John 9:1

 

John 9:1 says, And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.  We have the record of Jesus healing the blind man.  We are told that Jesus saw him as He passed by.  Jesus is always aware of our problems.   The man was blind from birth.  Verse two adds, And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?  The disciples asked Jesus if it was because of the man's sins or his parents' sins.  How often today do people see someone suffering and think it is because they have committed some sin.   At times, if a Christian sees another Christian struggling or suffering, it is believed that Christian must be guilty of some sin. Verse three continues, Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. Jesus said that neither the man nor his parents had sinned, but he was blind so the works of God could be manifest in him.  Not all suffering is the result of an individual's sin, but when God relieves someone of that suffering, He will be made manifest. Of course, if we are the one suffering we may not feel this way.  Verse four concludes, I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. Jesus said that He must work the works of the One Who sent Him while was still day, because the night was coming when no man could work.  Today, we might say with all our artificial light that we can work in the darkness of night, but Jesus was speaking of a spiritual darkness.  We cannot do the works of God in spiritual darkness. Matthew Henry also equates the coming darkness with our own mortality.  We must work while we have life and opportunity.  Verse five says, As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.  Jesus again stated as long as He was in the world, He was the light of the world, but His time was growing short.  Verse six adds, When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.  Jesus spit on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the man's eyes. Jesus did not need clay to anoint the man's eyes to heal him but did this to see if the man would allow Him to heal him, no matter the method.  How many of us would have allowed a stranger to put this paste on our eyes.  We must never feel that anything that God asks us to do is beneath us. Verse seven continues, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.  Jesus told the man to go wash in pool of Siloam, which we are told by interpretation is Sent.  The man had to have faith to allow Jesus to put the mixture on his eyes and to go and wash them where Jesus told him to go. We must have faith that Jesus will redeem us of our sins and then go in obedience to Him wherever He sends us.  The man returned seeing, and we will go forth seeing spiritually when we obey God.  When a miracle occurs, people, even non-believers, become curious.