Lessons from a miracle – the man born blind

Lessons from a miracle

Jesus cured a man who was born blind – John 9

There are many lessons that we can learn from this miracle.

The man's desperate circumstances

This man was desperate. He did not know what to do. He could not help himself. Nobody had ever cured a man that was blind from birth. The man knew that he could not help himself.

This is a picture of what people are like today. They are desperate. Their lives are out of control. Strong desires guide them, not wise thoughts. They want things, but they do not know how to get these things. They are selfish. Nobody knows how to cure this, except Jesus. He alone can cure a person's spirit. There is one way to God, and there is no other way. ’I am the way‘, Jesus said.

In the world today, people live as if they are in darkness. Strong desires direct their lives. We cannot deny this today. People are desperate. THIS man knew that he was desperate! That is the first thing that we all must do. We must understand what our real problem is. Our real problem is sin. So, we need God to forgive us.

A man in darkness

The man blind from birth could not see where he was going.

When the Jews were going through the desert, they would have wandered about in any direction. But God guided them by a column of fire.

People today are like this. There is no meaning and no purpose to their lives. But we must trust Jesus. Only Jesus can give us purpose. Just as God guided Moses and the Jews through the desert, so Jesus can guide us continuously. He will do this until we die. And then he will take us to heaven.

The man had to do something himself

The man met Jesus, and Jesus could cure him. But Jesus did not just say something. He did not just touch the man‘s eyes and cure him. The man had to do something. Jesus told him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. This seemed rather a silly thing to do. Probably he had washed thousands of times, perhaps even in the Pool of Siloam. He could have asked these questions:

• How would that help him?
• Why should he do it?
• Would he seem to be foolish?
• Would people laugh at him?

People, who hear about Jesus today, are like this man. Jesus tells them to do something. He does not do something for them by magic. There is something for them to do for themselves:

• We must confess our sin to God.
• We must trust Jesus and obey him.
• We must say that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour.

And perhaps other people will laugh at us. It could be the same thing for us, as it was for the man born blind.

The man born blind – Jesus gives him sight

The man washed and came back. He could see. Jesus had cured him! Just like that, Jesus can help us to know about our own sin. He can help us to trust him. He can rescue us from our sin. He can cure us from the disease of sin.

Paul tells us that Jesus can rescue us. In Romans 1:16 Paul says this: ’I am not ashamed of the good news of Jesus. It is God‘s power to rescue us‘.

There is power because Jesus died for us! Many people prefer sin. This is terrible! A blind person does not prefer to be blind. But Jesus can certainly rescue everybody from their sin. Jesus said, 'I am here, as the light of the world.'