CLEAR VISION
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Opening Prayer
As I begin today’s readings, Holy Spirit, please bring God’s Word to life for me. Build in me greater understanding of who Jesus is and of his love for me.
Read JOHN 9:1–12
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 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.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
How’s your eyesight? Do you find it hard to read a book without squinting or reaching for your glasses?The ability to see easily is something not to be taken for granted. John 9—which we will read over the next three days—is all about seeing clearly. The chapter centers on an intriguing story of a man born blind who has his sight miraculously healed by Jesus. This physical blindness is accompanied by spiritual blindness as the man has his spiritual eyes opened to who Jesus is while the Pharisees remain stubbornly blind (v. 40).
There is a certain blindness among the crowd, too, as those watching are unsure if the blind man really is who they think. Is he the blind man they used to see begging? ‘No, he only looks like him’ (v. 9). Then when asked where Jesus is, the healed man can’t see Jesus anywhere (v. 12). There is both physical and spiritual lack of vision everywhere.
And yet amid this stands Jesus who boldly states: ‘I am the light of the world’ (v. 5). The man is blind, his world is naturally dark, and yet one encounter with Jesus, ‘the light of the world,’ and his physical and spiritual sight are transformed.
Apply
In what new ways can you impact the world of darkness in which we live? More prayer? Greater investment of time and resources?
Closing prayer
Lord Jesus, ‘the light of the world’, I ask that you would bring fresh light and revelation into my life.
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