JOHN 9:13-17 “AND THE BLIND SHALL RECEIVE THEIR SIGHT”

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.

17 Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

In the words of the Prophet Isaiah:

42:6 “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, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8 “I am the LORD; that is my name!

Opening the eyes of the blind was one of the scriptural hallmarks of the expected Messiah, a fact that was well known to the Pharisees. What was not understood by the Pharisees, or at least agreed upon, was the actual identity or essence of the Messiah. Most thought he would be a human leader like David or Moses who would politically lead the nation out of bondage to Rome. Others thought he might be a religious leader, a High Priest or a prophet. But one thing they all agreed upon was that as a righteous man sent from God he would obey the rules for observing the Sabbath. Again from the Prophet Isaiah: “Blessed is the man…who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it” (56:6).

The blindness of the Pharisees was due to the cataracts of their expectations. This observance of the Sabbath would be necessary for a mere man. But if Jesus is the Son of God, then he is Lord of the Sabbath and indeed is revealing himself as such when he heals (a work of God) on the Sabbath. Thus, Jesus’ action in healing the blind man, because it was done on the Sabbath, was also an opportunity for giving new sight to the religious leaders.

Jesus, as the Son of God, is too big to fit into the narrow categories of our understanding. We can only know him as he reveals himself to us. But we can only “see” the revelation through the eyes of faith. The question of faith is how the revelation can fit Scripture rather than how it does not.

Lord, remove the cataracts that blind me to the truth. Be the Lord over my expectations. Give sight to my clouded understanding and let me see you for who you really are and worship you as the Son of God and Savior of the world. Amen.