Read John 9:1-41.

God’s people understood that He alone could heal blindness (see Exodus 4:11; Psalm 146:8). This is why our Lord performed so many healings of blindness recorded in the gospels as evidence of His messiahship.

In John 9, Jesus and the disciples were walking in the vicinity of the temple when they came upon a man who had been blind from birth. In many ways, John wanted us to understand that this man represents all humanity. We are all born spiritually blind, and we are unable to see spiritually until we encounter the light of the world, Jesus.

When the disciples saw this blind man, they assumed his suffering was the result of some personal sin, either his or his parents’. This was a common belief in the ancient world. Sadly, it’s all too common in our day too. So, they asked Jesus about it.

Jesus didn’t deny that there is a connection between sin and suffering. However, He clarified that neither this man’s nor his parents’ personal sins contributed to the man being born blind. The Truth is when Adam and Eve fell in the garden and original sin entered our world, suffering came, too. Injustice, disease, brokenness, abuse, persecution—all these tragedies and more came into our world as a result of the fall. This world was created by God to function perfectly, without misery or natural disasters or death, but sin has left it broken and dysfunctional.

So, why was the man born blind? Jesus answered, “. . . this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). Then He reminds His disciples of His mission as the bringer of the light of God. The man’s darkness needed the light of God, and so Jesus healed him with an unusual method. He used clay—rich with symbolism (see Genesis 2:7; Jeremiah 18:1-6; 2 Corinthians 4:7). Jesus used clay because it’s malleable and fragile—a symbol of human weakness. In smearing mud on the blind man’s face, He was emphasizing our blindness to our human nature—our sin and need—and His messianic power to open eyes not merely to see physically but to experience eternal freedom and redemption.

Jesus is still challenging us to let His light expose and heal our blind spots—our lack of discernment, our short-sightedness about eternity, our victim mentality, our anxiety and fear, our bitterness and unforgiveness, our half-hearted commitment to Him. Only when we learn to see our earthly lives in the grand and glorious light of eternity will we be able to live joyfully and walk rightly before our God.

Prayer: Father, thank You for opening my eyes to the light of Your glory and Truth. Forgive me for the ways I continue to stumble in darkness. May I be quick to identify my blind spots and grow in holiness. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him’” (John 9:3).

Learn more in Dr. Michael A. Youssef’s sermon Evidence of the Exclusivity of Jesus: Blindness to Sight: LISTEN NOW

Check out more from Dr. Michael Youssef, here!