After Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, He passed by a man that had been blind from birth (John 8:59-9:1). The disciples of Christ asked the question, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he be born blind?” (John 9:2). The mindset of these disciples seemed to be concentrated on the association of sin to suffering. They thought that if one was afflicted in this way it must have been because of his sin, or the sin of his parents. Jesus responded by saying, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:3). The manifestation would confirm that if Jesus could bring physical light to one born blind, He could bring spiritual light to those who are blinded by the world.  The Son of God worked this miracle as proof of Who He was and from Whom He was sent.

The healing of the blind man caused a stir. When he was presented to the Pharisees they immediately began to discredit this miraculous healing by insisting the man was not born blind (John 9:18). After the man’s parents confirmed their son’s disability from birth (John 9:20), the Pharisees responded by saying, “Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner” (John 9:24). The Pharisees were blind to what Jesus was truly offering. They were not concerned that Jesus worked a miracle that caused the blind man to see, but that He healed him on the Sabbath day.

While we do not live in the miraculous age anymore (1 Cor. 13), there still seems to be this same blindness in the world today. Many give God all the praise for their salvation by faith alone, but are blind to the fact that Jesus commanded obedience to His Word in order to obtain salvation. Jesus said, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). To think salvation comes by only putting one’s faith in God is suffering from blindness. It was James who wrote, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (James 2:17).

Those who have obeyed the Gospel of Christ (2 Thess. 1:6-9) were blind but now they see how true salvation comes to those who obey the commands of God (Heb. 5:8-9).