One day, while Jesus was walking, he saw a man who was blind from birth. He approached the man, spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
Jesus does what only the Creator can do - he creates and then recreates humanity with mud. Adam was made by the hand of God and now the Master Potter himself takes a bit of mud and fixes the son of Adam’s broken eyes. The man washed his face in the pool of Siloam and came back seeing … for the first time in his life. Jesus then commented, “I am the light of the world” (John 9:5).
This formerly blind man, who had never seen light before, now sees Jesus Christ as the Light of the world. After the man was healed, he found Jesus and confessed, “Lord, I believe!” Then he knelt down and worshipped him (John 9:38). You can imagine the healed man confessing to Jesus Christ, the Light of the world, the words of our hymn, “I want to walk as a child of the light. I want to follow Jesus.”
Verse one: I want to walk as a child of the light. I want to follow Jesus. God set the stars to give light to the world. The star of my life is Jesus.
In the beginning of John’s Gospel, we are told that the darkness tried to overcome the light, but could not. We are given a picture of that truth later in John’s Gospel with the healing of the blind man. And it may seem as if the darkness is overcoming the light in your life by forces from outside your home and the struggles of sin within your own body. Perhaps it is the darkness of doubt and worry creeping in to steal your faith. Or maybe the darkness of depression and sadness to rob you of your joy. Or the darkness of anger and resentment to deprive your life of contentment.
But the darkness cannot win. For your triumphant Savior is the Light of the world, the light no darkness can overcome. As you follow him, he strengthens your faith to deal with the worry and doubt. He protects you from the forces of evil outside your home and sends the Holy Spirit to sanctify your sinful flesh. He leads you to find contentment in the forgiveness, peace, and joy he grants you anew every day. In the midst of the darkness of night, you can still see the stars shining in the evening sky. The bright Star shining in the darkness of this world is Jesus.
Verse two: I want to see the brightness of God. I want to look at Jesus. Clear Sun of Righteousness, shine on my path, and show me the way to the Father.
By nature, we are blind and dead sinners. We want nothing to do with God. Apart from Christ, we have no good within us. Yet through Baptism, Christ raises us from death to life. Jesus shines his light into the dark recesses of our soul and the murky underbelly of our world.
He gives sight and life in the forgiveness of our sins. He may not make us see with saliva and dirt, but rather he allows us the sight of faith through water and Word in Baptism. Now that we have a new, sanctified nature, we desire to see the brightness of God. We want to look at Jesus. He is the One who shows us the way to the Father. Jesus teaches, “No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Now that we have been brought into the light, Paul encourages us to “Live as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). The difference between darkness and light is dramatic. The difference between what we were and what we are now should be equally so. They are as different as the nursery and the morgue!
Verse three: I’m looking for the coming of Christ. I want to be with Jesus. When we have run with patience the race, we shall know the joy of Jesus. Refrain: In him there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alike. The Lamb is the light of the city of God. Shine in my heart, Lord Jesus.
We have been healed of our spiritual blindness and given the sight of faith. Now we can see the Savior standing in front of us. We see him placing his nail-pierced hands around us. We see him leading us through the dark valley of this sinful world to his heaven of eternal Easter joy. For Christ has washed away our blindness – not in the pool of Siloam, but in his baptismal font.
He has created faith in our hearts with his comforting Words of gospel and absolution. He strengthens our faith with his consumed body and blood. Though the darkness of death continues to be seen and felt all around us, that darkness has been shattered by the light blasting forth from the open Easter tomb.
Now with our eyes wide open, we are looking for the coming of Christ. We want to be with Jesus – now and for eternity. For once we were blind, but now we see. We see that in Christ there is no darkness at all. The night and the day are both alike. The Lamb is the light of the city of God. Shine in our hearts, Lord Jesus.