John 9:36

The man answers, “Who is the Son of God? I want to believe in him—where is He?” John 9:36 EFP 

I do not know how long the man had been searching for his healer. Of more importance is the fact that Jesus was looking for him at the same time. That is the reason Jesus came into this world, to seek and save the lost. The man may have had been given the gift of sight, but he is still lost without Jesus.

His concept of God is warped due to the picture of the Almighty he received from those who were responsible for his spiritual upbringing. The damage is compounded by the fact that he has experienced a life of marginalization from those who consider him cursed of God because of his blindness. Not until the day that Jesus works this miracle in his life does he have any reason to believe God cares about him. Now his life is consumed with finding his benefactor.

When they meet, Jesus asks him if he believes in the Son of God. His response reveals uncertainty mixed with a deep desire to know him. “Who is He?” he asks. “I would like to believe in him.” He experienced the touch of God before ever knowing who God was. The blessing is incomplete until he sees and meets the Son of God—his healer. He wants to believe. He has been wanting to believe in God all of his life, but he could not. The God he had accepted as true had no time for him. He wants to meet the Son of God if that is the one who healed him. His time has come to see God as he truly is through the second touch of his Son.

I am there, Lord. I also want to know you more each day. I want more than what I already know or what I have already been taught. I want more than cursory or compulsory contact. I want an intimate and transparent relationship. I want a love-motivated bond that deepens every day.

John 9:35

The news of the man’s expulsion from the synagogue reaches Jesus. He goes out in search of him, and when he finds him, He asks, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” John 9:35 EFP 

Oh, the mind of Jesus! If you had to choose one question to open up a dialogue with a person you had never met, but that you had impacted them positively at some point in their lives, what would that question be? Certainly it would not be “Do you believe in the Son of God?” That might come up in the course of a conversation, but not the opening.

Yet Jesus knows the heart of the man whom he healed. Although he performed a miracle on his eyes, he now seeks him out to perform the corresponding miracle in his heart. He knows he is a man without a spiritual community. He is an outcast. He has been maligned in his desire to defend the man who gave him the gift of sight. The man has received his sight, but he is still a lost soul. He considers himself a disciple of a man he has never met, on the basis of one significant miracle. But he does not Him. How can he believe in Him?

Jesus’ question reveals what is more important that having his sight restored. The man may have thought that nothing could be a greater gift than his sight. But the men who spent the day interrogating him are proof that having the ability to see with your eyes does not mean you can see what is most important in life. Secondly, the man needs to have his picture of God reconstructed. Only someone who knows God as he truly is can do that. The question Jesus asked could have been couched in the words, “Do you trust in the Son of God?” I ask today, “What is my answer to that question?” What does my answer “yes” imply? What does it require? What does it reveal? Do I truly trust the Son of God? Do I truly believe? Only my life can truly reveal that.

John 9:34

The interrogators have had enough. They launch an invective, “You are a pathetic soul born as the result of the sin of your parents. What give you the right to give us religious instruction? Get out of here!” They subsequently expelled him from the synagogue.” John 9:34 EFP 

It was bound to happen. The man had taken liberties with his responses to these religious magistrates. Not only do they now feel attacked, they also feel like the day has been wasted. They are not any closer to discrediting either the man or the healer, whose name is still a mystery to the man, though not to the council.

So in the absence of any hard evidence of deception, and faced with an iron-clad testimony by a man who is growing in confidence and stature after every exchange, they resort to insults. Ironically, their attack becomes the concession speech, since in it they describe the man as a product of sin, thus reluctantly and possibly unintentionally that the man was indeed blind at birth.

The men are caught in their own web of lies and denials. They have gained nothing. The man is exonerated. Jesus is cleared. They have lost face. This is the danger of working so hard to discredit those who fall outside the doctrinal box we create for ourselves at the cost of self-scrutiny. A simple testimony, even from a person who is considered a sinner by any measure of the day, outweighs and more than cancels out the weight of evidence brought to bear by those seeking to maintain the status quo. The winner in this episode is the unlikeliest hero. Thus is life in the Kingdom of God—where the last come in first.

John 9:33

“Bottom line, gentlemen,” he pauses and then continues, “if this man were not of God, He could not have done anything like what this man did to me!” John 9:33 EFP

The man closes with a flurry. He sets aside all previous arguments regarding who God hears or who he does not hear. He moves past the questions regarding whether his healer talks to God or whether he is greater than Moses. He cuts to the chase. In short, he says, “This man did a good thing—a miracle that changed my life. Only someone who has some connection with God would or could do anything like what he did to me.”

Is there an argument against the testimony of this man? They could argue that Satan performs miracles—other religious leaders did (Mark 3:22). They could insist that commandment-breakers are not used of God—but that is not supported by the biblical narrative (e.g., Moses and Aaron). They could deny that a miracle actually took place—which is what they are doing. But in the end, the testimony of a changed life stands as a beacon of light on a hill that cannot be hidden.

