The Restoration Of Sight And The Reception Of Salvation

John Newton (1725-1807) was one of the most blasphemous, vile, unscrupulous, cruel, and hateful men who ever made his living by means of the sea. While he had been reared in a goldy home and had been taught the Scriptures by his mother, he walked away from any type of religious faith and for years served as a deckhand on varied ships, eventually becoming captain of a slave trading ship. Newton's temperament was so well-known that when he fell overboard on one voyage, the crew debated on whether to rescue him or let him drown, go to hell, and be rid of him. It took a violent storm while on a trip to Africa that frightened him to the point where he recalled the verses of Scripture his late mother had read to him. He repented and gave himself wholly over to the Lord Jesus Christ, serving as an Anglican minister in the parish of Olney, England. He would later support the work of William Wilberforce (1759-1833), a member of Parliament who devoted his political career to ending slavery in the British Empire and was himself a devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Later in life, John Newton composed hymns, one of them being, "Amazing Grace", containing the immortal words, -"How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I was once was lost, but now am found, was blind, BUT NOW I SEE".

Fanny Crosby (1820-1915) became blind as an infant due to a botched medical procedure. Even though she lived without the ability to physically see the world around her, she knew the One who gave light and sight to both the physically and spiritually blind. Her love for Jesus was expressed in over 8,000 hymns she composed over a lifetime, such as "To God Be the Glory", "Draw Me Nearer", "Redeemed", "Jesus is Tenderly Calling", "Old Rugged Cross", "Pass Me Not", "Blessed Assurance", "Praise Him, Praise Him!", and "I Am Thine, O Lord". In her later years, she would tell everyone that it was good that she remained blind while on this earth, because she was waiting for the day when she would be in heaven and be able to see with her restored sight the Lord Jesus Himself. In John 9, we read of the plight of a man born blind and of the transforming power of Jesus Christ that gave him the ability to see the physical world, but also see that Jesus was the Promised Messiah and Savior of His people.

We read first of the man's situation and the misery which accompanied it (vv.1-10). This man had been born blind and was not the victim of an accident nor was he suffering from a malady such as cataracts, blurred vision, or any other inconvenience. He had lived a life of total darkness, never seeing sunsets, the face of a child, or the faces of his parents and other loved ones. Besides this tragic handicap, Scripture also seems to indicate that he was in a state of poverty. Aside from any help from his parents, he would be subject to a life of begging or other means of obtaining alms. There was also the stigma of hearing that his predicament was due to his or his parent's sins and was therefore under the judgment of God, a widely held belief in Jewish society of that time, although there were no specific biblical grounds for such thought. The disciples asked Jesus a question based on this assumption, and He corrected them by telling them that the man's condition was an act of God to show His power, grace, and mercy as well as give Him glory from this man's life.

Jesus then showed to those around Him the authority He possessed as the Sovereign King of Creation. When He passed by, this man's life was changed forever. Jesus healed him of his physical handicap and then would lead him through a series of events that brought him face to face with who Jesus really is and that He provides spiritual restoration of sight as well. After the man had washed his eyes in the pool of Siloam as directed by the Lord Jesus, the people were amazed that this formerly blind man was now able to see, and yet some doubted his identity. He reassured them that he was indeed the man they had known to be blind and that someone named Jesus was the One who had healed him (vv.10-12). The trouble with the world today is that they have heard of someone named Jesus as well but know little about Him or the mission He came to earth to accomplish on our behalf (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:6-11, 6:23, 10:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:15, 2:5-7). There are also a lot of folks who know much about Jesus and His mission but refuse to acknowledge Him or come to Him for salvation, preferring to remain in their self-imposed darkness of sin to their eternal regret (Romans 3:10-18; Revelation 20:11-15).