Jesus meets a blind man and heals him with a combination of dirt, spit and the Holy Spirit. When the man’s neighbors learn about his healing, religious leaders come to Jesus looking for answers.
Can you imagine living with absolutely no vision? Your view of the world would be the images someone has patiently painted in your mind. John 9 describes a man blind since birth. Some of Jesus’ disciples assumed the blindness had been brought on by sin, maybe his or maybe even the sin of his parents. Jesus assured them that the man’s troubles had not been caused by sin, but “...so the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).
If you were blind, wouldn’t you be willing to try just about anything to be radically healed? Can’t you see yourself thinking, “Cover my eyes with a fresh mud pie made out of spit? Good plan!” Because that’s exactly what Jesus did. After covering the man’s eyes with mud Jesus told him to go wash his face. In an instant, his dark world became light.
Religious leaders overlooked the healing miracle because they wanted to ensure it happened according to their regulations. Was this the same man who had been blind, the beggar? If so, who had healed him? Didn’t Jesus know He wasn’t supposed to heal people on the Sabbath? Their interrogation ended abruptly with the former blind man proclaiming, “I was blind, but now I see!” (John 9:25)
Everyone who accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior has a before and after story. If you’ve gone from darkness to light, your story has been written so the works of God might be displayed in you. Your story is just as miraculous as the one in John 9. You were blind, and now you see.
• What can you learn about Jesus from this chapter?
• Have you ever viewed your testimony as boring? How about now after reading this passage?
• How does it make you feel that God can use your sufferings so that “the works of God might be displayed” in you (John 9:3)?