The Light of the World

Jesus and His disciples were walking along and came across a blind man; a man "blind from birth" (John 9:1). He has never had the privilege of ever seeing anything. The encounter led to a timely discussion. The disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (v. 2). That was the question most on the minds of the people. They couldn't conceive of any other reason. Someone surely sinned and this was the punishment of God.

Jesus, however, begged to differ, saying, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned" (v. 3a). He then added, "This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him" (v. 3b). Jesus concluded with the declaration, "I am the light of the world" (v. 5b).

With that, Jesus illustrated what He meant with a real life miracle: "He spat on the ground and made clay" (v. 6a). Then "He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay" (v. 6b). And Jesus "said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing" (v. 7).

"The neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind" (v. 8a), were downright amazed. They asked, "How were your eyes opened?" (v. 10). He answered, "A Man called Jesus" (v. 11) healed me. And the people wanted to find Jesus, but the man did not know where He was (v. 12).

Then the Pharisees questioned the man that had been born blind (v. 13). "Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes" (v. 14). That fact caused "some of the Pharisees" to conclude, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath" (v. 16a). "Others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?' And there was a division among them" (v. 16b).

The Pharisees again asked the blind man, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?" (v. 17a). The man answered, "He is a prophet" (v. 17b).

Not believing that the man had been blind, they called in his parents (v. 18) and asked them how this could be? (v. 19). They confirmed that he was their son who "was born blind" (v. 20), but beyond that they deferred to their son, "He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself" (v. 21).

"So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this man is a sinner" (v.  24). His response: "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see" (v. 25).

They pressed him again as to how he was healed (v. 26), and he said, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?" (v. 27). They claimed to be disciples of Moses (v. 28), and added, "We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from" (v. 29).

The man was amazed and replied, "We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing" (vv. 31-33). Then he was cast out of the synagogue (v. 34).

Jesus came and asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" (v. 35). He replied, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" (v. 36). "It is He who is talking with you," said Jesus (v. 37). "Then he said, 'Lord, I believe! And he worshiped Him'" (v. 38).

The man who was healed began to talk of Jesus simply as, "A Man called Jesus" (v. 11). When questioned, he came to say of Jesus, "He is a prophet" (v. 17b). Upon further consideration he began to realize that Jesus was definitely "from God" (v. 33). Finally, he talked with Jesus again and came to believe in Him as his Lord! (v. 38). Jesus is the Lord of the universe. He is my Lord. How about you? Amen.

Four Days Late

Martha, Mary, and Lazarus were good friends of Jesus (a brother and two sisters). Lazarus was sick (John 11:1) so the sisters sent for Jesus (v. 3). Jesus responded, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (v. 4). Then Jesus stayed where He was for "two more days" (v. 6).

Jesus knew what He was about to do. That is why He said, "This sickness is not unto death" (v. 4a). Though He knew Lazarus would die, it would not be permanent. It was all for the glory of Jesus. After the two days, they headed back to Judea where Bethany was located (v. 7).

The disciples questioned the wisdom of this trip (v. 8), so Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead" (v. 14). Then Jesus added, "Let us go to him" (v. 15b). So they headed out for Judea, for the town of Bethany.

Upon arriving in Bethany, Jesus discovered that His friend Lazarus "had already been in the tomb four days" (v. 17). Jesus was four days late, yet He was right on time!

Martha came to Jesus (v. 20), and said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (v. 21). She continued, showing her faith, "But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You" (v. 22). Four days late, yet right on time!

Jesus told Martha, "Your brother will rise again" (v. 23). Martha knew he would rise again at the end of time (v. 24), but Jesus was referring to something a little sooner. He said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?" (vv. 25-26). Martha responded with great faith, "Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world" (v. 27).

Then Mary came and said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died" (v. 32b). Four days late, yet right on time!

Even the Jews who had gathered said, "Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?" (v. 37). Four days late, yet right on time!

When Jesus stood before the tomb, He said, "Take away the stone" (v. 39a). Martha said, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days" (v. 39b). Four days late, yet right on time!

Jesus, speaking to Martha, said, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (v. 40). So "they took away the stone" (v. 41a). Then Jesus prayed, "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me. And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me" (vv. 41b-42). Then Jesus cried out, "Lazarus, come forth!" (v. 43). And Lazarus waked out of the tomb, or more likely hobbled out of the tomb, as he was "bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth" (v. 44a). And Jesus said, "Loose him, and let him go" (v. 44b). Four days late, yet right on time!

And what happened? "Many of the Jews," having "seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him" (v. 45). Salvation all around! Four days late, yet right on time!

Often when we pray, it seems Jesus delays in answering our prayer. We are impatient and we think Jesus is late, maybe four days late, maybe longer. But when the answer does come, when Jesus acts, maybe even answering our prayer with a miracle, we realize that Jesus was right on time. Jesus is never late. He is always right on time. Amen.

A Borrowed Tomb

Joseph of Arimathea, "a council member," was "a good and just man" (Luke 23:50). But he disagreed with the rest of the council (v. 51). He acquired the body of Jesus after He was crucified and saw to His burial (vv. 52-53). The "Sabbbath drew near" (v. 54). The women planned to return after the Sabbath to finish preparing His body (vv. 55-56)

The grave was easily identified. But after the Sabbath, "on the first day of the week" (Luke 24:1), everything had changed. When they came to Jesus's tomb they were shocked by what they found. The stone had already been "rolled away" (v. 2) and Jesus wasn't there! The tomb was empty! He "is risen!" (v. 6).

Yesterday we celebrated Easter Sunday, or what I prefer to call Resurrection Sunday. We celebrated the great gift of the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That Friday Jesus gave His life to pay the penalty for our sin. On Sunday He rose from the dead defeating death and providing us with eternal life. What a joyful gift this is!

Now is the day. Trust Jesus as Savior and as Lord. In Him is salvation. As the saying goes: By grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone is salvation. Amen.