Image by mhall209 via Flickr
Take a look at this scenario with Jesus.
John 9:1-41
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.
4 AS LONG AS IT IS DAY, WE MUST DO THE WORK OF HIM WHO SENT ME. NIGHT IS COMING, WHEN NO ONE CAN WORK..
5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.
11 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.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said.
Here Jesus heals a blind man.
Contrary to what people thought…… the man was not blind because of sin.
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.
15 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.”
16 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.
It’s important to note……. That the reason why the pastors did not believe……..was because they had certain expectations.
They had a law which concerned keeping the Sabbath day holy……. Yet despite the fact that a blind man had just had his eyes opened…… they were more annoyed about the fact that Jesus had healed a blind man on a day that everyone was supposed to be resting i.e keeping the Sabbath.
17 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.”
18 THE JEWS STILL DID NOT BELIEVE THAT HE HAD BEEN BLIND AND HAD RECEIVED HIS SIGHT UNTIL THEY SENT FOR THE MAN’S PARENTS.
Not only did they not believe he was a man of God because he healed on the Sabbath…….
They also refused to believe that the blind man was actually blind.
They went as far as calling the man’s parents just to clarify the fact that this man was blind.
19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “WE KNOW HE IS OUR SON,” the parents answered, “AND WE KNOW HE WAS BORN BLIND.
21 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.”
22 HIS PARENTS SAID THIS BECAUSE THEY WERE AFRIAD 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.
23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Once again a point remains significant.
The Jews had already “decided” that Jesus was not the saviour.
They had concluded in their hearts that regardless of what he said or did……. He was not sent from God.
In fact if anyone else was to acknowledge the fact that Christ was sent from God…… they would be sent out of the church……
That’s how stubborn they were prepared to be.
So they were not going to listen to a man who claimed that he had just been healed by Jesus.
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 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!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 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?”
No matter how many times this blind man tells them.
They will not believe.
They have “decided not to believe.”
They will ask the same questions over and over again because they don’t like the same answer they are getting.
We need to ask ourseleves the question.
Do we fall under this category of people?
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!
29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! YOU DON’T KNOW WHERE HE COMES FROM, YET HE OPENED MY EYES.
31 WE KNOW THAT GOD DOES NOT LISTEN TO SINNERS. HE LISTENS TO THE GODLY MAN WHO DOES HIS WILL.
32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
They refused to listen to him because he did not conform to their expectations.
They expected a king that would lead them through triumphant battles.
But they got a carpenters son who came to lead them to God.
They refused to accept it.
34 TO THIS THEY REPLIED, “YOU WERE STEEPED IN SIN AT BIRTH; HOW DARE YOU LECTURE US!” AND THEY THREW HIM OUT.
They obviously thought they were better than him.
After all …. They were pastors…… they knew the bible cover to cover.
“How dare this insignificant person lecture us on issues that we have been discussing for years!”
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Maybe in some ways the blind man can be perceived a lucky.
It’s a lot easier for a blind man who has just had his eyes opened to believe…..
Much harder for a man who “thinks he can see”.
39 JESUS SAID,”FOR JUDGEMENT I HAVE COME INTO THIS WORLD, SO THAT THE BLIND WILL SEE AND THOSE WHO SEE WILL BECOME BLIND.”
We need to accept the fact that we are blind…….so that we can see.
How can you know about God when you have never met God?
Why not listen to a person who has been sent from God…….so that you can get an idea about who God is……and how you can get to know him for yourself?
40 SOME PHARISEES WHO WERE WITH HIM HEARD HIM SAY THIS AND ASKED, “WHAT? ARE WE BLIND TOO?”
41 JESUS SAID, “IF YOU WERE BLIND, YOU WOULD NOT BE GUILTY OF SIN; BUT NOW THAT YOU CLAIM YOU CAN SEE, YOUR GUILT REMAINS.
We all claim we can see.
Ironically……that’s the reason why we cant “see” that we are blind.
Our lives are dictated by the things we see in our blindness.
We refuse to listen to people because we feel we know it all.
We are content in our blindness.
Our eyes have become adjusted to the dark.
It’s become so deep…….. that a lot of us actually “want” to remain blind.
To be continued……
Radical Chic Magazine 