Light of the World! Chapter Three: Lord Open Our Eyes

It has been my experience, that once a person's eyes have been opened, they can never be the same. The resistance from our old nature will not necessarily end fully, but if faith is nurtured, it will grow.

A fascinating story is found in 2 Kings chapter 6. At this time the King of Aram was plotting against Israel, but several times his plot was thwarted. He began to suspect a traitor in his midst that was warning the King of Israel of his plans. what was really happening was this: Elisha the prophet was the leak! Somehow he knew by a supernatural word of knowledge what plans the king of Aram were making in his private room, and passed them on to the king of Israel. When the king of Aram learned of this he sent horses and chariots and a great army to surround the city where Elisha lodged.

What followed is recorded in 2 Kings 6:15-17:

15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was circling the city. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, ” Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, ” O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

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The victory was theirs all along, and Elisha knew it. Gehazi his attendant was afraid until his spiritual eyes were open to see that he was on the winning side!

Most Christians readily confess that we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). At the same time we are told that we do not walk in darkness but in the light (1 John 1:7). We are to be children of the day who are not ignorant of what is going on now or what lies ahead (1 Thessalonians 5:1-8). This requires a different kind of sight. The prophets of old were called “seers” not because they had 20/20 eyesight but because they could see what was happening in the spiritual realm. Many important visions given to them were for the purpose of teaching them but also later generations. So we have the scriptures, which were written down by men who were prompted, inspired by the Holy Spirit as they wrote them. Does God give people visions today? Well, in the New Testament, and after Christ was crucified, resurrected and ascended, people were still receiving visions from God. The promised gift of the Holy spirit through which these came was also given to succeeding generations, including our generation (Acts 2:39).

At the same time I believe true prophets of God are very rare these days. What we need are those who have received and understood what those before us have given. Peter said that some of the words of the ancient prophets were not so much for them to understand, but for us (1 Peter 1:12). We are to be people with spiritual vision, able to see by the Spirit, and hear what the Spirit is saying to His people. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to resonate with the same Spirit that was in the prophets and in those who wrote down scriptures (2 Peter 1:20-21). This requires great humility on our part, and faith that God will open our understanding. Like Elisha’s servant we need our eyes open to see that the situation is not as grave as what our natural minds would think. While great evil does exist 2,000 years after Christ announced the Kingdom was at hand, great and wonderful things have been happening all along as well. Only those with spiritual sight and hearing are aware of these great and beautiful things! They have been born again in order that they can see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

There is a great controversy, even among believing Christians concerning the bible these days. scholarship has shown many things concerning the means by which the bible has been handed down to us today. Archeology and research into the history of ancient times has in a sense “demystified” the bible. It is more often being interpreted as a social phenomena and important only in the way it has influenced culture throughout history. Well, I have to say first of all that I am a product of modern times as much as anyone else. I have had my own doubts about Christianity and the authority of the bible in my lifetime as well. I would not insist on anyone believing that the bible is from God just because I believe it is. However, I also believe that if a fair hearing is allowed, as I have allowed, from a chosen of God teacher who knows Him, the evidence will be overwhelming that God has authored it.

It has been my experience, that once a person’s eyes have been opened, they can never be the same. The resistance from our old nature will not necessarily end fully, but if faith is nurtured, it will grow. For myself, the more I have learned from the bible, the more I am convinced that it contains the truth of God that I need to help me live. In reality, the more I understand about the background behind the story, the more powerful it becomes to me.

Paul describes a situation where many people studied the Hebrew bible, before it was called the Old Testament and before the New Testament was written. Their minds were closed to the things it contained about Jesus. Their traditional interpretations would not allow them to accept that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Before we pass judgment, we must put ourselves in their place. They were expecting a great leader who would crush Rome and restore the throne in Jerusalem to a descendent of David. In fact, their strict observance to the law of Moses, as interpreted by their greater rabbis was in the hopes to ready themselves and the people for their messiah. Jesus of Nazareth did not accomplish their deliverance, at least not in the way they expected.

However, many of those less educated, less scholarly, less respected among the community did believe in Jesus. Down in their hearts they knew He was revealing the true God to them. Maybe they could not explain everything, but they believed and followed Him. There were some of the more educated who began to believe as well. Once their traditional beliefs were like a veil over their minds when they read the scriptures. All they could see were laws and rituals. They missed the parts about the relationship God wanted with His people. Perhaps when they saw the miracles of compassion, the overwhelming kindness and love he displayed, their hearts became warm. Paul wrote that this veil would be taken away from their minds when their hearts turned to the Lord. Now they could begin to see how the Lord and His life is hidden between the lines as we might say in the pages of scripture (2 Corinthians 3:13-18). That very revelation of Christ in the scriptures is transformative! We can progressively be transformed into His likeness in it!

The Psalmist proclaims in Psalms 119:18:

Open my eyes, that I may behold

Wonderful things from Your law.

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This one understood the need to have his spiritual eyes opened.

After His resurrection, Jesus met up with some of His followers on the road to Emmaus. Somehow He concealed Himself from them so that they thought He was a stranger to Jerusalem. They were obviously confused at what had been transpiring, and filled with doubts. At some point in the conversation He made this challenge to them:

Luke 24:25-27:

25 “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 ” Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

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Later at the end of the journey He consented to stay with them a while.

Luke 24:29-35:

29 So He went in to stay with them. 30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. 32 They said to one another, ” Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?” 33 And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them, 34 saying, ” The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon.” 35 They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread.

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In a later gathering after He demonstrated that He was not a ghost, but in a real body, we read:

Luke 24:44-49:

44 Now He said to them, ” These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and He said to them, ” Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 “You are witnesses of these things.

NASU

First of all, notice the importance Jesus placed upon knowing what Moses and the prophets and psalmists wrote concerning Him. Then notice how they recollected the fact that their hearts burned within them while He spoke with them and explained the scriptures to them. Finally notice how He opened their minds to understand the scriptures so they could convey this wonderful gospel to others.

This is the process by which 2,000 years later people still believe in, love, and have hope in Jesus. It is more than an intellectual exercise, but an understanding of the scriptures that can change a life! Those who yet hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled, as the very same Holy Spirit that inspired the scriptures and opened the eyes of Gehazi, the disciples of Jesus, Paul and countless others can open their eyes as well!