May 11: CAST OUT (part 1)

…they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?” He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the Pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.” John 9:10-11

The formerly blind man’s simple and straightforward answer to the question sparked much consternation among the neighbors and religious leaders. A critical attitude and the power wielded by the leaders served to frighten the parents of the man born blind (vv.18-23).

A variety of accusations sprang up from the community following the blind man’s receipt of his sight. For starters, some of the people who had known him all his life doubted that it was really him (v.9). After the man was taken to the Pharisees, some of them falsely declared of his Healer, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath” (v.16). We know that Jesus kept the Sabbath perfectly, along with the other nine Commandments (see John 15:10). Much good and many positive changes were wrought in the world because of the Lord’s marvelous example. Other Pharisees present were not so quick to condemn the Lord. They asked a general question: “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them (v.16). Such a division is inevitable between those who receive the real Jesus and those who reject Him because of preconceived ideas or inherited prejudices (see Luke 12:51).

But the miracle of redemption can change someone from a strong-willed, self-possessed “religious” person into a devoted and humble servant of the Lord Jesus. Our beloved brother Paul is a prime example. Conversely, the miracle of redemption changes a misunderstood or mistreated individual who refuses to retaliate into an effective witness for God i.e., Joseph (Genesis 50:20), Daniel (Daniel 1:8), Stephen (Acts 6-7).

The things that we can explain are neither mysterious nor miraculous. We tend to maintain “control” by providing explanations for things that happen. Obedience does not come naturally, yet the blind man did exactly as Jesus instructed. This man was at the very beginning of his relationship with Jesus, and he is a solid example of childlike trust. His straightforward obedience opened his spiritual eyes as well as his physical ones. But this miracle resulted in his being cast out of the religious assembly (v.34). This is prophetic….

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” John 9:36

Note: Only the Great Physician can cure the blindness of one born blind. In this particular case, His use of clay is an endorsement of remedies provided in nature by the Creator.