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John Chapter 9 - You never know what can happen in a day
John chapter 9 contains a very famous story about a miracle that Jesus performed. There was a man who had been blind since birth who was sitting by the side of the road. Jesus, spit in some dirt, rubbed it on his eyes, had him wash in the river, and gave the man sight. Can you even imagine how happy the man must have been? Seeing for the first time as a grown man!!
The man was overjoyed and obviously told anyone who would listen what had happened to him. Word obviously spread about the good news. When the Pharasees heard about this, they had the man brought in front of them for questioning....This is where the story gets interesting.
First, the Pharasees tried to question whether the man had ever really been blind in the first place. They tried to explain away a miracle by calling the man's word into question. They even had the man's parents brought before them to verify the man had been blind since birth. So their first tactic was to discredit the source of the story. The parents were willing to testify that the man had been blind, and could now see, but they were afraid to testify to how it had happened. This often happens. People are willing to comment on the before and after circumstance, but are afraid about supporting the "how".
Let's pause for a moment to focus on the blind man's behavior to this point.
After he was cast out, we see him interact with Jesus again. Jesus revealed himself to the man and blessed him. Finally we see the story end by Jesus making a point to the Pharasees that even those who have sight can be blind to what is important.
So how does this apply to leadership?
John chapter 9 contains a very famous story about a miracle that Jesus performed. There was a man who had been blind since birth who was sitting by the side of the road. Jesus, spit in some dirt, rubbed it on his eyes, had him wash in the river, and gave the man sight. Can you even imagine how happy the man must have been? Seeing for the first time as a grown man!!
The man was overjoyed and obviously told anyone who would listen what had happened to him. Word obviously spread about the good news. When the Pharasees heard about this, they had the man brought in front of them for questioning....This is where the story gets interesting.
First, the Pharasees tried to question whether the man had ever really been blind in the first place. They tried to explain away a miracle by calling the man's word into question. They even had the man's parents brought before them to verify the man had been blind since birth. So their first tactic was to discredit the source of the story. The parents were willing to testify that the man had been blind, and could now see, but they were afraid to testify to how it had happened. This often happens. People are willing to comment on the before and after circumstance, but are afraid about supporting the "how".
Let's pause for a moment to focus on the blind man's behavior to this point.
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He was blessed with the gift of sight after years of blindness
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He told anyone who would listen about what had happened and HOW it had taken
place
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When questioned by authorities, he gave an honest account of what happened
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When pressed further,he began to advocate for Jesus, beginning to fill in the"why"
of the miracle....He stated that Jesus must be a prophet because a demon would not
do good deeds
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He was willing to risk punishment and ridicule for telling the truth and not
compromising his story, or allowing it to be dismissed.
After he was cast out, we see him interact with Jesus again. Jesus revealed himself to the man and blessed him. Finally we see the story end by Jesus making a point to the Pharasees that even those who have sight can be blind to what is important.
So how does this apply to leadership?
I think there are two main things I take away from the story:
I can think back to multiple times in my life when I caved to peer pressure when I knew that the right thing to do was to speak the truth. I wonder how many of those moments Jesus was trying to use to prove a point to someone who was with me. I wasted an opportunity....
I don't think the size of the moment matters because we can't predict the size of the outcome. Also, I think that God uses us in small ways, before he uses us in big ways. So as I see these opportunities in the future, I will do more to communicate with conviction and defend the facts. Then, like the story in John, I will wait for Jesus to show up and see what happens.......
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Weshouldalwaysbereadytospeakthetruthaboutwhatwewitnessand
experience. There would have never been an opportunity for Jesus to make his
point at the end of the chapter if the blind man would have just gone off by himself to
enjoy his new gift of site. Leaders have to step up and be willing to make important
stories public.
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Whenyourstorygetspressuredbythosewhoaretryingtoexplainawaywhatis
happening, you need to stand in the pocket and not let the information be trivialized
or explained away.
I can think back to multiple times in my life when I caved to peer pressure when I knew that the right thing to do was to speak the truth. I wonder how many of those moments Jesus was trying to use to prove a point to someone who was with me. I wasted an opportunity....
I don't think the size of the moment matters because we can't predict the size of the outcome. Also, I think that God uses us in small ways, before he uses us in big ways. So as I see these opportunities in the future, I will do more to communicate with conviction and defend the facts. Then, like the story in John, I will wait for Jesus to show up and see what happens.......
