Welcome to Eat This Bread Drink This Cup. The title of my meditation today is "The Blind Shall See." I read from John 9: 35-41. All Scriptures quotations are from the New Living Translation and are used with permission.
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
John's gospel account is the third shortest of the four gospel accounts. Despite the gravitas of his subject, the story of the life of Jesus Christ, he devotes an entire "chapter" to the healing of the blind man, the man who washed the mud from his eyes in the Pool of Siloam and was able to see. If we take a step back, this story is really about seeing and not seeing; it is about physical blindness and spiritual blindness. In my estimation as a physician, the fact that Jesus could restore sight to a man born blind is a profound miracle. Seeing is not just having eyes but includes all the connections between the eyes and the brain and the processing of that information that creates the image we see. In the case of physical blindness, the creation obeys the command of the Creator and sight is restored. The problem of spiritual blindness, on the other hand, is not so easily treated because it involves the cooperation of the person. As individuals, we often choose to block out the light. This light is Jesus, the Light of the World. Jesus acknowledged this truth when He said, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” We thank-you, Jesus, for the miracle of healing in opening our "eyes" that we may see You and know Your truth. As we assemble to partake of the bread and drink from the cup, we see the full price paid for our redemption in the suffering and death of Your Son, Jesus, on the cross, and the indescribable greatness of Your grace toward us who believe. Let us pray.
Abba, Father. Today we bless and set aside this bread and the fruit of the vine in this cup to remember Your Son, Jesus. We know that the bread represents His body that was nailed to the cross, and the fruit of the vine represents His blood that He shed for us. As we pour out the wine from the cup, we are reminded of how Jesus poured out His own blood that our sins might be forgiven. Thank-you, Jesus, for the compassion You showed in healing the man born blind, and for the comfort in revealing Yourself to him after he had been cast out of the synagogue. Not only was he able to see, but he was also able to see You. We thank-you, Abba, Father, for our miracle of healing so that we might see You and appreciate gifts of grace we receive. In His name I pray. Amen.
Today, Jesus invites you to partake of His supper. I read from Matthew 26: 26-28.
26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Let us partake of the bread.
27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many." Let us partake of the cup.
And the assembly of believers said, "Amen!"
Until next time, from Numbers 6: 24-26, "May the LORD bless you and protect you. May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you. May the LORD show you his favor and give you his peace."
Artist's Note: If you have questions about the Lord's Supper, I invite you to visit my website, https://eatthisbreaddrinkthiscup.com, for a brief overview. The Eat This Bread Drink This Cup podcast is listed in most podcast directories, and I invite you to add my podcast to your favorites and be notified of new posts. There is a written transcript that accompanies each podcast, and you are free to use the transcript in accordance with US copyright law. My prayer is that you will benefit personally from this time with Jesus and encourage others to observe the Lord's Supper. In these trying times, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus!