“As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.” John 9:1 ESV
When we see people, we tend to pass judgment or even evaluate their life based on their physical life. People are not defined by their past or what they look like on the outside. They are blind, disabled, handicapped, rich, poor, prideful, arrogant, etc. God is ready to work in them. Jesus was willing to work in this man while the disciples were trying to focus on his sin and understand why he was blind. Stop trying to figure people out and be ready to help them. Be prepared to show people the light of Jesus Christ.
John 9:6 ESV states “…he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva...” God wants to recreate new things in us. He often uses the earth and the things around us to help us. God wants to re-create a new life in us! Our God is the creator, and He creates new life in us. What did Jesus do to create a new life in this man? First, Jesus anointed the man’s eyes by covering them with mud. This shows the spiritual blindness we all have before Christ. This man was physically blind already, yet Jesus covered his eyes physically. Why? To show that we are spiritually blind. Our physical life does not matter in the spiritual world. Our spiritual life needs to be open to sight, to see and understand who Jesus is, our redeemer, our Savior. Jesus must come and anoint us. Jesus is the light of the world to us. We are all blind until the Spirit anoints us to understand.
Second, Jesus told the man to go and wash in the pool. This man who was blind was told by Jesus to “go.” Why did Jesus say this to him? He can’t see, and now he has mud on his eyes. If we desire to see and be free, we must go when Jesus says to go. There is no instant healing or instant freedom in our journey with God. We must obey Jesus, and then we can discover spiritual understanding.
Third, the man went and washed his eyes. Freedom comes when we do physical things such as reading our Bible, going to church, praying, serving others, obeying God, and being discipled by someone. Spiritual growth does not occur instantly. Understanding salvation and who God is in us takes time for some people. But we must obey Jesus and what He says to have sight and understanding.
Fourth, the man shared his story with others. When your life is changed, you will tell someone. You will tell anyone who asks you. You will look for opportunities to let people know what has happened to you by the power of God. Your story will be bold as the man was in talking to the Pharisees. Finally, the man believed and worshipped Jesus in John 9:36-38: ”He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him and it is he who is speaking to you.’ He said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him. Jesus said, ‘For judgement I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those that see may become blind.’” There must be continual belief and growth in our faith in Jesus. We must meet with Him and worship Him for our faith to grow. We must come to Jesus daily and worship Him for continual sight and understanding.
[As adapted from The Bondage Breaker and Stomping Out The Darkness by Dr. Neil Anderson and Dr. Dave Park.]