Jul 8, 2022
The Final Word!
“God gives sight to the blind; he lifts up the fallen.” — Psalm 146:8.
Reading recently, in the book of John, chapter 9, I found myself lost in the irony of the story of the blind man.
Read the text from John 9:1–12 (New Living Translation) with me:
“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing! His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud, spread it over my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied.
Many of us know this story, but I’m mentally captured by the idea that this divine interaction wasn’t carried out before an assembly but dictated privately. Can you imagine that only the blind man and Christ know the entire exchange that led to the miraculous? What was the tone of their voices? Did Jesus acknowledge the awkwardness of the muddy salve before placing the mixture on those eyelids? I mean, he never even saw the face of Christ, yet in a single moment, he was breathing the wonder of the gift of sight.
My late-night takeaway from this story is a reminder that Christ has the final word. His word is sufficient. We should never outsource our healing to someone else. God wants to speak to us, and one of the definitive ways we can hear him is by being in the word (The Bible). When Jesus speaks, scripture is never contradicted. Sometimes he speaks, and it’s meant solely for us, not publicly — these words are personal and often for daily/situational discernment. There are also designated times God speaks and declares for it to be shared. Christ has the final word.
Be encouraged, friends,
Christ has Died — sin doesn’t have the final word.
Christ is Risen — death doesn’t have the final word.
Christ will come again — evil doesn’t have the final word.
