1As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"
3Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4"We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5"While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world." 6When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, 7and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent) So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.
This is a story about Jesus that has all the ingredients of a good story. It starts with a miracle - Jesus, the Light of the world, making a blind man see. The inquisition begins immediately, first of the man himself, then his parents. Who healed this blind man? No, the Pharisees were not rejoicing with the man, they were furious. They were determined to prove that Jesus was not from God. I love the answer the man gives when they came back and asked him a second time and demanded that he "Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner."
The man wisely decided not to get in the middle of their debate so he gave them something they could not question - his own story. "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." (v. 25). When they demanded again that he tell them the details of how Jesus healed him, his astute response confounded them. "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing." (vs. 30-33).