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Tag: Sight

“A Paradigm Shift” Mark 10:49-50

August 13, 2017 /

 “And Jesus stopped and said, Call him. And they called the blind man, telling him, Take courage! Get up! He is calling you. And throwing off his outer garment, he leaped up and came to Jesus.”

Simply put, a paradigm shift occurs when we see things one way—then experience a shift, a change, that modifies, changes, that seeing, our thinking, our beliefs, our lives…

A shift which then results in our seeing—and experiencing life differently—changed, new. Sounds new-agey right, maybe ungrounded, perhaps too esoteric—too ‘out-their’ for your conservative taste? Have no fear. It’s quite traditional—far more commonplace than you might think. Yet it never loses its awe inspiring, transformational impact. We see evidence of paradigm shifts throughout the Bible; yes, unbelievably, paradigm shifts are found in Scripture! In both the Old and New Testaments.

Elisha experienced it, as did Abraham, Moses, and Joseph…

But Perhaps one of the more powerful and familiar accounts of a paradigm shift that occurs in Scripture is that of Saul’s conversion. He went from one who sought to destroy the church, to a believer called by God to minister and deliver the gospel message to the gentile world. We first witness Saul oozing utter evil, lending approval to,—pouring out the darkness in his heart as an eyewitness to the stoning of Stephen—a man filled with God’s grace and power.  Next, we hear of Saul quite literally dragging Christians out of their homes and into prison—some perhaps to their deaths. All of this done in the hopes of destroying the church.

And then He meets Jesus…

And it is there on that dusty Damascus road, while hunting Christians, that we witness his powerful—life-changing, paradigm shift. Not only is Saul saved—additionally, life, as he has known it, shifted intensely. No longer does He seek to kill those who serve the Lord but He now becomes the Lord’s servant! And, his conversion resulted in part to his penning almost 2/3’s of the New Testament we read today! But a part of Paul’s shift, a part of what he left behind, his Hebrew name, is often overlooked—misunderstood.  You see it wasn’t Jesus who changed Saul’s name, as He did with Peter (Matthew 16:16-18), we see Saul referred to as Paul for the first time in Acts 13:9. Long after his conversion and well into his ministry.

But why?

Here is the crux of this teaching, what it is the Holy Spirit showed me. That just as Bartimaeus left behind those things that no longer served him once he had encountered Jesus—so too did Paul.

A paradigm shift had occurred in each mans life. If you’re familiar with Scripture you’ll remember that from the account of the proconsul’s conversion found in Acts 13: 6-12 forward, we then hear Saul referred to as Paul throughout Scripture. Paul choose, for whatever his reasons, to leave behind that vestige of his Hebrew roots and elected to be identified by his second name—Paul, which readily identified him with his Roman citizenship as well as to the gentile nations…

But what about our main character? What did Bartimaeus leave behind? And just how did his paradigm shift occur?

Similarly to Paul, Bartimaeus also encountered Jesus on a dusty road. If you read the account of his story found in Mark 10: 46-52 you’ll see that as Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples this blind beggar begins to holler out to Him, listen: “Jesus, Son of David, have pity and mercy on me now!” (vs. 47). Verse 48 goes on to inform us that those standing around this blind man kept telling him to quiet down—basically, to shut up, and stop his calling out to Jesus! But he didn’t take their advice. He continued to shout out, pleadingly, in the hopes of getting Jesus to come and lay his hands on him—to heal his blindness. And it worked. Jesus took pity on Bartimaeus and had him brought over to himself. And it’s here that we witness what it is Bartimaeus left behind—those possessions that represented the life he would now leave behind…

Scripture is clear that Bartimaeus jumped up leaving his cloak—his outer garment, behind. This cloak was likely the most valuable item that Bartimaeus, being a beggar, owned. It’s what offered him warmth and protection from the elements. It was likely his sole possession. And yet before he could toss it off, this garment that represented safety and comfort, he had to put down, threw to the side—leave behind, whatever he held out in his hand to those passing by. He also had to rid himself of his beggars cup.  His lively hood. His security. His only source of provision. And he did, he left it all behind, that He might run to Jesus…

