When it comes to our testimonies, we tend to talk ourselves right out of sharing. We tell ourselves, “Well, I don’t like talking to people,” “I’m not very good at telling it,” or “I just don’t know how to explain it.” We take the simplest and most powerful tool we have and overcomplicate it until we are too afraid to use it. That’s why I want to tell you the story of someone in the Bible who knew how to testify. He didn’t have support or education or even understanding, but that didn’t stop him from sharing his story with anyone who asked.

In John 9, we learn the story of a man who was blind from birth. One day, Jesus and His disciples happen to pass by, and it’s so interesting, because the first thing the disciples ask when they see this man is, “Whose sin made him blind, his own or his parents?” They want to know what the blindness is a punishment for, but Jesus tells them, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him” (John 9:3).

Now, I want you to think about that for a moment. This man has been blind his whole life, and he has probably heard hundreds of times that his blindness was some kind of punishment, but then here comes Jesus, and He says, “No. You’re not made to bear a punishment; You’re made to bear a testimony.” That’s powerful.

So Jesus calls this man to Him, spits in the dirt to make clay, and then wipes that clay on the man’s face. This man probably has no idea what’s happening or what’s coming. He can’t even see Jesus, but he is fully listening, and after having this clay wiped on his face, he hears Jesus tell him to go wash in this pool nearby, so he obeys, and when he comes up, he can suddenly see!

What a miracle! This man has never seen one thing in his life: not the face of his mother or father, not the sky, not a tree, not even his own hand. He’s never seen anything, but now here he is with his sight and this incredible story to tell.

Now, when this man starts telling everyone about this miraculous thing that has happened, what do they all do? Do they celebrate with him and praise God? No! In fact, they doubt that it’s even him. You can read in verse 9 that some people recognized him, but others said it was just someone who looked like him. They said, “Well, he looks similar, but it can’t be the same blind beggar. That would be impossible.”

Can you imagine? He’s seeing for the first time in his life, and they’re trying to claim that he’s someone else! But he has a testimony inside of him, and it’s not brought down by their doubt. They’re all doubting, but he keeps saying, “No, no, no. It is me! It’s not somebody else; I’m the man that was born blind, and now I’m seeing.”

Of course, now everyone wants to know how such a thing could have happened, and when they ask, he says, very simply, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight” (John 9:11).

Well, all the neighbors are baffled, so they escort this man to the Pharisees to get some answers. Can you imagine having such an amazing miracle and nobody believes you? People are saying, “Oh, it’s not really you. Let’s ask the Pharisees. They’ll know the truth.” I cannot even imagine experiencing healing and nobody’s happy for you; they’re just questioning you.

They get to the synagogue, and the Pharisees ask him how he received his sight. Well, his audience has changed, but his answer sure doesn’t. He says, just like before, “This man put clay on my eyes, told me to wash, and now I can see.”

Now the Pharisees start debating about this miracle. Some of them are saying, “Oh, this Jesus must be a sinner because He healed on the Sabbath.” Others are saying, “No sinful man could do these kinds of miracles.” They just can’t agree, so they ask the man who was healed. Now, he isn’t as educated as these important religious leaders, so maybe he’s intimidated by having to give an answer that even they can’t come up with, but does that keep him silent? Does he try to act all humble and unsure? No! The Bible tells us that he simply said that he thought Jesus was a prophet.

Well, once again, no one wants to believe this man. They need confirmation that he’s really the man who was blind since birth and is now healed, so they call his parents and ask them to identify him, and what do you think his parents do? They say, “Well, yes, that’s our son, and yes, he’s been blind since birth, but we don’t know about this healing thing. He’s a grown man. Just ask him.”

The Bible tells us that they were afraid of the religious leaders and of being thrown out of the synagogue, so they wouldn’t say anything about his healing. Can you imagine if your son was born blind got healed and you really didn’t give his testimony? That’s exactly what these parents did. Because of the fear of man, they didn’t admit this amazing miracle! Friend, do not let that be you. You say straight away what God is doing in your life — say how He delivered you. Speak up when people around you are talking about their problems, because that could help them, and if they don’t believe you, well, it’s your story — they can’t argue with that!

Even though this man is doubted by his neighbors, even though he’s being questioned by these educated and important Pharisees, even though his own parents are scared to tell this testimony, he sticks with his story. The Pharisees call him in once again, and they say, “Jesus must be a sinner, so how could He have healed you?” Once again, the man tells them the same thing he’s been saying: 

He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

—John 9:25

You know, somebody might challenge your testimony and say to you, “Can you say how this happened? Can you explain it?”  Well, friend, your flesh might tell you that you have to answer that, and if you don’t, then you’re not presenting your testimony well, but that’s not true. How did it happen? It happened with the supernatural power of God; it doesn’t matter if they don’t understand. You can say, just like this blind man said, “I can’t explain it. I don’t know how it happened, but I know that I was one way and now I’m another way.” You don’t have to explain yourself; you just give your testimony and give God glory!

Even after this statement, even after he has answered them so humbly so many times telling them, “I don’t understand this. I’m not powerful or educated or anything, but this is what happened to me, and I’m not changing my story,” they ask him again, “How did this man open your eyes?”

Well, now the man gets a little frustrated:

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?”

—John 9:27

This man is just so innocent. He doesn’t understand this whole religious debate or all the politics behind it. He is just so innocent that he thinks the Pharisees want to be Jesus’ disciples, just like he does, and when the Pharisees try to tell him that he’s being a bad Jew, that he’s not following Moses’ teachings, this poor man, this man who was a blind beggar just a few hours ago, starts preaching to these Pharisees:

The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

—John 9:30-33

That blind man was saying to those religious Pharisees, “I may not know as much as you, but I know that only God’s power can heal people, and since I’m healed, that Jesus must have had God’s power.” He may not understand all those politics and all those religious issues, but he understands his own story, and that’s more than enough. This man is not trying to offend anyone. He’s not trying to be better or smarter than anyone. He’s not trying to change or explain his story to satisfy all their questions. He just has one very simple story to tell again and again, no matter how much they doubt and interrogate and ask him to repeat. He just has a story to tell, and it doesn’t matter if he can’t explain it, because it’s the truth. And friend, that’s what you need to realize today: your testimony, your story of an encounter with Jesus, that experience that you can’t quite explain, that’s the truth.