I Was Blind, But Now I See: Following Jesus

Jun 08, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Mud, Spit, and a Pool

Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples saw a theological problem. They asked Jesus who sinned to cause the blindness. Jesus rejected their entire premise. He said the man’s blindness existed so that God’s works might be displayed in him. Jesus then mixed his own saliva with dirt to make mud. He spread the mud on the man’s eyes. Jesus told him to go wash in the Pool of Siloam. The man obeyed and came home seeing.

Jesus reframed the situation. He moved the discussion from fault to purpose. He revealed that God’s power is meant to break into our broken world. The healing was a sign. It showed that God’s reign was arriving through Jesus, the light of the world. The ordinary mud and the specific pool became the means for an extraordinary act.

We often look for someone to blame when we encounter suffering. We analyze the cause instead of looking for God’s purpose. Jesus calls us to see people as he sees them. He invites us to join his work of bringing light into dark places. Where in your life are you asking “why did this happen” instead of “how can God work here?”

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.
(John 9:1-7, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to open your eyes to one person you have overlooked or judged.
Challenge: Identify one practical need you can meet for someone this week.

Day 2: From Object to Witness

The man’s neighbors were shocked. They could not believe the blind beggar could now see. Some argued he was a different person. The man insisted, “I am the man.” They demanded an explanation. He gave them a simple testimony. He said, “The man they call Jesus made mud, put it on my eyes, and told me to wash. I did, and now I see.” When they asked where Jesus was, the man admitted he did not know.

The man moved from being an object of discussion to the primary witness. His transformation was so jarring it caused confusion and debate. He did not have sophisticated answers. He simply reported what Jesus had done for him. His personal experience became his unshakable evidence.

Many of us feel unqualified to talk about Jesus. We fear we lack the right answers. This man’s example frees us. Our power is in our story, not our theology. You do not need to know everything to share what Jesus has done. What is one thing you know for sure that Jesus has done in your life?

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.
(John 9:8-12, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for one specific way he has changed your life.
Challenge: Write down three sentences that describe your personal experience with Jesus.

Day 3: When Tradition Blinds

The Pharisees interrogated the healed man. They discovered Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. This broke their religious rules. Instead of celebrating the miracle, they pronounced judgment. They said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” They were so focused on the letter of the law they missed the work of God happening right in front of them.

The Pharisees’ certainty made them blind. They were convinced they could see God’s ways clearly. Their strict traditions actually prevented them from recognizing God’s new work through Jesus. They valued control over compassion and rules over relationship.

Our own traditions and comforts can blind us to what God is doing. We can prefer our safe interpretations over the disruptive work of the Spirit. We must hold our convictions with humility, always ready for God to surprise us. What religious habit or comfort might be preventing you from seeing Jesus clearly?

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
(John 9:13-16, NIV)

Prayer: Confess to God any area where your preferences have blinded you to his work.
Challenge: Read a Bible passage from a translation you don't normally use.

Day 4: The Cost of Seeing Clearly

The Pharisees called the man’s parents. Fear controlled them. They confirmed their son was born blind but would not say how he was healed. They said, “He is of age; ask him.” They were afraid of being put out of the synagogue. The Pharisees then summoned the man again. He refused to back down from his story. He said, “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” For his boldness, they threw him out.

The man paid a social cost for his healing. His testimony led to rejection. His parents chose safety over solidarity. The man chose truth over belonging. He was cast out from his religious community because he clung to what he knew Jesus had done.

Following Jesus can be costly. It may mean losing social standing or facing misunderstanding. The world often values comfort over truth. Yet the story does not end with rejection. Jesus seeks out those who are cast out for his sake. Where is Jesus inviting you to choose faithfulness over fear?

His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 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!”
(John 9:22-25, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God for the courage to be faithful when it costs you something.
Challenge: Call or text one person who might feel isolated for their faith.

Day 5: Lord, I Believe

Jesus heard the man had been thrown out. He found him and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man asked who that was so he could believe. Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” The man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Jesus. Meanwhile, the Pharisees who were present asked if they were blind too. Jesus said their claim to see guaranteed their guilt.

The man’s sight progressed from physical to spiritual. He first knew Jesus as a healer, then a prophet, and finally his Lord. His humility allowed his understanding to grow. The Pharisees’ pride ensured their blindness remained. True sight begins with admitting we cannot see.

Our journey with Jesus is one of increasing revelation. We start with a simple encounter. As we follow him, we see more of who he truly is. We move from knowing about him to knowing him personally and worshiping him. What is the next step Jesus is inviting you to take in knowing him?

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
(John 9:35-38, NIV)

Prayer: Tell Jesus one new thing you believe about him today.
Challenge: Set aside ten minutes today to worship Jesus in silence.

Sermon Summary

The narrative from John 9 unfolds as a tightly focused encounter between Jesus and a man blind from birth, set against questions about sin, suffering, and divine purpose. The disciples assume the blindness reflects sin, but Jesus rejects retributive logic and reframes the man’s condition as an opportunity for God’s works to be revealed. Jesus heals by making mud, sending the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam, and the man returns seeing. Neighbors react with amazement and confusion; religious leaders respond with suspicion because the healing occurred on the Sabbath. The Pharisees divide between legalism and wonder, and they summon the healed man and his parents to verify the miracle. Fear of social exile silences the parents, while the healed man, with no theological polish, offers the plain testimony: “I was blind but now I see.”

