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I See Said The Blind Man - John 9
I See Said The Blind Man - John 9
Brother Ed Harrell once told about sharing an office with another Professor who was part of a denominational church. They had many religious discussions, which is not surprising to those who knew Brother Ed. Most of them ended with his office mate declaring: “I don’t see it that way.” After many such conversations, Bro. Harrell declared that he finally figured out what the man’s problem was: He didn’t see it that way.
When I read John 9 with its account of the blind man, I always remember Bro. Harrell’s illustration. The question we would want to ask, is WHY didn’t his office mate see it that way? All of us bring our preconceived (or learned) view points to our religious understandings. Some are true, many are not. The challenge before us is being transparently honest with ourselves. There are so many basic questions: Is there a God? What is He like? Has He communicated with mankind? Is the Bible His recorded communication with man? Who is this Jesus of the Bible. Etc. etc.
So it was in Jesus’ day. There were religious people that shared SOME of Jesus’ view points, but they disagreed with some because of their preconceived ideas. Here the blind man enters.
Jesus was a man, Jesus was a Jew. Jesus was a Jewish teacher. He gradually came to a different, more complete knowledge about Jesus. He started with something that he KNEW. This he repeated 3 times.
· "The man called Jesus … so I went, washed, and received my sight" (vs. 11).
· "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see” (vs. 15).
· “whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (25).
Beginning with that foundation, his spiritual eyes were opened because his physical eyes were opened. Who was this Jesus that opened his physical eyes?
· "He is a prophet" (vs. 17).
· “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (33).
· “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him (38).
People now as then, deny his view point concerning Jesus! They don’t see it that way. Yet, he could declare, ‘one thing I know, I was blind but now I see’ – and it was Jesus that caused this physical change. This was recorded that we also could see Jesus in our spiritual sight: He is the Christ, the Son of God (cp. John 20:30-31). The response upon see it: I believe and worship Him. How is your spiritual sight?
Hugh DeLong
