Devotional: Believe in Jesus

John 10:35-41

“Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (John 9:35).

An article was printed in the local newspaper, “The Tennessean” today January 30, 2018 on page 3A. The article “Franklin High investigating bullying” is about a young lady having her wig torn from her head by a young man that runs down a school hall. After the young lady’s wig is torn off she runs into a bathroom to hide. A female student records the victim on her phone and records the incident on social media.

The victim is a young lady that has dealt with eczema and psoriasis most of her life. She begins to wear a wig to help her with her confidence. “‘That’s the one thing I cherish, having a wig, so I can feel safe and beautiful like other girls,’ Lauren said. ‘So when they tore it off, it was kind of like stripping me naked and putting me out in the open.’”

Although this article is about bullying, I want to pull from it the idea that people need to belong. They need to be accepted by others. In the text today we learn about a man that was born blind. He is not accepted by society. He is blind and many consider him to be a sinner to be shunned by the good people. Jesus sees the man and gives him his sight. Like Lauren who begins wearing a wig to feel better about herself, this young man feels good about himself. The man becomes a victim of first century bullying in the Jewish synagogue. Many of the people do not believe that this is the same man that used to sit and beg. The Pharisees condemn the man and Jesus because Jesus breaks their rules and heals on the Sabbath Day. After some discussion the man is put out of the temple.

Jesus finds the man and asks the man if he believes in the Son of Man (God, KJV). The man can see, but receiving physical sight does not mean that the man is saved. The man is saved because he believes that the man called Jesus that healed his eyes is the Son of Man. I believe that today too many churches are more concerned about meeting people’s physical needs than they are about meeting people’s need to believe in Jesus. Yes, throughout the Gospels we see Jesus meeting the physical needs of the people. However, Jesus is never finished with His ministry to people until He gives them an opportunity to believe in Him and receive salvation.

“Father, we thank you for supplying all of our needs each day. We are thankful that you died on the cross so that our need for salvation is made possible. Amen.