Engaging an Active Faith
The disciples spent three years with Jesus watching him preach, heal people, and interact with the Pharisees. They also observed many memorable encounters, like the healing of the blind man.
John 9:1-7 says, “As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing” (NIV).
It’s okay to acknowledge that this is weird. Jesus was powerful enough to heal the man with a word, but he smears mud on the blind man’s eyes and tells him to walk to the Pool of Siloam to wash.
We don’t know how far the group was standing from the pool, but archeologists recently uncovered the pool, discovering steep stairs to enter the water.
Why Did Jesus Have the Blind Man Work So Hard?
I admit this image didn’t match the picture in my mind. The steps are steep and narrow. Even someone with clear vision could easily slip on the rocks.
I think there are as few reasons Jesus engaged the man as an active participant in his healing.
First, consider how John 9 begins. The disciples notice the blind man and ask Jesus who had sinned and thereby caused his blindness. This man had likely spent his entire life hearing people debate his sin status. Was he the sinner, his parents, or someone else in their family tree? The belief that an ailment such as blindness was a result of sin was justified through Scriptures such as Exodus 20:5 and Ezekiel 18:20.
But Jesus said the blind man wasn’t a sinner. His life had purpose, and his blindness was present “so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
The second reason I think Jesus had the blind man actively participate in his own healing is because he didn’t know who Jesus was before their encounter. I am guessing he spent time in prayer, repenting and asking for healing, and Jesus stated he wasn’t a sinner. Walking to the pool showed he believed Jesus’s words, and after he was healed, the man fulfilled his calling just as Jesus explained it to the disciples.
John 9:8-12 says, “His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ Some claimed that he was. Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’ But he himself insisted, ‘I am the man.’ ‘How then were your eyes opened?’ they asked. He replied, ‘The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.’ ‘Where is this man?’ they asked him. ‘I don’t know,’ he said” (NIV).
The Instinct to Doubt
It’s human nature that leads us to question what we can’t hear or see. We see an example of this in John 20, when Thomas refuses to believe the disciples have seen Jesus after the crucifixion. Thomas’s response is one I hear today on many subjects: “If I can’t see it, then I don’t believe.”
We prefer to touch and see things, but faith requires us to fight against these instincts. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (NIV).
Even though the man stood before them, telling them exactly what had happened and proving he could see, the neighbors and Pharisees made up their own alternative theories: This must be someone who looks like the blind man (v.8). Jesus isn’t God (therefore, he can’t heal), and he didn’t keep the Sabbath (v.16). Three times over two separate summons, the Pharisees try to get the former blind man to call Jesus a sinner.
But the man knew the truth. John 9:25 says, “He replied, ‘Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!’” (NIV).
Does Pride Stop You from Engaging an Active Faith?
The obvious answer wasn’t good enough for the Pharisees. These pious men spent most of their lives pretending they were perfect and acting superior to everyone around them. But the Pharisees couldn’t heal people, so they refused to believe that Jesus, someone they labeled a sinner, could.
John 9:26-27 says, “Then they asked him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ He answered, ‘I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’” (NIV).
This question enraged the Pharisees, and they immediately began to insult the man. He responded by using their education as a logical argument for why the Pharisees were the ones responding incorrectly.
John 9:28-34 says, “Then they hurled insults at him and said, ‘You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.’ The man answered, ‘Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person 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.’ To this they replied, ‘You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!’ And they threw him out.” (NIV).
Rather than stretch their faith, the Pharisees clung to pride and the desire for power. Their unwillingness to engage an active faith and accept the truth standing in front of them in the form of honest testimony from a man who had been healed showed who was really blind. Their response displayed hard hearts toward the Savior of the world.
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It’s tempting to ask for proof. It’s comfortable to rely on personal preferences. But Jesus calls us to engage an active faith. When we believe Jesus’ words over the world’s in any circumstance, we are choosing to say, “My faith goes beyond believing in only what I can see or what makes me feel important.”
Engaging an active faith isn’t easy. The blind man worked hard to see the truth, but once his eyes were open, nothing could sway him. When Jesus heard the Pharisees had thrown the man out, he found him and defended him. Today, the Holy Spirit is always with us, bolstering our faith. Lean into the one who heals the blind. He won’t let you down.
is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.
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