Category: Devotional Thoughts (Page 55 of 2753)

John 9:8-12 ⁸Then the neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who was sitting and begging?” ⁹Others were saying, “This man is he.” Others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” That man kept saying, “I am.” ¹⁰Then they were saying to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹That man answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and smeared my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So after going, I washed and received my sight.” ¹²And they said to him, “Where is that man?” He said, “I do not know.” 

The next scene of the drama focuses on the man’s post-miracle experience. Jesus will not be part of the story until verse 35. The first thing the man experienced when he returned home was the surprise of his neighbors. the neighbors had seen the man begging, possibly for his entire adult life, assuming he had a family who cared for him. People can look somewhat a like, so the neighbors wonder about this man. Was he a long-lost brother of the beggar? He looked like the beggar, but this man could see. The neighbors got into a short debate about the identity of the man. The man silences the debate by insisting he was the same beggar who used to sit along the road as they passed. Curiously, some knew and some did not. Perhaps those who knew him had stopped to help him in the past, while those who did not recognize him had also ignored him over the years. The people were curious how the man could see again. This type of thing was unheard of and beyond belief, but the evidence spoke for itself. Something had happened to the man.

The man explained what happened in a simple summary. He appears in this story to be quick witted and aware of things. He knew who healed him. He did not know much else at this point, not even where Jesus was. The man needed spiritual insight and not just physical sight. His healing was only partial at this point. Physical healing is only temporary and should lead a person to Jesus. This man needed to find Jesus to experience complete healing.

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