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As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

John 9:1-7, NIV

What would the blind man have heard? As well as blind, perhaps he had become deaf to the judgment of people. Sinner. Cursed. Guilty. Deserving. Poor. 

What did the blind man hear? Did he hear the note of grace from our Lord Jesus? "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him." A voice that with authority removed guilt. That spoke a calling: the works of God can still be displayed in him. "In me? In me? The cursed one? The one with no future hope? The one who has sat in blindness?" As the man would say later in the biblical account, "Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind" (v. 32). 

"Yes, my son, in you. The love and power of God is greater than any affliction, any despair, any hopelessness, any dim future. The works of God will be displayed in what you thought was a curse." 

What did the disciples see? A theological problem, a speculation, a man cursed, a mere discussion only.

What did Jesus see? A man, the work of his Father, what his Father wanted to do, potential for glory, a recipient of mercy and grace, a bearer of glory. 

What do we hear from others? From Jesus? 

What do we see in others? In ourselves? 

What does Jesus see when he looks at others? When he looks at us? 

So that the works of God might be displayed--in you.