The Lamp-stand
Key Verses: John 9, Exodus 25:31-40
Reflection Question: Think of a situation you have experienced. How has God used that "dirt" to help alter your perspective?
The Lamp-standThe Lamp-stand was positioned on the left side of the Holy of Holies. It had 7 lamps on it and was ornamented with sculpted golden almond blossoms throughout the design. The light from this lamp stand was the only light allowed in the Tabernacle. It’s light would have been reflected off the gold walls of the inner tent creating a warm glow. 7 is a very important Biblical number. The 7 branches could be alluding to the 7 days of the week; with the middle branch representing the Sabbath. The lamps on each branch then come to symbolizes the presence of God’s light with you, not only during the Sabbath, but everyday.
John 1 describes the idea in Christian Doctrine known as the Incarnation. This is the belief that Jesus is the embodied expression of God in human form. While we are made in the image of God, Jesus is fully God and fully human. John writes,
“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” (John 1:9)
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
John describes Jesus as a light coming into the world. In verse 14, he uses the phrase “dwelling”. That word can literally translate to “tabernacle”. Jesus was a walking Tabernacle that housed the light of God.
Healing of the Man Born Blind The Temple in Jerusalem was designed to be a permanent structure of the desert Tabernacle tent. The time of Jesus had the second version of this structure. In John 9, Jesus is in Jerusalem at the time of Sukkot (the Festival of Tabernacles). Each night except for Sabbath, the Court of Women in the Temple was lit by huge lamp-stands. They had 4 arms each, equaling 16 lights total. This light could be seen from anywhere in the city and was kept going all night long as well as singing, dancing, and worship.
During this festival, Jesus heals a man who is blind from birth but not before declaring, “I am the Light of the World.” Unlike the lamb stands in the Temple, Jesus is the light that is never extinguished (John 1:4-5). The healing of the blind man functions in this text as a sign that Jesus will bring those living in darkness into the light.
In verse 2, we see that the disciples make the assumption that this man’s blindness was a result of the dirt of his past. In the beginning of the chapter before this (chapter 8), we read the story of the religious leaders bringing a women found in the act of adultery to Jesus to be punished by stoning. In both stories, Jesus kneels down and touches the dirt.
Jesus kneels down…. Jesus has traveled through eternity, time, and space to get to have a moment of encounter with both the blind man and the adulterous women. He got down to their level. Jesus made sure he was close to them, just as he made himself close to humanity.
Jesus touched the dirt…. John is using images from the Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) to connect Jesus to God. God wrote the law with his finger on the Tablets he gave Moses. Here, Jesus uses that same finger to write in the dust. It’s unsure what he wrote but this demonstration of that same power exhibited on Sinai was enough to send away her accusers. God formed the first man off of the dirt and clay of the earth. Jesus makes clay and forms an eye in this man’s empty socket. Jesus has the power to create to do this because he IS the Creator.
He then tells this man to wash up in the Pool of Siloam.
Light As this Blind man washes the excess dirt, he experiences light for the first time. His dark world begins to brighten; he can see. Light throughout the Bible has acted as a symbol for the Presence and Glory of God. Actually, John writes in his later book,
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
I find it interesting how at the start of John 9, the disciples judged this man for the darkness he was experiencing. They assumed that because he was Blind there must have been some dirt in his past. But Jesus heals this man buy using dirt to form his vision. Then, he asks him to wash away the excess. Maybe this is you.
Maybe you find it hard sometimes to experience the light of God’s presence in your life. Sometimes it can feel like all you are seeing is dirt and darkness. But here is a question to sit with today: What if God is using this dirt to form my perspective?
Jesus says this in response to his followers in John 9:3,
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
What if this situation you are experiencing is the ground through which God wants to alter your vision? Not only of him, but of others. Jesus told the man to wash away the excess dirt. The new eyes Jesus gave this man, formed from the clay, he would need. But all that excess dirt, the guilt and shame he felt about his situation, Jesus sent him to wash away.