26. Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27. He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

I believe that John 9 is one of the most humorous chapters in the entire Bible. It is the story of Jesus’ healing of a man who was blind from birth. Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath and, as expected, draws a great deal of criticism from the Pharisees. In what should have been a time of joy and celebration because of received sight, turned into an interrogation and day of intimidation. The parents of the blind man were asked who had given their son his sight. They told the Pharisees to ask him. Their fear was rooted in the assurance that anyone who believed that Jesus was the Son of God would be thrown out of the local synagogue. This would have been a scarlet letter. The blind man was asked three times how he had received his sight. They asked, he answered. They asked again, he answered again. Again they asked, and this time he answered with frustration, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?” Were the Pharisees going to become disciples of Christ? Of course not. Does the blind man’s question have merit? Oh yes.

Something wonderful happened to the blind man. He received his sight. He was different. He was changed. The people around him could not help but notice. The man that the town had always known as “blind”, now had his sight. The difference Christ made in his life was standing out. The difference Christ has made in our life is going to stand out and draw attention. The world will notice when we stop and ask a blessing over our lunch at work. The world will notice when we treat others with dignity and respect. The world will notice when we acknowledge that our faith guides our decisions, both large and small. The world will notice that although we may be enduring a difficult storm, there is something unusually calm about our life.

How does this relate to our passage? Thanks for asking. As people see something different about you (like the town people did in the blind man), they will eventually begin to ask questions about your life (much like the Pharisees did of the blind man and who had healed him). Our changed life should solicit questions. As our friends, families, and coworkers look at our lives and ask us why we are they way we are, we have the opportunity to ask a question much like the one the blind man asked. His question was, “Do you also want to become His disciples?”  We should never be afraid to ask someone a question like this one, ‘After looking at a life that has been changed by Christ, would you like to know how to meet Him?’