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by Robin McKinley

Chapter 9 in the book of John contains a very interesting story. It centered around a blind man whom Jesus healed. The Lord indicated that the Pharisees were spiritually blind.

These Jewish leaders believed that they were the spiritual eyes of the nation when in reality they were blinded by their own self righteousness  Sometimes we must cleanse the mud of sin from our lives as well.

Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”  John 9:40 

Let me summarize this story for you. A man blind from birth came to the attention of Jesus. His disciples asked the question, “why didn’t this man have his sight?”

Here’s the answer Jesus gave. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” The man was healed, but he had no idea who did it. 

When the Pharisees heard about this they wanted to know who healed him. The healed man said, “I don’t know.” So they found his parents and asked them if this was their son. “Yes,” they replied. Then the Pharisees asked, “Are you sure he was born blind?” Again they reply, “Yes.”

Then they asked his parents how the healing happened. The parents told them to ask their son, he was old enough to give them a straight answer.

So, these Jewish leaders went back to the once blind man and asked him to tell them again what had happened. The man, however, wouldn’t answer them.

He said, “No, I told you once.” The conversation continued until they threw the healed man out of the temple.

Is it Time for You to Go to the Pool? 

To heal the man, Jesus put mud on his eyes and instructed him to wash it off at the pool of Siloam. Therefore, the Lord wasn’t with him when he opened his eyes for the very first time.

It might have done the Pharisees some good if they would have gone to that pool to wash the mud from their own eyes. 

I’m sure they had an idea of who healed this man. Yet instead of believing in Jesus, they chose spiritual blindness. Many people today also choose to be spiritually blind.

Maybe you have occasions when you choose to close your eyes or turn your back on God. For whatever reason you make that decision, understand this, it is wrong.

Those are the times when we are spiritually blind. In those times, we need to do more than just wash our eyes—we might need a complete cleansing.

We must humble ourselves before the Lord. We need the mud of self righteousness and pride washed out of our lives. We need the Lord to open our eyes so we can see the things He wants us to see.

Lord, sometimes we need you to apply a little mud to our lives so we can wash away the sin which makes us spiritually blind. We desire to keep walking in the center of your will. 

About the Author: 

Robin, with his wife Cindy, became children’s evangelists early in their ministry. They ministered to children full time for 8 years. During that time they developed several children’s stories which were told with visuals and puppets.

Robin recently turned two of those stories into children’s books. One is called “The Contest,” a book about the Fruit of the Spirit, and the other is called “Twas the Night of Christmas”.  He has also authored 5 volumes of devotional books called, 3 Minutes Alone with God. Each entry is a product of his personal biblical Journaling.

These and his other writings are available on his website called Christian Perspectives at www.ramckinley.com. When you visit this site, you can sign-up for newly written devotions as they come out which will be emailed to you.

Presently Robin is the pastor of Calvary Christian Center in Pottstown, PA. He is an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. He and his wife make their home in Birdsboro, Pa. He also serves as the president of the local ministerium. He and Cindy have two married sons and four grandchildren.