Transformed Sight: Embracing a New Identity in Christ

The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” — John 9:8-12

So for the blind man, this was an eye-opening experience.

It was eye-opening because of how he responded to Jesus. He did three things correctly. He heard. He acted. He testified. And this is always the right response to Jesus. But with it, this man got more than he anticipated. He was given a whole new identity, which is the best part of the story.

Remember, this whole situation unfolded because the disciples asked a single question. A question based on a wrong theological assumption about this blind man's spiritual state: the assumption was that some sin resulted in his blindness from birth. And we have to assume that this man believed this as well. This was a lie perpetuated and projected onto him from his birth. We assume he has already spent years trying to connect his present state to some past sin of his parents or even in his own life.

But on this day, his story is going to be retold. His state is going to be permanently changed. He will be given sight and, with it, a new identity. Jesus's healing will address his condition and everything people believe led to that condition. Jesus will give him the thing he wants and needs — sight with a fresh, holy, clean, pure, and new identity.

This is everything a man wants when he comes to Jesus. He wants a clean state. He wants a new identity. He wants a future that takes precedence over his past.

But notice how people respond to him. They can't make sense of it. They only think about this man through the lens of who he was, not who he is. Therefore they're confused. They even assume it isn't him even though he testifies it is, and still, they have trouble believing it.

And this is everything a man doesn't expect when he comes to Jesus. That the people of his past won't be able to fully comprehend his new life. They might debate it. They might disbelieve it. They might protest it. They might even disqualify it.

But men of God who have come face to face with Jesus and have been given new sight have to keep doing the same thing repeatedly. Keep listening. Keep acting. Keep testifying about Jesus. This is how you embrace your new identity in Jesus Christ.

ASK THIS: Are you having trouble living beyond your past? Who is someone that makes this hard for you? How will you keep listening, acting, and testifying about Jesus?

DO THIS: Do all three things today. Listen. Act. Testify.

PRAY THIS: God, Heavenly Father, I surrender my old identity and embrace the new one You have given me in Christ. Help me listen to Your voice, act in obedience, and confidently testify of Your transformative power. Grant me faith to step out boldly and bring glory to Your name.

PLAY THIS: No Longer Slaves.