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View and Hear devo: https://bit.ly/4lqKYlm
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” 10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” 12 “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. 17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” 18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?" 20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” 24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” 26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” 28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 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. (John 9:1-42 NIV)
Happy and Delightful Monday, dear Friend! I pray your weekend was great and that God blessed you in some significant way during the weekend. Nellie and I were blessed two years ago Sunday, when our youngest grand-baby was born. Ari James Muñoz made his debut in Houston, Texas to our daughter Caitlin and our son-in-law Jesse. It was an awesome day! I chuckle because my youngest sister would joke she was born in Houston at Methodist Hospital and she wasn't. She along with the four of us, were all born in Kingsville, Texas! We moved to Houston and adopted Houston as our home town, but Eli and Ari are the ones who can truly say they were born in Houston. Also, please be in prayer for a young man named Nate, who is recovering from surgery. May God give him peace, new strength, recovery and a secure vision for the future. In Jesus' name!
The gospel passage for next Sunday is a delightful one! Yes, delightful seems to be the word for today. Several things are taught here and we would be blessed to learn them all. The first is the age-old question: Does sinning bring about consequences? For the ancients, the simple answer was yes. One's illness or disability was seen as the result of either one's own sin, or the sin of the parents. And while there may be several instances where we could closely prove as true, Jesus has to answer this question because His own disciples asked that question. Was this man blind because he sinned, or was it because his parents sinned? Jesus answers that this blindness "Happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." He said this to further illustrate that He was the light of the world and this man's darkness caused by his blindness, might still allow the blind man and those who witnessed the coming healing, see the light. Jesus also spits on the ground and made a mud paste with His saliva and put this on the man's eyes, thus the title of the devotional, "Here's mud in your eyes." While Jesus was not sharing a drink with this fellow, He was sharing something way better, sight! The man, obedient to Jesus' command to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam, and he returns home with full vision! Immediately, those who knew him as a blind beggar now see him as a full visioned man. Still, others doubted and asked if he only looked like the former blind beggar. But the man, proudly and thankfully says, "I am the man." Then the questions: How then were your eyes opened and your vision restored? Jesus. He made some mud, put it into my eyes and told me to wash in Siloam, and then I could see. Friends, this is no small miracle. To have been blind and now see, this is headlines news.
Oh oh. This miracle takes place on a Sabbath day; you know, the day when no one is supposed to do anything. Sabbath was a full day of rest, and according to the Pharisees, this was a no-no, a sin, a violation of God's law. "Oh! This man again, He's not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath." "How then do sinners perform miracles," asked another. Division set in to the circle of so-called righteous men. They then ask him, "What have you to say about Him? It was your eyes He opened." Cue the Jeopardy I'm Thinking Music. The man replies, "He is a prophet." No way, no how. They could not believe that a man who was blind could now see. Send for his parents! In come the parents, joyful for sonny's new ability to see, yet fearful because they have been called on the carpet. "Is this your son? Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?" The parents reply, "Yes, that's our boy and we know he was born blind. But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." To me, it's truly sad, that these men of God, instead of joining in praising God for this awesome miracle, cannot see beyond the law. And parents, who should have been planning a party to celebrate God's victory in this man's life, are now fearful they might be punished for having given birth to a blind man, who can now see, healed by the hands of a sinner. Shaking my head. Their idea of glory to God was to have the man tell the "truth" about Jesus being a sinner. The man can only say, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" The man, John Newton, many many years later, when he received his vision about men owning other men being sinful, repented of his sin and freed, or tried to free his own slaves, but also penned a hymn we all love so much, Amazing Grace, whose verses include the response of this man, "Was blind, but now I see."
The Pharisees were relentless, tell us again how he made you see. The man says, "Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples too?" Whoa. Is this former blind man now not just a believer, but a disciple as well? The Pharisees hurl insults at him. They were not praying thanksgiving prayers as they should have been but do holler they are disciples of Moses; for they knew that God spoke to Moses, but as far as Jesus was concerned, not so much. The former blind man has gained more than just his vision; he now says that God does not listen to sinner, but that God does listen to the godly person who does God's will; for as far as he knew, nobody had told of a blind man having his sight restored, especially those born blind, and his awesome declaration,, "If this man was not from God, he could do nothing." Their closing remark? "You were steeped in sin at brith; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.
Jesus hears about this and goes looking for this man and asks, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" He asks, "Who is He, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in Him." Jesus says, "You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking with you". At this point my eyes would have been sweating big drops of water, and I pray that I would have had the same faith to declare along with him, "Lord, I believe," and he and I would have been worshiping Him.
Meanwhile, the Pharisees insist they can see. And Jesus says that's precisely their problem. The most dangerous blindness is the kind that doesn't know it's blind. Spiritual pride—the certainty that we have God figured out, that we see clearly, that we don't need healing—keeps us from encountering Jesus.
During Lent, we're invited to admit our blindness. To acknowledge the places where we've been stumbling in darkness. To stop pretending we have it all figured out. To say, like the blind man, "Lord, I want to see."
And when we do, Jesus meets us. He makes mud. He sends us to wash. He opens our eyes. And the first thing we see clearly is him.
PRAYER: Loving Lord, for the rain we received on Saturday and Sunday, we thank You and praise You for it. In the same way, renew our faith and remove from our eyes that which keeps us from seeing You at work in the world, and working in us. Open my eyes to see you clearly. Give me courage to testify to what you've done in my life, even when it costs me. Help me worship you with newly opened eyes. Amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Identify one area where you've been spiritually blind—a sin you've rationalized, a truth you've resisted, a need you've denied. Confess it honestly to God today. Ask him to give you sight. Then, like the healed man, tell someone this week: "I was blind in this area, but now I'm beginning to see."
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God, and you matter to me.
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
