250 - The Light of the World
- Gwen Diaz
- Sep 7, 2022
- 3 min read
Updated: Aug 27
SEPTEMBER 7- Nº 250 John 8:12-20, 59; 9:1-38
Jesus continued teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem. One time, as he was teaching, he looked up at the towering lamp stands that stood in the courtyard. “I am the light of the world!” he declared.
Everyone knew that the flames of the menorah were a reminder of all the years that God had led the nation of Israel through the wilderness from within a pillar of fire (see #45 - February 14). But they also knew that those flames looked forward to a time when God would send the Messiah to renew Israel’s glory and once again bring light into the world through His nation (see Isaiah 60:19-20).
So, when Jesus loudly declared, "I am the light of the world," almost everyone understood the he was claiming to be the Messiah that God had promised. The Pharisees were so upset by this that they tried to stone him, but he slipped away.
As Jesus and his disciples left the Temple that Sabbath, they noticed a man who had been blind since his birth. The disciples asked, “Teacher, who sinned and caused this man to be born blind?”
“No one,” Jesus responded. “This happened so that God could display His power and show the world that He sent me. Remember, I am the light of the world.”
After saying this, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud, and put it on the man’s eyes. Then he told the man to wash it off in the pool of Siloam.
The man obeyed, and immediately light entered his eyes and he could see!
Later when the man walked down the street where he lived, the neighbors were shocked. They couldn’t believe that this was the same man who had been a blind beggar his entire life. When he explained what had happened, they took him straight to the Pharisees. They knew this was an extremely significant event! The religious leaders had taught for centuries that when the Messiah came, he would give sight to someone born blind (see #226 - August 14)! But up until then, no one had been able to perform such a miracle! This was now the third "Messianic Miracle" that Jesus performed while he was here on earth.
The Pharisees couldn’t deny that a miracle had taken place. But many of them refused to believe that this was done by the Messiah. Once again, Jesus had chosen to heal someone on the Sabbath, and they didn’t believe the Messiah would “work” on the Sabbath. But others insisted, “How could a sinner do something this miraculous?”
There was a big argument, so they asked the man, “What do you say? What kind of man healed you?” The man replied, “He must be a prophet.”
The majority of Pharisees were not happy with his answer, so they sent for the man’s parents and questioned them: “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
The parents were afraid to answer because they knew the religious leaders could expel them from the synagogue if they said that Jesus had healed him. So, they replied, “Yes, this is our son. And yes, he was born blind. But that’s all we know. Ask him—he’s an adult. He can answer your questions for himself.”
The Pharisees tried to get the man to agree that Jesus was a sinful man and that he was using Satan’s power—not God’s. The man finally grew tired of the questioning and said, “No one has ever heard of anyone opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man was not from God, he could not have done it!”
The Pharisees were irate! “How dare you try to lecture us,” they scolded, and they threw him out of the Temple.
When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (This was a term the prophet Daniel had used when referring to the Messiah—see #229 - August 17).
“Who is he, sir? Tell me so I can believe!” the man responded. Jesus smiled, “You are looking at him with your own eyes.”
“Lord, I believe!” the man replied.
God is much bigger, and He is far more powerful and creative than we could ever imagine!
We miss out on so much when we try to fit Him into our expectations or limit Him based on our own experiences. But that's exactly what the Pharisees were doing!
Don't be like the Pharisees! Give God the opportunity to do amazing things in your life today!
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