-
Jesus saw the glazed over look in the eyes of His audience. Therefore, He tightened up His illustration, elaborating on specific aspects of the sheepfold. Jesus then told His listeners, …
-
Jesus utilized stories in his teaching. The stories came from the familiar scenes of his listener’s lives. Often even his disciples, as in this case, missed the stories’ message. In …
-
Consistent with all encounters with Jesus, the healing of the blind man caused a stirring. The Pharisees, those who oversaw the religious lives of the Jews, were also blind for …
-
One day as Jesus and the disciples were walking, they saw a blind man. Upon seeing him the disciples, rooted in their laws and traditions, wondered whose sin had caused …
Jesus, while on earth, did the works of His Father. Onlookers of various understanding, considered what to do with Him. Among them, Nicodemus saw Him as a teacher, the Samaritan woman perceived Him to be a prophet and the condemned adulterous woman called Him ‘LORD’. Each encounter with Jesus left the question. God drew from the onlookers, people to question who this man was, others to experience His touch, and for all to decide what to do with Jesus.
To Question
Whatever Jesus did, it evoked questions. People wondered by what authority He spoke. They wondered where He got His power from. Why was He different? Wasn’t He just one of them? He healed diseases. Jesus calmed storms. The Messiah fed the hungry. He delivered the tormented. It made people ask questions.
To Experience
Of the onlookers, not everyone experienced the touch of Jesus. Those who did, were left to further discover the name of He who touched them. It was like the man born blind. He experienced a miraculous touch. He told the pharisees, “I was blind, but now I see.” His experience, however, left Him without the knowledge of the Healer’s name. While Jesus left him for a time, He later found him, and taught him to move beyond the experience, to the knowledge of the Son of God. This further revelation, moved him to call Jesus “Lord” and to worship Him.
What to do with Jesus
Of those who questioned and those who experienced Jesus there was one question. They had to decide. One side labelled Him as being mad and having a demon. They didn’t understand why anyone would listen to Him. The other group, however, heard the words and knew they were not the words of a demon. They also knew God alone could open the eyes of the blind.
This day, the question still exists. While some desire to explore the question, others label it or block it out. God still draws from the onlookers, people who will question who this man was, others to experience His touch, and in the end for all to decide what to do with Jesus today.
