In John 9, Jesus provides sight for a beggar man who had been blind since birth. John 9:6-7 He (Jesus) spit on the ground, and made mud from the saliva, and applied the mud to his eyes, and said to him, "Go wash in the pool of Siloam" So he left and washed, and came back seeing.
Immediately, people began questioning how this could happen. John 9: 8-9 So the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is this not the one who used to sit and beg?" Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him."
The Pharisees were irritated that Jesus was healing on the Sabbath, believing no work, even if it was good work, should be done on the Sabbath. John 9:16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This Man (Jesus) is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath."
Some doubted that the man had been blind and wanted confirmation from his parents. John 9:18-21 The Jews then did not believe it about him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and they questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?" His parents then answered and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know, or who opened his eyes, we do not know."
The healed man knew how he was healed, and would not stray from the facts even if it put himself and his parents in danger. Three times he was questioned, and three times he provided straight facts.
1. John 9:9-11 The man kept saying, "I am the one." So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The Man who is called Jesus made mud, and spread it on my eyes, and said to me, "Go to Siloam and wash", so I went away and washed, and I received sight.
2. John 9:15 Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied mud to my eyes, and I washed, and I see."
3. John 9:17 So they said again to the man who was blind, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet."
Even when the Pharisees accused Jesus of being a sinner, the once blind man kept to the facts. John 9:25 He then answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
The once blind man didn't know why gaining his sight happened, but he knew what happened, how it happened and who did it. He reported what he knew for sure, and did not alter his story for safety, approval, or convenience. He didn't embellish the details, and he didn't deny the details. Jesus doesn't need us to sell Him. He needs us to share Him.
At the very end of the story, while recognizing his new found vision, it is his new found faith that the once blind man highlights. John 9:32-33 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." Often Jesus told those he healed not to tell others about his miracles and identity because it was not His time. But that was not the case for the once blind man, and it is not the case for us today. When Jesus opens our eyes as to who He is, we will change, and some will ask how we changed. Our answer is the same as the once blind man's answer. If Jesus were not God, He could not open eyes to see who He is and what He has to offer.
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