Testimony: Humanity’s Greatest Sermon

“Hark! The herald angels sing, Jesus the Light of the world; Glory to the newborn King, Jesus, the Light of the world. We’ll walk in the light, beautiful light, Come where the dewdrops of mercy are bright, Shine all around us by day and by night, Jesus, the Light of the world.” (Elderkin, 1890)

Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (John 1:5).

Jesus, the Light of the world. 

We’ve read this sentiment expressed in song; we’ve read it again as originally expressed in Scripture. When we read and study the Bible, there are at least three things that should occur:

• We should prayerfully read or hear the Word;

• We should understand its meaning then and now;

• We should apply that meaning to our own lives.

Let’s give particular attention to the third point—application. In fact, there are at least three applications from this story to bring out.

Jesus. The Light of the world. 

The context of this beautiful phrase comes from a mixed setting of conflicting circumstances on the Sabbath day. The drama actually begins in John 8 with scene one, a woman caught in adultery and dragged before Jesus during a Bible study. After Jesus dispersed the congregants, He forgave the woman and proclaimed of Himself in verse twelve, “I am the light of the world”. He then exited one scene and immediately entered the next, beginning in chapter nine.

Here we find a man—blind from birth. He had never seen, whether it was the face of his parents or any other of God’s handiwork. He could only hear the birds sing, but could not even imagine, perhaps, their kaleidoscopic array, shapes and sizes. He could feel and hear the cool wind blow through the leaves of majestic sycamore trees and smell the beautiful fragrance of the cedars of Lebanon, but could not visualize the verdure of the green deciduous leaves in springtime or the multicolored hues in autumn. Neither could he fathom the splendid expanse of the mountains that they grew on, nor the cattle upon their thousand hills. He could bask in the warm embrace of the sun at noonday; however, he could not relish its cascading course through the skies as it showed a spectrum of colors before it finally set for the evening. He could not even see the lovely face of Jesus. To make it quite clear—the man was blind and could not see.

Jesus’ disciples asked Jesus—who sinned, this man or his parents, to which Jesus replied—neither. But then He continued and explained the purpose of the man’s lack of sight. Jesus, God the Son, had work to do.

Application 1

We often experience challenges in our lives that at first blush can be quite confusing and pointedly discouraging. We go to a multitude of people and receive a multitude of solutions. We even plead with God to reveal Himself in our period of stress.

• Sometimes our life’s situation results from sin, whether commission—doing what we ought not to do or omission—not doing what we ought to do.

• Sometimes we find ourselves in situation because of poor choices we have made or even because of presumption.

• Other times, we experience a Job-like scenario in which God didn’t bring the trial, but allowed it for our good. “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4). “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

• In this man’s case and ultimately in ours, it is for the glory of God “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (John 11:4).

After Jesus applied the clay to his eyes, He instructed the man to go and wash. He went, washed and came back seeing. He didn’t go seeing, thus he could not recognize who had healed him!

There are many miracles shown in the Bible; all involved an element of faith in someone present, either the one being healed or the intercessor. Some involved an action by the recipient:

• Naaman;

• The lepers of Luke 17 (v. 14, “as they went”);

• This man—came back seeing. Again, he did not go seeing; he had to be obedient in order to accomplish the task.

Application 2

• We have to cooperate with God. 

• We pray for deliverance, but sometimes we have not been fully obedient.

• We suffer from many ailments, but do not follow health counsel.

• We pray for souls, but do not work.

• We pray, but do not study the Word.

• We study the Word, but do not pray.

“Character building is the work, not of a day, nor of a year, but of a lifetime. The struggle for conquest over self, for holiness and heaven, is a lifelong struggle. Without continual effort and constant activity, there can be no advancement in the divine life, no attainment of the victor’s crown. The Christian life is a battle and a march. In this warfare there is no release; the effort must be continuous and persevering. It is by unceasing endeavor that we maintain the victory over the temptations of Satan. Christian integrity must be sought with resistless energy and maintained with a resolute fixedness of purpose. No one will be borne upward without stern, persevering effort in his own behalf. All must engage in this warfare for themselves; no one else can fight our battles….”1

Jesus told His Father, “I have glorified Thee on earth. I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4).

This brings us to our next sub-plot.

As one of Jesus’ customs was, He taught on the Sabbath day in the temple.

As their custom was, there were leaders and members of the church that came not only to listen, but were present with the intent of hindering His message and His ministry. 

Application 3

As members of the body of Christ, each of us has a ministry—certain talents and personalities in order to share the message of Christ, to edify the body of Christ, and in turn to become more like Him. We read about these Holy Spirit-endowed gifts in Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4.

There are many people that you will encounter in life whose sole purpose appears to be to hinder your ministry. These people are even within the church. Paul speaks of wolves among the flock (Acts 20:29; Philippians 3:2). Do not get caught up in these distractions; stay in the Word! God has called each of us to present a message to a starving, dying, and sin-laden world. Don’t get sidetracked! Can’t you see the signs of the times?! The coming King is at the door! (Belden, 1886)

Jesus said in Luke 19:40, “If these keep silent, the rocks would immediately cry out!”. I am determined that I don’t want a rock crying out for me. Jesus is coming soon—stay faithful to His calling! There are souls to be saved.

Immediately after his healing, the man in the story went to work to save souls. In verse 25 he states “… one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see”. 

This was a testimony!

He then turned the table on his interrogators in verse 27, “… will you also be His disciples?”

This was an invitation!

This is one of the shortest and most potent sermons in the Bible.

As Christians, we are here for many reasons, one of which is to share Jesus, the Light of the world. Shout like the Samaritan woman — “Come see a Man!” (John 4:29)

So I extend a multifaceted invitation:

• Accept the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23);

• Prayerfully study and explore Bible truths for yourself, which include the seventh-day Sabbath, as well as the visible and literal second return of Jesus Christ;

• If you previously believed and wandered off course, it is time to come home from the far country (Luke 15:13);

• Remain faithful to His calling and keep the rocks silent.

1 White, E.G. (1905) The Ministry of Healing. Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press Publishing Association, pp. 451, 452.