“Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’” — John 9:39

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Manny Machado is a third baseman for the San Diego Padres. He is one of many baseball players who have opted to have Lasik eye surgery to improve vision. He noticed he was struggling to see during night games and hoped for improvement. Many players who have this kind of procedure note better vision and an increased ability to recognize the difference between fastballs and off-speed pitches.

Good eyesight is essential not only for athletes, but nearly everyone. Poor eyesight can be a hinderance to whatever role we find ourselves in.

In our walk of faith, if we didn’t have Jesus, we’d be stumbling along without hope or direction like a blind man. In John 9, we read a story about a man who was well known in the community as being blind from birth and would beg for money. As we read this story, we can put ourselves in his shoes and think about how bad things would have been if Jesus didn’t come to where he was and help him. How wonderful it was for God to come in the flesh and heal this man’s body and soul! Throughout eternity, this man will thank God for showing him mercy.

When Jesus reached out with compassion to give sight to the blind, the Pharisees demonstrated spiritual blindness by focusing on their nitpicking rules about the Sabbath (vv. 13-16) rather than rejoicing with this man about finally being able to see birds, fish, trees and flowers after being blind for a lifetime. Sadly, the Pharisees didn’t care about the wellbeing of this man and tried to shut the door to Heaven in his face. In contrast, Jesus ignored the frowns of the Pharisees and made a way to give hope to a hopeless man, for both the present and future.

Jesus made mud and gave instructions to the blind man to deliver his healing. The desperate man did as Jesus said. “After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing” (John 9:6-7). Suddenly, everyone noticed the difference and knew Jesus had incredible power. Most people rejoiced with the man, but the Pharisees did not.

After Jesus gave sight to the man’s eyes, He also saved his soul. Though the Pharisees threw the blind man out of the synagogue when he spoke about the infinite power of Christ, Jesus overruled them. “Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’ Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’ Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshiped him” (John 9:35-38). This helpless man received grace and forgiveness for his sins and saw the divine nature of Christ better than the religious leaders of his day.

Are your eyes open spiritually to see Jesus move, or are you so focused on how you think things should be that you can’t see Him work right in front of you? Don’t let your poor spiritual eyesight be a hinderance to your calling!

— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia

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