The church is lacking such stories. They exist. People have stories to tell, but they lay silent while evil takes the day. God is working today, just like he did in biblical times. Lives are being changed. People are being healed. Our defense is to lump all miracles with those of religious carnivals run by spiritual charlatans. Where are the men and women that God can use to change the course of a life, of a community, of a nation? Where is the power? Where there is no power, the people quibble over religious minutiae. We overlook the power of God in favor of parsing and petrifying the living pronouncements of God. How sad.

John 9:32

“Is it not also true that since the beginning of time there has never been a case of someone being born blind who is given the gift of sight?” John 9:32 EFP

I do not know how or where the man got his information regarding the dearth of case studies pertaining to men born blind who then receive their sight as the result of a miracle. The Old Testament does not record any such case. The New Testament, which did not yet exist at the time of this event, records various miracles regarding blind people being given sight (Matthew 12:22;15:30; Mark 8:22-23; 10:49-51; Luke 7:21; and18:35). But none of these refers to any of them being born blind.

It would be fair to grant the man some leeway considering his lack of religious instruction. On the other hand, even a blind Jew would have heard the stories of the Old Testament. He obviously had not heard any stories of a blind man being healed, much less one who had been blind from birth, like him. The man may not have known a lot, but one thing he knew—he was a special person. No one preceded him in the annals of the miracles performed by God’s instruments of the past.

With a level of passion worthy of a great orator of old, the man makes the case for his unique status. Note, there is no doubt in his testimony. He knows what happened to him. He knows who he was before. He knows who he is now. Can I point to something in my life that is a miracle of God? What makes my life a living witness to the power of God to transform, to heal, to rescue? That is me! There is no other life like mine, thus the miracle being performed in my life is unique to me. I am a miracle of God. Why does it seem at times like I don’t feel like one?

John 9:31

“According to your own words,” the man continues, “and I agree, God does not listen to sinners; on the contrary, if a man worships God and does His will, God hears him, right?” John 9:31 EFP

Like a seasoned lawyer, the man does not let up. He has set the table and now it’s time to feast. He has implicitly stated his case—now he is explicitly stating it using the council’s previous words against them.

I am not sure I agree with the premise submitted by the authorities and now quoted by the man at the center of the controversy. If God does not listen to sinners then he would never listen to anyone, since we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). On the other hand, Scripture does say that the person who clings to their sin by shutting out God’s law makes their prayer a farce and an abomination (Proverbs 28:3). The point is that the man is quoting from the common teaching of the day. Good things happen to good people. Bad things happen to bad people. The rich are blessed of God. The poor are on the short end of the God’s grace due to their checkered choices.

In an ironic twist, the council’s very warped theology comes back to bite them. They cannot argue against their pernicious position on piety versus perversity. As attractive as certain pet beliefs may be to us, their end can become a quagmire if we never reassess them. If we do not continually submit them to close scrutiny, they will persist only in the company of people unwilling to think outside the confines of their well-established perspective. Truth become static and dead. Deliver me from religious sclerosis. Let my faith be based on truth that focuses on your goodness and not on persistent platitudes that do not speak well of you. Let me always seek truth as it is in Jesus; let me never be content with reflecting other people’s ideas without ensuring they can stand the test of Scripture! Give me humility, Lord, as I follow you.

John 9:30

The man is not finished yet. He responds to their slight. “Well, isn’t that a convenient complication,” he says, “you do not know where he is from and who he has been speaking to, yet here I am with two eyes that work because he opened them up! How do you figure this happened?” John 9:30 EFP 

This man may have been blind since birth and as a result a life-long beggar, but he obviously had learned how fend for himself on the streets of the city. After having been rounded up, brought before this council, and interrogated, it had become more than crystal-clear that the committee has no interest in the truth. They can’t handle the truth!

But he is going to state it again, whether they like it or not. This simple and uneducated man states the reality of the situation from his humble perspective. It may be a simple assessment, but it is on target. From his point of view they claim not to know where he is from—which is not true (Read John 7:52). Secondly, they imply by their statement not to know who he is speaking to, unlike Moses, who clearly spoke to God according to the written record. The man uncovers their hypocrisy, by simply referring to the miracle of his sight, which by their own words, could not have been performed by a sinner, since the Almighty does not communicate with sinners. It seems iron-clad to him.

What blind-sides do I have when it comes to God? Do I miss out on any “new wine” because it does not fit in with my “old wineskins’? Am I so locked in to what I have always believed that I cannot accept the possibility that there is yet more to learn and experience in my journey with God?  I sense God is challenging me to grow, and I am not letting go of my “self” that hangs on for dear life to the things that have brought me such comfort in the past. Lead me, Lord.

John 9:29

“We are certain of the fact that God actually spoke to Moses.” they continue. “As for this ‘Johnny-come-lately,’ the one you claim to follow, we have no idea where he is from or who’s speaking to him.” John 9:29 EFP 

Given the fact that these men of religious stature are unwilling or incapable of accepting the claim of either this allegedly healed man or the healer whose name they have yet to mention, their argument makes sense. Look at it this way….

They have Scripture that tells them God spoke to Moses. Moses left the legacy of the law as proof that God did indeed speak to him in times of yore. These truths given by Moses and passed on from generation to generation are written evidence of God’s leading in the past. All that needs to be known is to be found in these books of the Law. On the other hand, this alleged miracle-worker and teacher of the masses has no pedigree, no training, and no royal lineage. There is nothing in him that would distinguish him as special. Moses is a proven entity. Jesus is a recent arrival, and his ministry is challenging the religious status quo. Odd teaching. Strange stories. Ridiculous claims.

