On Sunday May 8, 2022, Mother’s Day, I was reading along in my bible during the Sunday sermon at my church and came across a sticky note in my bible at John 9:35. I had underlined part of the verse and dated it 9/3/2010. It struck me all over again and in light of what Bishop Chuck has been speaking about, I wanted to revisit it with you.
John 9 is about the blind man about whom the disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” Jesus put clay on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. He did and came back seeing. But controversy arose because this occurred on the Sabbath and he was brought before the Pharisees. His parents were afraid of being put out of the synagogue so they punted the questions to the previously blind man. When the man declared Jesus to be from God, they put him out of the synagogue. (John 9:1-34)
This man had an amazing healing encounter with Jesus and he did not hold back in declaring his faith that Jesus was from God. This joyful, life-changing event should have been one he could celebrate with all his family, friends, and community. That was not the case and his greatest joy led to him to being abandoned by his parents and cast out by his church and community. But then Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” John 9:25
After Jesus heard this man had been cast out, He went looking for him until He found him. He didn’t hope the man would come join His discipleship group, He went after him and sought him until He found him! That moves me to the core. Jesus cared and proactively sought him out. It was a true manifestation of His teaching in Matthew 18:12-13 and Luke 15:4, 7. It wasn’t just a parable, He literally left the 99, the crowds, for the one, this one rejected man. Still today, He literally pursues us; seeks us out until we are found. He never leaves us forsaken.
When Jesus found the man they had cast out, He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” But the man did not know who that was so Jesus said, “You have both seen Him and He is the one who is taking to you.” The man immediately called Him Lord, said he believed, and worshiped Him. This formerly blind man wasn’t educated. He wasn’t a scholar. He was considered by the religious leaders to have been born entirely in sin. Yet because of this one miracle was all he needed to have his spiritual eyes opened to see that Jesus was the Christ.
Sadly, the religious leaders who were born with natural sight and thought they were not born in utter sin, were found to be totally blind spiritually. But Jesus did not let the blindness of the shepherds lead this sheep astray. Jesus knew this man already believed in his heart and just needed to be told who the Christ was. Jesus went after this one sheep to care for him and bring him into His fold as a disciple.
Have you ever had a life-changing encounter with Jesus or miraculous healing that you were so excited about you were telling everyone you encountered only to be ridiculed and rejected? Psalm 119:22-23 says of Jesus, 22 A stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. 23 This came about from the Lord; it is marvelous in our eyes. If Jesus, our chief cornerstone, was rejected, we can expect to be rejected because of our faith at some point in our life, as well. But in John 14:18 Jesus assures His disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.” So, you can be assured in those times of rejection that Jesus knows, cares, and will not leave you abandoned, orphaned. He comes looking for you to bring you safely into His fold where He will personally care for you.