Blind from birth
3/29/2018
“Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” John 9:3
In Biblical days, if you were sick or disabled they judged you and said you have sinned or else, in the case of the disability being from birth, your parents sinned. Nowadays people, even church people, had a tendency, to judge you and wonder what you have done wrong not just if you are sick, disabled but also if you are poor or have financial problems.
We do not know why things happen to people, there are many things that we do not know and may never know about others. It could be a poor decision that was made, it could be genetics, and it could be a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We should not judge people and treat them differently.
After receiving his healing the people noticed and then the man’s trial began. It started with his neighbors; they could not believe what had happened, so they asked him. When the man answered with the truth, they did not believe him and took him to the Pharisees. Again, the man told what happened and at this point, it almost seems like they interrogated him. The Pharisees could not agree and come to a consensus about it. It almost seems they thought he was lying then or had been faking it all his life.
They called his parents, and I really like their answer: “20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: 21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself." John 9:20-21
Even today, if we ask someone about something and we do not believe their answer we go and ask others that we think should know the answer. They were afraid of the “Jews” and knew that if they told something that the Pharisees did not like they would then be in trouble. However, their answer is one that we need to use today when people ask us about someone else. “…ask him: he shall speak for himself.”
If we would let people speak for themselves then we cannot be accused of speaking out of turn because we may not know the whole story and would just be repeating what others are saying and they may not be speaking the whole story either.
Please, take the time to read John chapter 9. Then let God speak to you.
C.I. Wilson