Jesus: The Giver of Spiritual Sight
John 9:1–41
Jesus, the Servant of the Lord and light of the world, uses the healing of the man born blind to illustrate that spiritual sight is given only to those who admit their blindness and receive Him as God’s sole provision; those who claim to see remain guilty.
Outline
- Man born blind as object lesson
- Allusion to Isaiah 42 Servant of the Lord
- Pool of Siloam and God’s gentle provision
- Pharisees’ Sabbath legalism and spiritual blindness
- Formerly blind man’s confession of faith
- Judgment and invitation
Themes: Giver of Spiritual Sight · Light of the World · Blindness · Servant of the Lord · Pool of Siloam · Legalism · Admission of Need · Judgment
Key Cross-References: John 9:1-41, Isaiah 42:1-9, Isaiah 8:5-8, John 12:44-48, Matthew 9:10-13, Daniel 7
MANUSCRIPT
Agnes sat comfortably in her familiar living room, the glow of the television casting soft shadows as her favorite show played. She leaned over to her husband, commenting on how much she liked the host's new hairstyle. Just then, her daughter entered the room, and Agnes, with a smile, complimented her on her outfit. When her husband asked for the time, Agnes glanced at the clock and announced, "7:35."
But when she reached for her tea on the living room table, her hand flailed in the air, nowhere near the cup. Frustrated, she scolded her husband for moving the table too far away. Her husband and daughter exchanged bewildered glances.
The following day, Agnes found herself in a dimly lit doctor’s office. She casually asked the doctor to turn on the lights so she could see better. Alarmed, the doctor assured Agnes the lights were one and then asked her to describe the room to him. She did so in vivid detail. She named the color of the walls, described the various machines, the placement of the furniture, and even the doctor’s appearance. Yet, despite all the detail, there was one glaring problem—what she described was completely wrong. Whatever Agnes was seeing, was not reality.
The diagnosis was as startling as it was rare: Agnes had what is known as Anton’s syndrome, a condition where patients, despite being totally blind, insist they can see the world around them. Their brains create elaborate images of their surroundings and plausible narratives to explain away any inconsistencies. Stumbling over objects on the floor? They attribute it to fatigue. Stubbing a toe on a chair? It’s because someone moved the furniture. Failing to recognize a face? It’s due to poor lighting. In truth, what they see is entirely fabricated by their brains and completely divorced from reality. Believing they can see, they remain utterly blind. Had Agnes’ family not recognized her strange behavior, she would have went on living dangerously, as if she could see while blind.
This morning in our passage, we will meet others who, despite their blindness, are utterly convinced they can see. Unlike Agnes, however, they are not suffering from Anton's syndrome; instead, they are trapped in the blindness of their own sin. Like so many today, they possess a false confidence in their spiritual wisdom and insight while remaining completely blind to the truth. They adopt elaborate, philosophies and narratives to explain reality, while being completely wrong. They, like Agnes, are living dangerously. Also like Agnes, they need someone to help them see the seriousness of their condition, so that they can receive healing.
Before we meet these individuals however, we have to meet someone else. This man had absolutely no confusion over his blindness. He knew he was blind, and had been his entire life.
John 9:1-3 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
As Jesus and his disciples left the temple grounds they passed by a blind beggar. This sparked a question in the minds of his disciples. To what was this man’s blindness owed? Was it his sin, or his parent’s sin? Notice, they were convinced his blindness was a product of sin, the only question was, “whose?”
In first-century Jewish culture it was common to believe that physical suffering was the product of sin. It was the judgment of God against sinners. Consequently, a man like this blind beggar not only suffered all the stigma associated with a physical handicap but also a spiritual stigma which saw others look upon him as a serious sinner, or the product of serious sin. In their minds, he was a man judged by God and destined to forever bear that mark through his irreversible blindness.
Jesus corrects his disciples.
Physical suffering is not a reliable indicator of sin and guilt. In this man’s case, his blindness was an opportunity for the works of God to be put on display.
Jesus then says something very significant:
John 9:4-5 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Jesus indicates that this man’s blindness is, so that the works of God might be displayed in him, and that he, Jesus would be the instrument by which those works are carried out. He says that he was sent by the Father for this very purpose.
