"Miracle In The Mud"

By Robert Bailes

"Your Faith Gives You Testimony" - Continued

John 9:5" As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
This is where Jesus begins to teach his disciples on that winter day long ago about the light of the world. What we see next is clearly, a real life illustration of the world we live in and the mission that Jesus came to perform so that we, his followers could see the light. The Truth revealed by the glory of his Father!

According to the book of John, as soon as Jesus had said that he was the light of the world, he spat on the ground and took the spit and the dirt and made clay out of it to anoint the eyes of the blind man. Then he told him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam", which interprets to mean "Sent". The next thing that John says is that the man went to where Jesus sent him and washed and came back with sight restored to his eyes.

Jesus spoke the words of Truth that changed the fate of the world for eternity in verse five of John; "I am the light of the world". Those seven words forever gave hope and life to those who had no hope! Those words gave new life to a world living under the condemnation of the laws that man had laid down and used to oppress the one who even imagined that he had been forgiven of his sins.

You see, in that day and time, the people were led by those who were put into authority at the temple, but the leaders weren't leading as God had planned for them to lead his flock. They were condemning people as a form of control by adding other rules and laws to what God had laid down for His children. They had made it impossible to ever come to a place where they could experience the peace of God that comes with forgiveness and God's tender mercy. Isn't that how many people feel, even today? Religious organizations worldwide today often add to the requirements of true worship and relationship with our Lord. They convince people who are new in their spiritual search and growth to feel as though they are going to fail God somehow if they don't live according to there religious rituals and traditions. More importantly to those in authority, is that the people don't speak up to share their experience or testimony, unless the church approves it first.

When the neighbors of that blind man saw him, some of them recognized him and remembered that he used to sit and beg. In verse nine we see that the people were gathering around him because the man who was blind could hear what they were saying about him. Some of them were saying that it was him, while others were saying that it just looks like him, but he spoke up and told them,"I am he". Then they asked him how his eyes were opened and he answered them," A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight". That sounds very accurate according to the verses that preceded this! So what could possibly go wrong now? Why would anyone argue with this man?

Let's stop and compare what has just happened with the events of our day and try to grasp the lesson that Jesus was teaching his disciples and teaching all of his followers, as far as that goes, that read this passage even now.

The first thing that we saw in this real life lesson was Jesus telling the people that he was the light of the world in verse five. Next we see that Jesus would take the dust of the ground and make clay to put on the blind man's eyes. The same dust that God used to make man in the beginning is used to cover the eyes that could not see since birth. We all have been born blind in our sinful state, unable to see the light of God in this world. We receive our sight when we hear the Truth found in the Word of God and believe. The mud represents the revealing of our sins and that we are only human made from dirt. It is this revelation to man that humbles us in the sight of God when we understand that we are made by him and that our bodies are incomplete without His touch. When we admit our sinful state to God, we accept the mud that Jesus placed on the eyes of the blind man that day.

It is then that Jesus tells the blind man to go to the pool of Siloam and wash the mud off of his face. The name of this pool actually means "Sent". Do you think it is just a coincidence that we are "sent" by God into the world to spread the gospel once we receive Christ as our savior? When the man went to the pool, he obeyed the command of Jesus. What do you think would have happened if he had gone to the closest well or fountain to wash? Would he have received his sight and been able to tell his neighbors who had healed him? I doubt that his eyes would have been healed because it is only through Jesus that we can see the light and forgiveness of our sins. We cannot receive forgiveness from the church; from Buddha or any other religious authority! It's only through the Lord who was sent by God to redeem us, that we can be cleansed and forgiven in his ultimate act of love when he laid down His life for us all!

Once we are cleansed of our sins and receive our sight, we can walk without being led astray. We can enjoy the things that God has created and the glory of His Father found in the world all around us and the glory of the Father through His eyes as we see others with His love and compassion flowing through our veins. Our eyes are opened to also see the truths of the Bible through the teaching of the Holy Spirit. The world will never be the same!

The first thing the man did was to go back to his neighborhood as we see in verse eight and nine where his neighbors were trying to figure out if it was him or not and how it could be possible that he was a man made whole again. He didn't waste any time though telling them that he was the man who was blind! This is what happens when your world changes and you can see the light for the first time. You are excited to give testimony of how your life has changed! What happened next was exactly what happens so many times when some one's life is radically changed by the healing hand of God and they are able to see the light for the first time ever! They are humbled; they confess; they're forgiven in God's grace and mercy and receive their sight as children of God! Then they go back into their home or hood, whichever the case, and the people who knew them remember them by the things that they did in the past. They ask each other;"Isn't that the guy that did drugs or was a drunk or was a thief or a convict. I think that's the guy that was hooked on gambling; had three wives; was depressed all the time; was a hooker or into witchcraft all their life?". Just like the blind man's neighbors, we too often remember people by their past.

That's when the people who knew him asked how his eyes were opened and that is exactly what happens, isn't it? When someone suddenly seems on fire for the Lord and they are ready to use their new eye sight to do things that they didn't understand before, the first thing that people want to know is "How did you change? How did you quit your habits? How did you get out of the gangs or the gambling or the depression?". Now stop and think about this and remember the last time you saw someone change like this. How did you react when they simply told you or someone you know, "Jesus forgave me and now I am a new man!"; was it enough to convince you that it was real?

I've seen people at the church listen to newcomers telling about their experience in receiving a new life through Jesus and those people who should have been excited, were all too ready to ask questions that were meant to prove otherwise and to complicate the simple plan of Salvation.
How could someone who truly believes in Jesus try to criticize someone who has living proof that Jesus truly has radically changed their life?

Why would anyone want to question a new believer when they have claimed that it is through Jesus that they have found the way, the truth and the life?
Hold that thought!
We will look further into those questions tomorrow as we find out how Faith Gives You Testimony! Join me then. Selah