Jesus heard that they had driven (the blind man he had just healed) out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains. Since I cut the passage, let me summarize it for you. There was a man blind from birth. Lord Jesus healed him of his blindness, and everybody was amazed, except the Jewish leaders who kicked the man out of the synagogue. Our Lord went LOOKING for him — this is important — and revealed himself to the man, who said, “Lord, I believe.” And then Lord Jesus said, enigmatically as usual: “Those who are blind will see and those who see will become blind.” What?! Okay. We get confused because we think of blindness in physical terms. This is SPIRITUAL blindness that our Lord is talking about. We are all blind, but when we acknowledge our blindness and seek to obtain sight, Jesus gives it to us. However, if we think we can see, when in fact we can’t, then we reject the gift of sight that Christ wants to give us. Jesus healed the man of his physical blindness, but then went looking for him to give him spiritual sight. So, how do we receive sight? There are three things to remember. One, to realize that Jesus comes looking for us to reveal himself to us. Just as in the garden of Eden, God went looking for Adam and Eve because they tried hiding from him, God comes looking for us. If you don’t know Jesus, and yet are listening to this reflection, Jesus is looking for you! Two, to remember that it is “the Lord (who) opens the eyes of the blind” (Psalms 146:8). Paul wrote that the enemy “has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4). But, he continues, saying, that God “has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6). Three, to admit we are blind and sight comes from Jesus. Or translated into spiritual terms, we admit we are sinners in need of salvation. John would write a few years later: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). But, he continues: “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). So, do you wanna see? Well, you know what to do.