Here we begin to learn that the events of John 9 are not merely about physical blindness and Jesus’ ability to heal, but about some spiritual realities. The man born blind would serve as an object lesson in a real-life parable to teach us something about what is necessary if one would be saved.
Jesus says in verse 5:
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Was Jesus talking about physical light? No. He’s talking about spiritual light. Jesus came into the world as light which both illumined and exposed. It illumined by waking up blind eyes to their lost state and showing them the way of salvation. It also exposed by shedding light on the hypocrisy of those who claimed they had spiritual insight, but did not.
So, Jesus is about to use this man’s blindness, and his subsequent healing to teach a spiritual lesson. He, Jesus, is the Son, sent by the Father, to bring spiritual light to those who live in spiritual darkness.
I believe Jesus in verse 4 is making his identity, and his mission plain by alluding to Isaiah 42.
Isaiah 42 (along with 48, 50, and 53) is one of the prophetic “Servant Songs.” These are profiles of God’s promised Messiah who would come to save his people. Written hundreds of years before the coming of Jesus, they perfectly describe his character, the nature of his earthly ministry and of his coming kingdom.
God introduces his Servant this way:
Isaiah 42:1-9 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. 5 Thus says God, Yahweh, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: 6 “I am Yahweh; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. 8 I am Yahweh; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Here God promises his people that he would send his servant to establish a Kingdom governed by perfect justice. His servant would be meek and gentle, and full of the Spirit of God. He then addresses his servant directly, “I have called you in righteousness… I will give you as a covenant for the people.” And in verse 9, “Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Through his Servant, Yahweh would bring forth a New Covenant. One in which his Servant, the Messiah, would be like a light in darkness. He would enlighten, not just the Jews, but all nations. He would have the power to bring sight to the blind, and to deliver prisoners from darkness. This is why Jesus says in John 9 that he has been sent by the Father as the light of the world. He is identifying himself as the Servant of the Lord from Isaiah 42.
So, Jesus, the servant of the Lord, the very Son of God, stepped into his creation, becoming flesh so that he could carry out the works of God in the world. This included, in part, bringing the light of the knowledge of salvation to bear upon all. He said:
John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
This is what He is about to illustrate through the healing of this blind beggar. Look at verse 6:
John 9:6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud
Why spit on the ground and make mud? Why use means at all? Why not just speak a word? There are a few reasons. I think one of them is that Jesus wants to illustrate the truth that we just explained. He is the servant of the Lord, sent from heaven. In his incarnation, heaven has met earth. He takes his own spit, and some earth, and combines them together so that the product of this union is the divine power to bring sight to the blind.
In the incarnation of Jesus, God has sent the means to bring spiritual light and life to those who are in darkness and death.
THE POOL OF SILOAM
Jesus wasn’t done with the means however. After having anointed the man’s eyes with the mud, we read in verse 7:
John 9:7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
Jesus’ object lesson continues. He sends the blind man to the pool of Siloam, certainly needing help to get there. What is significant about this pool? Well, we learned in a previous sermon that during the Feast of Tabernacles, it was from here that the Priests drew water for the Water Libation ceremony, recalling God’s deliverance of his people at the Exodus, and his provision of water during their wilderness wanderings. But, there is something else even more significant.
The Pool of Siloam is referenced only one time in the Old Testament and that is in Isaiah 8. Here we read God’s warning to Judah:
Isaiah 8:5-8 Yahweh spoke to me again: 6 “Because this people has refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently, and rejoice over Rezin [ree-zin] and the son of Remaliah [rem-uh-ly-uh], 7 therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up against them the waters of the River, mighty and many, the king of Assyria and all his glory. And it will rise over all its channels and go over all its banks, 8 and it will sweep on into Judah, it will overflow and pass on, reaching even to the neck, and its outspread wings will fill the breadth of your land, O Immanuel.”
In the historical context, Judah was facing external threats, and instead of relying on God for deliverance, placed their trust in political alliances with other nations. God uses an analogy to describe this, saying His people had “refused the waters of Shiloah that flow gently” and instead rejoiced over the kings of Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel.
