Are We Blind Too?

In John 9, Jesus heals a man who had been blind from birth. He does it in a very unusual way. He spit(that's right Jesus can spit) on the ground and made some mud. Then he rubs this saliva filled dirt on the eyes of the blind man. Then he proceeds to tell him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash it off. The man went home seeing.

Can you imagine what it must have been like for this man as he walked home? It would have been like Dorthy stepping into Oz in full color. He had never seen a tree, a bird or water and now everything was clear to him. I wonder what he stared at the most? Did he stare at the sun which he had felt the warmth of for so many years? Did he stare at his hands which he had used to idnetify people and objects?

One thing that bothered me about this passage is that the man did not go looking for Jesus. I think I would have wanted to go see the man who had rubbed spit on my face.

This miracle caused a scene amongst the religious leaders. They began to question the man about his healing. Instead of being excited about the healing that took place the religous leaders were offended. They said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath."

We learn something about Jesus here by what his enemies said about him. We learn that Jesus was not going to let religious practices created by man get in the way of being God. It was not that he was not going to keep the Sabbath. He was going to show us how to live on the Sabbath.

The blind man broke the Sabbath by washing. Washing according to the Rabbidical law was work. Maybe Jesus rubbed this mud on his eyes to force him to wash that day. Because if he hadn't washed the mud off his face that day he would not have seen God.

Sometimes we do not see God because we're too religious. We hold on to traditions and laws that get in the way of truly experiencing Jesus. It is our own man made mud, that for one reason or another we refuse to wash off.

Later in John 9 when the man meets Jesus it says, "The man said, 'Lord, I believe,' and he worshipped him." He called Jesus Lord and then worshipped him. He experienced the awe and wonder of Jesus.

He washed on the Sabbath and saw God. He didn't allow religious acts keep him from seeing the one who gives sight to the blind, the one who brings salvation--His name is Jesus.