Worthy is the lamb…Father, only You can take blind eyes and make them see, only You can take hearts of stone and turn them into hearts of flesh; only You can cause hearts to fear that You may then those fears relieve. Father, I fear that I know so many who on “that day” will hear from Christ to their shock…”Depart from me, You worker of lawlessness I never knew You”.
The Jesus that so many celebrate this time of year is the Jesus whom they have custom designed in their own minds to be who they want him to be - an earthly king who fulfills their every earthly desire for relief from their struggle with death, sickness, poverty, pain, and every struggle. Their eyes are earthly eyes desiring their best life now. Their king Jesus is an earthly king to who they shout “Hosanna!” But they will soon shout “crucify him!” of his true followers who seek an eternal kingdom and relief from their sin. They think that they see while they are the blind leading the blind.
To watch so many blind who have never known sight stumble along towards certain death is terrifying to watch. Those who see warn with love and mercy knowing that they received their sight by the gift of faith through grace and mercy alone. The blind are increasing in number and claiming to see, they lead other blind men to death. The blind have splinters in their eyes the size of trees but they pick at the tiny splinter in their brother’s eye.
The miracle that they need begins with You Father - they must be taught by You that they cannot see. Reading Jesus’ description of the one who keeps His words in Matthew 5 - 7 sadly caused the blind to continue in their self-righteous claims of keeping God’s law. In fact, they become harsher in their judging of other blind men.
By Your grace, You open they eyes of your children causing them to say “Lord, if you are willing, You can make me clean” - You in mercy turn them from glorying in their “free will” to glorying in the will of Christ to save them (Matthew 8:2). You turn them into new creatures created in Christ who say: “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof” (Matthew 8:8) You birth them by the will of God and they hear you say as they lie paralyzed: “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2-3)
These are they who on “that day” when the rains of judgement fall, the floods of God’s holy terror blow, and the winds of God’s righteousness howl, are safe; they are safe in the ark of Christ who alone is the keeper of the law. He has created creatures who no longer walk in darkness - the darkness of hatred, and judging their brother, and self-righteous hypocrisy. They no longer claim to have no sin; rather they confess their sin, they are poor in spirit, mourning over their sin and hungering and thirsting for a righteousness far greater than the greatest religious man that they have ever known. Their purified hearts hate the struggle of their sinful bodies against their new desires for thirst for such a righteousness. They desire true peace for those who cry that there is peace but have no peace - the blind who think that they see but march on through the wide gate of destruction. These new creatures who now see suffer willingly under the yoke of the master as they cry out against the darkness - but as they suffer You give them joy and ultimately great reward. These will stand on that terrible day not of their own merit or in the safety of their own obedience but in the obedience and shelter of the worthy lamb.
But the blind will not - they are like chaff which the storm of judgement blows away. They like Cain remain blind denying their own sinfulness being worthy of bloodshed. Therefore they bring to you the works of their hands. They think that they see, they think that they obey. Their blind eyes and deaf ears do not hear the sound of the approaching storm in which they will be destroyed.
Father, open their eyes! I beg of You! I trust You, the judge of the earth will do right. But oh Lord, I did not deserve this rescue. I lay paralyzed and could make no move toward You, yet you said: “Son, your sins are forgiven.” as you gave Your own life in my place. So Father, I ask You for mercy - for the religious whose blindness causes them to trust in their checking of all the right boxes; for the poor and abused whose blindness causes a self-pity and trust in some sort of cosmic justice that they call God, for the rich who see no need of God, and for the many other self-righteous who trust in themselves rather than the rescuing work of Christ. Please Father, awaken men, open blind eyes…to the praise of the glory of Your GRACE!