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I was blind; now I see

Text: John 9 : 10-41

“I WAS BLIND; NOW I SEE”

The Jews would not let the matter rest. Determinedly, they summoned the former blind man and subjected him to another round of interrogation. They said,

“Give God the glory! We know that this Man
is a sinner.”
John 9:24

The superior air that the Jews had adopted as they spoke to the former blind man did not make the slightest impression on him. He had been blind all his life. He had never seen a human face before! Being blind from birth, he had never been to school either. He wasn’t intimidated by people who put on airs! He replied to the haughty Jews with these words.

“Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know.
One thing I know: that though I was blind,
now I see.”
John 9:25

How clever that answer was! The Jews must have been stumped by the wisdom the former blind man displayed. How could he know how to answer like that? He had circumnavigated their charge that Jesus was a sinner! He declared honestly that he was in no position to judge whether a person was a sinner or a saint.

However, there was one thing he could testify of happily. He was blind! Did the Jews know what it was like to be blind from birth? Did they know the years of sorrow suffered and endured? Did they know the indignity of having to live on charity? He had been reduced to begging for a living all his life! Yes, he was blind. How could anyone fake blindness all his life? Who in his right mind would fake blindness all his life?

He could now see! He saw the self-righteous faces of the Jews. He saw the fear written on the faces of his parents. He saw the troubled look on the faces of his neighbours who had unwittingly stirred up more trouble than they bargained for. Yes, he saw all these things. Perhaps it would have better not to have seen all these things! But the fact was that he could see and he was not about to deny that he had sight – for the first time in his life! No one could intimidate him so much that he would deny the fact that once he was blind, but now he saw!

A FIERCE STRUGGLE

Perhaps the Jews were taken aback by the reply of the former blind man, but not for long. They pursued their line of interrogation with renewed vigour.

“What did He do to you? How did He
open your eyes?”
John 9:26

The Jews were running out of ideas and options. They were repeating themselves! Were they trying to trip the former blind man by asking the same set of questions? Were they now trying to discredit his testimony by asking him to repeat himself, in the hope that he would say something that was inconsistent with his earlier words?

If they thought that this approach would work, then the Jews had badly underestimated their subject. He was not in the least frightened of the Jews. His parents may have been afraid, but not this man! Did the Jews want to push him into a corner? They would find that they couldn’t push him around at all. With great natural sarcasm, not learned in any school, he replied,

“I told you already, and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you also want to become His disciples?”
John 9:27

The former blind man taunted the Jews with these words. He had learned how to push their buttons. He now knew that the Jews were not so formidable after all. They were in fact quite fragile human beings. Their ego was easily injured. He had succeeded to get their goat!

The Jews at first had chosen to ignore the words of the former blind man. After all he was nothing but a blind beggar. Who was he to declare that he believed Jesus to be a prophet (John 9:17)? They went on to interrogate his parents but that approach failed miserably. They had no choice but to begin another round of talks with the blind beggar. They found themselves humbled by his replies! Now he was actually taunting them. He managed to needle them! John noted their anger.

“Then they reviled him and said,
‘You are His disciple, but we are Moses’
disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses;
as for this fellow, we do not know where
He is from.'”
John 9:28-29

Once again, the Jews tried an old tactic. They used the power of educated language to put the former blind beggar in his place. They pompously declared that they were “Moses’ disciples”. What they meant was that they studied the laws of Moses in depth. They could be said to be Mosaic scholars. Thus they prided themselves with a title that was supposed to make them appear superior to others who were less educated!

What could the former blind beggar say about Jesus? Where did He come from? Their intended meaning was that Jesus could not boast of having sat at the feet of any famous Rabbi or attended any significant Rabbinic school! By stating this, the Jews showed utter contempt for Jesus, and for those who spoke up for Him in any way!

WHAT A WASTE OF A GOOD EDUCATION!

Those who wanted to become scholars spent years studying the Mosaic Law. Only a handful ever made it to become household names. Still many worked very hard to make it in the academic-religious world. There is much to be said to desire a good theological education. However it left much to be desired if the products were arrogant Pharisees who attempted to bully those who did not have the privilege of going to school!