Today’s story from John’s gospel is about a solitary human being who was born blind. He had never seen a sunrise or the beauty of a flower. He hadn’t seen the face of his parents or another human being and yet…….. he never complained. He was alive but his world was darkened without sight. He never chose to be born blind but his blindness left him with no choice but to beg. But the good news is his situation was about to change forever.
Friends, I wonder if there is anyone here this morning who has been going through a rough time in life? We don’t choose problems but they come to us. Some of them are heavy and unbearable and humanly speaking there may not seem to be a way out; but I want to encourage you because with God all things are possible. Just like Jesus came to the blind man, I want you to believe that he is coming and on his way to you! All you need is faith in the one who is able to bless you above and beyond what you can think or imagine.
If you listened carefully to the reading, you might have noticed that everybody seemed to know this solitary man. They knew he was blind from birth and that he begged every day but they did nothing to help him. The Pharisees who were really “church folk” of that time were more concerned about who healed the man rather than celebrating the fact that he was blind but now able to see!
Friends, if you take time to look around you will see a lot of suffering in the world – perhaps even in your own community. We can walk right past and do nothing or we can choose to make a difference. How we respond to the less fortunate of the world is directly related to our relationship with the Lord. We can sow love, compassion and blessings or choose to be blind even though we’ve been blessed with 20/20 vision. God gave us a heart of flesh but some have turned it into a heart of stone. God found this hardness among his own chosen people and said:
“I need to cleanse you and give you a new heart. I will also put a new spirit within you and I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh.” (Eze. 36:25-26).
It is easy to ignore or be indifferent to human suffering but there is coming a time when the goats will be separated from the sheep. Many will be cast into an everlasting fire because they did not help the hungry, thirsty, naked or sick of this world. We read about this in Matt ch 25 where Jesus says “as much as you did it to the least of these, you did it to me.” I believe Jesus sends the blind, the weak and sick and the hungry to us to see how we treat them. It is an opportunity to honor God and his word and show that we love him. God is counting on folk like you and me to share his love and help alleviate suffering.
At the same time, the evil one plants a different message in our hearts. For example, in the eastern world (especially in countries like Iran) when someone sees a beggar, they stop not to give him money but to kick him. The reasoning is that if God did not show him mercy and caused him to be blind and beg, then why should they do any better?
It is interesting that most Asians believe in the doctrine of transmigration which is rebirth into another human body. So, if someone was bad in a prior life, they would be paying for it in this life which is why the disciples asked “who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind.” Humanity is about retribution whereas God is about grace and forgiveness.
Notice, Jesus refused to associate suffering to sin when he said neither this man nor his parents sinned to cause this. Friend, I wonder if you are associating a problem in your life to sin? Perhaps there is someone who keeps reminding you that such and such has come to you because of what you might have done in the past. From today’s story, we know that is not true. It is also not true because when you received Christ into your heart your sins were washed away. We stand blameless and spotless before the throne of God because of what Jesus did for us. You don’t have to beat yourself up because Jesus was already beaten and bruised for you.
That is why even if I am bad in this life I do not have to pay for it because my Lord already did. The children of the world believe in transmigration but children of God believe in transformation. One leads to misery while the other leads to a glorious forgiven and blessed life through Jesus Christ. I cannot tell you why some people suffer and others don’t but I can tell you that where there is sorrow, sickness or pain, there you will surely find the Savior.
We are told that while others walked away, Jesus stopped to speak with the blind man. While others were trying to legitimize his suffering, God was working out a plan to bless the man through his suffering! Here is the beauty about this story my friends - His blindness became the reason or a vehicle for the salvation of his soul. Think about this - had he not been blind he would never had met Jesus. In like manner, I am suggesting that God can turn your ashes into a blessing.
Just like Jesus brought light into the life of that blind man, he can do the same for you and me. I want you to notice that Jesus gave an intimate part of himself to heal the blind man. Instead of using surgical instruments to cut open and operate, Jesus mingled his own saliva with dust from the ground and re-enacted creation. It was much like making Adam out of clay and breathing into him. There was no power in the dust but there was healing in his body. Friends, every time you come to the table of the Lord, you are given a part of the Lord’s body. His body was broken so that you and I might be healed and forgiven.
The story goes on to say that the man was cast out of the temple because he associated Jesus with God. All over the world men and women are persecuted for their faith and trust in God. No one is persecuted for being a Muslim or Buddhist but if you are a follower of Christ, you must anticipate and be prepared to suffer for a season. Notice, Jesus did not leave the man to his lonely fate. Jesus found him to complete his plan of healing. Previously, the man’s eyes were opened, but now Jesus opened the man’s heart when he asked “Do you believe in the Son of God.” “Lord, I believe” said the blind man and then worshipped Jesus! Lots of people receive the first blessing which is healing of the body but not everyone positions themselves for the healing of the soul.
Even though healing a blind man and especially doing it on a Sabbath day escalated the reasons to put Jesus to death, he did it anyway. Jesus put it this way in vs 4 & 5 when he said:
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is still day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Jesus continues to do his father’s will which is to reach out to people like you and me to heal our mind, body and soul. Friend, if you have a sickness, financial problem, family problem, fear or even loneliness, I want to assure you that the Lord is coming to you. The Prophet Isaiah (ch 53) describes Jesus as “despised and rejected of men and a man of sorrows who is acquainted with grief.” Friend, there is no one who understands your grief and pain more than the Savior. He has been there and done that and is willing and ready to heal your every brokenness.
The story ends where the blind man was given a chance to please men or God. The Pharisees said “Give God the glory;” but as for this man he is not of God, because he does not keep the Sabbath. Besides how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? In response, I admire the courage and conviction of the blind man. He took on the powerful Pharisees and confronted them on their beliefs saying “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know but I was blind and now I see!” Then he went a step further saying “why do you keep asking me again and again if Jesus healed me – is it because you want to be his disciples?”
Yes, he was thrown out of an earthly temple but in exchange, he was received into a heavenly Kingdom. Friend, if you are despised for your faith in the Lord and the world casts you out, I want you to rejoice. It is far better to be thrown of a team that will potentially go down in flames than to lose an opportunity to reign with God forever. This story is not only about physical blindness but spiritual blindness as well which prompted Jesus to say: “I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”
It would be a tragedy to have 20/20 vision and yet never be able to see the glory of an everlasting Kingdom. I might have told you about this before but Fanny Crosby was blind from birth. She wrote 9000 Christian hymns some of which were “Blessed assurance” “To God be the Glory” “Jesus keep me near the cross” “I am thine O Lord” “Tell me the story of Jesus” “Pass me not O gentle Savior” and so on. An old preacher said to her one day “Fanny, with all this talent, I wonder why God did not bless you with sight so you could see the splendor of his creation.” Fanny’s response was amazing. She said, I am glad to be born blind because the very first thing my eyes will ever see is the beautiful face of my Lord!
Friend, whatever be your pain or struggles in this life, my hope and prayer for you is that they become a blessing and a vehicle for you to see the face of our Lord and thus remain in his presence forever. Amen.