It is a clear contrast between the past and the future. They see a clear break between the two and choose the past. They fail to see that Jesus is the link that unites the past with the future. He is the One who is forever in the past, thus is able to secure the future for all who believe in him. What is it that binds me so much to the past that does not allow me to move forward in faith to the life Jesus offers me? Even as I read and know the details regarding Jesus, I must still believe in Him in order to move forward. I’m reaching out, Lord!

John 9:28

The man’s answer does not please them at all. They insult him by saying, “You are a follower of this nobody. We, on the other hand, are disciples of Moses!” John 9:28 EFP 

In the face of the-once-blind-man’s somewhat insolent response, the religious leaders there assembled reply with what is nothing less than an insult to the man and to Jesus, for good measure. It is interesting to note how familiar their response is compared to that of people who are unwilling to learn anything from others who do not line up with their preconceived notion of the truth.

When threatened by irrefutable truth, attack! Question intelligence. Mock pedigree. Anything is fair game when you are overmatched. Yet, their response to the man, who in their eyes, is obviously inferior to them in formal education and social status, is unnecessary and uncalled for. If they feel their position is correct, then they should discuss it cordially instead of resorting to petty schoolyard banter.

I am going through a serious spiritual battle these days. I sense my future hangs in the balance. I am in search of a deeper experience with God, but my search is leading me to a place where it seems I am unwilling to go. The uncertainty is wreaking havoc with my pursuit. I can relate to the Jewish leaders. They are afraid of where the events they are witnessing will lead them. They do not want to go there.

I also have a choice to make. I cannot risk that my decision become aligned with that of some of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day—one that would ultimately cause them to seek to bring the witness of the Galilean to a sudden end. God, lead me and teach me to follow.

John 9:27

The man who had received his sight responds to the latest version of the same questions. His answer carries more than a little bite. “Haven’t I heard these questions before?” He asks. “Did I not give you answers to these questions already? Why do you want to hear the story again? Perhaps you want to become his disciples like me?” John 9:27 EFP 

I love the boldness expressed in this text by the man healed from blindness! Remember, he is a somewhat hostile witness standing before a committee that has little tolerance for anyone who places their status quo at risk. It is easy to lose sight of the fact that these individuals are the ones responsible for protecting the religious purity and the social order. There was the extreme pressure as a consequence of Roman occupation and constant encroachment by competing religious figures that would pop up regularly on the Jewish landscape. It is a volatile time.

This makes the response to this group of political and religious giants even more admirable from my point of view, and certainly from the perspective of the onlookers on that day. It certainly would have been considered insolent by this group of men who were used to being given due respect and obeisance by people of much greater status that the likes of this beggar.

His latest statement is nothing short of defiant. I am quite certain it was a rhetorical question, since he must have known by then that they had no interest in becoming disciples of the man who healed him. But he has had enough of the triteness of the questioning and he knows that the meeting is not going to end well for him anyway. Note, the man already considers himself a follower of Jesus before he has even met him.  That is quite amazing. That boldness is apparently the mark of those who have had a life-altering encounter with Jesus. Lord, give me that boldness for you and your cause.

John 9:26

The authorities ignore his statement and pepper him with more questions. “What did he do to you?” they ask. “Tell us exactly-- how he restored sight to your eyes?” John 9:26 EFP

It is fascinating how people who claim to be seeking to uncover the truth can totally overlook and even avoid it. The once-blind-man has just told them two things that sum up what he knows for certain about the recent event related to his ability to see although he was, in fact, born blind. For the record, he states, “I was born blind” and “Now I can see.”

The men totally ignore his statements and move on to focus on the specific details of his testimony. The questions being ask in the wake of the statements just made by the man seem so trivial. What difference does it make what specific steps the healer took to give sight to a blind man unless your purpose is to find some reason to conclude that no sight was restored since no sight was a missing to begin with? Instead of finding reason to praise God for a miracle performed on an unfortunate soul born without sight, they choose to get lost in the details.

Truth can be staring me in the face and I will be unable to see it if I have no interest in the truth. Unless it is my truth! Unless it supports my pre-existing point of view and preserves my status quo, I will avoid the inconvenient truth. Ultimately it is more comfortable to get lost in the details and overlook the foundational truths that are staring me in the face. But I have to want the truth. I have to thirst for it, otherwise I will die of thirst arguing over unimportant details that mask my disdain for the truth. God, have mercy!

John 9:25

The man does not hold back. “I do not have the knowhow to determine if this man is a sinner or not,” he begins. “But one thing I know for certain, I was once totally blind, but now I totally see!” John 9:25 EFP 

Sometimes the most powerful testimony is the simplest. The opening salvo in this man’s final response to the religious authorities is a classic example. In light of the volleys being exchanged by the religious leaders and the reluctant witnesses—his parents, the man at the center of the maelstrom decides to go the core of the controversy and simplify the facts at hand.

