Is it as you say?

Have you ever read John Chapter 9 and really thought how ridiculous the Pharisees were? Here is a blind man being made to see by the hand of Jesus. I guess they didn't have eye surgeries as we do now, so it was probably very uncommon for a blind man to start seeing when he had been blind since birth. Just in this though, it makes the Pharisees even crazier.

Pretend you live in an era before surgeries corrected eyesight. If you were born blind, you died blind. You go into the church tabernacle and every time you enter you see a blind man begging on the stoop. He is holding out his cup, shaking it back and forth asking for even a penny. It is easy to slide by him without him even knowing your existence. As you slide into your pew, the blind guy becomes a passing thought. The elders are done teaching. As you exit, you notice the man by the front door is missing. "That's strange," you think. On your walk home you notice a crowd gathered in the distance about a block away from your street. In curiousity, you turn toward the crowd taking the long route home. As you draw closer to the crowd you hear shouts about a blind man able to now see. You wonder, "Is this the same man at the tabernacle?"

The crowd continues to grow and soon you find yourself wrapped up in all the questions and proclomations being shouted. "How were your eyes opened?" "Where is He who opened them?" "How can you, a sinner, be healed from your darkness?" "You weren't healed by God, because God doesn't work on the Sabbath." "How dare you teach us, you sinful man!"

With all the screamings and proclamantions rising, you hate to notice that the blind guy really believes he was healed by one who calls himself the son of God. He truly believes, despite his sin, God would heal his vision. His own parents didn't stand against the mockers. You aren't sure how he can see now, but healed by a son of God, surely not!

The crowd disperses and thoughts are still whirling about in your head about the days event. As you arrive back home, the dog greets you at the door and all thoughts of a seeing blind man are erased, for now.

Story time over...

Now look at it from the blind man's view. He is just telling it how it is. For the first time in his life he can see. All he knows is that a man named Jesus told him to rub mud on his eyes. He repeats what happened over and over to no avail. No one believes him, even though right there in front of the Pharisees and Jews he can now see them. It is obvious to him that he can see and it would take only a miracle for this to happen. Why the others don't believe is beyond him.

John 9:41
"Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, "We see." Therefore, your sin remains.'"