And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison. Isaiah 42:6-7.

Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:

Jesus did all the signs that I foretold through My prophets that would identify the Messiah in their midst, but seeing they did not see, and hearing they did not hear. They did not recognize the time of My visitation. Jesus was the long-awaited redeemer who would come to Zion. Isaiah 59:16. My own arm brought salvation. Isaiah 59:16.

“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of David His servant, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old, Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us.” Luke 1:68-71.

Today we will consider the conversation of Jesus with a man born blind and the amazing chain of events it set off. Whatever you do does not only impact one person, and with Jesus, it impacted the whole world and every generation before and after. And now that you are living your life in and through Him, you can have that same impact.

I told Abraham that I would bless him to be a blessing and that he would bless every family and nation on earth. He is the father of many nations, that is what I named him. Why? He had faith in Me and obeyed Me with enthusiasm, even to imitating Me in being willing to sacrifice his beloved son, but above all, he talked with Me and made covenant with Me and was not ashamed to teach his descendants and household about Me and require them to follow My ways, and that is why it was to his line that I entrusted the imperishable seed of the Messiah, his line became the door through whom the Messiah took flesh and dwelt among you and took down the gates of the enemy.

The conversation with the man born blind occurred in Jerusalem the shabbat after the feast of Tabernacles had ended. Jesus had come up to Jerusalem for this mandatory pilgrimage feast and had been teaching in the temple and on the last and greatest day of the feast (the eighth day) He had made the amazing proclamation, speaking of the Holy Spirit, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” John 7:37-38.

The Pharisees and chief priests sent officers to arrest Jesus but they came back without Him because they were so touched and awed by the authority and insight with which He spoke about Me.

There was then the encounter in the Temple court where Jesus was teaching the next day that we discussed in a prior Life Lesson of the woman the Pharisees brought before Jesus as caught in adultery so they could accuse Jesus of violating the law of Moses. But that did not work and turned back on them.

There was further conversations that day with the Pharisees in the temple area wherein Jesus declared Himself as the Light of the world and that no follower of His would ever walk in darkness but would have the light of life.

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” John 8:12.

This is one of the most beautiful promises to believers. I am light and everyone whose deeds are done in truth loves to come into the light and the darkness cannot overcome the light. Truth will ultimately always win over lies. Lies are perishable and must hide in the dark so their deceit is not uncovered.

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7.

True fellowship is only possible in truth. Lies betray and harm.

Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Ephesians 4:25-27.

But the lies of the devil can blind the eyes of those who are trapped by his deceptions so they cannot see the light until Christ opens their eyes. But some are not willing to open their eyes. And that will be addressed in the conversation we are considering today.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4.

The Pharisees challenged Jesus when He proclaimed Himself the Light of the world as being His own witness and Jesus proclaimed Me as His witness. They knew to what He was alluding. It was foretold by My prophet Isaiah concerning the Messiah that:

He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light to the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6.

There was much more said here, but today we are not focusing so much on these conversations with the Pharisees, but on what occurred when Jesus finally walked away from this conversation when those whom He was conversing tried to stone Him to death after He told them, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM.” John 8:56-58.

It was not His hour yet and being stoned by the Pharisees was not the way that Jesus was to die to take away all your sins, ills, pains, and sorrows, so Jesus was hidden by Me in My secret place and He passed right through their midst and went out of the temple.

And it was at that point, and it was Shabbat, that Jesus worked a miracle that was clearly foretold as identifying the Messiah, He opened the eyes of a man blind from birth.

The recompense of God will come, but He will save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. Isaiah 35:4-6.

“I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.” Isaiah 42:6-8.

In fact Jesus had read the passage from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth when He began His public ministry as fulfilled in Him, which included giving sight to the blind. And the people of Nazareth tried to kill Him for it as well.

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD.” Luke 4:16-19.

And He opened the eyes of the man blind from birth not only physically but spiritually as well.

Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. Psalm 119:18.

Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And the LORD opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 2 Kings 6:17.

So as Jesus and His disciples, who had just seen a very close call in their Master being stoned to death, walked away from the temple, as they were passing by, Jesus saw a man blind from birth and He stopped there. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” They were correct in associating birth defects, illness and all things pertaining to death and disabilities with sin, because it results from Adam being born again from the corruptible seed of a lie and passing that corrupted seed to all his descendants, but this man had not sinned in the same manner, especially not before he was born.

While it was the sin of Adam that corrupted the seed so that disabilities and malfunctions come to the descendants, it really goes back to the sin of the devil when he fell from his exalted position of cherub from Heaven and took one-third of the angels with him in his rebellion to move from a position of service to sovereignty and Adam and Eve joining with him in that rebellion. It released evil into the world which brings the curse—sickness, disabilities, lack, poverty, and eternal death. The opposite of what comes from Me which is every good thing given and every perfect gift. The BLESSING—perfect health and wholeness, prosperity, increase, and eternal life.

Jesus answered the disciples, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.” John 9:3-5.

Do you understand what Jesus is saying? Jesus always did My Works and said My Words. And I sent Him for this purpose: TO UNDO THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.  1 John 3:8.

