The Shuffle Man - From Pillar To Post - The Man Born Blind John 9 Series

THE SHUFFLE MAN - FROM PILLAR TO POST - THE MAN BORN BLIND

CHARACTERS OF JOHN'S GOSPEL - THE MAN BORN BLIND John 9

This interesting character is unnamed and we know him only as “a man born blind”. His road of faith was a unique one, where some of the time, he did not know what was happening. However Jesus knew, and had His hand on him the whole time. In dealing with this story, I think we will approach it as one narrative.

John 9 v 1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth, John 9:2 and His disciples asked Him saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” John 9:3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents, but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him. John 9:4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no man can work. John 9:5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

There were many beggars on the streets in Jesus’ time and the disciples must have noticed them in their travels, but this particular one caught their attention. It was Jesus who first saw the man, but it was the disciples who were curious. Their question probably reflected the idea of the day that blindness was a result of someone’s sin. They just did not know whose sin it was, so they asked Jesus. I don’t think they were thinking too well because one part of the question suggested it might have been the man’s sin that caused him to be born blind. How do you sin before you are born? They did not think that through.

The answer that Jesus gave dismissed any such stupid thought. This man’s blindness was in the special will of God that God’s glory would become evident. Works that honour God are those that glorify God. How do we glorify God? We do His works! The Lord’s mission was to do the works of God, and one of those was to heal the blind man. What Jesus meant by night coming when no one could work, means He had these few years to do all the Father had given Him to do. Day was to be a short period for the Lord. Then came the statement of one of the 8 great I AMs of John’s gospel – “I am the light of the world”. As the Light of the World, Jesus can touch any darkness in anyone’s life. If you pour a whole lot of darkness into light it is eaten up. If you pour a whole lot of light into darkness it overcomes the darkness.

John 9 v 6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, John 9:7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent), and so he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

We have here the means of the man’s miracle. It was from clay that man was made, and it is through clay this man is given sight. What was it that actually healed this blind man? Was it the application of the clay, or the washing in the pool of Siloam? Well, strictly speaking, it was neither. It was obedience that gave sight to the man. Obedience is a key work in serving God. In fact there is probably no greater word in Christian service. The blind man obeyed the Lord, just as Naaman eventually did. The man was able to see for the first time what the world actually looked like, but the important thing is that his spiritual eyes were opened. Physical sight is useless when a person walks in spiritual darkness. Spiritual darkness leads to hell, and that is eternal, while physical sight on earth is temporary.

John 9 v 8 The neighbours therefore, and those who previously saw him as a beggar were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” John 9:9 Others were saying, “This is he,” and still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.” John 9:10 Therefore they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” John 9:11 He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam, and wash’, so I went away and washed, and I received sight.” John 9:12 They said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”

We now have the curious, or busybody neighbours. Everyone wanted to throw in an opinion. There was a reluctance to accept the man’s testimony. The world never wants to accept the testimony of a believer. The world is hostile to true followers of Christ. Worldlings can say what they want but let a Christian these days quote from the bible, and like a ton of bricks, it falls down on the believer. Imagine that blind man looking into the faces of his questioners. What would he make of it? The man could only recount what He knew but it did not satisfy the neighbours. Persecution can start early for some people once they are converted. This happens in many cultures. The traditional Greeks will not tolerate a person leaving the Greek Orthodox Church. The Moslem world will persecute and murder converts. It is not much better in Hinduism, Masons and Jehovah Witnesses.