Read: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; John 9:1-41
At first reading, this morning’s passages may not seem to have any connection. Samuel is sent to anoint David. He sees seven of Jesse’s sons pass before him. Beginning with Eliab, he sees them and thinks each one will be the next king. God rejects each. Finally David is brought and he is the one God chooses.
In verse 7, we read the lesson in God’s choice. He tells Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
In John 9, Jesus passes by a man born blind and his disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus is quick to tell them neither. Like Samuel looking at the physical appearance of Jesse’s sons was a mistake, we should not look at a person’s challenges as the measure of their spirituality.
One of the reasons we read Scripture over and over is because as we grow and mature in our faith, we grow and mature in our understanding. The simple faith we have when we are new believers faces challenges and temptations. What we thought was black and white seems to have a myriad of shades of gray. Each experience, each challenge or hardship, tests us and refines us and matures our faith.
The man healed of his blindness goes through something similar (though in a very short time!). First his neighbors debate whether he is the man born blind or just looks like him. They go back and forth until the blind man insists, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” I am him!
The neighbors take the man to the Pharisees. He answers their questions and a debate erupts among them. 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. They turn to the man and ask him: “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He answers: “He is a prophet.”
After talking to the man’s parents, we read in verse 24, For the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”
The Pharisees are angry. They want to discredit Jesus. They want to show everyone how bad he is. And though they silenced the formerly blind man’s parents with the threat of being expelled from the synagogue, no one will tell them what they want!
The blind man answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” This man’s faith is growing. He sees Jesus’ as a rabbi, a teacher. He is one worthy of being followed. He is Jesus’ disciple. Though he will be cast out of the synagogue and shunned by his people, he would rather follow Jesus the one who gave him sight.
Jesus seeks out the man who now sees. We read: 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”
Do you believe in the Son of Man? It is he who is speaking to you. The man answers Jesus with confidence: “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
He believed in Jesus the man; Jesus the prophet; Jesus the rabbi; and Jesus the Son of God. His healing is complete.
During Lent, Jesus meets us at our personal point of darkness. He finds us in our mess. Will we humbly confess it? Will we repent? Jesus offers us the light of life. He offers us forgiveness and sight. He offers us his loving presence and his transforming power.
For reflection:
- Where am I in this story? Am I blind and need Jesus as my savior? Have I believed but still struggling with shadows and darkness in my life?
- Take time this week to sit with Jesus in solitude and ask him to show you any current or past situation in which there is unacknowledged sin. Ask him to show you any shadows or darkness that still remain in your heart.
- As he reveals areas that need attention, confess to God first and ask for wisdom and direction about whether you need to confess to someone else.
- Ask Jesus if there is anything you need to do to make the situation right.
Read this week:
March 20: Isaiah 59:9-19; Acts 9:1-20
March 21: Isaiah 42:14-21; Colossians 1:9-14
March 22: Isaiah 60:17-22; Matthew 9:27-34
March 23: Ezekiel 1:1-3, 2:8-3:3; Revelation 10:1-11
March 24: Ezekiel 33:10-16; Revelation 11:15-19
March 25: Ezekiel 36:8-15; Luke 24:44-53
March 26: Ezekiel 37:1-14; John 11:1-45