So, let’s recap. On a dusty Damascus road, a man bent on imprisoning Christians and ending anything to do with what he considered to be this travesty being committed against the good name of Judaism, this personal affront against his God—his heritage, encounters Jesus while warring against this supposed ‘counterfeit’ cause that had sprung up in opposition of the religious traditions he grew up with, was steeped in—held close to his heart. It is this same Saul who experiences a transformational paradigm shift.  And then there’s Bartimaeus. He wants nothing more than to be healed by Jesus. He’s likely heard the stories told about others that had been healed—some of them blind too. He is willing to cast everything he has aside, all his worldly possessions, his livelihood, his pride—everything, for a chance to get the attention of Jesus.

And he does. And in that one second—in that blink of an eye moment, his shift occurs, his life, like Paul’s, is radically transformed. Bartimaeus’ world has just been upended in the best—most miraculous way! Jesus has healed him and told him to go on his way. Yet scripture tells us that Bartimaeus did just the opposite—He didn’t go away, he, again like Paul, drew closer to Jesus. Scripture also tells us that Bartimaeus followed after Jesus. Funny thing is, that’s exactly what happened to Saul after his encounter with Jesus. He too left all that he had known, accumulated, in a worldly sense, and spent the rest of his days following The One who had upended his world in the blink of an eye! Two ordinary men—two very different stories. Yet both encountered the same God. Both experienced an equally life changing paradigm shift in their lives—in an instant, life as they had known it was forever changed and would never be the same…

This could easily be your story if you’ve not yet met Jesus. In the blink of an eye—with a simple, heartfelt ‘yes’ your world could be upended in the best, most miraculous, way too! And if you’re already His, get ready—because you never know when He may be passing by…

“Thus Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, because of what God had prepared for the people, for it was done suddenly” (2 Chronicles 29:36).

“There’s Nothing Wrong With My Sight!” Jn. 9:16

November 19, 2016 /

alone-971122_960_720  “Some of the Pharisees said, “The man who did this is not from God because he doesn’t follow the traditions for the day of worship.” Other Pharisees asked, “How can a man who is a sinner perform miracles like these?” So the Pharisees were divided in their opinions” (Jn. 9:16).

If only the Pharisees and the religious leaders of the day could have seen what it was this man—blind from birth, saw. Perhaps the whole of Chapter Nine would not have ended up reading like a tragic comedy. Tragic—because it glaringly illumines the out-and-out blindness of the Pharisees and religious leaders present in Jerusalem in Jesus’ day. And comedic in its irony. It was the man born blind that can see the Truth of who Jesus is.

And, it is the man blind from birth who confirms their teachings concerning Messiah in his reply to their scathing, dissection of his miraculous healing at the hand of Jesus… Listen to him:“We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will.  Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind.  If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it”  (Jn. 9:31-33).

There is a familiar saying that goes as follows: “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” It’s believed to be taken from God’s conversation with the Prophet Jeremiah. (Jer. 5:21).  And it seems to rightly fit the mindset of the religious leadership of Jesus’ day.

It’s what Paul was teaching Timothy, his young son in the faith, to be on the lookout for—have nothing to do with them! Although Paul is talking to Timothy about the Godlessness that will permeate the last days, his list of reproachful descriptors certainly applies to those hard-hearted religious leaders who refused to acknowledge our blind friends miracle…Proud, boastful, lovers of self and of money—treacherous, and, rash—to name only a few. But,Perhaps, the most telling—the most revealing truth of their spiritual condition, is found in verse five. “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that” (2 Tim. 3:5)!

Once, when He was teaching his disciples, along with those gathered at the temple courts, Jesus aptly instructed them that they must obey the Pharisees and teachers of the law—“because of the office they held. They sat in Moses’ seat” (Matt. 23:2-3). Paul basically mirrored to Timothy the litany of rebukes Jesus used to point out the character— or the lack thereof, of the religious leaders of His day (Matt.23:1-34).

