#DailyDevotion Do You Believe In The Son Of Man?
John 917Then they asked the blind man again, “What do you say about him, since he gave you your sight?” “He’s a prophet,” he answered. 34“You were altogether born in sins,” they answered him, “and are you trying to teach us?” Then they put him out of the synagogue. 35 Jesus heard they had put him out. Finding him, He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36“Who is He, sir?” he asked. “I want to believe in Him.” 37“You’ve seen Him,” Jesus told him. “It is He Who is now talking to you.” 38“I do believe, Lord,” he said and bowed down to worship Him. 39Then Jesus said, “I’ve come into this world to judge men, so that those who don’t see may see and those who see may become blind.” 40Some Pharisees who were near Him heard this. “We aren’t blind, are we?” they asked Him. 41“If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t be sinning. But now you say, ‘We see,’ and you go on sinning.”
Where’s Jesus been? The man who received his sight didn’t even see Jesus after he received his sight. Now the man is the center of attention. His neighbors question him about his new found sight. The Pharisees ask him how he got his sight. They don’t believe him and ask his parents whether or not he was really born blind. The Pharisees go back and question him again. They don’t like his answer. The man professes a faith in Jesus as being from God, not a sinner, and a prophet. This whole time Jesus is nowhere to be found. But then the Pharisees reject his testimony and the man and put him out of the synagogue.
Now that the man is completely rejected by everyone else but has confessed his faith that Jesus is from God and a prophet, Jesus appears to the man again. It is also sometimes when every support has been removed from us and all we have left is God is when God, Jesus, makes his presence known to us. Jesus approaches the man who has never seen him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Jesus uses this title for himself in the Gospels. It refers to Daniel 7 which depicts his second coming on the Last Day in glory. However, in his first advent, Jesus teaches us the Son of Man is also the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, must be rejected by men, be killed and rise on the third day.
Not knowing it is Jesus who is talking with him he says sure, because he believes Jesus is that Son of Man. He just doesn’t know who he is talking to. Once Jesus reveals himself, he confesses his faith, bows down and worships him. Indeed that should be a similar response from us when we come into his presence. Jesus is our God and our Maker. He is our Redeemer and Savior. All honor, worship, glory and praise he is deserving of receiving.
Now while Jesus in chapter 3 says he didn’t come into the world to judge or condemn the world but now here he says he came into the world to judge men. So what is going on here. Chapter three deals with his salvific work, he did indeed come to save the world through his sacrifice. However here, the judgment falls upon those who reject him and his salvific work. The Pharisees sinning is their unbelief and rejection of Jesus. As such they receive the judgment to be blind. Such is the case with all people. Those whom the Father draws to Jesus have faith created in them and now they can see who Jesus is and believe in him. These escape the judgment and have passed to life. Do you believe in the Son of Man?
Heavenly Father, draw us to Jesus and give us sight that we may believe in him, trust his work for our salvation and escape the coming judgment. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.