Where did the blind man get such courage?  I would have loved to have been there to see him stand up to the Pharisees.

Jesus had healed him, giving him his sight for the first time in his life.  It was the Sabbath.  Jesus was again stirring up controversy, healing on the Sabbath.  This time, He spit on the ground, made mud, wiped it on the blind man’s eyes, and told him to go wash it off in the Pool of Siloam.

Making mud.  That was work.  That violated the Sabbath.

Washing in the Pool of Siloam.  That would be work too.

When telling the blind man that Jesus was a sinner for braking Sabbath law, the Pharisees were shocked, even indignant, when the lowly beggar didn’t fall in line.

“If He is a sinner, I do not know.  Only one thing I know – that being blind, now I see.”

After asking him again how Jesus opened his eyes, the blind man replied to the Pharisees, “I already told you, and you did not listen.  Why do you wish to hear again?  Do you also wish to become his disciples?”

Now, I’m pretty sure the blind man was being sarcastic.  He knew they hated Jesus and didn’t want to be His disciples.  They just called Him a “sinner.”

After he told him they don’t know where Jesus was from (of God), the blind man’s sarcasm toward the Pharisees got even more to the point.

If there was a crowd watching, I can only imagine that some were snickering, others were gasping, and still others were ready to stand up and cheer.

“Why, this is a wonderful thing, that you do not know where He is from, and He opened my eyes.  And we know that God does not hear sinners.  But if anyone is a worshipper of God, and does His will, He hears him.  For all time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one who has been born blind.  If this One were not from God, He would not be able to do anything.”

Drop the mic!

Ouch!  Schooled by a blind, pitiful beggar.

Where did such courage come from?  Remember, this man had been blind his entire life.  He’d NEVER seen anything.  Now, his eyes were opened.  For the first time in his life, he knew what his parents faces looked like.  For the first time, he saw the splendor of the Temple.  For the first time, he saw how shiny gold was, how vibrant red was, how blue the sky was.  He saw.  Can we even comprehend what that must have felt like?

There is NO WAY they were going to convince him that receiving sight was not a gift from God.  Could there be any greater gift?

Well, actually, he was about to receive one.

After the blind man was forcibly removed from the synagogue by the Pharisees (before he made even bigger fools of them), Jesus found him and gave him spiritual sight.  The man was born doubly blind…  physically and spiritually.  Now he received the greatest gift of all.  Spiritual sight.  Faith.  He believed in Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah.

So while I do not know the wonder, the joy, or the miracle of receiving my physical sight, I do know the wonder, the joy, and the miracle of receiving my spiritual sight.

I hope I never cease to be amazed by that.

I hope I can’t be shut up or shot down by those who oppose my gospel and my Savior.

All I know is, I once was blind, but now I see!

 

To learn more about Walking As Jesus Walked and Discipling As Jesus Discipled, visit:  SONLIFE.COM