Devotions this week are based on Week 4 Temptation to Triumph: Truth From Blindness to Belief (WATCH HERE)
John 9:13–17 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 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.”
16 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 do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.
17 Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
After the blind man receives his sight, the story takes an unexpected turn. Instead of celebrating the miracle, the religious leaders begin investigating it. They bring the man before the Pharisees and question him about how he was healed. The problem, in their minds, is not whether a miracle happened but when it happened. Jesus performed this healing on the Sabbath, and according to their interpretation of the law, that meant He had broken the rules.
The tragedy of this moment is striking. A man who had never seen light, color, or faces now experiences the world for the first time. Yet the religious leaders are more concerned about technical violations than about the transformation that has taken place. Their commitment to rules blinds them to the work of God unfolding before their eyes.
Jesus had often warned about this kind of spiritual blindness. In Matthew 15:8 He quotes the prophet Isaiah and says, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.” Outward religion can exist without inward faith. In another moment He rebukes the teachers of the law for focusing on small religious details while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23).
The Pharisees represent a danger that can affect any believer. When faith becomes merely a system of rules, it loses sight of the living God behind those commands. Rules are meant to guide us toward God’s heart, not replace a relationship with Him.
Meanwhile, the healed man’s understanding of Jesus is growing. When asked who healed him, he simply says, “He is a prophet.” He does not yet know the full truth about Jesus, but he recognizes that God is at work.
Spiritual sight often develops gradually. Faith grows through experience, reflection, and encounter with God. Proverbs 4:18 describes the path of the righteous as “like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.”
The question for us is not merely whether we know religious truths but whether we recognize God actively working in our lives and around us. True faith keeps the heart attentive to the living presence of God.
Reflect: Is there any way routine or tradition might prevent you from recognizing God’s work in your life? How can you remain open to the ways God may be moving around you today?
Prayer: Lord, guard my heart from the blindness that comes from empty religion. Help me to seek a living relationship with You rather than merely following routines. Open my eyes to recognize Your work and give me humility to celebrate what You are doing in the lives of others. Amen.