He does not speak to what he does not know. He does not claim to have insight he does not have as to the spiritual credentials or suspect stories associated with the man being accused by the committee convened to investigate the alleged miracle. He chooses to simply state the facts he knows—because the facts happened to him. He knows his past condition. He was born blind. He knows his world before the man came and touched him. It was dark and debilitating. He also knows that he now sees. Two indisputable facts—“I was blind”; “Now I see.” That’s it.

I have a story. It stands as a testimony to the work of God in me. God’s patience. God’s grace. God’s faithfulness. These stand in contrast to my impatience; my failures; my faithlessness and folly. But my life can be boiled down to two facts—I was once lost in the darkness of self and sin, but God sought me and saved me. I walk in the light by the grace of God and nothing else. Everything else is commentary.

John 9:24

So once again the man who allegedly was once blind but now sees is called before the council. The committee chastises the man, “Give God the glory, not this fellow!” they shout at him. “We all know this man you speak of is a sinner.” John 9:24 EFP 

In an irony of monumental proportions the council of Jewish leaders lead off their final assault of the credibility of the once blind man and the alleged miracle worker by calling on the man claiming a miracle has taken place to give glory to God, which is in essence what the man is doing without even knowing it. The council have no idea they are asking the man to do the very thing they do not want him to do. But given the fact that Jesus is God incarnate that is the end result!

They follow up their sanctimonious call for worship to God with a unilateral condemnation of the man called Jesus. Without mentioning his name they clamor, “We all know this man is a sinner.” The obvious implication is that the blind-man-now-healed knows this for a fact as well. Their verdict is obviously based on their assertion that Jesus broke the appropriate keeping of the Sabbath by making clay on the holy day. On their warped balance of justice, the act of making clay on the Sabbath overrides the healing of a blind man on the Sabbath, thus there is no way God would work through a person who is so flippant about keeping the Sabbath appropriately.

Their self-deceit is reaching the tipping point. They have called Jesus a Samaritan and dog. They have sought to discredit him. They have questioned his heritage and birth narrative. They have challenged his authority. They have denied his miracles in the past and now. And in the midst of their machinations to kill Jesus they seek to discredit him as well. All because of the inconvenient truth that Jesus preaches. When truth is deemed inconvenient, my unconverted heart will rationalize, compromise, negotiate, and ultimately deny truth in favor of a more palatable pabulum that does not unsettle my preferred reality. God, deliver me from my selfish leanings and let me humbly submit to your leading even if it is not convenient or comfortable at the time.

John 9:23

The parents of the man born blind conclude their interview by saying, “The boy is old enough to speak for himself. Why do you not ask him?” John 9:23 EFP 

The parents of the man at the center of this episode have reached the end of their rope. They have had enough. They are tired of the thinly veiled questions. They are exhausted by the endless queries aimed at discrediting the miracle that they know has taken place in their son’s life. They have had enough of the sanctimonious attitude of the committee that is responsible for their predicament.

“You know what?” they turn the question around. “Why don’t you ask him?” And as if to rub it in their faces they add, “He’s old enough to speak for himself!” There is more than a hint of frustration in their closing statement. Something extraordinary has taken place. It is clear to everyone but the religious leaders that something special has happened to their son. The only ones who cannot see it are the ones who are asking the questions trying to deny anything out of the ordinary has occurred. It is a standoff. Two sides face off and neither side is willing to say anything that will endanger their standing or their position. The parents fear loss of income and the little status they may have in their neighborhood. The men in charge of the proceedings fear the loss of religious authority and credibility in the community.

The man on whom the alleged miracle has been perpetrated stands silent while others argue the merits of the miracle without confusing the narrative with facts.  That would place them in an unenviable position. It sounds untenable, but it is a common scenario in a search for truth. Often the person in whom the truth lies is ignored until someone finally asked the question, “Why do we not hear from the one who knows what happened?” People avoid seeking the truth where it lies because of the fear that the truth will bring about undesired consequences. But truth is truth. It may not always be easy to hear, but it is what ought to be heard. Dialogue is pointless if truth stands on the sidelines waiting to be heard.

John 9:22

In truth, the man’s parents are being more than a bit reserved with their answers because they feared the Jewish leaders. They had become aware that these men had agreed among themselves that anyone who even hinted of Jesus as the Messiah would be permanently excluded from the synagogue.”  John 9:22 EFP 

These parents find themselves between the proverbial “rock and a hard place.” They know something extraordinary has taken place. They know a miracle has taken place. There is only one explanation, but they are reticent to voice it. The consequences of giving credence to the notion that Jesus is something other than just a common man pretending to be more than he is carries a high price—exclusion from the synagogue.

Being thrown out of the center of religious instruction is not to be seen through the eyes of 21st century society. In Palestine of the first century A.D., life circled around religion. The temple was the high point of their religious experience, followed closely by the local synagogue. To be thrown out of the synagogue was paramount to being thrown out of society. Being “cut off” from their community of faith carried with it marginalization and ostracization.

