Lesson 57

Here we have the final word on this anonymous man who Jesus gave sight. He had been born blind. Jesus' disciples had asked if the man was blind because he or his parents had sinned. Jesus told them that he was blind in order that the power of God might be made manifest in the world. Then, Jesus made mud, placed it on his eyes, then had the man wash the mud off his eyes at the Pool of Siloam. The man received sight for the first time in his life when he did as the Lord instructed him to do.

The Pharisees interrogated him because it had been the Sabbath when Jesus had performed this miracle. After a discussion, the man was excommunicated because he had said that what Jesus had done could only be accomplished through the power of God. During the discussion, we can read his progressive understanding about what had been done to him. His first words were, "A man called Jesus" told him what to do and he gained his sight. When the Pharisees questioned him about what sort of man Jesus was, he said, "He is a prophet." Then, in the statement that provoked the Pharisees to caste him out from the synagogue, he said, "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

In today's scripture, we see the final step in faith. Jesus hears what has happened to the man and approaches him. He asks the man, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" The man's answer proclaims his complete trust in Jesus. "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?" He does not know who Jesus will say, only that he trust this man in anything that Jesus would direct or instruct him. And Jesus' answer is, in effect; "I am He."

We are told that the man believed and worshipped Jesus. The purpose and meaning of the complete chapter is then summed up in verse 39. "I came into this world for judgment, that those who don't see may see; and that those who see may become blind." This is what has been played out in this incident. The man who could not see was granted his sight. The men who thought that they could see, the Pharisees, were proven to be blind to the works of God.

What are we to learn of this lesson for our own lives? Without sight from God, we are all as spiritually blind as that man that had been born blind is. We simply don't have the organs to see the spiritual world all around us. When God grants us sight, it is with the understanding that we are always dependent on him for our sight. Even as children of God, we are still blind without Him. He becomes our eyes and we see the world through Him. If we are blind by ourselves and confess our blindness and allow God to grant us His eyes, we may see.

But, if we believe that we can see and if this physical world around us is all that we care to experience, then we will always be blind to the works of God. If we say, "We see," if in effect we attempt to be independent of God, then our sin remains. And our blindness. We will die in our sin and our spiritual blindness.

But, to see the world through the eyes of the living God, that is the greatest blessing that mortal man can achieve. Christ is willing to give you His eyes, His hands, and His heart. What need do we have for anything else but Him?