Episode 64 - "How were your eyes opened?" - John 9:8-12

John 9:8   The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

In an old detective television show called “Dragnet,” the main character, Sgt. Joe Friday would often question various people regarding a crime he was investigating and people would give all sorts of information related or not to what they had witnessed. Sgt. Friday would interrupt them and say, “Just the facts.”

This section reminds me of that because there are people who recognize this man who has been given his sight for the first time in his life. But, to see him walking around on his own is something that is very different and it makes some people think this person is one who looks like the blind beggar man they knew. But, he affirms that he is the one. 

When they ask how his eyes were opened, he gives them just the facts. In John’s account of this man’s amazing experience of healing, the man doesn’t give us any thoughts beyond the facts of what happened. He does not offer any opinion as to who Jesus is or how he could possibly have given this man sight. Furthermore, when they asked, “Where is he” he told them he didn’t know. 

I cannot imagine what that guy thought when he first opened his eyes after washing the mud away. But, I have to admit that I wonder why this guy let Jesus out of his sight. Perhaps he got caught up in this new experience of seeing for the first time. But, what is apparent is that all this man has considered about Jesus is that he knows how to make mud and put it on his eyes and tell him where he should wash it off. Soon, he will be forced to think more deeply about what has happened and Jesus’ identity.

This is so relevant for today because many people may identify as Christians. They may talk about Jesus. They may believe he gave sight to blind people. But, do they know who he is? For those of us who’ve had the privilege of learning and believing the full revelation of Jesus’ identity we should take this to heart so that we can invite others into seeing Jesus’ identity and placing their trust in him.