18 - the confession of the blind man

john 9 depicts a man, blind from birth, receiving sight from Jesus on the sabbath, and being questioned.

his parents were so afraid of the jewish leaders, that they did not even try to answer the prosecuting questions, but rather, the parents deferred them to their very own son.

but this son was not afraid. in fact, he was almost insulted by their incompetence and was so matter of fact with them.

v24 - the pharisees say to him, "give glory to God! we know that this man is a sinner"

v25 - the man answers them, i am not sure if He(Jesus) is a sinner, but one thing i do know, i was blind, but now i see.

v26 - the pharisees still are stubborn and hardened in their hearts and so ask him again, how did He do this to you?

v28, 29 - the pharisees defy Jesus's authority and say legalistically, we are disciples of moses, but you are a disciple of Him. we know that God spoke to moses, but for this man, we do not know where he comes from.

v30 - the man, now aware of the hypocrisy and unable to disregard his miraculous experience declares, "what an amazing thing! he has opened my eyes and yet you say that you dont know where he comes from."

v31-33 - the man, is now coming to the realization that Jesus is in fact, the Christ - "we know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, God listens to Him. never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. if this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

and having been cast out of the place, Jesus finds this man, and asks him:

v36 - "do you believe in the Son of Man?"

and finally, the blind man, now able to see, replies,

"Lord, i believe". and he worshiped Him.

Oh, how i long to be like this blind man. being almost forsaken by his parents to stand the questioning of the authorities, pressed about his experience with Jesus, he never wavered in his testimony about Him. although he didn't have a full understanding and confession in His heart that Jesus was the Christ when the questioning started, through the trials and tribulations and questioning that the pharisees placed upon him, by the end of it, the man was able to come to a full realization and conclude that Jesus is the Christ. and he worshiped Him.

once blind, now able to see. stood the trial unwavering his devotion to telling the truth as it is, and through it, became a believer. now, a worshiper.

in life, through the trials and tribulations, we may waver in our devotion and faith in God. but we must not forget. we must not dumb down the facts. we need the hardships in order to come to a fuller realization that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. and ultimately, it is through these experiences that we will ultimately worship Him.