John 9:8-12, The Neighbors Chime In

8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some said, "It is he." Others said, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." 10 So they said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight." 12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."

Immediately the man is questioned about Jesus by those who see how different he is. In fact, he does not appear to some to be the same man. When Jesus healed him more seems to have changed in him than just his eyesight. He appears as a different man. Many people over the centuries have had similar experiences after being healed by Jesus and coming to faith in him. People can see the difference. Ironically, the now seeing man cannot identify Jesus because he has never before laid eyes upon him.

The other thing we find out from the neighbors is that he has been a beggar, which was practically the only way the man could have made a living at the time. While we do not know past the end of chapter 9 what happens to this man, we do know that Jesus has completely changed his life. No longer will he have to beg others for support but should be able to support himself by working. Again, when Jesus comes into our lives, we are never the same again for which we can give thanks:

And now to him who is able to keep us from falling, and lift us from the dark valley of despair to the bright mountain of hope, from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy; to him be power and authority, for ever and ever. (Martin Luther King)