"Blind Man's Bluff" - John 9:13-41

Once again, this miracle takes place on the Sabbath. Healing the man is considered "work" (though doing miracles is not covered in the Sabbath code of the Pharisees). Even the Pharisees are divided. The religious leaders are intent on disproving the miracle by establishing that the man had never been blind. They interview his parents and they verify the man had been born blind, but, for their own protection, they claim not to know how he was healed. Then the religious leaders approach the man, trying to get him to deny that Jesus did the miracle. They fail and then accuse the man of being a disciple of Jesus (which he eventually becomes).

In verses 30-33, the healed man takes on their hypocrisy, for indeed God has listened to Jesus' prayers, which means God listens to a sinner (which they said Jesus was), which they said God cannot do. They then just call the ex-blind man "a sinner" and throw him out. To reinforce a lie, they throw out the truth (not the first time religious people have done that). In verses 35-38, the man gets the completion of his miracle, as he puts his faith in Jesus.

In the end, the blind man sees and the ones who claim to see are blind. But because they really have the oppotunity to see by believing,they are without excuse.

As I finish this blog today, I think of the first verse of "Amazing Grace, and how it finishes with the last part of John 9:25, "I was blind but now I see." This was the man's story and no one could take that away from him. Each of us has a story like that, maybe not as dramatic, but it is our story just the same. My story is captured in the 40th Psalm, verse 3,

"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."

Why not take some time and write a paragraph that is your story, that tells what God has done for you? Then take that paragraph and bless someone else by sharing what you have written.