Please forgive the tardiness of this last installment in this series. There are lots of valid reasons, as well as some good and poor excuses, but, in the interest of preserving the “bite-sized” endeavor of this blog, I will simply continue from where I left off…

In verses 24-27 of John 9, we see the incessant and insincere interrogation of the once-blind man. This is not unlike the many questions that Jesus Himself was often subjected to by the religious leaders - even during the kangaroo court proceedings leading up to His crucifixion. The interrogators were not interested in discovering the truth; they were hoping for reasons not to believe. Perhaps you’ve been subjected to a similar line of questioning.

Fortunately, the once-blind man was assured of the reality of the healing brought to him by Christ, and did not waiver in his conviction that Jesus had wrought in him the works of God. I enjoy the exchange that is recorded in verses 29 and 30:

“We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.” The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!

I am reminded of the “One Solitary Life” sermon/poem by James A. Francis - somewhat made famous by Martin Luther King in his “The Drum Major’s Instinct” speech. The sermon includes these words about Jesus:

He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of progress. I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever were built, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as that One Solitary Life.

Indeed - even nineteen centuries ago - the impact of Christ upon the culture was unmistakable. The scholars of the Scriptures of all people should have both expected and recognized the Messiah by His works, but they were so blinded by their own ambitions that they could not receive Him.

How aptly that the chapter, and this series ends with these verses:

And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.