"Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?" (Groucho Marx)A young girl pulled out in to traffic and was hit by a fast-moving car. I rushed over, someone handed me a tire tool and I pried open the passenger door so as to rescue her. Upon entering there was nothing I could do. She died. It still haunts me to this day!
Lawyers called me for my account. They asked "Were there any cars between you and the accident?" My response was "No, there was not and I had a clear view." Another driver and witnesses contradicted my testimony. There had been another car in between me and the accident which I had failed to notice! You see I was so focused on what was happening that I failed to see the obvious. There was another car there, but my mind didn't "register" it. The better question to me should have been "Are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?" My eyes did lie to me! Sometimes we're so blinded to truth that we are in a fog.
Ezekiel, centuries ago said this to his fellow man:
Ezekiel 12:2 "Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house."My eyes failed to register what I saw. I was not lying. I perceived actual events wrongly! Since there was no deceit in my heart, I wasn't being rebellious. I had such good intentions yet I was totally wrong! This is called a "scotoma" which is the failure to see what's right there in front of of our own eyes! Some people have an island with no vision on the retina, but a psychological scotoma is an island of blindness in the mind.
Therefore, "lying eyes" are possible and lying eyes are called scotomas! Ezekiel was speaking to people who had lying eyes, but also had a scotoma of the ears so to speak. They also had lying ears! However, we'll focus on lying eyes.
Jesus had just healed the blind man. Here is the conversation:
John 9:24 "Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner. 25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. 26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?"Who was blind here? Was it the blind man or the "they" (the others)? The blind man, although blind, had faith in Jesus to obey. Jesus gave him instructions and he followed them to a tee, and consequently, regained his vision. He had a childlike belief in Jesus! (We find out that this man was not blind for any other reason than that he was to be used so that Jesus could show the works of God.)
Here's the scenario. Everyone knew that the man had been blind since birth, they saw Jesus restore his sight, and yet they didn't believe what they saw! They had a scotoma to truth. "They" were the truly blind!
Jesus physically died on the Cross. He bled real blood and his intestines spewed forth real water when he was pierced. Before this many saw that real nails were used to nail a real body to real wood. They saw this! Many saw this. However, those with scotomas had lying eyes.
Immediately there were those who said that it wasn't a physical Jesus who was nailed to the Cross, but an "illusion" called a "phantasm". Therefore, Jesus didn't die for the sins of mankind, it was only an illusion. Therefore, we have no hope because nobody really died on the Cross! Those people taught their garbage immediately! This belief is called "Docetism" and was an early threat to the real church. Docetism was derived from the Gospel of Peter which was a forged gospel written early by a man blinded from truth and written in Peter's name. It was a heresy and those people were called gnostics. They had "secret knowledge", and did what they thought was "good" although they were blinded from truth. Gnosticism was an early threat to Christianity and much of Paul's writings talk of a false gospel.
Is gnosticism still alive? Yes, it's alive and well, especially with the findings of many gnostic writings in Egypt in Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945. There were many false gospels. Now with movies like The Da Vinci Code gnosticm is in vogue again! Many movie stars such as Madonna are deeply involved in gnosticism. Many cults are gnostic in nature. Yes, gnosticism, although not a threat to Christ, is death for those who see, but are blind!
Early Christians saw the vicarious death of the real Jesus yet they were blinded to what they really saw. They believed others over their own "lying eyes". Today, we study the testimonies of those who saw Jesus die and spoke to him as he died. However,many believe those who deny what witnesses saw and accept lies as truth. "Are you going to believe them or the eyes of witnesses?" When you accept truth, you'll be as the blind man and shall say "I was blind, but now I see!" That's grace. That's truth!
Today many deny the events of the gospels, especially his miracles. Logic tells them that those miracles could never happen. Reason fails them! God is not bound by the knowledge of man nor our feeble logic! Miracles are supernatural and the supernatural has no place for the logical person. However, no one has ever said that reason will save you, but faith in what's supernatural will. Jesus is supernatural! He is beyond the confines of nature. He lies outside the bounds of science. Jesus IS God!
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