These poor souls were not yet ready to risk everything for a man they had yet to meet. I venture to think when that day came their attitude would change forever. Or would it? I have been the recipient of many miracles, not the least of which is a new lease on life multiple times. Yet how many times in my life in Christ have I failed to stand up for him or remain faithful to him in moments of temptation. I have had encounters with Jesus that have changed me, but I have also stumbled in my walk with Him. I can only surmise that those failure are the result of my unwillingness or inability to cling to his promises and experience the exhilaration of being truly alive in Him. My journey continues….

John 9:21

“On the other hand,” the parents postulate, “If you ask how he happens to see, or who is responsible for this—well, we don’t have a clue. Come think of it, he is of age. Ask him. He has never had trouble speaking up for himself, he simply did not have the ability to see until today.”  John 9:21 EFP 

Well there you have it! This is as far as the parents are willing to go. They are not going to say anything that will endanger their already-tenuous standing in the community. “He is our son.” “We are his parents.” “He was born blind.” “”He sees now!” “How? We have no idea.” “Who did it?” “Not a clue.” That’s it. But then a surprising twist.

They suggest the people so interested in the information ought to go out and get it for themselves. Underneath their resistance is an unspoken yet clearly communicated desire to protect themselves mixed in with a hefty amount of disdain for the questioners. These men ought to be feared, since they hold so much power over the religious side of their lives. But there is one more thing to consider: I can’t help but wonder if in fact the parents cannot see the problem or why the Pharisees would even be questioning anyone. The evidence at hand clearly suggests that something extraordinary has taken place. Something significant has happened. So what is the problem?

The problem is what takes place in me. I am the problem. God works. God makes things happen. God is willing and able to do some miraculous things in me as he has already done in others. But I question. I doubt. I vacillate. I retreat. I hesitantly inch forward out of fear of failing. I need to consider the evidence…better. Lord, remind me that you have not given me a spirit of fear but a spirit of boldness. I have been called to great things in the Spirit of the One who called me!

John 9:20

The perplexed parents respond to the magistrates’ query, “Well, first of all, we are fairly certain he is our son. We are also quite confident that he was born blind.”  John 9:20 EFP 

As determined as the religious leaders are to dig for some condemnable offense on the part of Jesus, the witness being brought in are not cooperating. The Pharisees bring in the parents of the once-blind man. It appears they hope to discredit the miracle by discovering some kind of fraud perpetrated on the community on the part of the parents, the allegedly blind man, and most importantly, by Jesus.

The parents’ response belies a certain reticence to the process. They are not certain of the men’s motives in asking this line of questioning. They are more than a bit suspicious of their motives. They certainly know the answers. They do not appear to be anxious to give them, perhaps due to the danger of angering these men of considerable community clout. They become hostile witnesses. Their answers reflect an “I-will-only-answer-what-I-have-to answer-and-nothing-more” position.

I wonder how many times I come across cautious when I should be bold. Truth gets fuzzy when I am more interested in protecting my interests rather than in stating the truth. I can state the facts without telling the truth. Life is so much less complicated when I simply say the truth—sincere, genuine, and unadulterated. Let my answers be clear, concise, and true to their core. Life is too short to be worried about getting my stories straight.

John 9:19

The Jewish religious leaders begin to pepper the healed blind man’s parents with questions. “Is this fellow your son?” they begin the interrogation. John 9:19 EFP 

Try to imagine the setting. On the one side the religious elite: educated, proper, prim, and pretentiously pious. They have an agenda and it’s barely veiled at all. They intend to unmask the grifter from Galilee or the blind bamboozler who claims to have been healed from his life-long blindness. Or both!

On the other side we see the blind man from birth who now has miraculously obtained sight at the hands of a man yet to be identified but the identity of whom the interrogators have a strong suspicion, and his parents. They are probably as uneducated as their destitute son. They are simple, salt-of-the-earth type people who do not care that much for the religious types, but who are dependent on them for access to the temple and the God who they fear more than they care to admit.

Their first question seems to have an obvious answer. Perhaps it is simply a test question. “Is this your son?” they ask. Considering the fact they are the ones who ordered the parents of the blind man to be brought to witness, their question seems to fall short of expectations. I sense they are simply trying to set up the parents for the question to which they really want an answer.

They are either playing dumb, or being intentionally obtuse or calculating, hoping to secure an unflattering answer they can pin on Jesus or simply catching the parents in an inconsistency which could discredit the miracle and tarnish the Healer. I feel twangs of guilt when I recall all the times I have played dumb, intentionally or unintentionally, in order to get away with some choice or behavior that was clearly detrimental or damaging to me or someone else. God, deliver me from the Evil One.

John 9:18

As expected, the religious leaders are not convinced by his tale of being born blind, only to have his sight given to him miraculously.  So they decide to have his parents brought in to the meeting to be questioned. John 9:18 EFP 

It was bound to happen. The suspicion has been lying right beneath the surface, even for those who had seen him begging for years in the streets of the city. How much more cynical would the Jewish leaders be, given they do not have the history. There disdain for the blind man reaches a boiling point. They no longer hint at their doubts. They call for the parents of this supposedly previously blind man to be brought in for confirmation of the man’s previous health status.

