Seven Miracles - Pt 21

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” (John 9:35-38 ESV).

As we come to the close of our examination of the sixth sign in John, there are five conversations, and step by step the blind man’s sight of who Jesus is becomes clearer, and his courage to defend him becomes stronger, until we reach the climax with his worship of Jesus as the Son of God. 1. The first conversation is between the man and his neighbors (vv. 8-12). They were arguing about whether he was the blind beggar. He insisted he is the one who as blind. So they ask how his eyes were opened. And he answers, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes” (v. 10). So at this point, he simply calls him “the man.” 2. The second conversation is between the man and the Pharisees (vv. 13-17). They too ask him how he could be seeing if he were blind. He tells them. They are divided by his answer. He can’t be from God; he broke the Sabbath. Something important has happened in this interchange. His heart is being changed. Now Jesus is a “prophet,” one sent by God. 3. The third conversation is between the Pharisees and the man’s parents (vv. 18-23). They question if this is really their son. They answer that he is, but they don’t know how he was healed. They were fearful of the Jews, so they lied (v. 22). This makes the son’s courage all the more amazing. They are on their way. But their son is moving much faster. 4. In the fourth conversation we see the full-blown courage of the beggar standing up to the most religious and educated people of the land! (vv. 24-34). And we see the full-blown blasphemy of the Pharisees. Amazingly he responds to this threat with his most famous statement of all: “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” The power of a personal testimony over a bad argument is always greater. And now they become hostile. The blind man was seeing more and more clearly. And their blindness was hardening. 5. This leads to the last conversation between Jesus and the beggar (vv. 35-38). And one thing that makes it so significant is that Jesus initiates it. The man has been threatened and cast out of his lifelong religious community. But Jesus seeks him and finds him (it’s no accident that the next chapter is about Jesus as the Shepherd who gathers his sheep). And that’s the last thing we see or hear of him. That is the point of the story. Jesus does the works of God. Jesus is the glory of God. Jesus is to be worshipped. The man was blind. And then he called Jesus “the man.” And then he called him a prophet. And then he defended him at huge risk. And then fell down and worshipped. This is why Jesus came into the world. He is seeking worshipers. Are you such a believer? You can be. Trust him today!