35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe(A) in the Son of Man?”(B)
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”(C)
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”(D)
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.(E)
39 Jesus said, “For judgment(F) I have come into this world,(G) so that the blind will see(H) and those who see will become blind.”(I)
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”(J)
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Believe.
Well, that was a long commercial break. I’m back. Glad to be back in John. It’s exactly where I want to be–and need to be–when I’m weary. Which is what’s behind the absence.
Fresh grace. So grateful.
Ok, I can’t get over this passage. Did you catch this? Fully aware of how the Jews treated the ex-blind man (hurled insults v. 28, threw him out of the synagogue v. 34) Jesus went to go find him.
The God of the Universe, with skin on, went after the man.
He went after him until He found the man.
How incredibly personal is Jesus? I’ve gotta just let that sink in.
I’m sure there were a million different things Jesus could have done with His day, but He chose to go find a man He’d healed, who’d be hurt and misunderstood.
Why?
His great love for him, for one. But there’s more, I think.
The miracle was huge. It stirred something in the man. (He responded by faith in going to the pool to wash.) But that miracle didn’t save him. Faith in who Jesus is is what saves.
And the man didn’t know Jesus. Yet.
So Jesus goes and pursues him. Again. (Seems that Jesus did that in the healing, too. Kind of a theme with God–the Great Pursuer.)
The miracle prepped the man’s heart to hear. (That’s the great purpose of biblical miracles–to pave the way for the Good News to be received.)
Jesus finds him and says, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (A term the Jewish folks knew as a way to describe the Savior.)
“Who is he, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
“You have now seen in; in face, he is the one speaking with you.”
“Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
And the passage ends with a stark contrast: the ex-blind man truly sees. The sighted Pharisees are spiritually blind.
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