The Light of Life

KEY VERSE: “I am the light of the world.” —John 9:5

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: John 9:1-41

THESE words of Jesus set the stage for a scene recorded in the Bible in which a young man of Israelis seen standing before an inquisition of angry, resentful Pharisees. Until he had recently heard the voice of Jesus, this poor unfortunate man had lived his life in total darkness, suffering a terrible malady of blindness from his very birth. And now he is being rudely questioned in an attempt to discredit the story of how he had miraculously received his sight. He replies: “A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash, and I went and washed and I received sight.” (John 9:11)

These words only serve to infuriate the questioner’s more Jesus was their enemy. They argue that Jesus is a vile sinner and therefore could not be used by God to perform such a miracle as this. But no amount of threatening coercion can seem to budge their victim from his story, now reveling in his new-found sight. “The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. … Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God he could do nothing.” (John 9:31-33) Whereupon hearing this, the angry inquisitors cast him out of the synagogue.

As a result of this bold confession of Jesus and strong defense of righteousness, even to the point of excommunication, another event even more wonderful was soon to follow.

When Jesus heard what had happened, he sought out this one who had never seen him, and identified himself as Jesus, the Son of God, to which the elated young man immediately responded, “Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.” His faithfulness under trial and his willingness to suffer the loss of former fellowship and honor with men, had led to a much greater blessing—that of direct communion with the Lord Jesus, himself.

All of us were born blind, or nearly so, coming into a world where darkness covers “the earth, and gross darkness the people.” (Isa. 60:2) The darkness of ignorance, superstition, idolatry, materialism, atheism, etc., obscured the vision of our Heavenly Father’s face, and its reflection in our Lord Jesus. Our blind fancies, inspired by the great adversary, conjured up gross misunderstandings of the justice, wisdom, power, and love of our Creator.

In the Lord’s own time and way he spoke to us and opened our eyes. It took faith to accept the agencies of clay that were used to anoint the eyes of our mental vision. Think of the faith it required for the poor blind man as he groped his way to the pool of Siloam, to dare hope he would see.

We have all washed in that figurative pool of Siloam, and, miracle of miracles, we began to see! We began to see the world not through fancied or imaginary vision, but as it really is—a world that is lost in sin through Adam, and saved through the love of God in Christ. The various features of the plan of God take on greater detail through the teaching of his Word: the fall of man in Eden; ransomed by Jesus through his death as a perfect man; Christ’s resurrection to divine glory; the call of the church to share in that glory; the ending of this present evil world with the establishment of Christ’s righteous kingdom on earth; the resurrection of all who have died and the blessings of life to all the willing and obedient. As these precious truths come into clearer focus, “we all, with open face” behold “as in a glass the glory of the Lord”—II Cor. 3:18

“It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (I Cor. 1:21)—preaching which seems to most people to be so foolish, so weak, the poorest way the Lord could possibly choose to make known the riches of his grace—a way so open to hindrance through the weakness and imperfection of the human agencies (clay) used—yet a way ordained by Jesus, who tenderly said to the blind young man, as he spat on the ground and made some clay, “I am the light of the world.”

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