John 9:8-10 "The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? (9) Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. (10) Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?"
Jesus had anointed the eyes of the blind man, then sent Him to the pool of
Siloam to wash them. It is amazing to think of the many different ways in which
Jesus healed others. He could have simply spoken the word and the man's eyes
would have been opened. He could have touched them and they would have received
sight. But for this man, Jesus made a spittle of clay and anointed His eyes.
The Lord is not limited in the manner He touches the lives of others. We can
never put God in a box and expect Him to always work in the same manner. Aren't
you thankful?
After the man had washed his eyes, he came back with sight in his eyes. The
people began to ask questions. Isn't this the man who would sit and beg? Others
would say, "Well, he looks like him." He assured them that he
was indeed the one who was blind. He will later make the grand statement,
"I once was blind, but now I see." Their next question:
"How were thine eyes opened?" It is amazing as we will see this
man growing in his knowledge of Jesus as so many people would ask him that same
question. For me, it seems to represent the manner in which we, as God's
children, also grow in our knowledge of Jesus.
As the day had begun, we aren't sure if the man had even heard about Jesus. We
can assume he did not know Jesus nor heard of him. Then Jesus performed this
great miracle. His first reply, when asked how he could see, was to say,
"A man named Jesus anointed my eyes and told me to go wash." He only
knew Jesus as a man who did something wonderful for him. As the people
continued to question him, he grew in his understanding to know that Jesus was
a "prophet", or a man sent from God. And then as they questioned him
even more, and cast him out of the temple, He confessed Jesus Christ as Lord.
We saw the same progression in the Samaritan woman who was met at the well by
Jesus.
As you and I look back on our lives, can we not see this same progression?
There was a time when we had no thoughts toward Jesus. Then as we grew up in
church, we would hear of a man called Jesus, but still there was really no
connection with Him. As we continued to grow, we realized there was something
special about this Jesus and knew He did great things only God could have
performed. Then when we were brought to the understanding that Jesus is
our Saviour and died for our sins, we realized the importance of this daily
personal relationship with this Jesus, Who is indeed the very Son of God.
I realize that for some, the progression may have been quicker than I just
described. And for others, maybe the progression seemed to have gone straight
to the point of realizing Jesus, as Saviour. Again, we cannot put God in
a box and say that He always deals with His people in the same manner. I'm just
thankful this morning that my Lord has chosen to bring me into this beautiful
relationship with Him. I want to continually grow in grace and in the knowledge
of my Lord.