March 23 | John 9:13-34

Dave Mann
5 days ago
2 min read

DAILY READING

REFLECTION

Perspectives on Healing

By Dave Mann

This healing of a blind man is one of my favorite accounts of Jesus’ miracles. There are several different perspectives of the healing – the Pharisees’, the parents’, and the blindman’s. However, the only quibble I have with the story is that I wish John had given us the name of the formerly blind man. I will name him “FB” -- formerly blindman.

The Pharisees started off with their conclusion that Jesus was a sinner and therefore not from God. From their perspective, Jesus needed to be convicted of some wrongdoing. Their investigation consisted of trying to find the evidence to confirm their previously decided verdict. They had no compassion for any blind man, nor any rejoicing with FB who had been healed.

The parents were not much better. At least they were able to confirm that FB was their son and that he had been born blind. However, they did not want to get involved with any in-depth investigation, lest they unwittingly give glory to Jesus and risk being linked to the Pharisees’ archenemy. They pushed back on the Pharisees’ questioning, and they deflected all further contact with their of-age son.

FB was the only one who was willing to fearlessly give Jesus the credit for the miracle that had happened. His first testimony to the Pharisees’ queries as to the identity of Jesus was, “He is a Prophet.”– a pretty courageous endorsement.

But the Pharisees wanted more info, so they squeezed harder. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” They openly announced their verdict, “Jesus is a sinner.” But they still needed more evidence. FB just testified to his personal story, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

Perhaps FB’s final comment brought a smile to your face as it did for me. When the Pharisees were getting frustrated, FB could not hide his exasperation any longer. In verse 27, he lets loose with an unfiltered reply, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” Now FB had done it. He was on the downhill slope to be excommunicated from the synagogue. Nonetheless, he had his sight and more importantly, he was a fearless follower of Jesus.

PRAYER

O All-Seeing God, you make the blind to see. I ask that you give me the insight, perspective, and courage of FB. Allow me the privilege of giving Jesus glory for all healing in my life. For it is truly Jesus who is the Prophet and Healer for all of life’s difficulties, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE MANN

I am a Pastor for Internationals (retired) in the UALC community. I am married to Pam, father of four, and grandfather of seven. Pam and I have lived twenty of our years in other countries including France, Cameroon, Haiti, and Morocco. In retirement, we continue to enjoy writing devotionals, learning languages, and teaching English to internationals.