Jesus Confronts Blindness

Sermon – Jesus Confronts Blindness

Scripture Lesson - John 9-1-15 “Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. 8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" 9 Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he." 10 Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered and said, "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." 12 Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know." 13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."

Introduction: Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons conducted an experiment at Harvard University more than a decade ago that became infamous in psychology circles. Their book The Invisible Gorilla popularized it. And you may be one of the millions of viewers who made their Selective Attention Test one of Youtubes’s most-watched videos

The two researchers filmed students passing basketballs while moving in a circular fashion. In the middle of the short film, a woman dressed in a gorilla suit walks into the frame, beats her chest, and walks out of the frame. The sequence takes nine seconds in the minute-long video. Viewers are given specific instructions: “Count the number of passes by players wearing white shirts.” Of course, the researchers were not interested in their pass-counting ability They wanted to see if the viewers would notice something they weren’t looking for, something as obvious as a gorilla. Amazingly, half of the test group did not. How is this possible? How do you miss the gorilla in the room? In this passage in John 9, we see Jesus’ confronting blindness: The Man was Blind from birth; The disciples were Blinded by religious tradition and the Religious Leaders were Blind by choice. Here we learn some lessons about blindness. All of us have blind spots. A blind spot is an area in your range of vision that you cannot see properly but which you really should be able to see. For example, when you are driving a car, the area just behind your shoulders is often a blind spot.

Jesus follows his familiar pattern of worshipping in the temple. Our Lord took great delight in visiting His father’s House. The feast of Dedication is at hand and once again Jesus is confronted by the Jewish leaders. On this occasion, they attempted to stone him, but Jesus passed through their unnoticed. Then passing through the street of Jerusalem, he saw a poor blind man. This blind man was blind from birth, sitting by the street asking alms of all who passed by. This incident appears almost accidental, until we are told that Jesus saw him in his pitiful condition. This story should remind us that God sees us in our present condition. When you disadvantaged, people will generally notice you. The disciples began a conversation about the man, Jesus and the blind man overheard them. “And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" They even shared their thoughts about his condition. The disciples like many people today, felt that they had the answer. People think they have the answers, yet they have never faced your problems. They don’t know your story nor are they familiar with your lifestyle. Don’t be surprised if people only see your limitation, and even talk about you as if you are not present. Jesus gives an interesting answer, Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.” The disciples never considered the possibility that this was an opportunity for the world to witness the Glory of God.