For the Power of God

John 9

​When Jesus’ disciples wondered whose sin had caused a man’s blindness, He said he had been born blind so that “the power of God could be seen in him.” Have you ever thought that your capacities and infirmities might not only be by design; but brings light to the Glory of God... that He desires you and me to use what the world see unfitting to be fitting for His great work?
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“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:1–5 (ESV)
By putting clay on the man’s eyes, Jesus encouraged him to obey and wash on the Sabbath.
“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 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.” John 9:6-7 (ESV)
Sometimes the Lord irritates us before He illuminates us... obviously He irritated the religious leaders. He we see that Jesus’ power is so great that He can use common things like dirt and water to produce a miracle. The man could hear but not see, and the Word produced faith.
“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Romans 10:17 (ESV)
Once more declaring Himself to be the light of the world, Jesus told the man he could be healed by washing in the pool of Siloam. The man did so and was healed. This is the only recorded time Jesus required anyone to do anything other than believe in order to be healed.
Here we see that the disciples and apparently the Pharisees as well, believed that suffering results from personal sin. Some rabbis even taught that a baby could sin in its mother’s womb. Although the issue is complicated, since the consequences of parents’ actions can profoundly affect the lives of their children, Jesus made it clear that suffering does not always result from sin. Sometimes, it’s just that our weakness yields His strength.
“The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” John 9:8-18 (ESV)
When word began to spread concerning this healing, the formerly blind man told his skeptical friends that “the man they call Jesus” had healed him (9:8–12). When the friends brought the man to the Pharisees, they said that Jesus could not be from God since he had healed on the Sabbath (9:13–17). Then, they decided that the man had not really been blind at all! (9:18)
“The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” John 9:19-24 (ESV)
The man’s parents confirmed that he had been blind but, out of fear of the Pharisees, claimed not to know who had healed him.
“He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.” John 9:25-34 (ESV)
The man was questioned by the neighbors and by the Pharisees. Instead of seeking the truth and the freedom it brings, the Pharisees denied the truth and ended up in worse bondage. If we ask questions sincerely, with a willingness to obey, the Lord will lead us to the truth. If we are not honest with God, He will never show us His light. When the Pharisees again quizzed the healed man, he stuck to his story and gave eloquent testimony to Jesus, and the Pharisees threw him out of the synagogue.
“Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” .” John 9:35-39 (ESV)
When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the healed man and identified himself as the Son of God, whereupon the man worshiped him. When some listening Pharisees sarcastically asked Jesus if he considered them also to be blind, he stated the paradox that permeates the story: Those claiming the most spiritual sight are often the most spiritually blind.
The Pharisees were false shepherds who threw the man out, but Jesus the Good Shepherd took him in! The man knew that He was “a Man called Jesus,” “a prophet,” and “a Man of God;” but he needed to learn that He is “the Son of God.” He believed and was saved. Beware a spiritual experience that comes short of true salvation.
Dr. Harold Wilmington makes note of “the progression in the blind man’s perception of Jesus: from seeing Jesus as an ordinary man, to realizing He was a prophet, to worshiping Him as Lord. How tragic, however, that the man’s seeing parents apparently refused the light of Christ because they preferred the approval of the Pharisees.”
To you, who is Jesus? Is He just an ordinary man or is a Sovereign God able to use ordinary things to do extraordinary miracles even in the lives of those often discounted? Are you willing by faith for Him to use your weaknesses to bring Glory to Him and a Light to the World?
Know today that, giving sight to the blind is one of the miraculous signs expected to accompany the coming of the Messiah. Let God’s Word open your eyes to the truth of who He is and to His eminent return.

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