That God’s work might be seen

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. – John 9.1-3

I like the disciples. I like the fact that they were people just like us. I like the teacher/disciple relationship that they shared with Jesus. I liked the free and easy way they were able to ask questions.

As they travelled along they saw a common sight. They saw a blind man who had been blind since birth. One of the disciples asked a simple question, ‘Who sinned to cause this mane to be blind?’

This would have been a common enough question. When someone was ill or maimed the common idea was that someone must have sinned to cause it. We tend to try and figure out a reason for everything. The disciples wondered if it was this man’s sin or his parent’s sin that made him blind.

Jesus answered that nobody’s sin was to blame for the blindness. The truth is that this was an opportunity for Jesus to show His mighty work and at the same time heal a man’s blindness. This man had the rare opportunity for Jesus to show His power though Him.

The truth is that faith is hard. People are not going to believe, for the most part, unless they see something tangible. In this case giving this guy his sight was a way of proving Jesus’ might and drawing men to Him.

Sometimes God still does that. Sometimes He does perform mighty works of very clear healing today. Sometimes He shows His might not through physical healing, but in the way He changes a person’s life. Jesus doesn’t always show His might in the same way.

Jesus’ desire is to see everyone come to faith in Him. He knows that He is the only way to eternity. He knows that He has the truth. He knows that He is the key to eternal life. Eventually His desire to see men saved will lead Him to the cross. But, here, along that way, He is giving pointers.

Praise God for His healing powers. Praise God that one day He took away the spiritual blinders and gave me sight. Praise Him for that day in 1974 when He showed His might and gave me spiritual sight!