Someone Has to be the Blind Guy.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

---Isaiah 61: 1-3

Several years ago, I was really into John Eldredge of Wild at Heart book fame. In one of his books, he uses this passage often, and kinda as a theme for the book. He poses that this passage, which Jesus quotes for His first public message, is a rallying cry for us to be rescuers of people, to be God's agents going out and helping people discover true life.

I ate that up.

And, I agree wholeheartedly with the idea. We are called to imitate Christ, we are told by Jesus that we have authority to do all sorts of crazy spiritual superheroics. And as long as we recognize that it is not we who do the deep down, soul rescuing (only God can do that), I think this is a good mindset to have. Christians who have changed the world no doubt live by this idea- whether they realize it or not. William Wilberforce who fought to end slavery is a perfect historical example, but we need not look any further than the Christians who today are digging water wells in Africa ( www.bloodwatermission.com ), or working in poor areas of America taking care of the sick, or leading movements to bring attention to the sex slave trade ( www.redthreadmovement.org ) or child soldiers ( www.invisiblechildren.com ). And why stop there- there are student missionaries in our colleges, neighbors who share Christ out of their pores, and quite possibly you yourself live this out.

I know I try to. It's not easy, and sometimes, it gets to be almost too much for anyone. Sometimes we falter, we fail, and we get trapped. Sometimes we just burn out.

The other day, I looked this passage up, largely because I was finding myself drawn to the "beauty for ashes" part. As I read it, I noticed something for the first time in a long time.

Someone has to be the blind guy.

I spent so much time focusing on this as a mantra for living the "on-fire for Jesus" lifestyle, that I neglected to realize that this passage is hope for the poor, the blind, the brokenhearted, and the prisoners. Someone is coming to rescue them. Then it dawned on me.

Sometimes, I'm the blind guy.

Sometimes, I need to be rescued, need to be given sight. I'm not always the crusading rescuer, I am often the captive in need of salvation. Be that from the ambassador of Christ that is my friend, or from the presence of Christ Himself, speaking hope to me.

I don't always have it together. Sometimes I can't see clearly, or I'm caught in a trap of my own design. If I am too prideful to admit it, I will not accept help when it comes.

I just need to admit I am the ashes, and that the only way beauty can arise from me is if Christ does His work in me. In order to be the rescuer, I must first be rescued.

Brokenness is a thing we must all know, so that we are made better. We who have been blind and can now see can better rescue the blind (I'm speaking metaphorically here). And the same is true for those former captives and poor.

If we want to be the kind of Christ follower that is revolutionary, it starts with realizing we need His rescue- not just once, but often.

Broken or Crushed

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

"Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."
-Matthew 21:42-44

Every time I see this verse used, it is used to illustrate how the supposed 'chosen' miss their opportunity to see the Messiah, so the rejected by the elite become the new Chosen. It is a cautionary tale to all of us who think we have it made that we can miss the key to it all. The Pharisees had all the knowledge, all the lineage, all the history to see the Messiah, but they missed it. They rejected Him and so missed out on the kingdom of God.

But there is something else here. Something subtle, something under the radar that I've rarely seen expounded upon. Maybe it is because it is a difficult thought, or maybe it is because it is not a 'safe' idea.

You don't encounter Jesus and survive.

Jesus says there are those who fall on this rejected capstone, and there are those on whom the capstone falls. One is broken, one is crushed. Both are destroyed.

Falling on the Stone
I take this to apply to those who come to Jesus. These people come to him, and fall on him, they trust in him and willingly worship him. It makes sense to me that the imagery Jesus uses here is one of being broken, like a pot that falls to the floor. We often talk about Jesus 'breaking our hearts' for something: a people, a sin, a tragedy. The idea of worship is about being broken. It is about realizing our failure to measure up- our pride being broken- and accepting the gift of God that makes us worthy. Worship is seeing less of me, and more of Jesus.

The thing about being broken is that we can't be put back together. We're Humpty Dumpty, broken before our king, only our king CAN rebuild us. To be broken is to be at ground zero, the starting point. What is then made from our ruin is the work of of Christ as he comes to dwell in us. TO be broken is to cease fighting against his will.

Crushed by the Stone
Other folks are found by God. They are not looking for Him, or in the case of these Pharisees, they are outright opposing Him. They push Him away, reject Him, but the power of Christ is overwhelming. He crushes us. The truth is that everyone will someday worship Christ. Every. Single. One. The only difference is if you will worship Him in His presence, or worship Him as you are separated from Him. Will you worship Him as your Savior, or as the Holy One you have realized too late?

You Can't Live
The truth is, you can't live with or without Jesus.


To know him is to give your life to him, and for him. This idea that we can't live with Jesus is not so much about us dying as it is about us letting HIM live in us. Letting our own fears and failures, our own flaws and our own prejudices die so that HE can be the guiding, driving force of our lives. Our ambitions must fall. Our plans must fail. Our vision must go dark. All in the life of Christ. If we do anything 'for Jesus' that is really for us, it is as good as dead.

No, we must live- not our lives- we must live His life, the one He marks out for us, the one He gives to us.

Let us be broken of our selves, so that He may repair us in His image.