A few weeks ago, I was at an appointment where I needed to wait for my turn. The receptionist told me my number would be displayed on the screen when it was time. Unfortunately, the font size was a tad too tiny, and I have an overdue appointment with an optometrist. So I couldn’t tell when I was required to go in. Eventually, they called out my name, which is how I knew it was time to go in.
Granted, my challenge that day fades in comparison to the experiences of one who is blind. And I cannot begin to comprehend what living in utter darkness all day means.
Sight makes it easy to manoeuvre. When I wake up in the morning, I often fumble in the dark, looking for the switch to put the lights on. And I do this, risking creating a mess or toppling over things. But as soon as the lights come on, I confidently do my business because I can see.
I think it is no wonder that one of the signs that the Messiah had come was opening the eyes of the blind. Of this, Isaiah prophesied,
Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Isaiah 35:5 (NIV). Emphasis added
When John the baptist wanted confirmation whether Jesus ‘was the one who was to come,’ Jesus told John’s disciples, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight” (Matt. 11:4-5 NIV. Emphasis added)
He Restores Physical Sight
The Bible narrates the encounters of blind men who met Jesus and had their sight miraculously restored. One such account is recorded in John 9.
As Jesus and His disciples were slipping away from the temple grounds, He saw this poor blind beggar. Maybe he was sitting alone, looking troubled and weary. I imagine that he sat under the scorching sun, hoping to catch the eye of those walking to or from the temple. But he hadn’t had much success in his venture, so only a few coins were in his bowl. Perhaps he was a picturesque image of the crowd Matthew describes in Matthew 9:36, “… harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” And although John doesn’t state it explicitly, Jesus had compassion for him.
The disciples also saw the man, but unlike Jesus’s response, they sought to rationalize his suffering. They remind me of Job’s friends who could not hold space for the tension of the mystery of suffering. They assumed that there MUST be a direct link between sin and suffering. So the disciples asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2)
The disciples’ response is not an isolated case. Methinks it is how we respond most of the time when we enter into other people’s suffering. And sometimes, we use this skewed magnifying lens to analyze our circumstances when we suffer. We want explanations because it justifies the suffering. Or we subconsciously think that understanding the cause of the suffering can help us, or those walking through the valley dark as the shadow of death, to avoid a repeat of the circumstances.
I remember a few years back when some friends and I visited a couple who had lost a child at birth. The days preceding the visit were plagued with anxiety as I thought about what I would say. It didn’t feel right to just sit there and give them the gift of my presence. Thankfully, those with whom I was in the company did all the talking, and I just sat there in agreement.
Although sin can result in suffering, this is not always the case. Just like in Job’s case, this man’s blindness was not a consequence of sin. Jesus brings this out when He responds to the disciples’ query. He said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:3)
What’s interesting about this account is that Jesus initiated the restoration process. And He does it in such a way that the blind beggar participates – he goes to wash the mud that Jesus put on his eyes in the pool of Siloam. When he washed, the man came home seeing.
He Conquers Spiritual Blindness
There was such a vivid change in the man when his sight was restored that some who knew him doubted he was the same person. Yet, restoring physical sight was only a first step in conquering his blindness. First came physical sight, then his spiritual eyes were opened, and he worshipped Jesus.
When the first lot asked him how his eyes were opened, he said, “the man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” (John 9:11) Observe, He didn’t know Jesus. He had probably overheard conversations as people walked past him on the way to or from the temple. So he told his inquirers, ‘the man they call Jesus.’
The first hearers of this testimony took the man to the Pharisees, who set up a tribunal to investigate the healing. And the blind man who was now seeing narrated his experience. The extraordinary nature of the miracle caused a division among the Pharisees. Some wanted to discredit Jesus because He performed the miracle on a sabbath, but others were convinced that He was from God because of this sign.
Following the standstill, the Pharisees decided to turn to the man to act as a tie-breaker. And this time, he was bolder in his response. The man replied, “He is a prophet.” (John 9:17). Maybe he deduced that the only one who could restore the sight of one born blind must have come from God. Or perhaps he remembered having heard a recitation of Psalm 146:8 that says, ‘the Lord gives sight to the blind.‘
But the Jews still did not believe. They were steeped in their unbelief and set on discrediting this man’s witness. They had a different kind of blindness not visible to the physical eye – spiritual blindness. Although they did not walk around with a white cane, they were blind. Thus, they brought in the man’s parents for questioning. But when they failed to get the response they wanted from the parents, they asked the man to re-explain how his eyes were opened.
