This morning I went back to the story of the man born blind who is healed by Jesus found in John 9. I was thinking about the whole healing and the way the whole situation was reported in such an understated way. Here are a few verses from the story - John 9:3-11 NIV:
[3] “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. [4] As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. [5] While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
[6] After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. [7] “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
[8] His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
[9] Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
[10] “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
[11] He replied, “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.”
So I think the end of verse 7 may be one of the most understated sentences in the Bible - "So the man went and washed and came home seeing."
This is a man who was born blind and had never seen anything, and now he could see everything! He didn't just come home seeing, like it had been another day at the corner begging, but today he could see! No, he was utterly transformed in character, so much so that the people who were his neighbors didn't recognize him! Imagine yourself having never seen anything, and now being able to see! To see your world, and all the details and colors, and animals and plants, the sun, the sky, the birds, the trees, everything was new! To see people, to put faces with names, to see how people walked and talked and used their faces to express things, these were all new to the man! Imagine your best Christmas morning and birthday ever and multiply it times 1000, that is what this man just experienced. He didn't just come home seeing! He came home rejoicing, examining everything, every detail, every color, everything was new! He had never seen his house, never seen his parents! There must have been incredible joy in that house that day!
His demeanor and character must have been utterly transformed, for his very neighbors argued about whether it was him or not. He was no longer a beggar, no longer an outcast, he could see! He was no longer someone you ignored or didn't look at as you walked join by, but now he could truly see you and interact with you. Maybe this was the first time his neighbors had actually ever looked at him, for the blind were outcasts and beggars in that society. Its funny, you can tell by the conversation among themselves that they had never treated him as a real person, for they were arguing with each other in his very presence about whether this could be the same man who was born blind, like he didn't even matter. It is like he was formerly blind and deaf, like it didn't matter if he heard them or not. The man actually had to defend his own case for healing by telling them he was the man. He wasn't just the man, he was a whole person now! He had been healed of his physical blindness, and of everything that went with that. Wow, it must have been an incredible experience.
One final point, this man didn't ask Jesus to be healed, Jesus just happened to have walked by and the disciples asked Him about the man. Talk about someone's destiny be changed in an apparently chance encounter. Again, notice the way the disciples talk about the man as if he wasn't even there... they hadn't yet fully embraced the heart of the Lord in seeing the significance of every person. They were having a theological discussion about the man and his sin state, without ever addressing man, and they must have been standing right in front of him.
While they were talking Jesus spits in the dirt, which was probably a very normal thing to do, and this time reaches down and makes some mud. I think we can also say that Jesus wanted to heal the man, for without being asked, Jesus touches him. I have heard someone say that Jesus heals the man with the very thing that people usually cursed the man with, their spit. Again if we think about the notion of sickness or in this case blindness, being caused by sin, we can understand that people didn't want the man coming near them. In their culture, touching a sinner could make them unclean. I guess a common reaction to a sinner was to spit on the ground near them, to basically tell them of your contempt and disgust at their sin. The blind man had probably been spit at his entire life, but this time the result was completely different, he was healed rather than cursed.
The man didn't realize his healing until he went to the pool of Siloam and washed, and Jesus didn't say anything publicly about him receiving healing. I imagine there was something about the way that Jesus told him to go wash, that caused the man to do so, otherwise he probably would have just wiped the mud off his face with his own cloak. We don't know, as it wasn't recorded. Again, the understatement of the whole affair is amazing!
As I reflect back on this story, I come away with a few significant points:
1. Everyone is significant to Jesus, even those we consider cursed or less than whole persons.
2. The touch of the Lord can radically transform everything about a person.
3. Any day might be the day that we meet the Lord and He brings healing to us! Sometimes it might take a bit of time, or a little effort on our part, but He wants to heal us.
4. Jesus desires to heal us, and will heal not just physical needs but the whole being, in this case turning what had been a curse (spit) into blessing. It is like He erased all the years of cursing and rejection in an instant. The man would never look on spit the same way again.
Lord, You are so good, and such a lover of people. We pray that You will help us to love each other in the same way, as You have loved us.
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