Blindness
John 9:1-41
John chapter 9 brings up a very common belief
at that time, which, unfortunately continues today. Jesus' disciples ask why was
the man bind. They wanted to know if it was his sins or his parents' sins.
John 9:3 ESV
[3] Jesus answered, “It was not that this man
sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Jesus does not heal him right away but adds more
to show that it is not just physical blindness but also spiritual blindness.
John 9:4-5 ESV
[4] We must work the works of him who sent me
while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. [5] As long as I am in the
world, I am the light of the world.”
This is more clearly shown at the end of John
9 or the third part of John 9.
John 9:39-41 ESV
[39] Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this
world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” [40]
Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also
blind?” [41] Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but
now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
Jesus tells us there are two types of blind men.
John 9:30 ESV
[30] The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing
thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
The Pharisees did not work in the methods they
used. The Pharisees had their own ideas on how God worked. The synagogue was a place
they controlled and they confined God to their limited knowledge.
John 9:16 ESV
[16] Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is
not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man
who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
John 9:18 ESV
[18] The
Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they
called the parents of the man who had received his sight
The blind man takes a simple and truthful approach
to his encounter with Jesus and the Pharisees' question.
John 9:25 ESV
[25] He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do
not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
When bad things happen to us, we always limit
God. We look at our misfortunes as curses and our suffering as punishment. We do
not see how God is blessing us. We fail to see how God in his infinite wisdom is
bringing us and others closer to Him.
The blind man does not concern himself with how
God opened his eyes, but that his eyes were opened.
It is interesting that we forget Jesus sometimes
because our priorities in Church replace Jesus.
Both the blind man and the Pharisees met Jesus.
The blind man accepted what Jesus did and was grateful. The Pharisees chose not
to acknowledge Jesus. They did not acknowledge their sin and forced their view of
God on everyone.
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