At this point, the man had had enough of their questioning. He was tired of entertaining their unbelief. He replied, “I have told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples too?”
It goes without saying that the Jews were not particularly pleased with this response. Consequently, a heated argument ensued. All decorum is thrown out the door. And in the spur of the moment, the man answers, “Now that is remarkable!” (John 9:30). This man couldn’t comprehend how be-set they were in their ignorance. Their arguments simply didn’t add up.
When I read this statement, I pictured an embroiled woman who begins her argument with, “It’s funny that….” and then goes into a demur about whatever is agitating her. First, you are sure that nothing funny will come out of that argument, and second, the only way you get out of that conversation alive is if you just let her go on and on until she is done. Otherwise, anything you say at that moment fuels her agitation, and it is bound to get ugly. But I digress ๐๐๐.
This man must have known the law because He argues the validity of testimony using the law. He tells the Jews what they probably already knew – that God listens to the godly man who does His will. He finishes by saying, “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” (John 9:33). Can we pause for a moment and appreciate how far the man had come from saying ‘the man they call Jesus’ to this moment? He was no longer harassed and helpless. I suspect the Holy Spirit had already begun a good work in him, giving him boldness, even before the great outpouring recorded in Acts. To this, the Jews responded by throwing him out of the temple.
I compare these Jews to those Paul references when he writes to Timothy in 2 Tim. 4:3. Paul tells Timothy, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” As law teachers, they must have read what Isaiah had said about the Messiah. Yet, they were unable to connect the prophecy and its fulfilment.
When Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out, He (Jesus) sought him. And when He found him (the previously blind beggar), He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (John 9:35). To this question, the man replied, “Who is he, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in him.” (John 9:36). Jesus confirmed that He truly was the Son of Man. To this, the man had the most beautiful response – he confessed his belief in Jesus and worshipped Him.
Oh, what a stark contrast between this man’s response and the Pharisees who sought to stone Him!
Sight Beyond Sight
While you, dear reader, do not have physical blindness, you may have spiritual blindness that makes you think your vision is perfect, save for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. Unregenerate minds cannot perceive the all-attractive beauty of Christ. And though He does mighty works in your midst, you cannot recognize His glory. Like the Jews, you may become fixated on looking for explanations instead of simply beholding your God.
If this be the case, may the admonition that Jesus issues to the Jews make you reconsider your allegiance and prompt you to pray that the Holy Spirit may open your spiritual eyes so you may see. He said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (John 9:41)
Some of you are eyewitnesses to the power and grace of Christ to transform lives. He restored your sight when He called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. With you lies the responsibility to ‘cut holes into the darkness’ and point people to Jesus, who can open their eyes.
This man sets an example that we can emulate. He was unshaken in his testimony. What He knew for sure was that he was blind but could now see. And he did not waver in proclaiming that. Do the work of Him who called you when it is still day, before night comes when no one can work.
Oh Holy and Unspeakable God, before whom all powers tremble, Thou hast deigned to show pity on me, and a ray from Thy light has shone upon my inward eye. Guide me on into the perfect light, that it may illumine me wholly, and that all darkness may flee away.
Grant also that out of Thy glorious riches Thou may strengthen me with power through Thy Spirit in my inner being, that Christ may dwell in my heart through faith.
Help me, even me, that I may be evermore ready to follow your commands, and whenever Providence shall make it my duty, I may readily and happily testify to the sincerity of my love. And if this witness leads to suffering for Thy truth, let the firm belief of those glorious eternal rewards which Thou hast prepared for them who lay down their lives for Thy sake, support me under all the cruelties of the most merciless persecutors.
Grant this, O blessed Lord, who didst die for me, and didst rise again, and now sittest at the right hand of the Father, to intercede for me, and all Thy faithful disciples. Amen.
Adapted from Augustine and the liturgy of St. James.
1
