JESUS THE MESSIAH HEALS*

All throughout the Bible, we find that God places great importance on the attitude of man’s heart. God’s treatment of a person depends so much on how that person accepts the true condition of his spiritual life. Any person who would dare to humbly and honestly examine his life would certainly admit the need for God’s mercy and grace. On the other hand, anyone who would not humble himself to acknowledge his sins would consider himself spiritually self-sufficient, not seeing any need to seek God’s mercy and grace. These contrasting attitudes are featured in today’s verses.

Let’s read John 9:1-3
As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (NIV) When Jesus was questioned as to who was guilty of sin such that this man was born blind, Jesus answered that neither the man nor his parents were guilty of any sin that caused his blindness. Our Lord explained that God had a purpose for this affliction. God wanted to show His work through the life of this blind man.

To some of us, it might seem quite unfair of God to have allowed this poor man to go through such an affliction just to showcase His work. But the hearts that trust God are confident that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Let’s read the next verses John 9:4-7.
“As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam.” So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

Having stated that His time on earth was running out, our Lord proceeded with an unusual way of performing a miracle. Using His spittle and some dirt, He formed some mud and put it on the man’s eyes. This act was reminiscent of the manner by which He created man by forming dust and giving it His breath. It gave His disciples and other onlookers a sort of “glimpse” into the time of Creation when our Lord created man. And the blind man was healed.

Let’s continue reading the next verses John 9:8-12.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” “How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded. He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. (NIV)

The people who knew the blind man reacted to his healing with such great SURPRISE and DISBELIEF.

Let’s proceed reading John 9:13-17.
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided. Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”(NIV)

The Pharisees were not ready to acknowledge this as an act of God. They were highly suspicious of Jesus especially because He was always going against the regulations of the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath, a day that was considered holy wherein no one should work.

On the other hand, the healed man’s heart was so full of gratefulness that He readily acknowledged his healing as an act of God. This was apparent when He opined to the Pharisees that Jesus was a prophet.

Let’s read the next verses John 9:18-23
The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age, ask him.”(NIV)

The Pharisees did not like what they were hearing from the healed man. They wanted so much to expose him as a liar so that his testimony about Jesus would be discredited. The Pharisees had tremendous clout. They could investigate any matter that seemed like a threat to their power and influence. They also had the power to make life miserable by banning anyone from all the synagogues.

The parents of the healed man were afraid of the Pharisees. They did not want to be put out of the synagogue, making them social outcasts, “excommunicated” from any religious rites which the Jews considered essential to their spiritual welfare.

Let’s continue reading John 9:24-25.
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”(NIV)

The Pharisees were forcing the healed man to a solemn vow to tell the truth. They wanted him to say once and for all that Jesus was not of God but an ordinary sinner.
However, the man had only one truth that he was sure of. This he blurted out, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see”. His whole world was different now. Everything had been changed. When he was blind, all he could see was darkness. Now he could see all the colors around him. After receiving his eyesight, surely he knew the distinct difference between being blind and being able to see all the movement everywhere.

How about us ? Can we recall the time when we were spiritually blind ? Can we remember the big difference when we received our spiritual eyesight ? Were we as happy about our spiritual eyesight as this blind man was ?

What about now ? Is our spiritual eyesight still as keen and as sharp as when we first received Jesus ? Are we still gratefully rejoicing at every spiritual wonder that Jesus shows us ?

Let’s read the next verses John 9:26-34.
Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does His will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.(NIV)

The Pharisees continuously tried to discredit the man’s testimony about Jesus. They wanted the man to change his impression about Jesus. But the man was steadfast in his belief that Jesus came from God.

Unable to sway his testimony, the Pharisees angrily accused the man of being a sinner since his birth.

Let’s continue reading the verses John 9:35-38.
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when He found him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “Who is He, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Him.(NIV)

This was the first time that the man saw Jesus with his eyes. All the previous verses suggest that he had no idea of what Jesus looked like. However, we know that blind people naturally develop a very keen sense of hearing. Thus when the healed man heard the voice of Jesus, he recognized it as the voice that told him to go and wash right after mud was applied on his eyes . It was the voice of the one who gave him his eyesight !

When Jesus told him that He was the Son of Man, the grateful heart of the healed man readily believed. He acknowledged that he needed to believe. Not only was he cured of his physical blindness, he was also given the grace to spiritually see “the Truth, the Way, and the Life”. He then worshipped Jesus, giving Him all the glory and honor that only a humble man can give.

Let’s read the rest of the verses John 9:39-41.
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with Him heard Him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”(NIV)

Anyone who realizes his own spiritual blindness and humbly admits his need for God’s mercy and grace will see God in his life. But anyone who considers himself to be spiritually self-sufficient will be blind to his need for God’s mercy and grace; he will not see God in his life.

This was what Jesus was saying and it sounded like a mysterious riddle. It succeeded in confusing the Pharisees who reacted by rejecting the insinuations that they were blind. Thus Jesus pronounced their guilt for the sin of unbelief in Him, even as they saw with their eyes all the many things He did that proved that He was the Messiah.

In applying today’s lesson in our lives, are we spiritually self-sufficient or spiritually dependent on God? Do we seek God’s guidance in everything that we do ? Or do we feel that our inate intelligence and abilities are enough to guide us through each day ? Is it part of our habits to consult God about everything before we act, or do we go to God only when something becomes too big for us ?

Those who continually seek guidance from God in all their undertakings will benefit from the course that God charts out for those who trust Him. Because they humbly admit that they are so blind that they need God to guide them, they shall be blessed with seeing spiritual wonders in all His ways (Isa.30:20-21).