I Once was Blind…

In last week’s article, I referenced a miracle that took place just outside the temple courtyard in Jerusalem. I want us to consider that event in more detail over the next couple weeks. In John chapter nine, following a long and heated debate with the Jews, Jesus and His disciples are leaving the temple one Sabbath day when they cross paths with a blind beggar. We learn from John’s record that this man had been born blind. In an act of mercy and prophetic Messianic significance, Jesus miraculously heals the man. You might think this would be a cause for celebration for all, but sadly that is not the case. 

Nonetheless, I want to follow this formerly blind man and see how his life was radically changed by Jesus of Nazareth. 

Returning home, his family, friends and neighbors were beyond shocked that this blind man they had known all their lives could now see. They were understandably filled with questions: “How did this happen? How can you see? Who healed you?” The formerly blind man answers; “a man named Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes, told me to go wash in the pool of Siloam. I did, and now I see.” This simple reply may not have explained every detail to their satisfaction, but it was obvious to everyone, a miracle had taken place. 

Fast-forwarding a little bit in the narrative, and without going into a great deal of detail, the man is soon brought before the Jewish religious leaders to be examined. What began as a casual conversation quickly escalated into a fiery interrogation! The Pharisees challenge his story and flatly refuse to believe he is telling them the truth. The man relates the same events he told his neighbors, but regardless of how many times he recounts the details, they refuse to believe him. There is no way, the Jews insist, this Sabbath-breaking man called Jesus actually healed anyone blind from birth. 

To rightly understand the Jewish leader’s absolute refusal to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah, you must first understand one of the primary reasons they denied His Messianic claims. You see, in their opinion Jesus did not “keep the Sabbath” because He healed this man (and several others) on the Sabbath. Hence, He could not possibly be sent by God. In their judgment, Jesus was an egregious sinner because He had failed to rightly honor God by not honoring the Sabbath.

Now to be clear, Jesus never broke a single Old Testament law, including honoring the Sabbath, but always obeyed God in every thought and action. Jesus did however, transgress the extra-Scriptural traditions the Pharisees had imposed on themselves and others. Like all religious people are prone to do, the Pharisees had elevated their own man-made rules to a place of authority, equal to that of Scripture. 

Without dragging you too far down the proverbial rabbit hole, the Jewish Rabbis and religious leaders had made a long legal list of hundreds and hundreds of rules governing behavior on the Sabbath day. Such loony laws like; you were not allowed to get dental work done on the Sabbath. If you had a toothache, that was just too bad, you had to suffer till the next day. Or, none were allowed to kill an insect on the Sabbath, as that was considered hunting. If your house was burning down, you were forbidden from carrying out any clothes or furniture, as that would be considered bearing a burden. You could not use a looking glass on the Sabbath because you might be tempted to pull a grey hair, and that was considered work. The absurdity goes on and on, but this much is certain, Jesus could not have cared less about their man-made rules. Their traditions did not equate to Scripture and miraculously healing someone, regardless of what day it is, was an act of mercy, and should be celebrated and not condemned. 

Yet, the Pharisees were insistent, this man Jesus was not from God, not the Messiah, and not some miracle worker. He was, in their estimation, a Sabbath-breaking deceiver who needed to be stopped. So, in John 9:24 they command this formerly blind man to “drop the charade, speak the truth, tell us what you have really done and stop trying to deceive us! We know this man Jesus is a sinner!” 

Not having fully come to saving faith in Christ, but with great boldness the man speaks some of the most powerful and poetic words in all the Bible; John 9:25 “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” No, this man had not fully seen Jesus for all He is, but he knew without a doubt what Jesus had done for him! 

This beautiful and bold statement symbolizes how every single born-again believer feels having come to saving faith in Christ. “I once was blind, but now I see!” If you claim to be a Christian, these wonderful words should describe your conversion. 

Yes … Maybe, you don’t know all there is to know about theology, but can you say, I once was blind, but now I see!? Maybe you don’t know if you are pre-mill, post-mill, or A-mill, or even what those terms mean … but do you know Jesus has opened your blinded eyes? Maybe you don’t know Ezra from Ezekiel, but can you say with eternal certainty, I once was blind, but now I see?! Perhaps you don’t know Calvinism from Arminianism, but can you say, Jesus has given me spiritual sight, and my life has been radically changed by the Gospel!? 

Reader, if you have not received spiritual sight, I point you to Jesus, the Light of the World, and compel you to trust in His finished work. Only God can open the eyes of the blind. The miracle-working Messiah can give you spiritual sight, just like He did this blind man, and you too can say (and sing), “I once was blind but now I see!”