Seeing Jesus with Both Eyes

March 23, 2026

Nicholas Hansson was born blind in his right eye. He offers a fascinating glimpse into the unique adaptations required for navigating a world designed for two-eyed vision. He often tilts objects slightly to the right to gain a clearer perspective, compensating for the lack of depth that comes with monocular sight. Unexpected flying objects, like a tossed ball or a sudden bird in flight, can startle him profoundly because he struggles to gauge their speed and trajectory accurately.

Despite these obstacles, Nicholas has discovered unexpected positives in his condition. His heightened sense of hearing, for instance, allows him to identify people by the distinctive sounds of their shoes long before they come into view. Back in third grade, when bullies tried to sneak up on him to exploit his blind spot and scare him, he turned the tables by sensing their approach through subtle auditory cues. With a witty quip like “I can see the future,” he disarmed their pranks, and soon enough, the teasing came to an end.

Pouring water offers a powerful illustration of the limitations imposed by restricted vision. Try it yourself. Close one eye and attempt to fill a glass from a pitcher. Suddenly, the world flattens, depth perception evaporates, and you might overshoot the rim or spill precious drops. With repetitive practice, you can develop workarounds, perhaps judging by the sound of the liquid or the feel of the container, but the inherent challenges linger, reminding us how much we take full sight for granted.

Can this simple object lesson mirror our spiritual vision as well? In Messianic Jewish circles, it’s often said that to best understand Jesus, you need to grasp His Jewish roots. I once heard a messianic rabbi articulate this beautifully, “Without understanding Jesus’ Jewish roots, and that He was Jewish, it is like trying to read the New Testament with one eye closed.” The rabbi was emphasizing the profound importance of recognizing Jesus’ Jewish heritage to unlock deeper insights into His teachings, His identity, and the seamless continuity between the Old and New Testaments.

Consider some vivid examples of how delving into the Old Testament illuminates Jesus in ways that transform our faith. The Passover feast provides the foundation of the meaning of the crucifixion. In this celebration of the exodus, the blood of a sacrificial lamb is smeared on doorposts of the Jewish slaves in Egypt. By obediently doing as God revealed through Moses, the Israelite firstborn were spared from the angel of death (Exodus 12).

When Jesus changed the Passover feast to point to His coming crucifixion, it had to have confused and stunned the disciples. Jesus’ Last Supper was their Passover meal, where He positioned Himself as the ultimate Passover Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world (1 Corinthians 5:7), His blood offering salvation from the death wrought by sin, not just for one night, but for eternally.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, further enriches this understanding. On this holiest day, the high priest would enter the Holy of Holies, sprinkling blood to atone for the people’s sins (Leviticus 16), while a scapegoat carried those iniquities into the wilderness, never to return. Jesus embodied this ritual perfectly as our eternal High Priest and sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11-14), providing atonement once for all, freeing us from the annual cycle of guilt and renewal.

Messianic prophecies weave throughout the Old Testament like golden threads, with over 300 specific prophecies pointing directly and indirectly to Jesus. Pilgrims who walk the paths Jesus walked, the rolling hills of Nazareth, the flowing waters of the Jordan River, the ancient streets of Jerusalem, often describe it as a transformative experience, where Scripture leaps from the page into vibrant, living color, making abstract truths palpably real, as both Old and New Testament descriptions of the Holy Land come alive.

Does the “one-eyed” metaphor move you to want to study the Old Testament? Do you know how Jesus completes these Old Testament teachings as the “Second Adam,” the “Greater Moses,” the “Passover Lamb,” the “True High Priest,” and the “Suffering Servant”? Do you think if you understood these important Jewish revelations you would better understand who Jesus is?

Living with limited spiritual vision, much like navigating life with one eye closed, distorts our view of Jesus. When we ignore His Jewish heritage, we flatten the profound depth of who He is, the Messiah rooted in God’s ancient promises, the bridge uniting the Old and New Testaments in a symphony of salvation. To truly see Him, we must open both eyes, embracing this rich heritage for a fuller, more vibrant faith. May God be glorified as we seek to understand His perfect plan for our salvation in Jesus Christ. (To learn more about Al Earley or read previous articles, see www.lagrangepres.org. You can purchase my book, My Faith Journal, at Amazon.com, a compilation of 366 articles as a daily devotional. Check out my podcast on YouTube, called “My Faith Journey”).