LORD, I BELIEVE

John 9:35-41 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with Him heard these words, and said unto Him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth. (Also see John 9:24-34)

A man that had been blind from birth had just been compassionately given sight by Christ Jesus. For the first time in a lifetime of begging alms at the gate to the city near the temple, this man saw the light of day and witnessed all the natural wonders of God's creation that were depicted in all the colors of the rainbow. The majesty of His creation that had been seen by all having sight was now enjoyed by this man. For this privilege, the man could only recognize Jesus as a man blessed by God and sent to earth to demonstrate His truths with His miraculous power. The Jewish leaders refused to accept the truthful testimony of this man that was once blind, but now healed. And, to show their total disapproval of the man's accepting Jesus as God's prophet, they cast him out - he was excommunicated from their Jewish fellowship. It is important to recognize that this man, immediately after he was given his sight, understood only that Jesus had the power to heal him, as well as others, and, as verse 19 above tells us, he believed Him to be a prophet of God.

Continuing in the lesson text, we are told that Jesus heard that they had cast him out. Having the all-knowing power of God, Jesus certainly knew this injustice had taken place, however, one can also speculate with a high degree of certainty, that those witnessing these things were secretly speaking of these events. Jesus also knew the bravery it took to defend and uphold Him as a man of God, and withstand the verbal attack of the Jewish leaders. Isn't it wonderful to know that, although men and women of the world may often persecute and excommunicate a person from their social and religious groups, that it is not possible to keep them from truthful, dedicated communion with God through Christ Jesus.

Because of the scornful action taken by the Jewish leaders against this man and the righteous manner he had defended Him, Jesus sought him out, and when He had found him, He said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? Realizing Him to be the Man of God that had miraculously given him sight, he seemed open to the teaching of Jesus; he seemed to have sufficient faith to believe the doctrine He taught. The title "the Son of God" carries with it the meaning of the promised Messiah, which is the teaching found in Matthew 8:28. To Jesus' question, the man demonstrated his willingness to know Him, go into His presence, and believe on Him. Recognizing the man's faith and his willingness accept Him as the Son of God, Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee. This man, blind from birth, had been given his physical sight by a man called Jesus to see the natural light of day. Now his spiritual blindness had also been healed by the same Man of God - he had been given the ability to see the spiritual Light sent by God into the world. He had seen the Son of God, the promised Messiah, the Savior that had been promised to the world by God, His Heavenly Father.

The man's reply and his actions that followed, demonstrated the strength and depth of his faith: Lord, I believe. And he worshipped Him. With his heart and mind, he believed Jesus to be the Son of God; with his mouth he confessed to Jesus that this was true, as well as to all that may have witnessed this event. By his faith he, by his actions, demonstrated a true humble, reverence, respect, and honor to Jesus as his Savior. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. The spiritual light of Jesus can be seen only by those that obey God's will through Him. Others are left blinded by their own self-righteous will that rejects Jesus as the Son of God. Spiritual blindness was their own choosing. If they had a heart that was as receptive as the blind man that was healed, they would have responded as he did saying, Lord, I believe.