No Longer in Darkness
John 9:1-34
Jesus is the light of the world, and His power is displayed in this chapter as He literally brings light to one man’s darkness. Can you imagine being blind for your whole life? You hear people explain the beauty of the sunrises or talk about the colors of a rainbow, but you have no idea what any of it looks like. Jesus saw this man in his darkness and brought light to his life.
Jesus and His disciples saw the blind beggar and the disciples asked whose sin had caused his blindness, but Jesus explained that it was on account of no one’s sin. The man was blind so that God’s works might be displayed in him (v. 3). The disciples were so quick to fall into the legalism that their culture was entrenched in and we easily do the same today. We think that we somehow earn God’s blessing or punishment by doing good things or bad things in our lives. When life gets hard, we ask, “What have I done to deserve this” and “Why is God punishing good people”, but forget that God’s glory is often displayed in our trials. We can do nothing to earn a fast pass through the trials of life, and Jesus even tells us that we will be hated because we follow Him (Matthew 10:22). Persecution is to be expected, but we can know that God is with us, and His light is being displayed just like it was through the blind beggar.
When the man was healed, his neighbors and the Pharisees could not understand how it happened. They questioned the man and his family, trying to find a way to condemn Jesus. The Pharisees already knew that they did not like Jesus because He had highlighted their hypocrisy and sin, and they would do anything in their power to arrest Him. They had a preconceived bias towards Jesus and were unwilling to look for the truth. Do you struggle to see the truth about Jesus? Is there anything you are assuming of Him without being willing to look for truth?
The formerly blind man did not assume anything about Jesus, but he understood that Jesus had to be from God in order to have made him see. As the Pharisees tried to get him to admit that Jesus was a sinner, he said “if this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” This profound truth enraged the Pharisees (because they could not argue it), and they excommunicated him from the synagogue. God promises that the Christian life will be marked by suffering, but He also promises He will be with us.
Just like the once-blind man, if you speak the truth about who Jesus is, you will likely experience persecution, but Jesus is with you in it. His glory is displayed in our trials and we can point to the truth through what we experience.
How do you view suffering in your life? Do you believe that God is with you and that His glory can be displayed through your trials?
