15th March 2026
I was blind, but now I see
…the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him.
John 9:38 (NIVUK)
In the ninth chapter of John’s gospel Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. It was a wonderful healing, enabling this man to see physically for the first time in his life. I truly can’t imagine what it was like for him to see after years of darkness, nor can I fully appreciate the deep joy he must have felt following the miracle. It must have been a magnificent experience: to have been blind and now be able to see.
As marvelous as this miracle was, John included this incident as a sign to point his readers towards the realisation that Jesus could not only heal physical blindness but spiritual blindness too (vv.39-41). This blind man not only received physical sight, but he was also spiritually enlightened, revealed by his profession of belief and worship of Jesus (v.38). It is astounding that a Jewish man would worship another human being. He may not have understood fully who Jesus was, but he certainly sensed he was in the presence of deity and so worshipped Jesus.
All human beings worship something; we may not call it worship but we all have something that occupies our heart’s desire. It might be money, our career, our possessions, or a hundred other things. Whatever it is we worship, other than God, becomes an idol, and worshipping the wrong thing or person is the ultimate cause of spiritual blindness. But when our spiritual blindness is lifted, we will inevitably come to worship the true God. This worship will be trinitarian in nature: the Holy Spirit spotlights Jesus who is God in the flesh, leading us to worship him (John 16:7-15), which will be to the Father’s glory (Philippians 2:11).
The Pharisees failed to recognise who Jesus was and remained spiritually blind. The blind man believed in Jesus and worshipped him. The scales fell off his eyes both physically and spiritually. If he had been a writer like John Newton, I could imagine him writing,
Amazing Grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see
May that be our song too.
Prayer
Loving Father, how precious it is to have our spiritual blindness healed. As we see for the first time, and believe in your Son, may we worship him with all our heart. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church