Sign#5: Light for the Blind
This is not the first time that Jesus calls Himself the Light of the World. In John 8:12 He says: `I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but have the light of life.`
Here in ch.9 however, Jesus demonstrates His power over physical and spiritual darkness. The man born blind was thought to have been guilty of sin, either because of something his parents did or because the Pharisees believed that a child could sin whilst still in the womb. Imagine having to live with the thought that every bad thing that happened was the result of your or your parent's sin!
Jesus brings light in three ways in this passage:
1. He dispels the myth that the bad things that happen in life are always punishment.
2. He brings physical healing to the man.
3. If one reads on in the chapter, the man becomes a follower of Jesus even though this gets him into trouble with the Pharisees.
Jesus is the one who brings clarity into the murkiness of organised religion. For the Christian faith is not a complex set of rules and regulations, but about a person who we can relate to and trust. Because it is about _relationship_, which deepens and becomes more intimate, our faith is simple enough for a child and yet deep enough to boggle the mind of a Professor of Theology.
Jesus is the One in whose name people are healed, set free, and comforted. We must never lose sight of the truth that Christ will at times intervene supernaturally to bring about healing and light.
| Now as Jesus was passing by, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man or his parents?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that the acts of God may be revealed through what happens to him. We must perform the deeds of the one who sent me as long as it is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John9:1-5) |
