“So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?” “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?””
John 9:24-27 NLT
What made the Pharisees think that Jesus was a sinner? After all, how could the Son of God ever be accused of such a thing? The reason was that the Pharisees had their own definition about sin, and for them it was founded on the Law of Moses and their many Rabbinic rules and regulations, correct or otherwise, that they had derived from it. They didn’t like Jesus’ claim that He was the Son of God and therefore they accused Him of the sin of blasphemy. The problem for them, however, was His miraculous signs and wonders, and that His teaching that the only way to eternal life was through Him and not just by observing their laws. The last thing the Pharisees wanted was to lose their religious control over the people.
Mr Blind-no-more quite correctly pointed out to the Pharisees that their accusation of sin against Jesus was irrelevant. They had been told that the man was born blind, but could now see, and it was all because Jesus put mud on his eyes. The side issue of accusations of sin didn’t change the facts, although this introduced another problem for the Pharisees – how could someone who claimed to be God’s Son, and the Messiah who they had been waiting for, be a sinner?
In desperation, the Pharisees asked Mr Blind-no-more a second time about what happened, just in case they found a new snippet of information that resolved their dilemma. But this time they received a tetchy response. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen?”.Unfortunately for them, the man then put his finger on the issue staring them in the face – if this healing happened as they had been told then they had no choice other than to acknowledge Jesus’ claim for who He was, and become His disciples. No human being could ever have healed a man born blind unless God was behind it.
We pilgrims have seen the risen Lord, and believe in Him. We are His disciples but we remember the life-changing moment when we made that decision for Christ. We weren’t anyone special. We weren’t religious leaders like the Pharisees. But regardless of the consequences, we took that step into the Kingdom of God, a place that, for many, is fraught with danger and difficulties. A new believer would perhaps be marginalised in their workplaces. Or in danger of attack from their neighbours who follow a different faith. A child of God pursues a path towards holiness and turns his or her back on the pleasures of sin. For many though, taking that leap of faith is too much and, like the rich man in the parable of the Rich Young Ruler, they walk away. It is their choice but God will never give up on loving people. His grace is available right up until the moment when they take their last breath.
We don’t know if the Pharisees in our account of the blind man and his healing ever became believers in Jesus. We know of course about Nicodemus, from an earlier chapter in John’s Gospel. But neither do we know about those people today who stubbornly all their life have refused to accept Jesus’ gracious invitation to believe in Him. We don’t know what happened in those last moments of their life. I am always touched and greatly encouraged about the last moments of the thief on the cross. We read in Luke 23:40-43, “But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.”” We pilgrims must never give up on our friends and family. We don’t know what will happen in their last moments of life, and we pray for them in faith that God will answer our prayers.
Dear Father God. You are so patient and kind, loving us graciously as we thrash about ignoring or avoiding Your gaze. Please forgive us, we pray. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 