When you hear the words, “I was blind but now I see,” what do you hear? The tune of Amazing Grace in its thousand different variations starts to play through my head. As I read and reread this passage, I hear the simplicity of the Christian faith. In contrast to the Jewish leaders and Pharisees who explored every possible question to figure out who Jesus was, the man who was formerly blind kept it simple. The proof is in the pudding…or should I say, the seeing. All arguments go out the window when you know who has made you well. This is the difference between this man and the lame man from John 5. Take some time to read these stories and look for the contrasting responses from the two.
One of the major themes in this passage is acceptance in the synagogue. Will the characters in the story choose to give up their positions in society or will they draw near to Jesus? The Messiah is there with them and is showing them the way of the Father, but they miss him because they have their idea as to who Messiah is supposed to be. When Messiah comes, he will show true Sabbath observance. When Messiah comes, he will show true piety. When Messiah comes, … The Pharisees were holy and Godly men who had the best interest for Israel in their minds. But they were misguided. They constructed a vision for who Messiah would be and created a culture of acceptance around that vision. This leaves people in the tension between choosing the Messiah they want or the Messiah they have. Which would you choose?
There is so much to talk about in this passage, but I don’t want to do all the work for you! Here’s the major observation I want to point you to. It is easy to sit with the blind man (formerly) and proclaim, “I was blind but now I see!” and celebrate what Jesus has done in our lives. What is hard is then celebrating what Jesus has done in such a way that you want nothing other than Jesus. That’s the journey the blind man takes us on. When threatened to be kicked out of the synagogue, he chooses Jesus. When his parents throw him under the bus when they are threatened to be kicked out of the synagogue, he chooses Jesus. When he is threatened that he is not giving God the glory, he chooses Jesus. When he is belittled because he was “born in utter sin” because of his blindness, he shrugs his shoulders and draws near to the one who is everything he needs in life. He chooses Jesus. The transitional verse that marks him as a true disciple is in verse 34, “An they cast him out.” At this point Jesus finds him and affirms his belief, “and he worshiped him” (v38).
“Worship is our natural reaction to who God is and what he has done in our lives. If worship is not our natural reaction, then we have not understood who God is and what he has done in our lives.” – This is my paraphrase of the opening paragraph on “Worship” in NT Wright’s book Simply Christian. I have spent the better part of two decades chasing after understanding God and unpacking the deep mysteries of the faith through academia. The man who was once blind reminds me of the simple truth of the Christian faith, when you open your eyes to what Jesus is doing in the world you will begin to see. When you begin to see what Jesus is doing in the world, worship is the only reaction that makes sense.
Moving from the head to the heart –
If you find yourself becoming more and more anxious about the world around you, stop and ask yourself what you’re spending your time looking at. Are you looking at where Jesus is working and how he will work through the chaos to bring peace or are you only looking at the chaos?
Are you taking time in your life to reflect on the transformation Jesus has brought into your life that then brings you into deeper belief?
Where do you draw allegiances in the world that challenge your devotion to Jesus? Another way to ask this: what status in your life, if it were threatened, would be tempted to fight to keep? Ask God to reveal to you the areas of your life where you need to be willing to allow “and they cast him out” to happen to you so that your eyes are opened and you only see Jesus.