Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.  John 9:35-41

Do you believe in the Son of Man?  We each encounter the question.  How do you respond?  

Some are spiritually blind but do not realize it.  Others know they are blind and as they humbly seek and submit themselves before Jesus Christ, He opens their eyes to see.  We each should look deeply within our hearts and assess where we on the continuum.  

Many Old Testament prophecies use images of seeing and hearing to depict spiritual renewal.  Through Ezekiel, God explains spiritual blindness and deafness are caused by rebellion from God:  

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious people” (Ezekiel 12:1-2).  

Through Isaiah, God promises restoration and renewal for His people, and He calls His people to serve as light to others so they may also see.  As part of His promise He says,

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand.  I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”  Isaiah 42:6-7

In the prophecies, sight is equated to communion with God and spiritual wholeness.  The hymn Amazing Grace begins, “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!  I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.”  When Paul prays for his friends in Ephesus, he asks God to “give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your hearts enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he as called you” (Ephesians 1:17-18).  The ability to see spiritual truth is connected to God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

While the references above discuss spiritual matters, Jesus offers total, complete healing of body, soul and spirit.  He opens both physical and spiritual eyes to see.  So when John the Baptist was in prison and he asked whether Jesus was the One, Jesus replied saying, “the blind receive their sight… the deaf hear” (Matthew 11:5), which was His way of employing Messianic prophecy to say, “Yes, I am the Messiah.”  

Chapter 9 of the Gospel According to John covers an incident that brings Old Testament prophecies to life by perfectly illustrating them.  The account involves three main characters:  Jesus, a blind man and religious leaders.  Jesus shows incredible mercy, grace and love to the blind man and denounces the religious leaders.  The passage tells us a great deal about Jesus and how He responds to people based on the condition of their hearts.  Let’s consider each character and begin assessing which traits we see in ourselves that may inspire Jesus’ mercy, grace and love, and which may inspire His denunciation.   

The blind man was born blind. He had never seen light.  His occupation involves humbling himself before everyone and begging for mercy.  The man never asks Jesus for anything, but the disciples bring the man to Jesus’ attention as they inquire about his sin.  Jesus says sin did not cause his blindness; rather, the man was blind so that God might reveal His glory through the man.  Jesus then heals the man’s physical eyes, allowing him to see physical light for the first time and revealing God’s glory to everyone.  Later, in the passage first set forth above, Jesus gives the man spiritual wholeness as the man receives Jesus as Lord, believes in Him and worships Him.  

In between the two encounters, juxtaposed to the man who knows he is blind and desires to see, we encounter religious leaders who spend their lives studying the Law of Moses and striving to live up to every letter of the law.  They are always in church, they pray, they fast, they attend the festivals, they offer sacrifices, they do their best to satisfy God through their behavior.  They see righteousness as a merit earned by personal performance and physical ailments as God’s punishment of sinners.  Because they diligently strive to keep the law, they see themselves as righteous.  As a result, they hold themselves in high regard while looking down on others as inferior sinners.  

Jesus denounces the religious leaders for their arrogance, and He tells them they are blind to spiritual truth.  They believe they see clearly, yet they are blind to spiritual truth.  They see the blind man’s physical ailment, presume he is being punished by God for sin, and dismiss him as inferior.  Jesus sees the blind man’s humble attitude and searching heart, and Jesus heals his body, soul and spirit.  Jesus gives the man wholeness.

And get this – the man never asks for it.  He is simply there with a humble heart, begging for mercy and prepared to receive what Jesus is offering.  He is merely the recipient of God’s holy, merciful, loving gift of grace.

Some are spiritually blind but do not realize it.  Others know they are blind and as they humbly submit themselves before Jesus Christ, He opens their eyes to see.  And so I’ve been pondering, where am I on the continuum?  We each should look deeply within our hearts, assess where we are, and seek Him and His holy, healing, loving grace because He promises, when we seek we will find.  

May the eyes of your spirit be enlightened that you may commune with Him and receive His wholeness, now and forever.  Amen.