John 9:25 GNT
One thing I do know, I was blind, and now I see.
Ahhhh…. The feeling of new glasses. That crisp clean vision that you didn’t realize you were missing until you put on those brand-new glasses. My sister tells of putting on her glasses for the very first time as a child, “I didn’t know the trees had individual leaves!” Our eyesight might be poor, but we do have sight!
Even though the phrase, “You can’t see the forest for the trees,” wouldn’t come into use for another 1500 years, the Pharisees during the time of Jesus were a prime example. John 9 records a time when Jesus healed, on a Sabbath Day, a blind man that had been blind since birth. Instead of rejoicing with the man, the Pharisees grilled him about who, how, why Jesus healed him. The healed man didn’t care what day it was nor was he interested in entrapping Jesus. HE.COULD.SEE! The Pharisees were so appalled that Jesus would knead mud (as kneading was forbidden on the Sabbath) that they failed to see the wonder of a man seeing for the first time in his life!
All the Pharisees could see was a man who they believed was blinded by sin being magically healed by another sinner. But of all people, the Pharisees knew the Torah! Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:14 (Orthodox Jewish Bible) said, “Thou shalt not curse the cheresh (deaf), nor put a michshol (stumbling block) before the ivver (blind), but shalt fear Eloheicha (God): I am Hashem (Lord.) Why weren’t they celebrating the removal of this man’s michshol? And when the healed man used their own teaching against them by pointing out Eloheicha, God, wouldn’t give healing power or “listen to a sinner,” the Pharisees were so incensed they expelled him from the temple! Both the healed man and the Pharisees were physically seeing the Son of God, but one had perfect vision and the others were too blinded by their earthly agenda to believe. Are we ready to put on our glasses to clearly see that path that follows Jesus? Or do we wear the blinders of unbelief, indecision, questions, semantics, and religion and cannot see the Messiah for the prophets?
