculously given to him by Jesus, it appears the beggar was difficult to recognize. His neighbors and those who had seen him begging day after day were now the ones who were questioning their eyesight. Could this really be the same man? If so, how to explain this transformation?

In the midst of the debate as to his identity, stood the beggar pleading, ” I am the man.”

Wanting to get to the bottom of the matter, the crowd took the man to the Pharisees. Since the man was unqualified to identify himself, certainly the religious leaders could clear the muddy waters.

But they didn’t. They only made matters worse.

Sabbath Work

How sad it is when those we expect most to share in our joys are the first to betray us. As he stood before the Pharisees, men he would have been raised to greatly respect, the beggar once again was reduced to an object lesson. Rather than rejoicing in his miracle, the Pharisees wanted to discredit the miracle Worker. No one from God would “work” on the Sabbath.

Instead of embracing the miracle that stood before them, the Pharisee’s continued to entertain their theological debate. Unable to ascertain for themselves the identity of Jesus, they put the question to the beggar, “What do you say about him…?”.

Sadly, the beggar was not only failed by his religious leaders, he was also failed by his peers. Not wanting to accept his testimony, they accused him of fabricating his story. In their eyes, this man was not really born blind.

Abandoned

Wanting to get to the bottom of the matter, the Jews took the beggar to his parents. If anyone could confirm or refute this man’s story, certainly his parents could. So they were summoned. The sooner this was resolved, the better.

How excited the beggar must have been as he anticipated the arrival of his parents. For the first time in his life he was going to see their faces. Oh the joy they would share together. The anticipation must have been overwhelming. Certainly, in the midst of his whirlwind day, the company of his parents would be a refuge!

Unfortunately, things don’t always go the way we expect. When his parents arrive, their faces show fear and not joy. Instead of embracing their son they throw him to the wolves. Yes, they recognize him and yes he was born blind, but other than that we can’t help you. Apparently their fear of retribution was greater than their love for their son.

For his testimony, the beggar was cast out of the synagogue. He began his day as a blind man begging for his sustenance, he ended it a seeing man abandoned by his parents and peers and cast out of his synagogue.

I am the man

For the beggar, there was no going back. His encounter with Jesus had totally transformed him. So much so, that many of those who knew him best no longer recognized him as the man he was before his encounter with Jesus.

So it should be.

Like the beggar, every Christian once lived in darkness. Day after day was filled with the same monotony of slavery to sin. Each day we held out our tin cups hoping the world would drop enough in to keep us going. But we were never satisfied. With each tomorrow we would be back sitting against the wall holding out the cup once again.

Then one day, as we were sitting there in our darkness, the Light of the world came into our lives. He revealed our sin and His love won our hearts. We walked to the pool of repentance and came back seeing. The world as we once new it is no more.

Let the world debate the existence of Christ. Those remaining in darkness will continue to question our transformed life. Their doubts and denials can’t altar reality. Those of us that have experienced the healing touch of Christ have our own testimonies to share.

I am the man!

The works of God

Is it really possible to take the chief of sinners and turn him into a mighty Apostle who would pen much of the New Testament?

How can a woman be exorcised of seven demons and become the first “Christian” and first missionary?

Who can transform an insecure fisherman and make him a pillar of the Christian church?

Everywhere Jesus went, He did the work of God, turning sinners into walking testimonies.

The demon possessed man of Gerasenes was a frightening terror. According to Mark 5:1-20 no one could bind him, not even with chains. Possessed by a Legion of demons, no man was his match. But Jesus was no ordinary man. In the presence of Jesus, the demons fled and the man was restored to his right mind. Jesus transformed this former terror into a mighty witness in the region of the Decapolis.

The woman caught in adultery as recorded in John chapter eight was a mere pawn in the hands of Jesus’ “enemies”. Thirsty for blood, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees were going to use her to trap Jesus. She deserved death, and her blood would be used to stain the reputation of Jesus. But like the demons in Mark chapter five, the religious leaders were no match for Jesus. He exposed their hypocrisy and saved the woman from her death sentence, and more importantly from her life of sin. Her story forever lives as a testimony of God’s grace.

These are but just a sampling, but as John reminds us, there are so many things that Jesus did that they could not all be recorded (John 21:25).

And as a child of God your life testifies, He is not done.

Like the beggar who was born blind, might we always have the boldness to proclaim what the Light of the World has done for us. Regardless of the cost.

I am the man!