The faith that Jesus talks about in today’s gospel lesson, the saving faith that the Bible talks about from Genesis through revelation, is far more than just intellectual confidence or agreement. The Bible says faith gives us a new nature – the nature that was lost when Adam and Eve fell into sin. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it is written, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” According to this, there is a real change in the person who has come to Christ in faith.
The reality of the change of faith is also addressed in Ephesians 4:21-24 “Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
This “putting off of the old self and putting on the new self” is a constant part of the Christian’s life as we daily repent of our sins and by faith receive the gifts of God’s grace.
This new nature, this new life of faith, this new spiritual life shows in how we live our lives.
But it is important that we grow in it. In our text today we see both the failings and the satisfaction of the life of faith. We see the failings in the blindness of the disciples as Jesus shows them what He must soon do as part of His redeeming work. We see what faith accomplishes in the confidence of the blind man who came to Christ and recognized Him as the “Son of David,” the Messiah promised so long before.