The man born blind – men oppose Jesus
The man born blind: men oppose Jesus
In John 9, Jesus cured a man who was born blind.
After Jesus cured the man, at once the man had trouble. The leaders of the Jewish religion opposed him fiercely. They argued, 'Jesus should not have cured you on the Sabbath day! Go back and be blind. He can cure you tomorrow!' The rulers said that Jesus must be a sinner. He could not have come from God, because he did not obey the rule about the Sabbath day!
The Jewish leaders made the man leave the synagogue. He was now in great trouble. Jesus went and looked for him. He encouraged him, and helped him to trust more completely. 'Jesus looked for him'! That is a wonderful statement. Who was it that looked? JESUS! Jesus is God! Jesus created the world! Jesus created everything that exists! Jesus designed the stars! And who was he looking for? He was not looking for a ruler or a prince. He was looking for a poor blind man, who had to ask other people for money. This is a beautiful story. And it is true. Nobody could have made up a story like this one!
The man who was blind understood the meaning of the miracles. He trusted Jesus. The rulers knew all about the law, and their eyes were not blind. But they did not understand the truth about Jesus. The blind man did. The men, who were not blind, did not understand. It seems as if they were blind to the truth. That is, they could not see the reality of the situation. This is what Jesus said:
39 Then Jesus said, ‘I came into this world to judge people. Then people who know that they are blind will be able to see. And people who think they can see will become blind.’
John 9:39 EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
The leaders of the Jewish religion showed their character by what they did. They did not believe in Jesus, even after all the miracles. They were blind in their spirits. They opposed something that was clearly good. They made an honest man leave the synagogue. Although they could see things with their physical eyes, they did not understand about Jesus at all.