Yet, neither Jesus nor Paul were gentle in their choice of words. Jesus called them snakes, a brood of vipers! He referred to the religious leaders of the people as blind guides! And, throughout John’s Gospel we see evidence of just how blind these so-called, “seeing” spiritual leaders were. Their obvious inability to see who Jesus truly is wasn’t  limited to their sinful mishandling of our blind friend and his miracle…

No doubt the religious leaders of the day were present in the temple courts on the day of Passover preparation. Surely they witnessed Jesus making a whip out of cords. Chasing those who were changing money and selling all manner of things out of what He claimed to be His Father’s house! They’d conceivably gotten word of His changing six, thirty-gallon, stone jars of plain water into the best wine served at the wedding feast He attended at Cana in Galilee…

Or, further back still, they were certainly walking among those gathered around the edge of the Jordan river in Bethany where John was baptizing. Perhaps even at the very moment that he proclaimed Jesus to be, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:26;29)! It’s safe to say that from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the religious leaders of the day knew of Him. That fact is evidenced throughout the four Gospels…

They knew of the transformative encounter He had with a woman—a Samaritan woman—at Jacob’s well. And, the effect that one encounter had on an entire town…

Yet, they could not relate to such an experience…

They knew of the royal officials’ son who, having been near death, was miraculously healed…

Yet, they knew nothing of True healing…

But that aside, it’s the healing done for an invalid of thirty-eight years that ushered in the proverbial last straw. It broke the backs of the Jewish religious leaders’ willingness to endure this one they labeled an interloper any longer…

Their protest? The source of their outrage? Jesus was healing people on the Sabbath…

Surely, if He was their long-awaited Messiah, He would have known better, the law is quite clear! And, doing anything outside of what the law states was after-all, is strictly forbidden! Besides, they were the ones in positions of great authority. And He, well, who was He?

Even when doing a thing was meant for good, still, it was forbidden… “One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?”  When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away.  Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son[b] or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” Again they could not answer” (Lk.14:1-6).

So, it wasn’t that they didn’t see—couldn’t see, who this Jesus is, unlike our friend blind from birth. Rather, they hard-heartedly determined they wouldn’t see! They chose to adhere to what they knew. Laws. Rules. Rituals. Ceremony…Leaving no room for growth, relationship—or vision.

I ask you today—rather, our text challenges you, to check your vision. To choose what it is you’ll allow yourself to see…

Will your sight be born from a heart willing to step out with whatever faith you’re able to muster and say, “Who is this Son of Man? Tell me so that I may believe in Him” (Vs. 36). Or, will it narrowly focus on the familiar? On the way you’ve always done it? “We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but for this fellow, we don’t even know where He comes from” (Vs.29)! Will it be the way of the Pharisee who allowed for the lure of worldly power, the seeking of public recognition to overtake them. Blinded, by the lusts of their flesh, and, thus, their hearts waxed hard and cold.

Ridged, they could no longer bend to serve those placed in their care…

Or, hopefully—prayerfully, you will choose the path of the man born blind? The one given a sight beyond that of those who’d been sighted since birth. One who cared little for man’s judgement. Who chose to believe for the impossible that he might see beyond the inside of his own darkened world view. One familiar with pain, rejection, humiliation, with living beneath God’s intended best for him…

Why? Because blindness had eaten up most of his life. Fault, or not. Yet his heart remained pure, willing—open. Unlike the Pharisees and rulers of the law, his heart had stayed malleable. Thus, God could use this man who held no station—had no religious standing, to upset rulers and challenge their dogmatic laws.

How? By the Truth of his testimony…

Reality can’t be argued away. The Word of God says it this way; “A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great” (Pro. 18:16). God used the suppleness of our blind friends heart to bring him boldly—confidently, before the religious leaders of his day. Blessing him not only with what the Pharisees had possessed all along, their physical sight; but greater, Jesus opened the eyes of our blind friends understanding to the Truth of who He is!

A Truth that those who choose to sit in darkness, however sighted, will never see…

Our choices are simple and these…

To be—mimic, go after, live as, the Pharisees. Or, to be—choose, openness—malleability. To live as self-effacing as our once blind friend, that we too may gain our sight.

“Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (Jn.9:35-41).

 

 

 

 

 

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