John 9:25 “…..One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
I was reading in John recently, and my attention was particularly caught by the phrase above. When this man, blind from birth and healed by Jesus, was asked by the Pharisees how he regained his sight, he focused on the plain and simple things: I once was blind, and now I see. The Pharisees came at it from several angles – it reminded me a bit of interrogations on detective shows, actually – but the man took it back to this simple statement. He drew specific conclusions, but at the root of it was always what he knew without a doubt.
This was a bit convicting for me. Like the Pharisees, I have a tendency to want more and more information. In this account, they want to know who did it, how was it done specifically, what kind of man is he, is he a sinner, where did he come from, etc. Elsewhere in the Gospels, they ask Jesus (repeatedly) to give them a sign so that they can know and believe that He’s truly the Son of God, the Christ, the Promised One. The problem with this is that they don’t see the signs in front of their faces. Their desire for more and more information never leads them to the truth.
In contrast, there’s the man that was healed. He’s satisfied with what he knows. That Jesus came from God was obvious to him, a presumably uneducated peasant.
This was a good reminder to me to stick with the main things and the plain things, to not get caught up in endless questions and proofs, but to rest on what I know to be true without a doubt. Though I was blind once, now I see, and only the Lord can work that conversion.
Your reflection on this passage gives clarity on the contrast between detail- oriented questioning and the settled “main and plain. ” Sometimes our natural tendencies lead us down unhelpful paths. Thanks for the insight and reminder.