Demonstration of Grace - Part III

In this our final look at the John 9 narrative, we see Jesus using a secondary medium to facilitate the blind man's healing. Instead of simply speaking a word, or just touching the man's eye so he could see, Jesus "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)" (vv. 6-7a, NKJV). Why did Jesus do it this way? In the silence of the Scriptures, we are left to speculate. It could be that having adapted to this life-long condition, the man had no expectation of healing. Blindness was his norm; he knew nothing else. In other instances of healing, Jesus was working with the faith of the person who needed healing; however, in this case, there was no faith.

Jesus' instructions put the man to the test. Would he believe the words of Jesus? Would he be cynical and not bother because his was not an instant miracle? After all, Jesus did something to his eyes and he still could not see. What he did not know was that if he did as Jesus said, that act of belief was the activating faith that would bring about his miracle. We do not know what he was thinking, how far he walked, or if someone guided him to the pool but according to the narrative, "he went and washed, and came back seeing" (v. 7b, NKJV)." Jesus needed for him to be an active participant in his healing. The miracle was not brought about by the spittle-laden clay on his eyes but rather by his faith in the words of Jesus to do exactly as He said. It is no wonder when the Pharisees questioned him, his testimony remained constant: "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight" (v.11). In other words, I did exactly what He said I should do and I was healed!

How about you? The only thing that stood between the blind man and his miracle was obedience born out of trust. He trusted what he was told by the One who could change his situation. A situation he had adapted to; one for which he was not believing for a miracle. If you have such a situation, know that you can trust the words of Jesus as recorded in the Scriptures. Mary, the mother of Jesus, knew the power of doing what Jesus said when she told the servants standing over the empty waterpots at the wedding in Cana, “Whatever He says to you, do it” (John 2:5). This man called Jesus - He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and whatever He did back then, He is still able to do today. You can trust and do whatever He tells you to do and the results will follow. Just ask the blind man.

Demonstration of Grace - Part II

When Jesus healed the blind man He encountered after being thrown out of the temple, He showed him much grace.  According to the narrative (John 9), the man did not even ask to be healed. Truth be known, he did not even know who Jesus was because had He known that the One who was able to make blind eyes see was in his path, he would have probably shouted his name to get His attention.  Even as Jesus spoke, the man did not recognize His voice.

 But on this day Jesus was simply in the mood to do a miracle; to demonstrate to an unbelieving people that He was indeed the Light of the world who had stepped into the world of darkness. After correcting the theology of the disciples on the cause of the man's blindness (vv. 2-5), "He [Jesus] 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" (vv. 6-7, NKJV).  It is quite possible that if the man could have seen what Jesus did before sending him off, he would have been offended.  Jesus spat on the ground, made clay, and anointed his eyes.  Sure Jesus could have simply said a word and he would have been healed, but Jesus did something for him that he could not see in order that he might see who Jesus was.  In other words, what the man could have been offended by, if he could have seen it, was not an act of uncleanness but a demonstrating of grace.  It was the blessing he could not see and because he could not see it, it never occurred to him to give God thanks.

The majority, if not all of us, are in the same position.  While we often thank God for the blessings we see, when was the last time you thanked Him for the blessings you cannot see?  The accidents He prevented that could have occurred as you went about your day?  The wheels He set in motion  so you could receive an answered prayer?  The job you kept that you should have lost?  The pain and hurt you suffered to spare you even greater pain and hurt?  Stop and think about it. Even as you are reading this and though you are not able to see it, no matter the circumstances in which you find yourself, the Lord is blessing you right now!  And you didn't even ask.  Perhaps you are not even thinking about Him, but He sees you nevertheless and is demonstrating grace.

 Are you ever really out of things to thank Him for? I didn't think so. Me neither. 

Demonstration of Grace - Part I

To the man this was just another day.  Blind from birth, he had never seen a sunrise, the beauty of a flower, the face of his mother, or anything else for that matter.  Over the years he had adapted to his disability, years that were undoubtedly fraught with difficulties. In the culture of the day, illnesses and disabilities were deemed to be the result of sin and of such the blind were of no use to their families or to society. Left to beg for support, theirs was a challenging and frustrating life.

 According to the narrative, the man was about his business when Jesus saw him (John 9:1). No words were exchanged between them, but the disciples used the opportunity to question Jesus on the tradition: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (v.2, NKJV), to which Jesus replied, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (vv. 3-5). In other words, he is who he is so that I might demonstrate who I am!  And with those words, "He [Jesus] 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" (vv. 6-7). 

 There are some interesting observations to be made but three stands out: 1) At no time did the man ask Jesus for anything; that Jesus saw him and met him at the point of his need is a demonstration of grace. 2) Jesus did not heal him directly but used clay and then gave him instructions. By the man acting on those instructions, the man activated his faith and became an active participant in his healing.  However, not to be overlooked is the fact that being blind, he could not see Jesus, but Jesus saw him.  The man did not even know who Jesus was (v. 11), but Jesus was able to tell his purpose (v. 3).  The One who was the Light, entered into the world of the one who was in darkness! And he didn't even have to ask Jesus to do it. Jesus did it just because He could.

 Is there a "disability" that you have had for so long that you have adapted to it? Jesus is passing your way and He is in the mood to do a miracle.  As He did for the blind man, He will meet you at the point of your need.

Doing Wrong When I Want to Do Right!

When king David got up from his bed to walk around on the roof of the palace on that cool spring morning, I do not believe he expected to see what he saw.  According to the narrative, "From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful" (2 Samuel 11:2, NIV).  What happened next would affect a number of lives in ways that not even David could have imagined: "And David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, 'She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.' Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her . . . Then she went back home" (vv. 3, 4).

 I thought of David as I reflected on how relatively easy it is to give in to what one feels.  Inherent even in the best of us is the tendency to go after what catches our attention, especially if it does so in ways we find pleasurable. As Eve would probably testify after her experience with the serpent in Eden (Genesis 3:6), if it satisfies a deep longing, it is even more attractive. In moments of stress and anxiety, such distractions can feel liberating.  We know we shouldn't, but we do it anyway.  Even the apostle Paul was not immune from crossing the divide.  In an amazing act of transparency and vulnerability, he writes to the brethren in Rome, "For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. . . . So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am!" (Romans 7:18b, 19, 21-24a). Can you see yourself in Paul?

 What a perfect picture of the believer's struggle! Some battles we win, others we lose. On the day in question, David lost his battle! When we look at his life, it was not his first loss and neither would it be it last. However, on every occasion, he got back up, dusted himself off, sought the grace of God, and kept going.  God would not have made grace available to us if we were not going to need it.  Instead of thinking we are failures and losers, in the Proverbs we are reminded: "For a just [righteous] man falls seven times, and rises up again" (Proverbs 24:6). Maybe some people are perfect enough to not have fallen, but I know I have had to lay claim to that grace at different times in the past, the present, and certainly will have to do so in the future.

 It is comforting to know that our God is a God of compassion and that He knows our humanity (Psalm 103:13-14).  That the times we fail we are not tossed aside, but as long as we are willing to get back up, dust ourselves off, and keep going, His arms are never too short to reach in and lift us out of the depths to which we have fallen. Having lifted us out, He then sets our feet upon a rock, steadying our steps and make those steps secure (Psalm 40:2).  To the Davids, Pauls, and Eves of the world He still says with arms open wide, "Come unto me."  Having heard his voice, it is up to you and I to get up from the dust, again, dust ourselves off, and take Him up on the offer, again.