It’s funny, not in a humorous way, but more like peculiar, the lengths we can go to deny what we see as truth but which does not line up with what we want to believe and what we have always accepted as truth. The religious elite cannot allow for this miracle to be genuine. To allow it to be would bring into question all they were taught, and thus everything they had passed on as truth all their lives. I can understand how they felt. I only fear that I could be capable of duplicating their spirit of unbelief because I am so “married” to my belief system. Such a change requires a move away from the comfort of culture and convictions set in place by common belief.

God help me not to be so in love with what I believe that I miss out on the Only One who makes my believing worth believing.

John 9:17

In light of the disagreement amongst themselves, the Pharisees turn to the man who claims to have been blind. “What do you have to say about this man who allegedly gave you sight?” they ask. “He is a prophet of God!” the blind-man-no-longer-blind declares without hesitation.  John 9:17 EFP 

I love it! The “blind man”, as John refers to him, is standing before a gathering of seasoned teachers of the Scriptures. He has been dragged into their gathering due to the disconnect between the blind condition he claims was his since birth and his present state of total sight. The religious leaders cannot agree, so they turn to the man at the center of the controversy. I do not know what these men of learning expected this simple man of the streets to answer to their question. Perhaps they expected him to waffle and vacillate given their political and religious power over him.

But the man answers boldly and powerfully. “He is a prophet!” he replies to their query. He did not even preface it with “I believe” he is a prophet. His words are a declaration of faith, a conviction based on personal experience. Many of the men gathered in the room cannot claim the same personal experience. Theirs is a learned truth—oral tradition passed on from one generation to the next. They know well the story of God working on their behalf since the time of the patriarchs, the prophets, and the kings of Israel. But when they see a living example of God at work in their midst they are divided.

Miracles are hard to relate to in a world that values science and measurable facts over the unexplained and supernatural. This is where I find myself. Faith is a measure of the spiritual world. Beliefs can be systematically arranged and dissected ad nauseam, but they do not produce faith, just conviction of correctness and accuracy compared to others submerged in the same pursuit. If my focus is solely on doctrinal purity and religious clarity, I may find myself unwittingly defending my theological construct up against Jesus—The Truth!

John 9:16

The Pharisees are quick to point out their perceived violation of the Sabbath. “This fellow cannot be Godsend!” they protest, “He does not even keep the Sabbath as it should be kept. Others within the group of religious leaders are not swayed by this argument. They ask, “How can a person perform such demonstrations of divine power if he is a sinner, as you claim he is?” There is a definite clash of opinions. John 9:16 EFP 

I have to ask myself, are these religious leaders truly convinced Jesus is not from God or are their interests in conflict with the message of this unlicensed itinerant teacher?  Can they not honestly see the miracle through the morass of laws related to correct Sabbath-keeping? Although they do not mention Jesus by name, I am almost certain they know whose handiwork this is.

The Pharisees overlook the miracle of a man born blind who now stands in their presence totally sighted due to the work of a man they do not even want to mention by name—that Galilean! They establish a contrast between the alleged miracle-worker and the obvious Sabbath-breaker. For them, one thing is certain—Jesus is a law-breaker, thus unworthy of being used by God to perform any miracle. The implication is thinly veiled—he is a minion of Satan, not a servant of God!

This opposition is not monolithic in the gathering. Other more level-headed Pharisees ask the obvious question, at least it seems to be obvious to them. How can a person do godly miraculous signs if God is not with them? And Jesus is doing good for the sake of doing good and not in order to benefit or gain any financial benefit from the exchange.

The danger of making my personal understanding of truth the bedrock of my faith is manifested in the first group. But faith and beliefs are not the same thing! Our beliefs are how we see truth. Faith is the anchor of our salvation. Jesus is both the Truth that pales all other truths we filter through our personal belief system, and He is also the Rock onto which our anchor of faith is secured. Given the time that has elapsed since the days when Jesus waged his war against man-made beliefs and rules, I have no excuse to fall into these traps. I cannot lose sight of Christ trying to protect my beliefs. Christ trumps everything!

John 9:15

The Pharisees press the man again as to how exactly he received his sight. The man answers their question again. “First, he put clay in my eyes,” he answers. “Next, I washed my eyes. Then, I begin to see! That’s it.”  John 9:15 EFP 

His acquaintances-turned-accusers have apparently already filled in the religious authorities with the details. The Pharisees, having identified the violation of the Sabbath in their own minds, set off to try to pin some violation on Jesus, who is not even there to defend himself.

In his absence they grill the suddenly-sighted-man. “What happened?” they ask. Again. With some level of condescension. The man is not intimidated. He answers is dead-pan fashion. Clay in my eyes. Washed in the pool. Received sight. That’s all. He is sticking to his testimony. He has no reason to make something up. So he says what happened.

I am reminded that the most powerful testimony is the one that is experienced. The man is not eloquent with words, but he does not need to be eloquent. He has conviction born in personal experience. He does not have to memorize facts. He has the facts inside of him. Truth as it is in Jesus. I need to have that encounter daily.

John 9:14

There is a detail that becomes germane to the way this event plays out. It is a Sabbath day when Jesus makes the healing clay and performs the miracle that leads to the healing of the blind man’s eyesight. John 9:14 EFP 

John throws this little detail into the mix. It is not the first time this particular situation crops us. Chapter 5 tells the story of the paralytic man healed by Jesus at the Pool of Bethesda. That scenario did not turn out as one would have expected. Strong condemnation was aimed at the healed man because he carried his bed on the Sabbath. They looked past the miracle and saw only the violation of their burdensome interpretation of Sabbath-keeping in Jewish society.

