Yesterday, two dear friends and I met to discuss John 9. We read the story of the man, born blind, who was unexpectedly healed when Jesus passed by him that day. He did not ask Jesus to heal him. He had probably never even entertained the idea that He would ever see. He did, however, know he was blind, unlike the religious leaders who had physical sight but were spiritually blind.
One friend noted that Jesus spat on the ground and put the clay on the man’s eyes without an explanation. First of all, it seems rather disgusting to have someone smear mud they made from their spit on your eyes. When Jesus told him to wash it off in the pool of Siloam, the man just obeyed. No questions, no complaints, just obedience. What could it hurt? If it didn’t work, the man was no worse off.
A Messianic Rabbi, Jason Sobel, explained in one of his books (I was listening to an audiobook and cannot recall which one right now) that because the man’s disability was genetic, Jesus used His DNA to heal the man’s faulty DNA. That explains why Jesus used his saliva to heal the three people with birth defects in this passage and in the two Mark passages—7:33 and 8:23. Matthew 8:16-17 explained that this kind of healing fulfilled the prophecies for the Coming Messiah.
When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
To have Jesus touch your eyes with His own DNA and then to be free from a lifelong affliction must have been incredible. However, the religious leaders were angry. Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath, which was one of their pet peeves. When God gave His people the Law to rest on the Sabbath, it was a simple instruction to prepare on the sixth day so that no work would need to be done on the seventh. (See Exodus 16:23-26). The religious leaders had added so many rules to this Law that they accused Jesus of breaking God’s Law. In reality, He was merely breaking their traditions. Their laws had become ways of avoiding mercy and compassion, instead of fulfilling them as God intended. Ultimately, their added rules kept them from seeing the unexplainable miracles that no one had ever done before their time. Their religion blinded them from seeing what they were supposed to be looking for.
This account illustrates spiritual blindness that still veils religious people from truly seeing Jesus. When you think that all that you are doing is pleasing to God, you don’t even know you need Jesus. Because life is good, because you do not need to ask anyone for help, because you have it all handled, you go on without Him. You do not need Jesus to stoop down and apply any of His healing DNA to you. Church-check. Confession-check. A moral person-check. Better than the guy in the gutter with his empty bottle-check.
But those religious leaders needed spiritual healing as much as the blind man needed physical healing. Their religious rules couldn’t cleanse their inner needs—their lack of compassion, their lack of mercy, their lack of God’s holiness within them. Neither can following all the rules religions offer today. Nothing we do will ever heal our spiritual blindness. Only Jesus can do that.
Titus 3:3-6 explains it so well.
For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
If you are clinging to your good works and morality to gain entrance into heaven, you will be sorely disappointed when you die. Jesus exclusively declared Himself as the only way to Heaven. It is not Jesus plus your good works. It is not Jesus plus your religious denomination. It is not Jesus plus anything. It is only, exclusively faith in Jesus that can heal your spiritually faulty DNA. If you haven’t asked Jesus for His gift of salvation, why not today?
Thankfully, Jesus offers every person the healing they need before they even realize they need it. He did the hard part by dying on the cross and conquering the grave three days later. All we have to do is obey what He says to do, just like the blind man did. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13. Everyone who places their faith in Jesus alone will be able to say with the blind man, “one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
I pray this post was an encouragement and a blessing today. If you enjoy my writing, my 30-Day devotional is now available on Amazon. You can find the link below. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please reach out in the comments! Have a blessed day!
His Song in the Night 