A New Perspective

In the previous chapter Jesus just had a discussion with the religious crowd where he made the definite proclamation that He was the “I AM.” When Jesus made that statement, the religious people accused Him of blasphemy and wanted to kill Him by stoning him to death.

But Jesus hid Himself and snuck away from the temple grounds. Sometime later and we do not know how much later, Jesus returns to the temple with His disciples and sees this blind man begging by the gate. Please read from John 9: 1-12.

1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” 3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.  The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes.

7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing! 8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”

10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” 12 “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied.

There are several people in this story. One was:

• Blind from birth … the others were

• Blinded by religion

• Blind by choice

Blind from birth

And after Jesus was walking the streets of Jerusalem with His disciples, He saw a man who had been blind from birth.

It is a wonderful display of His mercy and lovingkindness. It’s not the religious leaders who got His attention, nor was it the people with high profiles, great abilities, and status in society.

It’s the lowly man in the fringe of society who was needy and who in the sight of his own people had very little to nothing to offer to anyone. This man caught Jesus' and the disciples' attention.

Blinded by religion

The disciples were expressing the notions and preconceptions they carried with them due to the religious system they were brought up in. Those implications had the following reason: By being familiar with Exodus 34:7, in which the principle is stated that God lays the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; they could have thought that the sin of parents could have been the reason for the man’s blindness.

But God addressed that idea in Ezekiel 18:20 saying “The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”

It was understood by the rabbinical Jews that being born blind was a judgment of God, and that nobody with such a birth condition would be able to see unless the Messiah would arrive and the blind would receive their eyesight (see Isaiah 35:5).

The healing of a specific condition was a messianic sign and that is the reason why the event just happened in the way described in this passage. Jesus Christ was doing a unique miracle to reveal that He is the Messiah but before the healing Jesus brings a new perspective, God’s perspective on the reason for why this man was born blind. “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered.

God can use suffering for His glory to accomplish His purpose in a person’s life. To manifest His grace and His mercy. So, by the healing of the blind man the Father in heaven received greater glory.

God gives us so many opportunities to reflect the light of Jesus Christ by doing His will.

In vv. 6-7, we see how Jesus chose to heal this man. Jesus took His saliva, what the Jews considered to be disgusting, dirty and vile, mixed it with dirt, made mud and smeared it on the man's eyes and then asked him to walk to the pool of Siloam and wash it off - which he did willingly.

As we have seen in this passage, this man was blind from birth, Jesus miraculously opened his eyes giving him a new perspective in the physical realm. His disciples were blinded by religion and Jesus opened their spiritual eyes to a new perspective.

In fact, every time we open the Word, the Light of the world wants to open our eyes...to His holiness, majesty, greatness, maybe to our sinfulness, to our selfishness - but at the same time to the immensity of His amazing grace, mercy, and compassion.

Blind by choice

The people were looking at the situation from a natural, human perspective. They knew this man and they knew his history. As we see later in the text, his so-called friends had a hard time accepting the evidence of their senses and he had to tell them many times that I am that guy that used to be blind but now can see.

Instead of accepting this new perspective of love and compassion, those who knew him, and the religious establishment only wanted to find out who this Person was who had done this on, of all the days, the Sabbath. They were fixated on doing what was according to protocol and on rightness that

He didn’t tell a long story he simply replied:

The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’

So I went and washed, and now I can see!”