In the previous scenario, the man did not know who his benefactor was, as is in this case. The previous healing took place at a pool, but of a different name. That healing was completed on the spot. This one required some follow-up from the one receiving the healing. In the healing at the Bethesda Pool, Jesus seeks out the healed man after the fact. Here, it is the healed man that seeks out Jesus. In both scenarios, it is the perceived violation of the sanctity of the Sabbath that becomes the focus for the opponents of Jesus, rather than the miracle. In this case it is Jesus who is accused, not of telling someone to violate the rules against carrying beds on the Sabbath, but of actually violating the rule against kneading on the Sabbath, not to mention the distance walked by the blind man to and from the Pool of Silaom.

Once again we lose sight of the beauty of the forest by focusing on the details of the trees.

John 9:13

The people who spotted the now-sighted-but-who-previously-claimed-to-be-a-blind man take him to the Pharisees. John 9:13 EFP 

One second the man is basking in the sheer joy of his new-found sight, searching for the mystery man who had granted him this miraculous gift; the next, he is being herded into the temple to face the religious authorities. This is quite a sudden and unexpected turn of events.

It occurs to me this development is the result of either the doubt cast on this man’s lifetime claim of being a blind man in need of alms to make a living or an explanation by the religious authorities as to how this miracle was possible. It really is a Catch 22 scenario for the “changed man.” He is either a life-long fraud or he is a living contradiction to what the people have always believed. After all, if he was blind from birth, then either he, his parents, or all three of them are great sinners from a family of scallywags and thus unworthy of any miracle.  They can’t figure it out. When in doubt, go to the authorities—in this case, religious authorities.

I can’t help but see a scenario here, one that plays out in the lives of many a person who goes through a positive change in his or her life. People are confused, surprised, put-off, and sometimes even hostile to the change. They try to make sense of the transformation. They question the authenticity of the change. They mock the change. They even try to justify their doubt of the change on a religious basis. It is a sad commentary when the religious are the ones called upon to validate what cannot be seen from the outside and that is experienced inwardly.  What can I learn from this scenario?

John 9:12

The people ask him, “Where is this man you speak of?” He answers honestly, “I have no idea!” John 9:12 EFP 

What else could the man answer? All he knows in the man’s name and the fact that he had never seen anything in his entire life until this day, after the yet-to-identified man healed him. That’s all. Not much of a story in terms of detail, but boy, does it ever hold a wallop.

I guess the temptation is always there to say more than we know for certain or even to embellish in order to avoid looking amateurish. The truth is that we look foolish when we speak of that which we do not know. We make claims we cannot back up or speak of experiences we have never had. God does not ask me to share what I do not know or testify of what I have not seen. He simply wants me to speak honestly of what God has done for me.

My story is not anyone else’s story. It is mine. I do not live my purpose if I make my story what it is not. My witness is what I have seen and heard and felt for myself. And if there is a moment when I do not know an answer, the best I can say is “I have no idea.” We will all be called to stand for Jesus. The only testimony that will endure time and scrutiny is the testimony that is true. Simple. Genuine. Honest. Human. That is what I want my life’s testimony to be.

John 9:11

The previously blind but now sighted man continues, “A man called Jesus made some clayish ointment and rubbed it on my eyes. He then told me, ‘Go to the Pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went just like he told me and, lo and behold, as you can see, I can see as well!” John 9:11 EFP 

That pretty well sums up what happened to the man that day.  He knows the man’s name is Jesus, but he cannot identify him if he saw him for obvious reasons. He did not see him make the ointment. It’s very possible he heard Jesus spit into his hand, and possibly surmised he had mixed it with some dirt to make the concoction he had placed on his eyes. Did Jesus place the mixture in his eyes or his eyelids? Hmmm.

He does not have much detail, but what he knows he shares. He did as Jesus told him to do—he went and washed. He did not question the order. He did not make a suggestion regarding a closer option. He simply does it. In other words, he believes Jesus. And because he believes Jesus he is healed—his eyesight is granted him. I do not know what his expectations may have been when Jesus found him or when Jesus did the strange act followed by an even stranger request. He simply believed.

Simple faith is hard to come by nowadays. I have often forgotten the practical meaning of faith—to believe with total certainty in something or someone without tangible and palpable evidence to support the belief. Faith seems to me to be so dated and archaic at times. It can’t be measured or charted or placed under a microscope as can an object or measurable concept. But as the Book of Hebrews states, “Without faith it is impossible to please God, because it is necessary to believe that God exists in order to approach him and furthermore to believe he holds in his hands the reward for all who have sought to know him.” (Hebrews 11:6) That is the faith required of me.

