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The Blind Man Came Back Seeing! This is the turning point of this message and lynch pin of the entire New Testament. Had he come back not seeing, it would have proved Jesus to be an impostor. However, the fact that He came back seeing is proof in and of itself that Jesus is the Son of God and it guarantees that what He claims to be and to be able to do are real and factual claims!

“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 had 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.” (John 9.1-7).

Obviously the blindness here was physical blindness. However, the larger context will see Jesus talking about an even more debilitating form of blindness, spiritual blindness. This man had never seen the light of day, and as far as we know neither Jesus nor His disciples had ever seen this man. His life was about to change forever! The disciples, upon seeing the man so long in this condition, asked a question of Jesus. Their question revealed an erroneous belief that they apparently all held. Their question absolutely assumed that the blind man's condition had been brought on as a result of sin, either his own or that of his parents. The disciples were wrong! Just being a disciple didn't automatically insure that they would always have the right perspective of things even as this event proves. Their mistake was a popular one that reaches all the way back into the Old Testament and the story of Job. In the same way that Job's three friends attributed his misfortune to his sin, so did the disciples of Jesus link this man's blindness with sin. Again, they were wrong!

Jesus stated the truth when he said that this man was in this condition so that the works of God might be revealed in him. Later events certainly bear out the truthfulness of His statement. Then Jesus set the stage to use the terms day (light) and night (darkness) in a spiritual sense. In this context He said, “I am the light of the world!” This affirmation is not the claim of a mere prophet; neither Moses nor Elijah would have made such a statement, but Jesus did! He was not just another prophet; He was the light of the world!

Why Jesus made clay of spittle we do not know; it is immaterial. However, Jesus did command the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. He obeyed the commands of Jesus and he returned with 20-20 vision! There was no power in the clay that Jesus put on his eyes, and there was no power in the pool. However, all the power that could be brought to bear on the matter was focused on that man through the word of Jesus and through the man's trust in Him!

A couple of parting lessons are offered. First, just being with Jesus and even being a disciple is not evidence in itself that one is right about a matter. Jesus is right, but his followers can be and often are wrong. Finally, when in doubt, ask the Man who knows! All other sources of information are subject to error; Jesus is the only infallible source of spiritual truth! Believe Him and believe it!

Questions:

1. Why did the disciples of Jesus surmise that the blind man was suffering from his malady?

2. How does their reaction compare with what the friends of Job thought when his fortunes turned sour?

3. What effect did the fact tat the man came back seeing have on the credibility of Jesus?

4. Discuss the claim that Jesus made that He is the light of the world.

"'Winging It" from Stan Smith

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