There is a lot of blindness in the passage today; some
physical but mostly spiritual. Firstly, the disciples are blind, or at least
mistaken, that the man’s disability is punishment for sin. Jesus puts them
right: “Neither the man nor his parent sinned but this happened so that the
works of God may be displayed in him.” Sometimes bad things just happen in a
fallen world. Jesus also issues a stark warning that “night is coming, when no
one can work”, reminding us that there is a time limit to God’s offer of grace
and forgiveness.
Jesus then heals the man with one of his miracles or, as
John often refers to them, his signs. A sign points to something else. In this
case the miracle points to something greater, namely that Jesus is the Messiah,
the Son of God.
Some of those who knew the man refuse to believe in the
miracle. They look for other explanations – it’s not the same man, he just
looks like him. This may seem strange; surely they’d know. But we too can be
guilty of having entrenched views and ignoring any evidence or experience to
the contrary. We too can confine our great God and his incomparable power, love
and wisdom, to the everyday.
Then the Pharisees get involved. Supposedly learned men,
they are the most entrenched, worrying about their position and authority rather
than what these miraculous signs should be telling them. They are more
concerned about a breach of their Sabbath rules (not God’s) than the wondrous
curing of a blind man and what that should tell them. More worried about their
rule book than helping someone in need. In the ensuing debate about Jesus, it
is the formerly blind man who shows the wisdom, not the learned Pharisees. He
sums it up perfectly: “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” Put
that in your rule book!
Response
Ask God to show you
your blind spots and open your spiritual eyes.
Tom
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