Daily Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 29-30, 1 Corinthians 10, Ezekiel 8, John 9.

Blind

In John 9 we have the account of Jesus healing a man who was born blind. Because he was blind, he earned a living by begging. After Jesus healed him some of his neighbors saw that he could see, but others doubted that it was really him and said, “No, this is only someone who looks like him.” They too were blind.

Then the Pharisees were at it again, questioning how a person could be from God and heal someone on the Sabbath day. When they heard that he was healed on the Sabbath day they immediately said “this man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.“ The Sabbath day was more important to them than the well-being of a person. Actually they were more blind than the man who was born blind. They questioned the man about how his eyes were opened.

They were so steeped in their traditions, laws, regulations, things they must do and things they could not do that they could not look past them and rejoice that a man who had been blind since birth could now see. You could haul your ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath, but don’t you dare heal anyone!! They even doubted that it had happened and gave his parents the third degree. Was he really born blind? How come he can see now?

The man’s parents were afraid to stand up to the Pharisees too much because anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah got booted out of the synagogue. The synagogue was the hub of their lives, both social and religious. It would not have been pleasant to experience that kind of ostracism. So in a sense, the man’s parents were blind too. They wanted to keep their comfortable lifestyle rather than acknowledge that Jesus was the Christ. They did affirm that their son had been born blind but basically said they didn’t know anything about how he could now see. They said, “Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.”

So the Pharisees returned to the man and questioned him again. Basically what the man said was, “I don’t know anything about anything.” “I was blind but now I see.” The Pharisees accused him of being Jesus’ disciple and threw him out of the synagogue. Jesus found him and revealed himself to the man. He believed and worshipped Jesus. Now, his eyes were really open; both physically and spiritually. He had a double healing from blindness.

What is your testimony? Were you blind, but now you see. Were you lost but now you’re found.  Were you bound but now you’re set free? Were you steeped in tradition like the Pharisees and the man’s parents, but now your eyes have been opened? When we’re blind, we are in darkness but Jesus came to “give light to them that sit in darkness.” Luke 1:79. He said, “I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.” John 12:45.

If you’re sitting in darkness, accept the light that Jesus came to bring and break out of your blindness. If you have been healed of your blindness, let your testimony be, “I was blind but now I see.” Share that with others so they too can be healed of their blindness and come into the light that Jesus came to bring.

Tomorrows Bible Reading - 1 Samuel 31, 1 Corinthians 11, Ezekiel 9, John 10

God is good all the time,

Naomi Brinkman