Blinding Leaders

In John 9, Jesus performs an outstanding miracle. He recovers the sight of a man natural-born blind. When the local leaders of his day heard about it, they seemed to want to blind him a second time. It was difficult for them to accept. The conversation gets wild. Thankfully, we have the transcript.

John 9:19-21 (MSG) They asked them, "Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he now sees?" His parents said, "We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. But we don't know how he came to see—haven't a clue about who opened his eyes. Why don't you ask him? He's a grown man and can speak for himself."

The possibility they could have blinded the man again is not a far-fetched idea. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, the local leaders spoke plainly about killing Lazarus again. They were bad actors, a phenomena I call blinding leaders.

If blinding lights are belivers that use the full blare while driving, blinding leaders are truck drivers, with even more lights on. Unlike regular church goers, blinding leaders know exactly what they are doing.

Blinding leaders, don't want you going too far. Jesus is Lord, remember? Just serve the Lord and come to church next week. Blinding leaders see what God can possibly do. Rather than point in the right direction, they intentionally mislead away from the Gospel of Grace. This is all there is.

Why do blinding leaders do this? Because they are blind themselves. This is how Jesus puts it: "Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” They've taken a yard stick and measured God out. They know exactly what God is able to do and no more. Everything else is strange and out of place.

Jesus was heavy against the leaders of his day. In retrospect, we understand better now. Left to them, whatever message Rabbi Yeshua was carrying was meant to end in Jerusalem, the blinding leaders cut his life short. What we have today, as the Gospel, is what God did in spite of the blinding leaders. If it seems you have a blinding leader, prayerfully find an enabling leader. There are many of them out there. They'll nurture your message to fruition and teach you to do the same.

#Grace

#Faith

#Love

#Gospel

#Goodworks