Blind From Birth

John 9:1-7

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 

Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

When He said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.


No pun intended but, the way I see it, we are all born blind from birth. We are in a spiritual blindness until we hear of, believe in and receive Christ. As He says here, He is the light of the world.

When we are spiritually blind we live in darkness of the things of heaven. When the truth of Jesus Christ shines upon us and we receive Him by faith, as this blind man did, doing as Christ said by doing no more than going and washing his eyes at a particular pool, we receive our sight. He becomes our light.

As was also pointed out, again, we are born spiritually blind so that when we meet Christ the works of God will be revealed in and through us when we receive Him. Words from a popular hymn:

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

It takes an action to receive Christ. We must go...and be washed in His blood.

I think of Saul who persecuted Christians until He met Christ on the road to Damascus. God blinded Him. But he knew he had met God, had seen the light (of the world) and his life was turned around miraculously.

The name Saul means desired. Perhaps Saul's desire was to persecute but perhaps God desired for him to be changed. God's glory would be seen in the miracle. Saul's name was then changed to Paul which means small. Paul no longer looked at himself as this giant of a persecutor but as a man who now humbled himself before God and powerfully preached Christ. A miracle. God's glory seen.

I love this account. How God can open blind eyes that we might see Him as He should be seen, that we can worship Him in spirit and in truth. The light of the world now part of our lives.

The Jews could not understand. They were spiritually blind to the truth. They understood the laws of the Old Testament but they could not see that Christ was there to bring newness of life, through faith in  Him, not death through rules, regulations, works. Praise God for Jesus, the Way.

2Corinthians 4:3-4 - But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.