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Day

23

From Blindness to Sight

Lent 2022

Read John 9:24-41

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 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. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Our Lord opens blind eyes. His intervention to restore sight to the blind man in today’s reading is miraculous. However, it is just as miraculous that God grants eyes of faith so that we may believe in Christ as Lord. We learn this from the response of the Pharisees who thought that they saw spiritual things perfectly, but could not see their need for a savior. They were blind to their own sin and unwilling to see God’s way of salvation in Jesus Christ. Their refusal to repent kept them in darkness and guilt.

We are conceived and born in that same darkness. But by an act of God (baptism: where ordinary water combined with God’s word of promise brings his grace and life), we are delivered from darkness into his marvelous light. While Christ has given us sight and brought us into the light, our sinful flesh still desires the darkness. Like scales slowly growing over our eyes, sin attempts to dim our sight with pride, self-righteousness, impatience, selfishness, or any number of things. Perhaps John was recalling the events of Jesus and the blind man when he wrote these words in his first Epistle: If we walk in the light, as he is in the light we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:7-9) God is light. Through him, we see.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for giving me eyes of faith, with which to clearly see my sin as well as your saving grace. By your grace, help me to fix my eyes on you as the author and finisher of my faith. Amen.

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