"And he said, 'Lord, I believe....'"

Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, 

He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 

He answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?"

Jesus said to Him, "You have both seen Him, 

and He is the one who is talking with you."

And he said, "Lord, I believe."  And he worshiped Him.

John 9:35-38

Just prior to this passage, the man to whom Jesus was talking had been defending Him to the Jews.  The Jews were stubborn, hard-headed people, and they refused to believe Christ's claims that He was the Son of God.  He had given them proof time after time, but they simply refused to believe. 

This particular man would not have even had to worry about being called before this group of Jews if it had not been for Jesus.  Just a few short hours before he had been nothing but a blind man—overlooked, among the low-class of the society.  His position changed from one of basically no importance to anyone to being called before the big-wigs of society in very short order, all because of Jesus.

It wasn't that Jesus even did any major demonstration or made a big deal about his work of healing.  He just made a little clay, put it on a poor blind-man's eyes, and told him to go wash in a certain place.  Oh…and He did all this on the Sabbath….

Suddenly this man who these Pharisees would have likely overlooked a few hours before unless they stopped to give some alms so that they would look good, was bombarded with questions from people that didn't want to hear the answers.  Jesus had done something for this man, and he was excited!  He wanted to share it.  The Pharisees were like a wet blanket, but the man's enthusiasm was bubbling over. 

The Pharisees were intent on destroying Jesus.  They finally told the man that he should be giving glory to God; they said that Jesus was a sinner.  The man simply replied in a spirit of faith, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."

After talking for awhile longer, the Jews finally reached the point of exasperation.  They were offended by the man's attempts to teach them about Christ, so they "put him out."

This is where Jesus steps in.  He knew the man's situation.  He knew what the man had just gone through for His sake.  The man had shown blind faith in Christ and it had cost him, but "Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him…."  Jesus cared.  He knew.  And He didn't just leave the man to suffer in his rejection.  He went and found him. 

Then comes a very straight-forward conversation. Jesus asked if the man believed in the Son of Man.  The man asked who the Son of Man was so that he could believe in Him.  Jesus just responded that he was talking to the Son of Man right at that moment, and the man didn't struggle.  He didn't question.  He didn't doubt.  He didn't even hesitate by all indications from Scripture.  "And he said, 'Lord, I believe…."  He just did it.

And then he worshipped Him.   That is an interesting phrase to me simply for the fact that "he" (with a little "h") worshipped "Him" (with a big "H"). 

L.  Thomas Holdcroft in his commentary on the Gospels says, 

Scripture vividly traces the blind man's growth in belief.  At the outset, he obediently followed Jesus' instructions....  He testified openly and enthusiastically, identifying Him as 'the man they call Jesus….'  He recognized Jesus as a prophet….  He defended Jesus and the reality of his healing in spite of the Pharisees' ridicule….  He endured persecution for his faith…. He continued to want to know more about Jesus…. He confirmed his belief and worshiped Jesus…. In these seven steps the former blind beggar reached the final stage of belief—the sincere worship of Jesus Christ.

Christ has called us; He has done something for us.  I could testify along with the blind man and John Newton, "I was blind, but now I see."  But perhaps sometimes we face doubts or confusion.  Perhaps we are faced with persecution as this man was because of what Christ has done for us.  But, you know, it really doesn't matter if we are "put out" by the world around us—a world that does not understand Christ.  What matters is when Christ comes to find us and asks if we believe in the Son of Man.  We may or may not have to go through the steps that this blind man had to go through, but one thing is certain—we will be face with a decision about whether or not we are going to believe in Christ or not.  If we will, then we, too, can live lives of sincere worship to Christ.  And that is a part of the highest calling there is in life….