Open The Eyes Of My Heart

Open the Eyes of My Heart

"One of Jesus' disciples John recorded in the Gospel he wrote a dramatic account exploring the themes of the controversy between Judaism and earliest Christianity, contrasting between blindness and sight, darkness and light; suffering and sin. (John 9)

The story begins with Jesus traveling with his disciples. On their way they came upon a blind man who had been blind since birth. Jesus' disciples asked if the blindness was a punishment from God for the sin of this man or his parents. Jesus, however, explained that the man's blindness had a higher purpose: to show the glory of God in his life.

At this, Jesus declared himself the light of the world and put mud mixed with saliva on the man's eyes and asked him to wash in a pool. He went and washed and came home seeing. So astonished at his healing, he began to tell those who recognized him about the man that was Jesus.

Despite the fact that the man was healed, the Jews harassed him in disbelief. The Pharisees were so intent on proving the man wrong that they summoned his parents to the scene and interrogated them as well. Though they claimed the man as their son, and was born blind they were hesitant to get involved out of fear of being removed from the synagogue. , They said their son was of age and could speak for himself.

When the man was confronted again, he gave the proverbial answer: "...I was blind but now I see." The Pharisees continued to interrogate him. They had clearly witnessed the aftermath of a miracle, but they brushed aside what they didn't seem to understand and said that they didn't even know where "this fellow" (referring to Jesus) came from (v 29). This is a contradiction of the previous claims by the leaders in chapter 6:41-42 that they knew Jesus' father and mother. Ironically, this may have been true because they were too blind to know that Jesus had come from God. But they did know Him as a sinner because He broke the Sabbath rules.

The man's response: "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing" further infuriated the Pharisees and got him kicked out.

But Jesus found him and gently helped him confirm his faith in Him. The man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped Him.

Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." To the Pharisees, He said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin' but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."

This dramatic story opens our eyes to a few things. First, Jesus gave us a greater understanding of the age-old issue of suffering. Yes, suffering according to the Old Testament may be connected to sin, but Jesus said that our sufferings were opportunities for God's grace. If our suffering is a consequence of sin, then it becomes an occasion for repentance leading to restoration of our fellowship with God. If our suffering is not directly related to sin, then God