When praying for them, I ask the Lord to reveal Himself. If anyone who does not know Jesus could just “see” Him, I’m certain that they would be drawn to Him and love Him as I do. Yet seeing Jesus is not about eyesight, but a work of God. This morning, my devotions remind me of this, and the opposite inability to see.
That very day two of them (Jesus’ disciples) were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. (Luke 24:13–16)These two disciples of Christ were very familiar with His appearance. That they could not recognize Him is startling, to say the least. However, this event shows that “seeing Jesus” is about the power of God, not any human powers of perception. Those who think that Jesus is just a man, or a good teacher, or at best a prophet, cannot think otherwise unless God opens their eyes.
I consider my own experience. I went to Sunday school and daily vacation Bible school as a child. When thirteen or so, I started reading my Bible every day. After 16-17 years, I still could not see Jesus. Oh, I knew He existed but was blind to His identity and power. I had no idea what I was missing.
Some of my family are like that. They are blind to spiritual realities and oblivious to the life and power of the One who died for their sin. They do not even see their need for Him, even though at times they seem to realize their need for forgiveness and the power to live righteously.
Seeing Jesus requires a desire to see, but even then, human desire is not enough. The disciples on the road to Emmaus were certainly open to seeing Him, but “their eyes were kept” and they could not. Apart from the revelatory power of God, Jesus would have remained hidden. This is the same for everyone, no matter how intense our investigation into His life and death.
When Jesus confronted a man named Saul on the road to Damascus, He said to him, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles — to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.” (Acts 26:15–18)
Saul (who became Paul) saw someone on that road, but didn’t know who it was. Jesus had to identify Himself. He also told this once-blind man that He would use him to open eyes, and turn people from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God.
This inability to see Jesus is partly a human problem, for sin blinds everyone, sometimes even Christians, to spiritual realities. But darkness is also a demonic issue. Paul later wrote, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12) and that God “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). Satan holds people in darkness for that is his realm. Light belongs to God and to Jesus, who is the Light of the world.
Yesterday I was in a mall and saw a man with a white cane and a seeing eye dog. I marveled at his confidence to move through a complicated space without faltering. The dog kept him from bumping into chairs and tables. Yet even though this dog makes function possible, those of us with sight know how precious it is to be able to see.
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Father, I am so thankful for eyesight, but even more, that You have opened my eyes to see Jesus who gives me such peace and joy. At the same time, I am saddened over others who are oblivious to Your glory. I watch them use whatever works for them, along the line of canes and dogs, so they can make it through life, but my deepest desire is that You open their eyes and deliver them from their darkness. So many in my family, unlike the blind man in the mall who rightly appreciates his “aids” to seeing, seem oblivious to their blindness. They rely on props and temporary things that will not and cannot give them light or sight. Only You can deliver them from darkness — which is my constant prayer.
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