John 9:34-38
34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Jesus healed a blind man and caused quite a scandal on the Sabbath day. After a fascinating back-and-forth, the Pharisees have had enough. They cast out the healed man. This casting out is a bad thing. They are not just telling him to get out of the room. The Jews are telling the man to get out of the community, out of the synagogue, out of the Jewish social circle. He has been blacklisted.
As soon as he hears about the man’s experience, Jesus goes to the formerly blind man and asks him if he believes in the Son of Man. The formerly blind man, who has been through quite a lot, rightly asks exactly who is the Son of Man. Jesus answers in a clever way, “You have seen him.” You’re looking at him. He’s the guy who healed you. I’m the Son of Man.
In a very real sense, Jesus reveals his identity as the Messiah to this man who has just been kicked out of the religious establishment. It is much like what we saw in…
John 4:25-26
25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
The formerly blind man realizes that he is in the presence of God’s promised king, the Savior himself. So, the man does what is appropriate for anyone who truly understands who Jesus is, he worships Jesus.
Christians, take note of this event and take heart. The man who stood his ground before the skeptics suffered greatly at their hands. They hurt him. Probably he had wanted for all of his life to simply be normal. Likely he had wanted nothing more than to live a life of not begging, of attending worship with everyone else, of experiencing the glories of the temple life. But he lost all those wonderful things because he stood his ground for the truth about Jesus. But Jesus did not leave this man hanging out to dry. Jesus came to him. Jesus revealed himself to him. Jesus brought this man a lasting joy that far surpassed any suffering he would ever go through.
Are you afraid that you will suffer losses for the name of Christ? You very well might. But let me assure you, no one will lose more in this life than Jesus will abundantly repay in eternity.
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
You may suffer for the gospel, but the suffering will pale in comparison to the glory, the joy, the astounding grace of God that you will experience both in this life and especially in the one to come. You can never suffer so much here on earth to outweigh the glory of heaven.
Pastor Travis Peterson 