Six blind men heard that an elephant had been brought to their mountain village.
They had never encountered an elephant. So they decided to approach and touch the animal to know what it was like:
1st Man: Touches the side and declares, “The elephant is exactly like a wall.”
2nd Man: Touches the tusk and argues, “It is round, smooth, and sharp. It is like a spear.”
3rd Man: Touches the trunk and insists, “It is like a snake.”
4th Man: Touches a leg and claims, “It is round and tall like a tree.”
5th Man: Touches the ear and decides, “It is exactly like a huge fan.”
6th Man: Touches the tail and complains, “It is exactly like a rope.”
Each man was partially true. But they were all entirely wrong about the whole.
These blind men saw only darkness. They were deceived about reality by depending on their feelings.
But what if there was a seventh man who could see? Then the blind men could really know the elephant. They could know not by what they feel but by eye witness testimony.
People are blind to the truth about God. Because of sin, they are in darkness. So they depend on their feelings to decide what is true. And they are thus even more deceived than the blind men were about the elephant.
But Jesus came. He saw everything clearly. And he gave valid testimony to the truth about God by his life, words, death and resurrection. In fact, Jesus was God and Man both.
Jesus said:
“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father [God]” (John 14:9).
“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
The writer of Hebrews summarized it well:
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days [now] he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.
He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1:3).
Know Jesus, know God.