The waters of Shiloah refer to the stream from the Gihon Spring, Jerusalem’s primary water source, which flowed into and gathered at would later be known as the Pool of Siloam. These waters symbolized God’s divine protection and provision. Judah didn’t have to look outside the walls of Jerusalem for protection, they needed to rest in the provision which God had already made.
A LESSON FOR US
There’s a lesson here for us. Despite all that God has provided for us, all the promises he has made to us, and all the past evidence of his protection, when life hits us hard, in our anxiety, we often panic and look desperately for an escape, while failing to rely upon God. Oftentimes, this looks like poor choices and short-sighted decisions that involve compromising our faith. Judah was guilty of this.
Instead of trusting in Yahweh and receiving His provision for salvation—represented by the gentle waters of Shiloah—Judah chose to rely on the power and might of other nations. They rejected the calm, consistent stream of God’s provision in favor of the loud, raging waters of Assyria.
The consequence? God would allow the raging waters of Assyria to come, not to deliver them, but to wipe them out. So, what about Jesus sending the blind man to the Pool of Siloam? For this man to be cured of his blindness, he needed to receive God’s provision, symbolized by the waters of Siloam, and apply them to himself.
The connection to Jesus is clear. Just as God described the waters of Shiloah as His gentle provision, He describes His Servant in Isaiah 42 as gentle:
"He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench..." (Isaiah 42:2-3)
Just as the Pool of Siloam represented God’s saving provision gently flowing into Jerusalem, Jesus had come to the city as the meek and gentle Messiah - God’s only source of spiritual life. Anyone who desired to see (that is, receive spiritual sight and life) would have to receive Him as the sole source of salvation. They would have to reject any temptation to trust in anyone or anything else.
To drive the comparison home even harder, look in John 9:4. Jesus says, “We must work the works of him who sent me.” Then in verse 7, He says, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent).
Jesus is the "Sent" Son of God and the only source of eternal life. To be saved, people must receive Him as God’s sole provision for salvation and refuse to trust in anything else for deliverance.
ENTER THE PHARISEES
So, what happened to the blind man? The end of verse 7 says:
John 9:7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
He who was blind from birth can now see for the very first time.
Now, we started out in our introduction by talking about people who think they can see, but who are blind. Clearly, this doesn’t describe this man. This man knew he was blind, knew he was in need, knew he was a lowly beggar, and therefore trusted in Jesus to receive his sight.
Remember, Jesus is using this situation, providentially arranged by God, to teach a spiritual point. This man served as the example of what all must do if they are to be saved. They must recognize their own need, Jesus as the only source of rescue, and place their faith and trust entirely in him for salvation.
But, there were others present who would serve to represent a completely different response to sin, and Jesus. Let’s continue reading.
John 9:8-13 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
Now, let’s just linger on that final phrase for a moment, “the man who had formerly been blind.” We need to appreciate that this is a phrase that had theretofore never been spoken. A man born blind, but now formerly blind? Verse 32 says as much:
John 9:32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.
So, this was a bonafide miracle the likes of which no one had ever seen. There was no denying that it had happened, and that it was miraculous. That however, wouldn’t keep some from trying to deny it.
It says in verse 13, that the formerly blind man was brought before the Pharisees. Then John notes:
John 9:14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
Remember we asked why Jesus would use mud at all? Why not just speak a word? One reason I think it is that it illustrates the incarnation. Jesus had come to earth taking upon himself the form of a man, made from dust, like Adam. Next, I think it illustrates that God was bringing salvation to the nations through the Jewish people as represented by their own land. There was no use looking outside their walls for salvation, because God would provide it through faithfulness to his covenants with them.
Lastly, and most clearly, Jesus made mud in order stir up the Pharisee’s hypocritical beliefs about the Sabbath. He made mud, and healed on the Sabbath. Both of which the Pharisees would see as a violation of the law, and evidence that Jesus was a sinner. Of course, they would be wrong on both points.
CONSISTENT WITH THE SABBATH
Healing on the Sabbath, and making mud to do so was perfectly consistent with God’s intention for the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made by God, for man, as a gift of rest. The Pharisees’ approach to the Sabbath on the other hand, made it an onerous burden. This is what all legalists do. They take what God intends to bring freedom and rest, and turn it into something which burdens and enslaves.
