John 7:53-9:34

The story of a man born blind is told in John's Gospel, chapter 9. The story begins when Jesus' disciples see the man and ask Jesus, "...who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:1) Jesus explains that in this case no sin is involved: The man is blind so that God's glory can be fully displayed. Then Jesus ministers to the man, taking away his blindness and giving him eyesight.

A controversy ensues among Pharisaic Jews, the man whose blindness Jesus healed, and the man's family. The Pharisees are offended that the man was healed on a Sabbath when, according to their interpretation of Mosaic Law, no work is to be done--not even the healing work of Jesus. The man and his family are happy to witness and to receive the miracle of healing at the hand of Jesus.

In the end the Pharisees cling to the erroneous presupposition put forward by Jesus' disciples in the first place, namely that the man was "...steeped in sin at birth..." (John 9:34b) 

God, give me eyes to see Your glory on display in the world and the courage to name You as the source of all healing. Amen.

Henn, Ulrich. Healing the Sick, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54132 [retrieved October 23, 2015]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33392350@N00/2397577578/.