Musings: The Blind Beggar Man

I was thinking about the blind man. Not just any blind man. No, the one who said, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.”

There’s almost a whole chapter of the Bible devoted to this story, yet most of us only know part of the story. That he was blind and Jesus healed him is not the whole story. Well, to the blind man it was, but not to the people around him.

We never find out his name. He’s just “The Blind Man."

He was born blind. Never saw one thing. Did his parents sin? Did he? Jesus said nobody sinned. He was born this way so that God’s glory could be seen.

We do know some things about him. We know he was a beggar. What else could a blind man be? How humiliating. His parents didn’t help him. Nope. He was blind and all alone.

And then one day everything changed.

Jesus gave him his sight. Wow! Wow! Wow! That’s what he kept trying to tell people. Try to imagine the joy he felt. He was seeing thing for the first time. Some people around him couldn’t figure out who he was. He looked different.

His identify was “The Blind Beggar” but he wasn’t blind anymore. He tried to explain, “The man called Jesus put some mud on my eyes, told me to go to Siloam and wash. I did and I can see.”

Now this is where the story gets interesting.

The religious leaders held incredible sway over the people and the only thing that mattered to them was that Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath. What? They didn’t care that a man blind from birth could now see.

They cared that Jesus healed him on the Sabbath. He told them the same thing, “I was blind but because of Jesus, I can see.”

He kept saying it but it just didn’t matter. He was healed on the Sabbath. They called his parents who were afraid of the religious leaders. Weren’t they thrilled their son could see? Evidently not. “Ask him”, they said, “He’s an adult.”

The blind man kept repeating the same thing, “I was blind but now I see.” So, they threw him out.

He didn’t know or believe in Jesus. He didn’t know who He was. He just knew he could see. When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out he found him. And that’s when Jesus explained who He was. And that’s when the man believed and worshipped him.

So what can we learn from this story. Let us remember that often Jesus doesn’t do things the way we expect Him to.

Sometimes it isn’t the religious leaders who get His favor, but the Blind Beggars among us. Sometimes He heals those who don’t know Him and they get to know Him because they’ve been healed. Sometimes Jesus walks outside of church, among the sinners and the Blind Beggars.

He changes our identity. Don’t assume He only heals churched people because He doesn’t. He chooses whom He chooses.

The Blind Beggar was healed and the religious people who pointed out that he was healed on the Sabbath weren’t. Go figure.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Musings: The Blind Beggar Man