Cool Story

Passage- John chapter 9

The entire chapter of John 9 is devoted to the healing of a blind man- a man blind from birth. I encourage my readers to read that passage. In it, Jesus does some amazing things, and those who would deny him, also do some pretty crazy things. The subject of the healing, a man blind from birth, and his parents, also play a role in this drama.

This chapter depicts people who have certain rigid religious beliefs, and they are desperate to hang onto them. They cannot fathom that Jesus would not only heal on the Sabbath, but that he could even heal at all given that those religious leaders thought him to be a sinner.

We all have religious beliefs that we try to hang onto because they seem to fit into our human way of thinking. Thinking like Only a certain type of person can heal, or healing must be done in a certain way, or people are afflicted because they or their parents have sinned, or there are people worthy of healing, and those that are not- etc.

The religious leaders of the time could not fit Jesus into their current religious mold. In fact, Jesus refused to play that game. He even used the common, probably “unclean” method of mud and spit to heal. Actually, Jesus could just as easily have healed the blind man by looking at him, speaking to him, or however he would choose. Jesus chose to give another lesson in healing, but moreover, he decided to tweak the commonly held religious tropes of the time.

Was that a cool story or what?!

Prayer: Lord, how you choose to teach us your ways is amazing! Amen