Confronted by leaders determined to preserve their authority and customs, the man persists in crediting Jesus, calling him a prophet and ultimately worshiping him as Lord after Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man. The religious authorities respond by expelling the man from the synagogue, fulfilling their earlier threat to ostracize anyone who acknowledged Jesus. Jesus seeks the outcast, asks if he believes, and receives the man’s confession of faith and worship. The story closes with Jesus’ paradoxical word about judgment: God’s work brings sight to the blind and condemns those who claim sight but refuse the light. The chapter frames healing as both physical restoration and progressive spiritual revelation: the man’s understanding grows from stranger to prophet to worshiper. The account challenges explanations that reduce suffering to deserved punishment, highlights the power of simple testimony to expose truth, and exposes the moral blindness of religious pride. It also shows the cost of following Jesus—social rejection—and the accompanying grace that Jesus personally offers to those who are marginalized. The narrative invites attention to the overlooked, calls for compassionate engagement rather than quick theological diagnosis, and points to Jesus as the source of light that transforms sight and allegiance alike.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus notices those on the margins The account puts an overlooked beggar at the center of God’s action, reminding readers that divine attention often falls on those whom society ignores. Noticing another person means resisting quick moral explanations and offering presence and dignity instead. Following this pattern reshapes small daily choices about who is included and how suffering is approached. Such attentiveness reflects God’s pattern of rescue and reversal.
2. Light exposes and heals spiritual sight Jesus frames his work in terms of light and darkness, showing that physical healing signals deeper revelation. True sight involves recognizing who Jesus is and reordering allegiance accordingly. Spiritual sight remains a process: hearing, seeing, confessing, and worshiping grow together. The risk is that claimed sight can harden into blindness when it protects pride rather than welcomes correction.
3. Simple testimony holds distinct authority The healed man’s plain witness—“I was blind but now I see”—outmaneuvers complex arguments and legal posturing. Personal testimony roots truth in lived experience and resists being neutralized by ideological debate. Confidence in what God has done can be more persuasive than theological sophistication. That testimony invites others to consider evidence of God at work in specific lives.
4. Commitment to Christ can cost community The man’s healing led to expulsion from the synagogue, exposing how social structures can punish faith that disrupts religious self-interest. Courageous allegiance may risk reputation, relationships, and status. Yet the narrative also shows that Jesus seeks and affirms those who suffer for truth. Discipleship sometimes entails loss, but it opens space for a deeper companionship with Christ.

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: John 9:1-41 (NIV)

**Observation questions**

What was the disciples' initial assumption about the cause of the man's blindness, and how did Jesus reframe the situation?
What were the different reactions from the neighbors and the Pharisees when they saw the man who had been healed?
How did the healed man's understanding of who Jesus is change throughout the story, from his first answer to the Pharisees to his final encounter with Jesus?
What was the cost for the man born blind when he consistently credited Jesus for his healing?

**Interpretation questions**

Jesus stated that the man's blindness happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. How does this perspective challenge common ways people explain suffering and hardship today?
The religious leaders were more concerned with how the healing was performed (on the Sabbath) than the miracle itself. Why do people sometimes allow rules and traditions to blind them to acts of God's power and mercy?
The healed man’s testimony was simple: “I was blind but now I see.” Why was this personal story so powerful and difficult for the Pharisees to argue against, even though the man lacked theological training?
After being thrown out of the synagogue, Jesus sought out the healed man. What does this action reveal about God's heart for those who face rejection or isolation because of their faith?

**Application questions**

Who are the people in your community or daily routine that are often overlooked or reduced to a problem? What is one practical way you can offer them dignity and compassionate attention this week, rather than a quick judgment?
The man’s spiritual sight grew gradually. In what area of your understanding of God are you currently growing? Is it moving from knowing about Jesus to trusting him as Lord? What is one step you can take to follow him more closely out of darkness and into his light?
“I was blind but now I see” is a powerful testimony. What is one specific way Jesus has brought light or transformation into your life that you could simply and honestly share with someone else?
Following Jesus cost the healed man his place in the religious community. Are there relationships, aspects of your reputation, or social comforts that you hesitate to risk for the sake of standing with Jesus? What does his promise to seek out and be with those who are cast out mean to you in that context?
The Pharisees claimed to see but were blind. Where might pride or a reliance on your own understanding be preventing you from receiving correction or seeing God at work in an unexpected way?

Sermon Quotes

The Bible is also filled with the stories of ordinary people who are invited to play a part in God’s story.

These people aren’t superhuman, yet God is able to do some amazing things in and through them because He is an extraordinary God.

The world isn’t like a moral vending machine where you put in a good coin and are guaranteed a certain result.

In the midst of the pain and brokenness we see in our world, God is now doing something new.

We are called to reach out to people first with compassion before we analyze the situation and wonder how they got there.

Jesus came to bring light into this world, and He invites all of us to take our eyes off the difficulties and follow Him out of the dark into the light.