Open My Eyes, Lord, I Want To See Jesus

 

"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, nearer than they are aware. Those that seek Christ, though they do not see Him, may yet be sure He is not far from them...Christ is often near His people and they are not aware of Him...Christ's time of making Himself known to His people is when they are most at a loss. When they think they have lost themselves, He will let them know that they have not lost Him...Christ is often nearer to us than we think He is, and so we shall find afterwards, to our comfort." - Matthew Henry

 

The Scriptures say much about the eyes.

 

In Luke 24:16, we see that the "eyes were held" or restrained, while in Luke 24:31, we discover the total opposite - "their eyes were opened."

 

In 2 Kings 6:17, the Prophet Elisha prayed to God for his servant - "...Lord, I pray Thee, open His eyes, that he may see..." And then in the next verse, we find him praying for the Syrian troops - "Smite this people, I pray Thee, with blindness" - followed with a reverse prayer in the next few verses - "Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see."

 

In John 20:14, we read of Mary - "And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus." Then again, in John 21:4, we read of a similar reaction from the disciples - "But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus."  

 

"eyes were held"

"eyes were opened"

"...Lord, I pray Thee, open His eyes, that he may see..."

"Smite this people, I pray Thee, with blindness"

"Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see"

"saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus."

"Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus"  

 

What about this? How does it relate to you and me?

 

Let's delve a little deeper.

 

In Luke 24:16, the eyes of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus were restrained from seeing that it was Jesus in their midst. They were not expecting to see Him in "another form" - a glorified body. Actually, God placed a restraint on their eyes which prevented them from recognizing Him.

 

As we read further, we find in Luke 24:31 that, in the breaking of bread with Him - "their eyes were opened, and they knew Him..." Suddenly, it was as though - all obscurity was removed...all doubts were gone...the mists were scattered...the veil was taken off and the scales fell from their eyes - and they saw Who it was and knew Him well.  

 

In 2 Kings 6:18, the Prophet Elisha prayed for the Lord to "smite" the Syrian army with "blindness" - not a total blindness for they were able to walk to Samaria as the Prophet led them. Their sight was altered to the extent whereby they could not recognize persons or places with which they were once acquainted. It was a state of "mental hallucination"(Jamieson, Fausset & Brown's Commentary) or illusion, if you will. They saw things otherwise than they were. Their memory as well as their distinguishing faculties failed them.

 

In 2 Kings 6:20, their confusion of vision was removed and their powers of recognition were restored. They were now able to discern things as they really were and to distinguish where they were.

 

In John 20:14, Mary didn't immediately identify Jesus - though He stood right in front of her and spoke to her. In John 21:4, neither did the disciples recognize Him at first. 

 

"they knew not that it was Jesus"

 

Just how many times has He been in our midst and spoken to us and we knew it not?

How many times have we missed Him because He "appeared in another form" than what we were expecting - as Mark 16:12 describes?

 

There are many factors that hinder us from seeing Him in our midst.

 

1) As in the case of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, God places a restraint on our eyes until the right time and place for a revelation of His Son. In their case, it was in the breaking of bread when their eyes were opened and He was revealed.

 

2) If we persist in sin, disobedience, or rebellion and become an enemy of God, He - in judgment - can allow a mental confusion whereby we fall into the trap of our enemy and become ensnared - as in the case of the Syrians. Our own sin blinds us from partaking of the goodness of the Lord.

 

3) Like Mary Magdalene at the tomb, our eyes can become so full of care and grief over our present circumstances that we cannot see the Master standing before us and talking with us. 

 

4) In the example of the disciples in the fishing boat, we find three factors at work causing a certain "blindness' over their eyes - it was twilight...they were preoccupied with their work...and they were at a great distance from the Son of God.

 

Twilight is the time between full night and sunrise - the "darkest hour right before the dawn." This was the time when Jesus manifested Himself to the disciples and to Mary. They both did not recognize Him for the darkness of the hour.

 

The disciples fished all night but caught nothing. In the morning, "Jesus stood on the shore," but they knew it not for they were preoccupied with their work and discouraged over their failure.  

 

The distance between the disciples in the boat and Jesus on the shore caused them to not recognize Him until He spoke and confirmed His word with signs and wonders. 

 

5) Lastly, as in the case of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we may not easily notice the Lord in the midst of our pain because He is "in another form" - a form with which we are not familiar or have never experienced before.