When a Light Bulb Goes On

A Series on New Testament Stories
A man born blind
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
John 9:1-12; 35-41 

[The Bible is mostly made up of stories. Stories about people’s lives, the struggles they faced and their faith, or lack of it. In this series we will be looking at some of those people in the Gospel of John. We’ll try to learn from their stories about who God is, how he worked in their life and how that applies to us today.]

  

As a teenager, there were times when I would ask my Dad to help me with my homework. Usually it was some math problem. But he wouldn’t just give me the answer. Instead, he would help me to figure it out for myself.

 

I really don’t know how he did that, but he was very good at it. He probably asked me some leading questions that got me thinking a certain way and then, BAM! A light bulb would go on in my head.

 

The story about the man born blind is preceded by the entirety of chapter eight being focused on an escalating conflict. Jesus is arguing with the spiritually blind Pharisees about who he is, where he comes from and who they are.

 

Jesus is pretty blunt! He calls them liars and accuses them of being children of the devil. The argument reaches a climax when Jesus claims to be God. Yet, no light bulb goes on in their head. In fact, they pick up stones to kill Jesus.

 

When Jesus sees a man born blind, his disciples, who during the whole conflict with the Pharisees were mysteriously quiet, all of a sudden ask him whose sin resulted in this man being blind.

 

³ “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.              NLT

 

He then proceeded to make mud from spit and clay, put it on the man’s eyes and sent him to the Pool of Siloam. As a result, even though the man had lived in darkness all of his life, he was able to see.

 

But because he was healed on the Sabbath, he got involved in yet another conflict with the Pharisees. This resulted in him being thrown out of the synagogue.

 

Following this, Jesus sought him out and asked if he believed in the Son of Man. When the man realized that this was Jesus, he believed and worshiped him.

 

Have you ever had an epiphany experience where God opened your eyes and the light bulb went on? For the man born blind, it happened both physically and spiritually.

 

However, this story is not only about a blind man seeing, but it’s also about being sent. Jesus said this to his disciples.

 

 ⁴ We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. ⁵ But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”                NLT

 

God sent Jesus, the light of the world, to bring sight to the blind man. Jesus sent the blind man to the Pool of Siloam to open his eyes. Siloam is a Hebrew word that means “to be sent”.

 

In the same way, when the light bulb goes on because Jesus has opened our eyes, he sends us to share with others so that they too might see that same light.

 

Copyright 2023 Joseph B Williams

 

“What do you want me to do for you”?

Matthew 20:29-34

 

Wouldn’t you say that Jesus was pretty observant? He had an uncanny ability to know what people were really thinking. He was able to see behind the masks that people

wear to hide their true self, and understood what was actually motivating them. He could look into your soul, and know what your greatest need was.

 

So then, why did he ask the two blind men, “What do you want me to do for you”?

 

Was he preoccupied with what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem? Maybe he was distracted by the large crowd around him? Or, was he still upset that two of his closest disciples had just asked the most self-centered question possible right after he had told them he was going to be crucified? I don’t think so.

 

I believe that he was making a point. It was obvious that these men were blind, and despite their handicap, they knew who Jesus was. By calling him the “Son of David”,

they were using a title that referred to the anticipated Messiah. It would have been easy for Jesus to just walk up to them and heal them; but he didn’t.

 

The passage tells us that “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes”. Jesus always had a personal touch when he ministered or healed. He interacted with the woman at the well; with Nicodemus; with the woman who dried her tears on his feet. In other words, he had a personal relationship with them.

 

The same is true for us. Jesus desires to know us personally. He wants to interact with us. He wants us to admit our need; to recognize who he is and to approach him, not like he is a celestial genie in a bottle, but as our Lord and Savior.

 

There is a booklet titled “My Heart, Christ’s Home” by Robert Boyd Munger. In it, he

compares our life to the rooms of a house. He suggests that Jesus wants to interact with us in every room; but mainly that he wants to fellowship with us.

 

Revelation 3:20 states, “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends”. Jesus is constantly standing at the door of your heart and knocking, not just as your Savior, but also as your Lord. Will you open the door for him?

 

He asks us every day, “What do you want me to do for you”. What will your answer be?

Will you ultimately respond like the blind men who once Jesus touched their eyes, “immediately they received their sight and followed him”?