The Adventures of Jesus Christ
Episodes from the Life of Jesus for Young Readers
by Vincent Cheung
[ Contents ]

Chapter 19. Jesus Healed the Blind
I WAS BLIND, BUT NOW I SEE

Jesus healed people with all kinds of diseases and disabilities. Nobody was unimportant to him, and no sickness was too difficult for him. He healed many blind people, giving them sight by God’s miracle power so that they could see.

As Jesus was walking through the towns one day, two blind men found out that he was passing their way. They had heard about the astounding miracles of Jesus, and they believed that he could heal them too.

Although they could not see, they followed the sound of the crowd and called out loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” The “Son of David” was a name for the Christ, the one God promised would come to save his people. By calling Jesus this name, the blind men were showing their faith that Jesus was the one sent by God.

The blind men continued following Jesus, calling out for his help. They did not give up, even though it was not easy for them. Finally, Jesus went into a house, and the blind men followed him inside. Jesus looked at them and asked, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

Again, Jesus considered this a matter of faith. When it came to healing, Jesus never asked anyone, “Do you think it is the will of God to heal you?” But he said things like, “Do you believe that I am able to heal you?” or “Do you want to be healed?” or “Your faith has healed you.” Healing comes when you want it, decide to get it, and have faith to take it.

The blind men replied, “Yes, Lord.” They believed that Jesus could make them see again. Jesus touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith, let it be done to you.” What you believe is what you will get.

People often think that it makes no difference what they believe and what they ask for in prayer. God will give them whatever he decides anyway. But Jesus did not teach this way about faith and prayer. All through the Bible, we are taught that God will give us what we believe.

One time, some people of Israel complained that God was making them suffer, and God answered, “What you said about me, I am going to do to you.” Good things also work the same way. Here Jesus said, “It will be done for you according to your faith.” God will be a healer to you if you believe and speak as if he is a healer to you.

Although the blind men could not see with their eyes, they could see with the hearts. They saw in their hearts that Jesus was the hero God had promised to send. Seeing this truth was the first step to positive change in every other area of life. When this faith made contact with Jesus Christ, a miracle happened. Immediately, their eyes were opened, and they could see. The men were so happy and amazed that they could not keep the good news to themselves. They went out and spread the word about Jesus all over the area.

Another day, Jesus and his disciples were walking through the city when they saw a man who had been blind since he was born. Jesus explained to his disciples that God would not receive honor in this man’s blindness, but God would receive honor in this man’s healing.

Sickness is not a good thing. It is not a gift, and it does not honor God. Healing is what honors God. Jesus explained that sickness cannot show people that God is good and great. Healing is what shows people that God is good and great.

Then Jesus did something interesting. He made some mud and put it on the man’s eyes and told him to wash it off. The man obeyed Jesus. When he washed off the mud and opened his eyes, he discovered that he could see!

Why did Jesus heal him this way? There is one possible reason. Remember that God took materials from the earth to form Adam’s body. This man had been blind from birth perhaps because he was born without eyeballs or born with defective eyeballs. And Jesus created perfect eyeballs for him, just like how God created a body for Adam. But this is only a guess. Jesus might have done it this way for another reason.

People in the area were surprised. Some of them wondered if it was the same man who used to sit and beg. The man who was healed kept telling them, “I am that same man.” They asked him how this happened, and he explained, “Jesus made mud, put it on my eyes, and told me to wash it off. When I did, I was healed and I could see for the first time in my life.”

The people took the man to the Pharisees, the faithless religious leaders who tried to cause trouble for Jesus over and over again.

The Pharisees asked how he was healed. The man replied, “Jesus put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” Some of them were upset and said, “This man cannot be from God.” Others wondered, “But can a sinner do such miracles?” Then they asked the man who was healed, “What do you say about him?” And the man answered, “He is a prophet.”

The religious leaders insisted to the man that Jesus was a bad person, a sinner. But the man answered, “All I know is that I was blind, but now I see.” Faithless religious people are bullies. They will not listen to God, to the Bible, or to reason. They have their own opinions and traditions, and they want to push people around until they agree with them.

