This is the one-hundred-ninety-fourth lesson in author and pastor Mel Lawrenz’ How to Live the Bible series. If you know someone or a group who would like to follow along on this journey through Scripture, they can get more info and sign up to receive these essays via email here.
“He has sent me to proclaim…recovery of sight for the blind.” Luke 4:18
He was the last person in the world to think he would ever get better. The man, blind from birth, had lived a life of total darkness. He had never known anything different.
He sat hour after hour on the hard pavement of Jerusalem streets, beggar’s hand extended, hoping he’d get a few coins to make it through the day. And then one day he heard a group talking about him—someone rudely asking another: “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” The answer was stunning: “Neither. This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Then the blind man heard Jesus spit, felt mud spread on his eyes, and heard Jesus tell him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. He groped his way through the narrow streets, across town to Siloam, and with the application of water something happened for the first time in is life. He could see.
The drama in John 9 goes on to tell the story of the Pharisees interrogating the man and objecting that the healing had taken place on the Sabbath—and being told by Jesus that they were the ones who were truly blind.
Jesus had already sent the signal back on J-Day, the time he read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue of Nazareth, that he would proclaim recovery of sight for the blind. The year of Jubilee, fulfilled in “the acceptable year of the Lord” when Messiah came, would include miraculous healings. Disabled people walking, deaf people hearing, blind people seeing. Though Jesus’ lifetime was one of those rare ages of miracles, Jesus didn’t heal everybody. But he healed enough people that the sign was bold and clear: the power of God has come into the world and now everything will be different.
Now we know that we do not get healed of all of our illnesses and injuries in this life. Once in a while we witness miracles—and there is the promise that one day, when God remakes heaven and earth, we will all see with better eyes than we have now.
The Messiah was sent to proclaim “recovery of sight for the blind.” Sometimes this means that God opens our spiritual eyes so that we go from dangerous ignorance to awareness. This is a true spiritual healing. God wants us to get out of the darkness of sin.
Lord, let us see what we need to see today.
MAKE IT REAL
Make a commitment within the next month to contact a church or a community agency to help those who may be struggling with physical health or emotional health. Volunteer to serve a meal, visit a senior center, or simply take a friend or family member to a doctor appointment.
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Mel Lawrenz (@MelLawrenz) trains an international network of Christian leaders, ministry pioneers, and thought-leaders. He served as senior pastor of Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, for ten years and now serves as Elmbrook’s teaching pastor. He has a PhD in the history of Christian thought and is on the adjunct faculty of Trinity International University. Mel’s many books include Spiritual Leadership Today: Having Deep Influence in Every Walk of Life (Zondervan, 2016). See more of Mel’s writing at WordWay.
The post How to Live the Bible — Recovering Sight appeared first on Bible Gateway Blog.