“The LORD opens the eyes of the blind.” – Psalm 146:8
On three occasions, Jesus heals blind individuals (Mark 8:22–26; John 9:1-38), and we only know the name of one, Bartimaeus (Matthew 20:29–34; Mark 10:46–52; Luke 18:35–43). On one occasion, Jesus also heals two blind men (Matthew 9:27–31). We will now study the longest report of Jesus healing someone who was blind.
John 9:1–38 tells the story of a man born blind. The Pharisees come to Jesus and ask if it was the man’s sin or the sins of his parents that caused him to be blind. Jesus explains that neither is true, but he was born blind so that the “works of God might be displayed in him.”
In seeing suffering, even Jesus’ disciples thought in terms much like unbiblical karma. In karma, if you are suffering, it must be because you sinned. In this instance, they saw only two possible options: either he was a wicked man, or he came from a wicked family.
In some cultures where the ideology of karma is strongly held, there is little compassion for those who suffer, and efforts to alleviate suffering are discouraged for fear of hindering someone’s repayment of their karmic debt through suffering.
Rather than sin being the only possible cause for his suffering, there are at least six possible reasons for this man’s misery:
- He sinned and was reaping in suffering what he had sowed in sinning. Jesus says this is not the cause.
- His family sinned in some way and brought this suffering upon him. Jesus says this is not the cause.
- He lives in a fallen world where everything is broken, and everyone suffers. There is often no direct cause-and-effect relationship between sinning and suffering.
- He suffered demonic attack.
- He was a victim of sin. Perhaps some wrongdoing was done to him in his mother’s womb, or at the time of his birth, that took his sight.
- His misery was a mystery.
To be healed, this man had to trust in Jesus’ commands enough to find his way, though still blind, to the pool and wash his face covered with mud made by Jesus’ spit. If the Bible stories were made up, who in the world would have come up with this ministry moment? Only after trusting in God did the blind man experience healing from God.
The religious leaders who heard of this blind man receiving sight became infuriated. In an odd twist, they seek to kill Jesus for healing a man.
Why were they so angry?
Because Jesus healed this man in a way that offended them by publicly trampling on their deeply held religious beliefs.
One, they forbid healing on the Sabbath. Yes, Jesus heals seven different times on the Sabbath, including this healing.
Two, they forbid work such as kneading on the Sabbath. They considered Jesus making mud doing that kind of work on the Sabbath.
Three, they forbid people from traveling over a certain distance on the Sabbath. In sending the man to wash in the pool of Siloam, Jesus may have been sending Him further than their religious rules allowed.
The blind man healed by Jesus quickly became a positive and devoted follower of Jesus. He shared his testimony of healing openly and publicly, did not back down in conflicts with religious leaders, and even made fun of them a bit, calling Jesus a “prophet” at first but coming to accept Him as “Lord.”
The man born blind accepted the fact that he was both physically and spiritually blind. As a result, he welcomed Jesus to heal him both physically and spiritually.
The religious leaders, however, bitterly denied the fact that they were spiritually blind. As a result, they hated both Jesus and the man whom He healed.
Take an honest look at yourself. Do you see yourself more as the religious leaders who denied that they were spiritually blind or more like the man born blind who accepted that he was both physically and spiritually blind?
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