What do you see?

What do you see when you look at the people around you? Jesus often saw what others missed. People whom they ignored mattered to him. On one occasion he came across a man who had been blind since birth. The religious leaders saw a sinner. Jesus saw an opportunity to bring God glory by healing the man. How could they have looked at things so differently?

The religious leaders believed that if someone was sick from birth they must have sinned. Either that or their parents had sinned. This is still a common but unspoken idea today. If we are sick or someone else is sick we can think that it is a punishment from God. Now, it is possible that some of our sicknesses are a result of bad lifestyle choices or deliberate sin. But other sicknesses are simply the result of living in a sinful and broken world. In either case, God wants to help us find wholeness.

Jesus didn’t see a “sinner” who was being punished by God. He saw a person that God cared about. His actions in healing the man confirmed God’s love and power. They also changed the man’s life amazingly. His eyes were opened. He no longer had to beg for a living. But he did have to face criticism and opposition from people who didn’t understand what Jesus had done for him.

The religious leaders held an inquiry. They didn’t like the fact that Jesus had broken one of their rules. He had healed the man on the Sabbath. This was supposed to be a day of rest. They believed that Jesus had broken one of God’s rules. They were blind to the fact that he was doing what God wanted. They made their rules about God bigger than God.

When they interviewed the man he told them that he thought Jesus was a prophet. They labelled Jesus a sinner to which the man replied:

“Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” … We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing”. (John 9:25, 31-33)

They continued to question him and finally insulted and kicked him out of their meeting place. Jesus showed the man who He really was. “Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him”. (John 9:38)

The religious leaders thought they had God worked out. The blind man and Jesus were both “sinners” in their eyes. They failed to see the man or Jesus as they really were. What do you see when you look at people? What do you see when you look at Jesus?

What do you see in the above picture – a young woman or an old hag? (Both are there)