The chapter begins with Jesus and his disciples seeing a man born blind. During the time of Jesus, sickness was believed to be caused by sin. Jesus corrected this and said sickness and suffering have their purpose: to show God's work. Jesus then spat on the ground and made mud, put the mud on the man's eyes and told him to wash at the pool called Siloam which meant “Sent”. The man did as Jesus said and he was healed.

The man had been sick since birth. He had probably been praying for sight ever since he was able to pray. His parents said he was of age. He was already an adult - so at least 20 years old. For him, healing did come after all these years.

We too need healing. When we pray, we too will be healed. From our perspective it may delay, but it will surely come. God is never late.

Seeing God

Jesus came to show the works of the Father. Jesus made mud and rubbed it on the man's eyes. God made man from the ground. By doing this, Jesus was making new eyes for the man born blind. Now he will be given new eyes so he can see Jesus clearly.

Similarly, we also are blind to several things. We cannot see what God has planned for us. We cannot even see God for who he is. We need to see God through new eyes. We cannot see God through the same set of eyes. We need to get rid of preconceived ideas of who he is and see him through new eyes. Only Jesus can give these new eyes.

Testifying for Jesus

This chapter shows how the blind man slowly got to know who Jesus was. He was able to do so not by following him, but by answering the questions asked of him. First, his neighbors asked him and he said, “The man called Jesus.”

His neighbors brought him to the Pharisees. They also asked him how he was healed. His first response was “He is a prophet.”

The Pharisees then asked him under oath to tell them how he was healed. When they commanded him to “Give glory to God”, it was a command to speak the truth under oath. The man obeyed his leaders. He gave glory to God by speaking of his healing and Jesus. Healing is personal. Only we can speak of it. Healing is also to be proclaimed because this is God's work.

Jesus is God

The man asked them “Do you want to be his disciples?” Now, the man saw Jesus as a teacher. The Pharisees responded they did not know where Jesus came from. With this, they were saying Jesus was a nobody. It can also be an insult, meaning they could not trace his ancestry - therefore, he had no human father. As such, he was someone born out of sin.

By saying they did not know where Jesus came from, they were right also. Jesus, in fact, had no human father. Jesus was God and Jesus IS God!

The man continued to argue with the Pharisees and told them Jesus was not a sinner. Instead, Jesus was one who does the will of God. The man proceeded, to take the conversation to the beginning. “Since the world began, no one has opened the eyes of a blind man.” And he concluded Jesus was someone from God. By bringing the discussion to the beginning, the man was getting closer to knowing who Jesus was. Jesus was with God from the beginning, so he is God!

Because of this, the Pharisees condemned both the man and Jesus as sinners and they threw the man out of the community.

Here we see the Pharisees and the man saying the same things. One was saying it to condemn and insult Jesus. The other was saying it to give glory to God. This is also a warning to us. Just because someone speaks the right words, does not mean they are preaching Jesus. For all we know, they might be against Jesus.

Face to Face with Jesus

The blind man also showed progress in his knowledge of Jesus. He first called Jesus a man. Then he said Jesus was a prophet, then a teacher, then someone who was from God then someone from the beginning. There was gradual progression in his knowledge of Jesus. The man's knowledge of Jesus deepened, not because of his constant contact with Jesus, but because he spoke about his experience with Jesus. This is evangelization - to speak about what God has done for us.

As he spoke about Jesus, everything that mattered to him was slowly taken away. His neighbors left him. His parents left him on his own. His community threw him out. Lastly, he was denied worship of his God. He was all alone. Then, Jesus came to him face to face.

Similarly for us, in the midst of our despair, in the midst of our problems, in the midst of our difficulties - when everything we hold dear is taken away - we come face to face with Jesus and we hear the same question Jesus asked the blind man: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” Notice Jesus addressed himself as “Son of God” rather than Son of Man.

The blind man answered, “Who is he Lord, that I may believe in him.” At this point in his knowledge of Jesus, he called Jesus “Lord”. Jesus told him, “You have both seen him and it is he who speaks to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe!” and he worshiped him. Noticed the word used, “worship”. Worship is reserved only for God.

The man got so far to knowing Jesus. He stopped short of calling Jesus as God. Jesus had to reveal himself before the man finally saw who Jesus was.

Knowing Jesus is a grace. It is God's gift. This happens when we come face to face with Jesus. When we see Jesus, we should believe him and worship him.

Spiritual Blindness

The leaders could not believe because they were enslaved by their own ideas. They could not accept Jesus as the Messiah. To make it worse, they claimed they knew what they were doing. Because of this, there was no repentance; therefore, they remained in their sin.

But the man who was healed knew who Jesus was because he experienced the healing of Jesus. Even with people persecuting him, he continued to proclaim his healing. He proclaimed who Jesus was - the one who healed him - a prophet, a good man, a man from God, someone from the beginning. And when he was thrown out of the synagogue, denying him forever of his God, he came face to face with God himself! He believed and he worshiped.

With new eyes, we see Jesus.

This chapter ends with the leaders saying they were not blind. Jesus told them since they said they see, then their sin remains.

Spiritual blindness is caused by pride which is a failure to admit one's faults. The leaders claimed they see. They would not admit their mistakes. By saying this, they claimed they knew the truth.

From Jesus' perspective, since they knew the truth, and they still would not admit their mistake, then they remained in their sinfulness. Their pride prevented them from admitting their sinfulness.