A Miracle with A Message
“As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. ‘Rabbi,’ His disciples asked Him, ‘why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?’ ‘It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,’ Jesus answered. ‘This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.’” John 9:1-3 (NLT)
How often have we jumped to the wrong conclusion about suffering in our own lives and others? Here was a man born blind. He had never seen the beauty of God’s creation or the faces of his parents. With no social welfare available, he was left to beg for a living. Verse 8 says that his neighbors and others knew him as the blind beggar. All he could do was sit and beg. It was a pitiful sight for the disciples, and they jumped to the wrong conclusion thinking he must have sinned or his parents to be in such a condition! Jesus revolutionized their thinking with an entirely different perspective! He said that the man was blind so the power of God could be seen in him! Our weaknesses in life are the platforms for God to show Himself mighty! In our weakness, His strength is made perfect. Your strengths may impress others, but God will use your weaknesses to influence them if you’ll let Him.
Jesus took compassion on the man and used the miracle for a message on spiritual blindness. After spitting on the ground and making mud with his saliva, Jesus spread the mud over the eyes of the blind man. I call this “Holy Spit!” It’s really fascinating how unorthodox Jesus’ methods were when you think about it. The Gospels record several accounts of Jesus healing blind men, yet He never used the same method twice. He must have known we would get caught up in the manner of healing and miss the message in the healing.
I don’t know about you but if I get mud in my eyes, the first thing I want to do is wash it out. Jesus told the man to go wash in the pool of Siloam. When he did, the Bible says he came back seeing! There’s nothing like a little irritation to make you seek cleansing is there?
The news spread quickly that the man born blind could now see! (I can almost imagine some people asking for their money back who had supported him when he was blind!) Because the healing occurred on the Sabbath Day, the religious leaders were upset and began to interrogate the man. You’ll laugh at loud if you read the trial they put this poor guy through! They wanted to know who healed him and how? Up to this point, the man had no idea who Jesus was. He had never seen Him. When you read the story, you discover the greater miracle comes at the close. After being interrogated by the religious leaders and kicked out of church, Jesus finds the man and asks him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” The man replied, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." “Then he said, ‘Lord, I believe!’ And he worshiped Him.” John 9:37-38 (NKJV) The miracle was twofold. He was given both physical and spiritual sight!
This miracle had a message about spiritual blindness. In verse 39-41 Jesus said, “‘I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.’ Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard Him and asked, ‘Are you saying we’re blind?’ ‘If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,’ Jesus replied. ‘But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.’”
No one is so blind as he who will not see. Perhaps God is opening your eyes to ways in which He may use your own weaknesses for His glory.