Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents
sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might
be displayed in his life."
John 9:3
In this event John records my personal favorite from all
four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so
much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the
midst of God's amazing grace and glory.
First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the
misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin
only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always
be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine
that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious
purposes.
Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he's not. How should they deal with this change of reality?
Then there are the parents, who should have been rejoicing,
but fear of the religious prevented them from doing so. It was more important
for them to remain upstanding members of the Synagogue, than to praise God for
their son's new found freedom. What would it be like to live like that under
such religious tyranny?
Finally, we gain a clearer understanding of just how the cruel
and powerful leadership had twisted the Jewish religion. First of all, Jesus
healed on the Sabbath. Well, we've heard that before. Then, Jesus made mud,
which is work so that adds to the complaint. Next, we see them, once again
calling Jesus’ paternity into question when they tell the healed man, "We
know that God spoke through Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know
where He comes from." (John 9:29) Then, instead of rejoicing over this
man's healing, it is more important to kick him out of the synagogue so that he
can't proclaim what Jesus has done for him. How can any of this be for God's
glory? Instead of God's work being on
display, it only seems to have been trampled on and discredited.
But then, there is the blind man himself. He was just
sitting and doing his daily work, begging for a living. Along comes Jesus, who
doesn't even ask, but just spits on the ground, smears the mud on his eyes and
tells the man to go wash at the pool of Siloam. The man obeys, whether out of
faith or the need to clean up, we don't know. When he does wash, however, his sight
is restored and he becomes an unshakable witness for Jesus. This humble, broken
man becomes bold before his parents, his neighbors and the leadership and God's
work is on display to the shame of all the others.
When Jesus finds the man, he is already resolved to become a
follower. Amazingly, he doesn't recognize Jesus by sight. He was healed outside
of Jesus' presence, but he believed and recognized him when Jesus approached
him in the end. "Who is He, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in
Him."
"You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking
with you."
"Lord, I believe." (John 9:36-38) Forsaking all
others that day, he took up his cross and followed Jesus. Belief is for our
soul no matter the opinions of others. May we be as bold for Him when our turn
comes. May we never let fear of others silence our praise and gratitude to our
loving Creator.
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