So, the Pharisees response to Jesus making mud and healing was predictable:
John 9:15-16 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
And here go the Pharisees again, like all legalists, judging the spirituality of others on the basis of how well they hold to their peculiar theological interpretations. “He’s not from God because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath!” Never mind that their standard of what it meant to “keep the Sabbath” was wholly invented by them.
Before we judge the Pharisees too harshly, we should do some self-examination here. We are convinced that theology is important, and that sound theology is essential. We also see a necessity to protect against error. However, we also recognize the temptation to size up the spirituality of others on the basis of how well they conform to our understanding of theology. We must acknowledge that there are many who hold to different interpretations of secondary issues who love the Lord with all their hearts and want to live for the glory of Jesus. The temptation is to be like the Pharisees and elevate what might be our peculiar interpretations of scripture to that of primary importance. We shouldn’t reject anyone out-of-hand, simply because they are not part of our camp.
Now, to their credit, some of the Pharisees were a bit more reasonable, they said “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” That was the right conclusion. Jesus miracles were meant to testify to the fact that he was indeed sent by God, and only capable of doing such things because he was the sent Son of God.
So, the Pharisees seek more information from the formerly blind man. They continue in verse 17:
John 9:17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
We will be very gracious with this poor man. He has been hauled in front of the Pharisees and is being interrogated. He’s spent his entire life has ostracized by others because of his blindness. He had been stigmatized as a sinner and barred from full participation in temple worship. And now he finds himself in front of the religious leaders in danger of being excommunicated from the synagogue if he confesses Christ. Imagine, finally being freed from the limiting effects of his blindness only to find himself on the precipice of being stigmatized once again!
The synagogue was the centerpiece of Jewish community life. To be cast out meant being barred from festivals, celebrations, communal worship and the study of scripture. It would mean social isolation and alienation. It meant a loss of identity and being cut off from ones spiritual heritage. Is declared that one had been cut off from the covenant and it’s blessings. Under these pressures, the formerly blind man did what many do when they want to show respect for Jesus, but not pay a price for it – he confessed him as a mere prophet.
Some do the same today. Some Jews are willing to call Jesus a prophet, but not the Son of God. Likewise, some Muslims are willing to call Jesus a prophet, but not divine. These believe they are showing a measure of respect for Jesus. In reality, they are calling him a liar. No half-measures will do. Jesus claimed to be one with the Father and identified with the prophecies declaring that God himself would come to save his people. “He is the image of the invisible God. By him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
If one would honour Jesus, they must honour him for who he actually is. No diminutives or half-measures will do.
Nevertheless, this man is only willing to call Jesus a prophet at this point and so he avoids the wrath of the Pharisees for now. The passage continues:
John 9:18-23 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Having questioned his parents and now convinced that the man truly had been blind, they interrogate him once more. This time however, the formerly blind man is far more bold in his responses.
John 9:24-34 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
They did not know where Jesus came from? Only because they were willingly blind. Jesus’ consistent message was that he had come from the presence of the Father to do the Father’s will. Yet, they refused to believe him.
Now we’ve got to start giving the blind man credit because he’s about to take it to the Pharisees:
30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
He’s calling out the Pharisees for their ignorance. The logic goes like this – “Jesus is obviously not a sinner, and is clearly from God, otherwise he would never have been able to do this miracle. He is undeniably from God, and yet you, who claim to be the closest to God have no clue who he is. What an amazing irony. Your rejection of Jesus exposes your spiritual blindness, more than it says anything about Jesus.”
They respond:
34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
The Pharisees were having none of it. They had heard enough from the formerly blind man and expelled him from the synagogue. How dare he, who was born in utter sin, deign to lecture them on spiritual things!?
It’s clear that the Pharisees had a category to explain someone born blind – he was obviously a sinner. But they had no category to explain someone who was born blind but then received his sight! So, they fell back on their original judgment - he was still an utter sinner and unfit for the synagogue.
This is a persistent attitude of the Pharisees. They couldn’t conceive that one who was a sinner could possibly find redemption. This is the reason they continually criticized Jesus for dining with, or talking with “sinners.” These sinners were a class of people rejected by God. They were, in the Pharisees’ minds, irredeemable.