“The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to undo (luó: to loose, to release, to dissolve, to untie, to set at naught, to destroy) the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8.

He came to make it for each of you as if sin had never been. Not just forgiven but gone, borne by Him who knew no sin, but became sin for you all. It was your infirmities He bore and your pains He carried and by His stripes you were and are healed.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. John 1:1-9.

It was the work of the devil, given authority and released by Adam and Eve, that had caused this blindness and Jesus was about to do the works I gave Him to do: UNDO the works of the devil. And you see Him doing this constantly from healing everyone who came to Him that would connect with My healing power by faith, casting out demons, multiplying provisions, countering lies, forgiving sins, telling you the truth that would set you free, and ultimately becoming sin for you and taking your punishment for your sins in His own flesh so that you could be like you were meant to be as if the sin had never occurred—all the way back to Adam.

And He told you that you were to do the works He did and greater. “You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” Acts 10:38.

And the time is short, and the devil knows it so his attacks are increasing. It is time for you to gird yourself in truth and go after him to undo his works while it is still day. Walk in the Light while you have the Light of the World in you and on you in this age of grace. For soon the church, the body of Christ of which you are a member, will be caught up in the clouds to meet your Lord in the air and it will be very dark on the earth. Bring as many with you as you can reach for the time is short. Be alert.

Now when He had said this to His disciples as they stood before the beggar blind from birth, who had been listening all along, Jesus spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). John 9:6-7.

This should mean much to you. First, I formed your earthly bodies that house your spirit and soul out of the clay of the earth (dust of the ground) and here I was creating eyes in this man just as I had in the beginning before sin had ever been. For just as I formed Adam’s body from the clay through My Word (Jesus) so now Jesus formed this man’s missing eyes, and that was one reason no one recognized him when Jesus gave him his two missing eyes.

But a mist used to rise from the earth and watered (אֶת) the whole face of the ground. And formed the LORD God (אֶת) the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. Genesis 2:7.

And Jesus gave the blind man instructions to obey. He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, “Sent” and remember I sent Jesus to undo (destroy, release you from, untie you from) the works of the devil and as I sent Him so now, He sends you). So the man who had been blind from birth went away and washed and came back seeing.

There was no doubt a creative miracle had taken place. A man born with no eyes (anophthalmia) had eyes. Wonderful, clear eyes with perfect sight.

Nothing is too wonderful for Me. Nothing is impossible for Me. And everything is possible to those who believe that. Jesus was carrying out the work I gave Him to do, just as He read from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah in the synagogue in Nazareth, He came to open blind eyes so they could see. He finished all the work I gave Him to do. Abraham saw His day and rejoiced. Do you?

And looking at this on another level, when you are born of your human parents you are born as a descendant of Adam of corruptible seed and are children of the devil, since Adam took a new father, children of wrath. But in Christ you are created anew, a new creation in Christ, and your spirit is no longer dead to Me and alive to sin, but is dead to sin and alive to Me. And you can see and understand spiritual realities. Until you are born again you cannot see the Kingdom of Heaven, you are blind to it for the god of this world has blinded your eyes.

Jesus had covered this question with the Pharisee Nicodemus who came to Him at night. He answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again from above he cannot SEE the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:3-6. My Words are Spirit and Life. They are incorruptible seed. They can remake you.

You should pay attention to all the details when Jesus talks, Jesus instructed the man blind from birth to go wash in the pool of Siloam. Siloam is the Greek word for the Hebrew word Shiloah. It was a perennial fountain of water from the Gihon spring in Jerusalem that is referred to in the Old Testament near the palaces of the kings of Judah. And the root is שָׁלִח, shalach, “to send.” He was sent there by the One who was sent to save you and make those blinded by Satan to see the light.

My apostle Paul wrote about his call as Jesus had spoken to him on the Road to Damascus: “I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.” Acts 26:17-18.

And if you recall, when the Israelites first conquered the promised land under Joshua, the tent of the meeting, the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant, were set up and established in Shiloh, where Samuel grew up as he served Eli. And if you go back to Jacob’s blessing of his sons when he was about to depart from this life, he spoke in prophecy over the tribe of Judah before any kings had been born of the line, “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes, and to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” Genesis 49:10. This is a Messianic title.

The One who was sent. “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have SENT.” John 17:3.

And remember after Jesus multiplied the five loaves and two fish, the crowds sought Him out and asked, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has SENT.” John 6:28-29.

He is the One I sanctified and sent into the world. John 10:36. Not to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

And what did Jesus tell you? “Peace be with you; as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:21-22.

So the man born blind received the faith command from Jesus and acted on it. He went away and washed, and came back seeing. John 9:7. He did not say he could not go there because he could not see. He did not complain that Jesus had put mud on his eyes and try to rub it off. He did not seek to wash somewhere else on the way. He trusted in that word and went to receive the light that Jesus spoke.

He had heard of Jesus and he did the Word Jesus spoke to him. And his faith was sufficient to connect. He did the corresponding action. As Mary told the waiters at Cana, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” John 2:5.

And to the man blind from birth that bubbling spring became life giving water.