But this man was brave and loyal. He was not easily bullied. Jesus had healed him, and he was forever loyal to Jesus. He talked back to the religious people and even answered them with sarcasm, mocking them. This is often the right way to answer faithless people. Refuse to be bullied. Stand up for Jesus.

The religious people said to the man, “We have no idea where this Jesus came from. We are followers of Moses!” Moses was a great prophet in the past, but Moses himself followed Jesus and predicted the coming of Jesus. These religious people did not really believe Moses. Their whole way of life was a lie to make them look like smart and good people. They were in fact the most foolish and bad people.

You might think, “The man had been blind all his life, and now he was healed. If they loved God so much, and if they were good people, then they should have celebrated with him.” Faithless religious people do not think like that. The truth is that they do not care about God or people. They are very bad people. The worst people. They talk about God to make themselves look good, but they have no faith and do not want you to find out. When faith appears in someone, they want to destroy the person.

The man was a blind beggar just a short time before this. He lived in helplessness and humiliation, but the healing miracle gave him the spiritual strength and insight to stand up for what was right.

He answered, “This is amazing. You people act like you know everything about God, but you do not know where Jesus came from, and he is the one who opened my eyes by a miracle. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

Sometimes faithless religious people will bully you by bragging about how many books they have read, or how many years they have spent in seminary. They will brag that certain schools and churches approved them and gave them certificates.

The truth is that they want to win an argument without giving reasons from what God teaches in the Bible. This is because they do not want to admit that they are wrong, and they want to look like they are right. So they speak about unimportant reasons to convince you that they are smarter and better than you, hoping that you would give up.

This man had never been to Bible school or seminary. He was not a pastor or scholar. But he saw the truth about these faithless religious people. They were shameless. He refused to surrender to religious bullies.

The Pharisees, the faithless religious people, became so angry and frustrated. They could not bully the man. They could not twist the truth and control the man. When they slandered Jesus, faith, and miracles, the man argued back. And what the man said made much more sense than what the faithless people said. The religious people could only use force. They kicked the man out!

When Jesus heard that they had kicked the man out, he went to find him. Jesus asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The “Son of Man” was also a term that the prophets used when they predicted the coming of Christ. The man answered, “Who is he, sir? Tell me so that I can believe.”

Jesus said, “You have seen him. He is the one speaking to you.” In other words, Jesus himself was the Christ that the prophets predicted. The man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Jesus.

What a wonderful example of true faith, humility, and worship. This man had been blind all his life. He did not have the advantages that other people received, such as those enjoyed by the religious leaders.

One miracle of healing awakened such faith and power in him that he defended Jesus against the religious bullies. He immediately believed and worshiped Jesus when he found out that Jesus was the Christ. This man was much better than most people today who call themselves Christians. So much better.

Think about the difference between this man and the faithless people. These people had all kinds of trainings and privileges. They claim to be the best followers of God, but when someone received a miracle from God and answered them in faith, they kicked him out. Notice that Jesus himself was not a member of their group. God himself was not welcomed by them, and Jesus was also standing outside of their church!

The story of Jesus Christ is about God’s love for his people, and it is also about the fight between good and evil. Satan brought evil into the world, and Jesus came into the world to overcome evil.

Evil was not only in the devil, but it was also in evil people. And the evil people were not only those who said that they rejected God, but many evil people were those who claimed that they loved God, but rejected Jesus and rejected those who believed in miracles.

There are many people like that today. They have no faith in God, no faith in Jesus, and so they say that there are no more miracles today. This evil teaching is called cessationism. And there are other faithless teachings that are called by other names.

The truth is that these people have no faith today, and so they experience no miracles today. Instead of admitting this, they want you to be faithless like them, and this is why they will try to convince you and bully you until you agree with them. Be like this man we talked about. Do not let faithless people bully you. Do not betray Jesus Christ.

Just because people are in a church does not mean they believe in God. Find out what they teach, what they believe, and how they act. Some churches contain people that have faith, but many churches do not. If you have faith, some people might kick you out of their church.

However, even if faithless people kick you out of their church, Jesus will meet you outside and welcome you. Jesus himself is outside of that church, because they have also kicked him out. But since Jesus is salvation, when they kicked Jesus out, they have also kicked out their own salvation.