Message/Devotion
March 22, 2020
John 9:1-41
I Can See Clearly Now
The Reading
A Man Born Blind Receives Sight
9 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[a] 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 [b]blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”
9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, [c]“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 [d]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.”
The Pharisees Excommunicate the Healed Man
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.”
16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not [e]keep the Sabbath.”
Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
17 They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.”
25 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.”
26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 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?”
28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
30 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! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they [f]cast him out.
True Vision and True Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of [g]God?”
36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore, your sin remains.
Before we begin the message, I would like to share with you a few words that we have been sharing with anyone and everyone who comes to mind:
“Fewer and fewer today have many memories of WORLD WAR II. Believe me, we are a resilient people. This nation came together after Pearl Harbor and showed the world what we are made of. Caution and common sense are the order of the day!! There are and will be many more sacrifices to be made by ALL.
Do not fade away from your faith in God. Pray daily for your family, your church family and your neighbors. Don't get caught up in the political hype that many are using to further some selfish agenda. Just DO what you know is right. Check on your family and friends regularly. Do whatever you can to encourage others and lend a hand when you can. Errands, small chores, etc. If you have a need, let it be known.
Don't know how to pray? Pray for HIS sustaining love and grace. This is a time to strengthen FAITH and TRUST in God. We do not always understand the why of what goes on, but we do understand that GOD is in charge. Stand Tall - encourage others - avoid negativity!!”
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The Message
Do you remember that catchy little song that started out like this: “I can see clearly now the rain is gone I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind It's gonna be a bright (bright) sun shiny day……………..” Sometimes I really wish I could sing, but as you all here know, that is a talent that I was skipped over when they were being handed out. It does fit well with today’s gospel reading and our message/devotion.
I want to make an outline of what we’re going to be talking about and then go from there.
Jesus encounters a man, blind from birth
His disciples ask Jesus if he was blind because of his sin or his parents’ sin.
Jesus creates a paste by mixing clay from the ground with his own saliva (spit).
Jesus sends the man on to go bath in the pool of Siloam. He did so and he gained vision.
The man returns and testifies to the miracle of sight.
The Pharisees were not happy and used the fact that he was cured on the Sabbath to excommunicate him from the church.
The Pharisees question this man at length and even his parents trying to find a way to discredit God’s hand in the healing
Jesus goes to the healed man and helps him affirm his faith.
Finally, in closing Jesus speaks to the Pharisees and reveals their sinfulness.
There is one wonderful revelation in the very beginning of this reading. Jesus is asked whose sins caused the blindness, his or his parents? I laughed as I read that because if he was born blind, he could not possibly have sinned to cause that blindness in the womb. Then we come to understand that the blindness was not the result of any sins. The blindness allows for the works of God! And so, it was, that Jesus healed him!
There is a beautiful little seven-year-old little girl that lives right across the street from us. She was born with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and severe respiratory issues. She lives with her single mom but requires around the clock nursing care. Obviously, she is not afflicted because of any sins. Her mother is a dedicated believer and a hard-working provider for the household. I am in awe of her. We pray for little Alanis every day and yearn for the day that God’s works will be revealed in her little life.
Through the years, I have come to believe that sin does not cause sickness or maladies. However, I also believe that we can be so burdened with guilt and remorse that we bring on various kinds of illness. Think about how hard it is to get the correct amount of sleep if you are burdened by guilt and sin; how it affects your eating habits, etc. Have you known someone or have you yourself ever been trapped into eating and snacking trying to feel better or to keep your mind off something that you would like to forget. We call that a guilty conscience. That type of eating and gorging creates obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a myriad of other symptoms. Unchecked they can become very deadly, very fast.
Can children suffer physically and mentally because of the sins of the parents? YES!! It isn’t passed on from generation to generation, however. Let’s look quickly at a couple of examples. If a parent is addicted to alcohol or drugs that affect their behavior, children become neglected, or abused physically and or mentally. We are seeing more and more babies born who are themselves addicted to drugs that the mother had taken during the pregnancy. I am quite sure that you can think of many more examples.
How Jesus performs the healing is quite a mental picture. He spits on some clay, mixes it and places it n the blind man’s eyes. Then, He instructs the fellow to go down to the pool and wash. That’s it! What do you see as the key element in this healing? Can we say obedience? Trust and Faith? We don’t want to read anything into this but even if he did what he was told with an attitude of: “might as well, it won’t hurt to try.”
Many folks have prayed a prayer of salvation with similar thoughts. I like the one where it is thought IF THERE REALLY IS HEAVEN AND HELL, I’ll just play it safe. Well with discipleship and growth that initial step can become a well-founded foundation. It has to start somewhere.
I want to drift away for a quick observation. Jesus healed the blind man here with clay mud. Others with just the laying on of hands or simply speaking a healing into the afflicted. Jesus did not follow a regimen or a ritual in ministry. His ministry was as He felt led by the Father. No traditions! No denominations, etc. All His teachings and ministering to others required one thing only – OBEDIENCE! Don’ let that point get away from you.
Next we get to that part about the interactions with the Pharisees. They did not want to hear the truth, or to know the truth. They went about trying to downplay God and the Son of God in this healing. Their investigation included interrogating the parents and speaking with witnesses to all of this.
Finding nothing to disprove a divine healing, they condemned the act as sinful because it was done on the Sabbath. Finding no other cause to discredit, they excommunicated him. They even declared that “To God be the Glory” but this Man (Jesus) is a sinner.
Do you find it strange that it is okay to get an ox out of a ditch on the Sabbath but sinful to cure a blind man on the Sabbath? I do.
None of this deterred Jesus. He heard about this man being made an outcast and went to him. Jesus introduced Himself as the Son of God. Ultimately, Jesus asked: “Do you believe in the Son of God?” The man answered, “Lord, I believe!” and worshiped Him.
We get to the end of the reading as Jesus addresses some of the Pharisees. They ask Him, “Are we blind also?”
I am always intrigued by the responses Jesus gives in situations like this. He says, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, “We see”. Therefore, your sin remains.
Can we understand this to reference “spiritual sight and spiritual blindness”? These Pharisees claim to see but continue in darkness. The healing of spiritual blindness comes only with the knowledge or admission that one is blind in the spirit.
“I ONCE WAS BLIND BUT NOW I SEE!”
When we encounter someone, who refuses to believe the gospel truth, we have encountered a spiritually blind person. If we are able in any way to lead them to the truth and a desire to seek more truth, we have witnessed the blind gaining spiritual sight.
Do you see clearly now? Is it gonna be a bright shiny day? I certainly hope and pray so.
Let’s just pray about that right now, let’s stand, join hands and pray: “Almighty God, we pray that You will prepare us to be ever-ready to share the truth of Your gospel so that we might be better prepared to lead someone from spiritual blindness to spiritual sight. In Jesus name AMEN
Let us now go forth loving and serving God by loving and serving each other – EVERY each other.
I humbly and sincerely ask for your prayers!
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