When his neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, saw him, they were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.” John 9:8-9. When you had no eyes that were whole you look very different with alert and shining eyes filled with life and sight. But let us go deeper. When you become a new creation in Christ it should make a difference in your demeanor, your words, your actions, and your life. Put on the new man and leave the old—put off the deeds of darkness and walk in My marvelous light. “In reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Ephesians 4:22-24.

So they wanted to know how someone they had always known as blind got this marvelous miracle of sight, for no blind person in the Old Testament had ever been healed, it was a sign of the Messiah. And Jesus was doing this often in His ministry. So they asked him, “How then were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.” He had become a witness with an amazing testimony. They said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.” John 9:10-12. This man had not seen Jesus since he was healed and all he heard before was His voice. But that was enough to have his miracle, and so it is with you. You have My Word as written in the Bible and spoken by My Spirit in your heart as He witnesses with your spirit. You do not need more to have miracles, signs, and wonders for they follow My Word.

So the people brought the man who was formerly blind to the Pharisees. As you recall this was the day after they had been trying to stone Jesus and two days after they tried to arrest Him in the Temple. And they had not stopped Him. Now on the Sabbath, Jesus made the clay and opened a blind man’s eyes. It was just too overwhelming for them.

So the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.

So they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.” John 9:13-17. He was beginning to see on his journey to knowing Me, the one true God, and the One whom I sent Jesus Christ. He saw Him as a prophet, but he will go further.

The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called his parents to testify, and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.”

His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be the Messiah, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” John 9:18-23. Here, they had their prayers of many years answered and their blind son was now with perfect sight and yet they were afraid of being expelled from the synagogue so they did not thank Me or exalt the One I sent. Be careful about being afraid to show your faith in Me before others if you think it will make you lose our job or favor with those in higher positions who can promote you or even just let you have the status quo. They preferred the glory of men to My glory.

But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Matthew 10:33.

But the Pharisees were not giving up there. So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” John 9:24. This was based on their determination He had violated Shabbat but it was an evil report about the purest man the world would ever hold and should not have been said about such a great miracle of compassion. A man who was consigned to begging because of his inability to see was set free to live a fruitful life. It was a wonderful thing to give life on the Shabbat. And you will see this constantly in the miracles of Jesus, that is, taking unfruitful lives of misery out of the darkness into fruitful lives of joy in the Light.

But the man who had been blind but now could see was not backing down, he answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25.

He knew a wonderful thing had taken place in his life and made everything new. So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” John 9:27.

He was a bit hopeful they would change, but he was driving a point home. He was going to stay loyal to Jesus, the Pharisees had never healed him and Jesus had. Know where your gratitude should be directed and whom you should honor in your life.

But the Pharisees were not listening. They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.”

The man answered and said to 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.” John 9:28-33.

Does this remind you of the prayer of Jesus to Me at the Last Supper? “Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.” John 17:7-8.

This man had learned Scripture and he knew truths from the book of Proverbs and the prophet Isaiah that he now backed up his words with. He had gone to another level of faith. He now was witnessing that Jesus was from Me, that I had sent Him, and that He had done the miracle of the sign of the Messiah.

The Pharisees did not like him teaching them. They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out. John 9:34. What his parents feared would happen to them had happened to their son and created a division between him and his parents.

But the Pharisees could not take away his wonderful gift that He had received from Me through My Son. He could see. He had the joy no man could take from him. And he was now seeing who Jesus was better than the Pharisees could see.

Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” John 9:35-37. And he recognized the blessed voice that had commanded him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash. He fell to the ground in praise and thanksgiving. And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. John 9:38.

He had now come from one who knew of Jesus and followed His direction with faith, to one who called Him a prophet, to one who called Him the one sent by God, to receiving Him as his Lord and worshipping Him. Truly he once was blind but now he could see. I had drawn Jesus to him and him to Jesus and had opened his eyes, physically and spiritually.

And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”

Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” John 9:39-41.

There are none so blind as those who will not see no matter how many miracles, signs and wonders are before them.

Without faith it is impossible to please Me. Why? I cannot give you all the good things I wish to flood your life with because you will not receive them.

Jesus came to make those who were blind see. To see Me. In seeing Him, you see Me. And eternal life is a relationship where you know Me, the one true God, and the One I sent, Jesus Christ. John 17:3. And this was Paul’s desire after he saw My risen Son, “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10-11.

What is he talking about here? To know Jesus and the power of His resurrection, the power by which I raised Him from the dead and seated Him at My right hand, and this power will work in you far beyond all you can ask or imagine. Ephesians 3:21.

And what is the fellowship of His sufferings? He told you, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.” John 15:18-20.

“Being conformed to His death.” What does that mean? Does it mean crucifixion? No, He died once for all and tasted death for all. It means you died to sin with Christ and were raised up with Him alive to Me. Sin is no longer a master over you.

“Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Romans 6:3-14.

I love you. Let Jesus open your eyes to see Me, the one true God, and the One whom I sent, Jesus Christ, so that your days become days of Heaven on earth. And as I sent Him so He sends you to go about undoing the works of the devil. Jesus enjoyed doing that and so will you. Make the blind to see, set the captives free, and proclaim a year of Jubilee!