Ep. 265. John 9 | Somebody Must Have Sinned

EPISODE 265

SOMEBODY MUST HAVE SINNED: JOHN 9

I have more than one time thought about the emotional/spiritual journey this blind man must have had on this one particular day. He was led, or found his way, to the place he was accustomed to beg. The disciples, indicating the blind man, ask, "Who sinned that he was born blind?" Jesus's answer tells it all, "He was born blind that the works of God might be displayed in him." He had gone through his childhood and his adult life to this point, having no opportunities for a future or any life based on anything but begging and being dependent on the kindness of friends and family, but today, he would meet the Savior.

Jesus made mud from spit and dirt and wiped it on the blind man's eyes, instructing him to wash his eyes. When the man obeyed, his eyes were opened, and by the end of the day, his spiritual eyes would be opened to the Messiah.

During the day, the blind man loses his relationship with his family, loses his welcome in the synagogue, and finds himself without a place or a people of his own. To him, Jesus was a good man, a prophet, a man from God, and finally, "Lord." He started the morning as a beggar and ended it as a saint worshipping his creator and King.

I imagine he had no regrets about what he lost that day because he gained life. I wonder why we so often find our pleasure in the temporary things of this world. Further, would we see more clearly who Christ was if we recognized how truly destitute we were before he came into and changed our lives?

ADDITIONAL READING: John 1:17; John 3:19