The Love of God Opens Eyes
John 9 shows us that the love of God is not theoretical.
It is personal, powerful, and transformative.
Jesus heals a man born blind, and in doing so, reveals both physical and spiritual blindness.
The disciples ask the wrong question
When the disciples see a man born blind, they ask:
"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
They assume suffering is always punishment for specific sin.
But Jesus corrects them:
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."
The love of God does not always explain suffering. But it uses suffering to reveal glory.
Jesus heals on the Sabbath
Jesus makes mud, anoints the man's eyes, and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam.
The man obeys and returns seeing.
This should be a moment of celebration. A man born blind now sees!
But the religious leaders are outraged because Jesus healed on the Sabbath.
They care more about their rules than the restoration of a human being.
The love of God prioritizes people over systems.
The man's testimony grows bolder
The Pharisees interrogate the man. They demand he admit Jesus is a sinner.
But the man responds with simple, devastating logic:
"Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
This is the power of testimony. He cannot explain every theological question. But he knows what Jesus did for him.
Later, when they press him further, he says:
"If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
His faith grows through opposition.
The love of God transforms the healed into bold witnesses.
Jesus finds him after he is cast out
The religious leaders excommunicate the man. They throw him out of the synagogue.
But Jesus finds him.
"Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
The man asks, "Who is he, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in him."
Jesus answers:
"You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
The man responds:
"Lord, I believe."
And he worships Jesus.
The love of God does not abandon those who are rejected for His sake. Jesus seeks out the exiled and reveals Himself to them.
Spiritual blindness exposed
Jesus says:
"For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
The Pharisees ask, "What? Are we blind too?"
Jesus answers:
"If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."
The real blindness is not physical. It is spiritual.
And the most dangerous form of blindness is thinking you see when you do not.
Final exhortation
The love of God in John 9 is this:
Christ opens the eyes of the blind.
Not just physically, but spiritually.
He gives sight to those who know they are blind.
And He exposes the blindness of those who think they see.
Do not presume you have sight.
Do not rely on your own understanding.
Do not reject Jesus because He offends your system.
Come to Him as one who is blind and needs to see. And He will open your eyes.
Closing prayer
Father, thank You for sending Your Son who opens the eyes of the blind. Open our eyes to see Jesus rightly, to see ourselves honestly, and to see the world as it truly is. Protect us from the blindness that thinks it sees. In Jesus' name, amen.