John 9:10

There is a definite clash of opinions. “It’s him!” say some, while others counter, “It only looks like him!”  Finally he speaks up for himself. “It’s me, folks!” he shouts. John 9:10 EFP 

It’s almost comical. The onlookers must have wondered what was going on. Not everyone knew the man as a blind man or a beggar. So they must have been more than a bit confused to hear the banter between those who insisted it was the blind man and those who insisted it was not, but only a look-alike. People begin to ask questions. After all, why would anyone be arguing whether a man walking confidently on the dusty gravel road, without assistance, was once blind? Or why would other be arguing the contrary?  A blind man does not walk down the street without assistance at the pace of the man in question. And why argue the ridiculous?

The commotion finally catches the attention of the man in focus. He is most likely lost. He only knows the way with his eyes closed, but he certainly does not want to go back to that dark world he had inhabited all his life. He sees the people staring. He notices a group following him. He takes notice of the discussion of people who sound familiar but who he has never seen before. He finally realizes what the ruckus is all about—it’s about him. Of course, he is walking like a normal sighted man. He is not begging. He stops in his tracks and shouts out with what must have been the most exhilarating and moving declaration. “It’s me!”

“It’s me, it’s just not the same me!” That’s all he says. No explanation. His statement silences the crowd. They digest the statement. They process the incongruence. They digest the cognitive dissonance. Some things simply have no rational explanation. Dare they ask? It makes me smile. I wish there were more moments like these in my world. Sadly, the opposite is more true than not. Where are the miracles? God is the same God. Have we changed? Have I?

John 9:9

On his way back he came across some of his neighbors and other who knew him, all of which had seen him in his sightless condition. They begin to ask themselves, “Hey, isn’t that the blind man who sits and begs around town?” John 9:9 EFP 

I imagine the man has not even begun to internalize his new-found sight. He is so overwhelmed with his ability to see and with the gift of sight he has been given. No doubt he is trying to find his way back to where he was healed hoping to find Jesus. His heart is pounding with the expectation of finding the healer. He doesn’t even know what he looks like, but his desire to give thanks overwhelms all his senses.

But the story takes a twist, people who know him as the blind beggar see him walking without the help of a walking stick or even a person to lead him. I am not sure if their reaction is more surprise than suspicion or vice-versa. The fact is they take notice and begin to wonder out loud if this is indeed the blind beggar or simply someone who looks a lot like him.

My guess is they are fighting with their own unbelief. After all, he may have been sighted now, but his clothes and general demeanor are unmistakable. Their curiosity is piqued. There is something different. There is a change when a life-altering event takes place. People notice. You can’t hide it. I wonder, have the blessings I enjoy and the daily gifts I often take for granted veil my joy and gratitude to God in the eyes of others? Do people see anything different in me when I walk down the street? Do the people who know me best see the work of Jesus in me? Something to ponder.

John 9:8

On his way back he comes across some of the people who live in neighborhood and who know him, all of which had seen him in his sightless condition. They begin to ask themselves, “Hey, isn’t that the blind man who sits and begs around town?” John 9:8 EFP 

I imagine the man has not even begun to internalize his new-found sight. He is so overwhelmed with his ability to see and with the gift of sight he has been given. No doubt he is trying to find his way back to where he was healed hoping to find Jesus. His heart is pounding with the expectation of finding the healer. He doesn’t even know what he looks like, but his desire to give thanks overwhelms all his senses.

But the story takes a twist, when people who know him as the blind beggar see him walking without the help of a walking stick or even a person to lead him. I am not sure if their reaction is more surprise than suspicion or vice-versa. The fact is they take notice and begin to wonder out loud if this is indeed the blind beggar or simply someone who looks a lot like him.

My guess is they are fighting with their own unbelief. After all, he may have been sighted now, but his clothes and general demeanor is unmistakable. Their curiosity is piqued. There is something odd going on here. The truth when a life-changing event take place it is noticeable. People pay attention. You can’t hide it. I wonder, have the blessings I enjoy and the daily gifts I often take for granted veil my joy and gratitude to God in the eyes of others? Do people see anything different in me when I walk down the street? Do the people who know me best see the work of Jesus in me? Something to ponder.

John 9:7

Jesus speaks to the man, “Go now and wash yourself in the Siloam Pool” (which means ‘sent’).  The man does what Jesus tells him to do. We walks to the pool. He washes when he gets there. And lo and behold, he comes back from the pool with his vision unimpaired. John 9:7 EFP

Jesus has just rubbed the muddy balm on the blind man’s eyes. I do not know what the blind man is thinking or what he expects as a result of the application of the slimy substance. I think I would have been expecting an on-the-spot miracle. From what I have heard about this mysterious healer, I am more than certain my expectations would have been high.

Instead of a miracle I get instructions. No promises. Just instructions. Go to the Pool of Siloam, a well-known pool used mostly for ceremonial bathing. Since I do not know where Jesus came across the blind man, I can only conclude the man has to find his way outside the city proper and then walk to the pool which was outside and south of the city walls. What goes through his mind as he is walking that distance, alone or with assistance? He has plenty of time to doubt or to question the need for all this?

But to the man’s credit, and certainly as a testament to his dire situation, he stays the course and does as he was instructed by Jesus. His reward, not so much for what he does, but for the faith he places in the healer, finds him returning with perfect vision to the place of the miracle seeking to find his benefactor.

Note to self: if Jesus tells me to do something, I should do exactly what he asks. Good things happen