Seven Miracles - Pt 18

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. (John 9:1-7 ESV).

As we look at the miracle itself, we must observe that it sets the stage for everything else in this chapter. Jesus has already answered their question about why the man was born blind. It was so that the works of God would be manifest. That answer in itself is difficult for us to fathom. After all, we find fault with the thought that an unborn child could have done anything so wrong as to deserve a life of blindness, especially in that world. The key is in our understanding of the eternal purpose and plan of God. This man’s blindness was not punishment for any wrongdoing. This will lead to Jesus’ continued teaching of the work of the Cross. Jesus also says, “We must work the works of him who sent me” (v. 4); and, then Jesus himself made the mud and healed him. So the stage is set for this seminal moment when they question who Jesus is. It is a part of learning how to respond to Him, who says God’s work is going to be shown here, and then does the work himself. It is a bold statement of his divinity. The controversy that follows is all designed by God to show how the person and work of Jesus leads some to blasphemy and some to worship. The blasphemy is recalled by John later in the chapter: “So for the second time, they [the Pharisees] called the man who had been blind and said to him, ‘Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner’” (v. 24). So, we see this all too familiar dichotomy where God gets glory when you call Jesus a sinner. It is so strange to think in these terms. Can we really be glorifying God when you are demonizing Jesus? Certainly that must be blasphemy. However, we must understand this in the context of the ultimate purpose of God to lead the Jewish religious leaders to completely reject Jesus ultimately resulting in His death on the cross. But that was not the only response to the healing of this blind man. There is also worship. It’s the climax of the story. The last thing the man does in this text before he disappears from the story is worship Jesus. In the other six places in this gospel where the word “worship” (Greek proskuneō) is used, it means really “worship,” not just “fall down.” That is the correct response for us today. We’ll see more of this principle tomorrow. Today, worship Him. He has indeed healed us!