Their thinking was something like this, “the blind beggar received his lot in life as a judgment from God and since God had clearly judged him, it is fitting for us to judge him as well!” It was OK to judge him, to reject him, to cast him aside, because he deserved it – as evidenced by his blindness.
Well that wasn’t the attitude of God, or the attitude which Jesus espoused in his earthly ministry. On the contrary, he sought out sinners.
Matthew 9:10-13 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
To Jesus, there are no irredeemables. None are such sinners that they are beyond saving. A cheat like Zacchaeus, a Pharisee like Nicodemus, a persecutor like Paul, an adulteress like the woman at the well, a thief like the criminal on the cross, a tax collector like Matthew, and even a denier like Peter. All found grace and redemption in Him. No matter the depth of one’s sin, Jesus can open their eyes and bring them into the light of salvation. All that’s required is that they first admit that they are blind and in need of the healing which only Jesus provides.
This morning, none here are irredeemable. All can be saved. No matter your background, the depth of your sin, or your previous hostility toward Jesus, you can be saved. All that is necessary is that you recognize your need – your sin, and turn from it, and to Jesus. Embrace him as God’s only provision for salvation.
The result will be spiritual sight and life. Jesus came for this very purpose, to give sight to those who know they are blind, and life to those who know they are spiritually dead.
The formerly physically blind man in our passage has now come to this realization, and is on the threshold of also receiving spiritual sight.
John 9:35-38 ¶ Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
With that, the man who had just gained his physical sight had also received spiritual sight. He confessed that Jesus was the Son of Man. He is the Messiah, the promised Son of Man who would receive dominion and glory and a kingdom from God (Daniel 7). This formerly blind man, though cast out of the synagogue by the spiritually blind legalists, had received spiritual sight from Jesus and had been welcomed into his eternal Kingdom.
Then, in verse 39, Jesus encapsulates for us exactly what he intended to reveal through this entire episode. He says:
John 9:39 ¶ Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
Jesus came into the world with both salvation and judgment. In what way did he come with judgment? He came with judgment in that by offering salvation by grace through faith in him and him alone he brought a division. Those who understood their need for salvation, that they couldn’t save themselves, and that Jesus was the only way of salvation, would respond to his message and be saved. On the other hand, some, believing that they had no need for salvation, believing that they were not sinners, or were capable of saving themselves, would reject him. Ironically, through their rejection of Jesus, they would expose themselves as sinners, while claiming to be righteous. They would out themselves as spiritually blind, while claiming to have spiritual sight.
They Pharisees get a sense of his implication and respond in verse 40:
John 9:40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”
He responds:
John 9:41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
The Pharisees would face judgment because of their refusal to see their own sin. They were quick to see the sins of others, but in denial about their true spiritual state. Had they admitted that they were spiritually blind, and in need of salvation, they could be saved. Instead, because they were convinced that they had no need of salvation, they could never be saved.
We could summarize this way: There are those who are spiritually blind who will never receive sight, since they are convinced that they can already see. There are those who are spiritually blind, who by admitting it, can be made to truly see. Jesus, as the servant of the Lord, is God’s provision for this spiritual life, and the judge of all those who refuse it.
CONCLUSION
Like Agnes from our introduction, who was physically blind yet convinced she could see, the Pharisees were spiritually blind but utterly unaware of it. Their self-righteousness and confidence in their own understanding prevented them from recognizing their need for salvation. Jesus, as the Servant of the Lord, came to give true sight to those humble enough to admit their blindness, but He also came to expose the blindness of those who claimed to see.
Jesus is the Lord's only provision for salvation, just like the gentle waters of Shiloah that represented God's protection and provision for Judah. Just as the blind man had to go to the waters of Siloam to receive his sight, we too must come to Jesus, the gentle and meek Savior, if we are to receive spiritual sight.
Are you willing to acknowledge your need for Jesus, admitting your blindness and coming to Him for spiritual sight? Or are you confident in your own wisdom, remaining blind to the truth of your spiritual condition?
This morning, will you admit your need for Jesus? Will you admit your are a sinner in need of salvation? That you are spiritually blind and in need of sight? If so, like the blind man, come to Jesus, the light of the world, and receive the sight only He can give.
Let’s close with Jesus’ words from John 12:
John 12:44-48 And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
