part 3 of “RATTLE”
We have quite a story to look at in this post as we continue the RATTLE series. As I said last week, this series is based out of the bridge in the song of the name by Elevation Worship. The bridge of the song says this:
“My God is able to save and deliver and heal
And restore anything that He wants to” [1]
Last week, we looked at the story of Zacchaeus and how Jesus came to Jericho specifically for him. We saw how Jesus knew his name and called him by his name. Jesus came to Jericho to meet Zacchaeus and restore and save him. In this post, we are going to look at just one of the healings of Jesus. Let’s go to John 9 to see this healing story*.
The story begins with Jesus and His disciples walking through town. They come to a man who had been blind since he was born. This causes the disciples to ask Jesus a question. They ask Jesus if it was the man’s sins or the parent’s sins that caused his blindness. Jesus answers them by telling them that neither his nor his parent’s sins caused the blindness, but that he was blind so the power of God can be seen. [2].
I want to pause here, take a side trip, and ask a question. What if we viewed our problems with the mindset that God wants to reveal His power to us? The blind man I am sure was annoyed that he could not see. He saw his blindness as a problem as I’m sure any of us would. But what if he knew Jesus was coming that day to heal him restore his sight? Would his blindness have been a problem? Would he have viewed his blindness differently? But he didn’t know that Jesus was coming. He may not have even known a lot about Jesus (John 9:11,25). But we do. What if the things that we see as problems - losing a job, divorce, sickness - are just a way that God is going to reveal His great power to us? What a thought right? Now back to the story.
The next move that Jesus makes probably had some people wondering what exactly he was doing. Jesus spit in the dirt and made mud. He then took mud and rubbed it on the man’s eyes. Jesus tells the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam [3].
Now imagine being that blind man. Maybe he had a friend or someone there to tell him what was going on. Can you imagine that conversation?
“Bro, Jesus is here with His disciples and they are talking about your blindness. Wait a minute they are coming this way. Jesus is standing in front of you! He just spit in the dirt and now He’s making mud or something with His spit. Yeah, he’s making mud. Dude, he’s got the mud on his fingers and he’s reaching up toward your eyes! He’s going to put his spit mud on your face!”
But the man didn’t run away. He let Jesus put the mud in his eyes and he went and washed in the pool as Jesus told him to do. He came back to Jesus able to see! The people couldn’t believe it was him. They thought it was just someone else who looked like him. But he kept assuring them that he was the same man they had seen begging and blind [3].
This no doubt rattled everyone. The man had not seen anything his whole life and he was told to go wash the mud off of his eyes and when he did he could see. The people of the town had seen him there his whole life unable to see and begging and now he would see. They started asking the man questions.
The people started asking what happened and who did this to you. The man told them the story. “Jesus came to me, put mud on my eyes, and told me to go wash it off in the pool of Siloam. When I did, I could see!” The people had another question. They asked the man where Jesus went and he told them that he didn’t know. So they took him to the Pharisees. The Pharisees asked the man the same question the people who brought him asked and he told them the same story. Even after that they still didn’t believe him. So they sent for his parents and they questioned them. The Pharisees asked if the man was their son if he was indeed born blind, and how can he see now if he was blind before. The man’s parents responded that he was blind from birth, but they didn’t know how he could now see or who healed him. They told to Pharisees to ask him themselves. So they called the man in again and asked him all about it again. The man asked if they listened to him the first time because he’s already told them. The conversation escalated and they threw him out of the synagogue [4].
Jesus healing the blind man sent a big rattle throughout the town and in the man’s own life. Jesus healed him. Jesus restored his sight. But it took the faith of the man to go and wash in the pool for his sight to be restored.
Jesus wants to do the same for us as well. But we also have to have faith. Jesus can heal and restore anything that He wants to. But sometimes we can get in the way of that. I have been asking myself and praying these questions lately: What am I doing here now in this place? What do You have for me to learn or see? Even to add one more “how are You going to reveal Your power to me?
I don’t know what situation you are facing, whether your situation just came up or you have been facing for years. But I do know the great power of Jesus and that sends a rattle through my soul. Jesus wants us to show us His power over our lives. We just need to have faith.
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*please note: the story told in this post is a paraphrase of the story following the interactions between Jesus and the blind man, the blind man and the Pharisees, and the blind man’s parents. The complete story can be found in John 9.
[1] Artist: Elevation Worship
Song: Rattle!
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Steven Furtick / Chris Brown / Brandon Lake
RATTLE! lyrics © Essential Music Publishing, Bethel Music Publishing
[2] John 9:1-3, NLT
[3] John 9:6-9, NLT
[4] John 9:10-15, 18-21, 27, 34
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