Genesis 49:12: He washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

As Pastor Sumpter has emphasized, we live in a world of deception, seduction, and lies, of hype and hypocrisy. Men have been liars since Adam’s fall, but our technologies pose fresh dangers. The serpent that deceives us is of our own making.

Flash and flair are today more important than substance. Advertisements entice and amuse, but tell us little about the product advertised. We see a cell phone movie on Youtube and feel like eye-witnesses. How can we find the truth behind the image?

But the temptation is more fundamental.

Surf the internet or flip on cable television, and the whole world has been organized with you in mind, for your pleasure. The internet is a global megaphone that gives voice to people who have little to say, and makes them feel grandiose as their Twitter numbers climb. Our world is cunningly designed to tempt us to old-fashioned pride, and pride blinds us to truth.

To see in and through the dazzling appearances, we need to be equipped with the vision of Jesus who has eyes like lamps that burn through the façade and light up the dark corners. In Scripture, kings drink wine. As the royal son of Judah, Jesus drinks deep from the cup of judgment; He drinks so deeply that his eyes turn wine-red; He drinks so deeply that His eyes burn.

At this table, He shares His royal sight by sharing His royal cup. When Jesus broke bread on Easter evening with the disciples at Emmaeus, their eyes were opened. When we drink the wine-blood of Jesus, our eyes are reddened with the flame of the Spirit’s fire. We taste and eat, and our eyes are opened to know good and evil.

(Thanks to Pastor Arthur Kay for his insights into the biblical symbolism of wine.)