There are many extraordinary stories of healing in the New Testament. We know that people followed Jesus everywhere He went, hoping to get close enough to experience His compassion and His healing touch.
*When the people of Gennesaret recognized Jesus they “ran about the whole neighborhood and began to bring sick people on their pallets to any place where they heard he was.” (Mark 6:53-56)
*Jesus was visiting Nazareth when a woman reached out from the crowd “and touched the fringe of his garment; for she said to herself, ‘If I only touch his garment, I shall be made well.’” (Matthew 9:20-23)
*St Mark tells the story of the paralyzed man in Capernaum whose friends were so desperate to reach Jesus that they “removed the roof above him; and… they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay.” (Mark 2:1-5)
*And Bartimaeus, the blind beggar from Jericho, “when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” (Mark 10:46-52)
These are stories of faith and perseverance, as well as healing; but we usually don’t find out what happens next. When miracles happen, lives are changed forever. After all the excitement and commotion dies down, what do these people do with the clean bill of health they receive from Jesus?
One of my favorite Gospel readings for Lent is a little different. It takes up the whole ninth chapter of John’s Gospel and relates the story of a blind man. This time, Jesus was in Jerusalem. “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth” (John9:1). The man hadn’t called out to Him or chased after Him, but Jesus stopped to help him anyway. It’s too bad that John never tells us the man’s name, because we get to witness, not only the miracle of his healing, but also the process of his conversion.
The account of how Jesus made mud, applied it to the blind man’s eyes, and told him to wash it off in the pool of Siloam takes up just 2 verses. “So he went and washed and came back seeing.” (John 9:6-7) The other 39 verses in chapter 9 describe the chaos and commotion of that day. The man’s neighbors had lots of questions. Then the Pharisees got involved. They even interrogated the man’s parents. There were questions and debates and intimidations; but through it all, we can follow the testimony of the man born blind and witness how his encounter with Jesus changed more than just his eyesight.
From the start, it is Jesus who takes the initiative. He approaches the man and tells him what he needs to do to be healed. The man obeys, and when he opens his eyes, he sees the world for the first time.
When the Pharisees hear about it, they call the man in to testify, twice! Not sure how much trouble he is in, he keeps it simple. “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” His story incites a heated argument among the Pharisees. When he is summoned a second time, they press him to concede that Jesus must be a sinner, because the healing occurred on the Sabbath. This time, the man is no longer timid like before, and he speaks with conviction: “Whether he is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
Then the man gathers up his courage and continues, “He opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
In the end, Jesus goes looking for the man and asks him, “Do you believe in the Son of man?” To which the man responds, “Lord, I believe.”
CONVERSION accomplished.
MIRICLE complete.
NEW LIFE just beginning!
To God be the glory.
KEEP READING
“One thing I know, I was blind but now I see.
Matthew 9:35-36 And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every infirmity. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
“Amazing Grace” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYMLMj-SibU
