Category: John 9

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John John 9

When you think you know it all

John

The irony in this passage is very thick.

The man who had been blind could see who Christ really was and worshiped him.

The people who could see all their lives, couldn’t recognize who Jesus was though he was standing right in front of their faces.

Worse, they couldn’t recognize him though they saw all his miracles and all the arguments they tried to bring against him fell to the ground, leaving them speechless.

Why couldn’t they see? Because they already thought they knew it all.

They “knew” what the Messiah was supposed to look like and be like. They “knew” the truth of the Old Testament, the books of the Law and the Prophets.

All their lives, they lived in pride of that knowledge they held. So when Jesus came and shattered all they had thought they knew, they found it hard to let go. They found it hard to admit they were wrong.

Jesus said,

For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind. (John 9:39)

What did he mean? He meant that he is the dividing point. The fork in the road. And those who humble themselves and accept him as Lord and Savior will see and be saved.

But those who refuse to let go of their pride and think they know it all will become blind to who he really is. Not because they can’t see, but because they close their eyes to the truth.

The Pharisees were this way. They asked Jesus,

What? Are we blind too? (John 9:40)

So many people today say the same. “I’m blind? You’ve gotta be joking. I’m an educated man. I’m an educated woman. I’ve experienced life. I know.”

But Jesus said,

If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:41)

In short, “Yes, you are blind. And if you were humble enough to admit it and your need for help, your sin could be forgiven.

But because you are too proud to admit what you don’t know, because you’re too proud to hear the truth that I give, your sin remains.”

And he says the same to people today.

How about you? Do you think you know? Or are you willing to humble yourself, and accept the truth that Jesus gives?

Are you willing to accept that Jesus himself is Truth?

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John John 9

A picture of salvation

John

After Jesus healed this man blind from birth, it caused quite a stir as we see in this chapter. But through this story, we see a beautiful picture of salvation.

We see, first of all, that this man was blind from birth. In the same way, we also were born spiritually blind and spiritually dead.

Then Jesus came for us. It wasn’t that this blind man sought Jesus. Jesus sought him out, and touched him. And though we, like this blind man, were not even seeking God, he sought us and touched us.

The man was then told to wash in the pool of Siloam. This is a picture of baptism, both our spiritual baptism in which God washes us of our sin, and of our physical baptism in which we proclaim to the world what God has done for us.

The man now seeing, the change was so dramatic that people could barely recognize him, saying,

Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg? (John 9:8)

Some people said yes, others said it couldn’t be, and the man had to insist that it was really him.

People often respond the same way to us after we become Christians.

Sometimes the change in us is so dramatic, that people can barely recognize us, and wonder, “Is this really the same person,” giving us the opportunity to give our testimony as this man did.

Like the man, however, we often don’t know so much when we first become Christians.

But as time goes on, we start to get a clearer idea of just who Jesus is. To this man, Jesus was first simply, “a man,” then “a prophet,” then finally, “God’s Son.”

But though we give our testimony, and though the change is undeniable, yet some people will reject not only Christ, but us.

And that’s what happened with this man. First, they tried to convince the man that Jesus was a sinner, and not from God.

But when this man could not be shaken, they rejected him.

Even then, this man’s faith was not shaken. And when Jesus found him again, he fell at Jesus’ feet and worshiped him for the new life he had been given.

Let us be like this man. Grateful for the change that God has brought in our lives. Sharing boldly what we know (limited though it may be) with others. Standing fast in the face of opposition. And ever worshiping and seeking our Savior.

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John John 9

Why did this happen to me?

John

Sometimes, bad things happen to people, and they wonder, “Why did this happen to me? Is God punishing me for something I did?”

There are times when God will let us go through suffering because of our sin.

But I would say that most, if not all the time, it’s not so much that God is punishing you, as he is letting you reap the natural consequences of your actions.

Just because you are a Christian does not mean that you can sin and expect to escape the natural consequences of your actions. There is a price to pay for what we do.

We can hardly blame God if he does nothing to keep us from suffering those consequences. It’s how we learn, and it’s part of the process that leads to holiness. A refining by fire, if you will.

But there are times when bad things happen to us through no fault of our own.

In this story, Jesus and his disciples came across a man who had been blind from birth. And his disciples asked,

Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? (John 9:2)

It was a very common belief in that day that if you were handicapped, it was because God was punishing you. But this man was blind from birth, and so that provided a conundrum for the disciples.

Was this man blind because his parents sinned? Did God see that he was going to sin in the future and so he made him blind from birth? Did he somehow sin in the womb of his mother?

But Jesus answered,

Neither this man nor his parents sinned… but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. (John 9:3)

What was Jesus saying? He was saying that there are times when bad things happen to us, not because God is punishing us, but because God wants to do something glorious through us.

A woman named Joni Eareckson Tada immediately springs to my mind as an example.

She was a woman who in her teenage years had a diving accident leaving her quadriplegic. Many people have prayed for her healing over the years, and yet God never healed her.

But through her, so many people around the world have been touched, and not just people with disabilities.

God wasn’t punishing her. But through this accident, God’s work was displayed in her life in a way that would never have been done had she not had this accident.

Jesus said,

While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. (John 9:5)

While Jesus may no longer be physically present here on earth, nevertheless, he shines his light on us that God’s glory might be revealed to us. More, he shines his light through us that others may be touched as well.

So if you’re going through suffering, don’t wallow in your misery. Rather ask God, “Shine your light on me and let your light shine through me in the midst of all this.”

And if you do, God will be glorified in you and through you.