“He therefore answered, ‘I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.’” (John 9:25 WEB).
Focus: Though I Was Blind, Now I See
When you hear the saying, I was blind, but now I see, what comes to mind? Today, I want to share a story with you. It is about the blind man who saw in the Bible.
Meanwhile, have you had a chance to check out my article, The Testimony Of God Concerning Christ? I recommend you give it a read.
Born Blind
The man, whose name I do not know, was born blind and encountered a man called Jesus in his days.
The disciples of Jesus asked about the cause of the man’s predicament, but Jesus told them it was for the glory of God to manifest in him.
After making a few statements, He spat on the ground, took the mud from it, placed it on the man’s eyes, and told him to go and wash his face in Sent.
He went and washed, and afterward, he could see! What a miracle on the Sabbath!
Well, that was just the beginning of a problem, but did it matter to him? What else would matter to a blind man who could see except that, though he was blind, he could see?
“How Were Your Eyes Opened?”
“The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, ‘Isn’t this he who sat and begged?’
Others were saying, ‘It is he.’ Still others were saying, ‘He looks like him.’ He said, ‘I am he.’
They therefore were asking him, ‘How were your eyes opened?’” John 9:8–10 WEB
There are three groups of people to note here:
- The people who asked if he wasn’t the blind man.
- The people who said he was the blind man.
- The people who said he wasn’t the blind man but a lookalike.
These three are a typology of the groups of people in the world: those who question, those who affirm, and the doubting Thomas. (No matter how obvious the case may be, expect them in the good, the bad, and the ugly.)
But the man told them he was the one, and they asked him about how his eyes got opened.
“He answered, ‘A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received sight.’
Then they asked him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I don’t know.’” John 9:11–12 WEB
After all this, they took him to the Pharisees. But why?
Well, it is worth noting here that it was on a Sabbath day that Jesus made mud and opened the blind man’s eyes.
“Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.”
Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was division among them.
Therefore they asked the blind man again, “What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight,
and asked them, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” John 9:15–19 WEB
Give Glory To God
Here, we still see the three groups of people I pointed out above, but in the reverse, with the man who was blind in the middle. And the case here was about Jesus Christ.
At this point, the questioning had extended to the parents of the once-blind man, but to what end?
“His parents answered them, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
but how he now sees, we don’t know; or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself.’
His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age. Ask him.’
So they called the man who was blind a second time, and said to him, ‘Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.’
He therefore answered, ‘I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.’
They said to him again, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’
He answered them, ‘I told you already, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t also want to become his disciples, do you?’
They insulted him and said, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.’” John 9:20–28 WEB
Even under pressure, the once-blind man did not relent from saying what Jesus did, thereby giving glory to God.
According to the man, “‘Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind.
If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’
They answered him, ‘You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?’ They threw him out.” (John 9:32–34 WEB).
Jesus Christ met him and asked, Do you believe in the Son of God? And showing him that He was he, “He said, ‘Lord, I believe!’ and he worshiped him.”
I Was Blind But Now I See
The once-blind man had this testimony: Though I was blind, now I see. He knew it and believed in Him, the Christ.
Looking at the world, the different denominations, friends, and families, one would find contentions about faith, especially in Christ. But can you find one thing you know concerning Christ that you can hold on to amidst the waves?
The same Jesus Christ who died is the same who rose. He offers eternal life to everyone who believes in Him. You can trust Him for that.
A songwriter once said, “I once was lost but now I’m found; I was blind but now I see.” Even The Believers Today were once blind, but now we see.
In the end, it will take the encounter you had at one point or another to ascertain the strength of your faith. Only make sure it is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
