Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind by Spitting on His Eyes

When you read John 9 as a whole you will find that this particular healing triggered a lot of questions and attracted a lot of attention from all quarters of society. A man who was born blind was healed after Jesus applied a lotion of sand and saliva on his eyes and sent him to wash at the pool of Siloam. The Pharisees thoroughly investigated the healing and denounced Jesus as a sinner. The man’s parents unfortunately distanced themselves from the miracle so that they are not expelled from the synagogue. The man is eventually expelled from the Jewish congregation, and he meets Jesus again and this time experiences salvation.

Salvation is the opening of spiritually blind eyes and deaf ears to the good news of a Savior and His kingdom coming to earth. The miracle in this story is not just a man receiving his physical sight but that Jesus could see the end from the beginning. His disciples ask him whose sin was responsible for this man’s birth defect to which Jesus replied,

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:3, NIV)

Only God knows the depths of why certain things happen to us and only He can see how they will eventually work out for our benefit. That’s the definition of a Redeemer - one who can take anything seemingly irredeemable and make something beautiful out of it. The prophet Isaiah spoke of this when He described the Messiah’s reign where He brings beauty from ashes and joy from mourning. It doesn’t just stop there but continues with God using us as new creations, to rebuild, restore and renew the things that are devastated and destroyed. That’s how God’s glory is put on display for all the earth to see.

Would you trust God to redeem the worst things that happened to you and make something precious come together with the broken shards of your life?