SO, WHO REALLY WAS BLIND?
John 9:28-34 NKJV
28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.
This entire chapter is the account of Jesus healing a man born blind. I really like this guy; he has some serious moxie about him. And even though he was not as educated in the Scriptures as the Pharisees, he gives them all they can handle. I hope you take the time to read this chapter. We don’t often see this much narrative with the miracles that took place in Jesus’ ministry.
So Jesus heals this man who was born blind. But the healing took place on the Sabbath, and the Pharisees were all upset. They reasoned that Jesus could not be from God because He “broke” the Sabbath. When they drag in this formerly blind man, he is unabashed in his appreciation for Jesus. The Pharisees declared that Jesus was a sinner, but the healed man refused to bite. He was not prepared to declare Jesus a sinner. He was clear on the fact that he was blind, but now he had sight. The healed man never backed off of his testimony of what Jesus had done.
The man’s parents were so worried about being excommunicated by the Pharisees that they refused to acknowledge that Jesus had healed their son. The son had much more grit than the parents. He was not ashamed to tell of how Jesus changed his life.
When pressed further, the healed man shared some great insights regarding Jesus. You can hear the sarcasm in his voice when he states, “Why this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes.” This man, who was not scripturally trained, knew that sinners do not work miracles. That God hears those who worship Him and do His will. That no one goes around opening the eyes of someone born blind and that if Jesus were not from God, He could do nothing. For a man born blind, his insight into Jesus and how the Kingdom of God operated was amazing. He literally shut the Pharisees up. So they did what people who are defeated do: they kicked him out. When this man showed them up, they canceled him. The healed man showed himself to be one who saw and understood Jesus. The educated Pharisees showed themselves to be spiritually blind.
I love the fact that when Jesus heard they kicked the man out of the temple, He found him and revealed Himself as the Son of God. The man immediately responded to Jesus with faith and worshipped him. You gotta love this guy’s heart.
APPLICATION
When religion becomes all about men, it blinds. When religion points to the true nature of God and His goodness, it enlightens.
We can learn from this formerly blind man some great lessons about heart, and courage, and faith. When Jesus healed him, this man stuck by Jesus and refused to be moved by the religious crowd. He showed himself to be the one who could really see.
PRAYER
Lord, open my eyes that I might see You in truth and not be swayed by a world that does not know you.