Based on John 9:13-41 (New King James Version)
“They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.’ Therefore some of the Pharisees said, ‘This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.’ Others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?’ And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, ‘What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’ But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ His parents answered them and said, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.’ His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’ So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, ‘Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.’ He answered and said, ‘Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.’ Then they said to him again, ‘What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?’ He answered them, ‘I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?’ Then they reviled him and said, ‘You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 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! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.’ They answered and said to him, ‘You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?’ And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ He answered and said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.’ Then he said, ‘Lord, I believe!’ And he worshiped Him. 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.’”
Blindness is a very difficult and limiting thing, especially if a person has been blind from birth. Some studies show that not only do they have no reference to the physical world around them in their consciousness, but also, since they cannot see anything, they are also very limited in their visual dreams and imagination. In other words, blindness affects practically everything in their life, everything that has to do with visual content, whether consciously or unconsciously. What is it finally that does not allow a person to see? Two things or two ways. Regarding physical blindness, it is when a person cannot see because their eyes lack the ability to detect light, the ability to see how things are visually rendered by light. And with regard to the external, that is, when the matter is outside the body, it is when a person does not have problems with their sight, but rather, because they are in a place where there is no light, that they are in total darkness. It is possible to have good eyesight and be in a place where it is of no use to you because there is simply no light at all.
We see this story of this man blind from birth who was healed by the Lord, who had all the limitations we mentioned before. He was a man who had never experienced the joy of being able to see like most people around him, because the vast majority of people could see in his time, just like today. However, it was a great physical miracle that the Lord performed. But the miracle extended even further, to the spiritual, to what really matters. The man who was blind, through the miracle he received, was able to see the Lord as such, as Lord, and thus, not only managed to see the physical, but also, he was able to obtain the greatest miracle, the spiritual vision, or the light of Salvation.
Now the man who was born blind did not have the choice to be blind when he was born. In other words, at no time inside the womb could he have thought or said: It would be a good idea to be blind and beg to survive and have all kinds of disadvantages in the world. But, when the Lord presented Himself to him, all kinds of choices were presented. If we read a little earlier, he allowed for the clay made by the Lord to be smeared on his eyes. He also chose to wash himself, just as the Lord commanded him. And after that, he chose to suffer harassment, judgment, and even be expelled by the Pharisees. He could easily have denied that the Lord performed the miracle for Him, to be at peace with the religious, but he did not. Why? Because not only did he choose to value what was done to him, but he chose to value the Person who did it to him more than the others who had not done nothing for him. Why was he begging? Because even his parents had abandoned him. What had the religious do for him? Nothing that we can see. The man knew how to choose to value what was really worthwhile, and he valued the Lord to be more precious than his own life.
And well, many would say: If God did such a miracle to me personally, I would do the same. But the serious problem is that the Lord performs miracles at every moment for each one of us, and this is where voluntary blindness enters, the same blindness that the religious suffered. We saw before that the other way that a person cannot see anything is if they are in a dark place. And a person chooses to either leave that place of darkness when the Lord presents Himself, or stay in it, just like these Pharisees. The Pharisees preferred to honor Moses more (someone they had never seen in person, nor did they experience his deeds in person) than to honor the King of kings and Lord of Lords who was in front of them, who had not only healed multitudes, but He had even raised several dead already by then. There are people who simply prefer to remain blind to the fact that they owe everything to the Lord, even the breathing of their lungs, and the beating of their hearts, and yes, even the morning light that they see every day, the same that will be used to judge them if they do not repent, as it is written: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20. And, what can we say about His love through the cross, and about His resurrection? All of these things are irrefutable personally, but only if there is a desire to want to see the Truth. So then, do you want to continue in your voluntary blindness by remaining in the darkness, or choose to see and treat the Lord as Who He really is, and like that receive eternal light? Lord bless! John