June 6, 2023
A Meeting With the Master
“Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ He answered, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.’” John 9:35-37 (NASB)
After watching hours of videos online over the years, I see pastors trying to help lost folks understand the gospel in public forums. I believe these pastors are pre-evangelizing the unbeliever. This term is one you may not be familiar. The purpose of pre-evangelizing is a process of trying to tear downs walls of unbelief (or answer questions) so the unbeliever may come to saving faith. It also helps overcome simple misunderstandings. Most of the time questions are centered around the identity of Jesus Christ, or authenticity of the Bible. Now it seems as if there is always a person trying to argue, cause conflict, or degrade the pastor’s time in sharing. This is because they have not experienced the miracle of new life in Christ Jesus. “… the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God…” (Romans 8:7a). We should expect it. But what if a miracle happened to you? Would you try to learn more about the person who did it?
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?” These were precious words. Words that took time to process. “Believe?” “What does this mean?” “Believe who?” the man must have asked. Jesus used the word believe or pisteuō; meaning to believe, or entrust.[1] This word also carries the thought of one who is “to obey” or “to confide in.” One might believe in someone or something, but not necessarily confide in them or it. In this conversation, the man understood. He had just experienced a miracle. Of course he would place his faith in Him! He was born with eyes that didn’t work from birth. Now they did. His faith began when he left to the pool of Siloam. He came back with physical sight, and now was about to receive spiritual sight. He was formally blind two times. Once physically, and spiritually. Now he would have a chance to have both. As Jesus shared His invitation, it stretched the man’s understanding and led him to the Truth. He would come to know Truth as a person, but he didn’t know the identity of the Son of Man yet. So he asked genuinely, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” “How Lord (or sir), am I to identify him?” A direct reply to his question was given. Jesus replied, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” This phrase might be better translated, “You have already seen him, and I am the very one who is talking with you now.”[2] What is interesting is this is the same phrase Jesus used with the Samaritan woman. “I am He, the One speaking to you” (John 4:26). She had one type of vision already, but she was still incomplete.
Imagine the Son of God seeking you today to ask, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” If you are a Christian today, you have heard it too in your past. If you are not a Christian today, God is asking the same thing. “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” When you sense that calling that only can come from God, you will hear “I am He, the One speaking to you.” “Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”[3]
[1] Robert L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries : Updated Edition (Anaheim: Foundation Publications, Inc., 1998).
[2] Barclay Moon Newman and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the Gospel of John, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1993), 318.