But Now I See
3/13/2022 Bay Exodus 20:1-12 John 1:1-17
Do you remember the emotions you went through with the coming birth of your child or grandchild or niece or nephew. I can still remember how the moment after our daughter Samantha was born, I wanted to send out her picture out all over the world.
That was long before cell phones and texting. I found some little photo booth that took pictures instantly and got them copied and to the post office l as quickly as I could. I was just so excited.
I want you to take a journey back in time with me to the first century, near Jerusalem at the time of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself could have been in Mary’s womb at the time this was all taking place.
It all starts out great. The parents are so excited. The nine months are nearly over. The mother finally goes into labor. What are they going to name this child? Will it be a boy or a girl?
The news comes from the midwife, you have a son. The word spreads through the community. There is great rejoicing. The father has the son he has been waiting for. This is a time for celebration.
And then the sucker punch in the stomach hits them both and knocks the wind out of them. They notice that their son does not respond to movement. Even with their limited medical knowledge, they realize their son has been born blind.
This is a major blow in first century Palestine. When bad things happened to good people, many people believed that it was punishment for something somebody close to the situation had done.
This beautiful little baby boy has become a reason to cast doubt on whether or not his parents had done something awful before his birth or during the pregnancy. Some people thought it to themselves and others thought it out loud “what secret sin are the parents hiding?”
Now let’s fast forward about 30 years later and we can pick up the story as John reveals it to us in John chapter nine. Here we are 30 years later. This man’s entire life has been lived in darkness. We don’t know if he ever saw shades of light and darkness with the rising and the setting of the sun.
We do know this his line of employment was to sit and beg each day and hope for the generosity of strangers that he would never see. Part of the job description included enduring all kinds of comments from insensitive people. At times he may have been a victim of others taking money from his cup or pan or whatever it was that he was using.
That morning, the man probably got up thinking this day will be just like the day before and the day before that. Perhaps on the feast days, he did gather more in his cup because there were more people in the city.
He could tell there wasn’t quite as much noise in the streets this particular day so He knew it must be the Sabbath.
All his life he’s been wrestling with the same issues many of us still have today. Will Someone Love Me? Will Someone Accept Me? Will I ever have a purpose?
Unknown to this man, he was on a collision course with Jesus. Jesus had left the temple grounds because at the end of chapter 8 the people had picked up some stones in order to stone him.
Jesus had made the statement, before Abraham was born “I Am.” You may recall when Moses asked God what was his name because they people would want to know who was sending Moses to them, God had told Moses, “Tell them that I Am sent you.” The people knew Jesus was making a claim to be God, so that’s why they tried to stone him.
Well Jesus is on the run, and he makes good his escape. He finally reaches a spot that looks safe. Jesus spots this man sitting their begging. He gets pretty close near the man, and he stops.
One of Jesus’ disciples notices that Jesus is staring at the man a little longer than usual. Glancing at this poor blind man, the disciple thinks he can read what Jesus is thinking.
So this disciple asks out loud, “Rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind.”
The disciple says this right in the presence of the man. How insensitive can you be? He’s thinking since the man could not see him, why worry about it. Yet the damage has already been done.
The man couldn’t see, but the man could hear. How often do we say things out loud that we should have just kept to ourselves? Do we apologize when unintentionally hurt others or do we assume, well everybody else has probably done it too, so what’s the big deal.
The man was sitting there with his pan being judged by another unknown voice in the darkness. Here he was about to be rejected by somebody else again.
How many times had he heard this comment which dehumanized him even more? “Who sinned this man or his parents that he should be born blind?” Why did everyone want to blame either him or his parents?
Why couldn’t they accept him simply as a man who was born blind without trying to label him? Why didn’t they believe God’s word which said none were righteous, not even one?
We live in a society that likes to label people. Even within the body of Christ, there are times we want to label people. Somehow labeling others’ misfortune makes us feel better about ourselves.
We obviously have God’s favor and they don’t. We can walk away without guilt or shame. We don’t have to love them in the way God told us to love one another.
But as this man listens to the question, he hears an answer that he never expected. He hears an answer that validates him as a person.
An answer that shows for the first time, someone is going to truly accept him. Jesus said,” Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in Him.”
Somebody actually is saying God has a purpose for his life. Somebody is actually saying, he’s not to be blame. He’s no worse of a sinner than those who didn’t want him in their presence because of his unknown sin.
This voice in the darkness just said, “that God’s works will be displayed in his life.” Is it possible that he was created for more than simply sitting by the road begging and enduring insults?
Jesus tells his disciples “As long as it is day, we must work the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
It’s strange how people looked at a man, and saw he was in the dark and he knew it. Jesus looked at all of humanity and saw that we were in the dark only we don’t know it.
Jesus then spits on the ground, makes some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. He then tells the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam.
This man could have had 10 reasons why he couldn’t or shouldn’t have to go to the pool of Siloam. Siloam was located on the southeast part of the city. He could have said, he didn’t have anyone to take him there.
He could have explained what happened the last time he went to the pool. He could have shared how his back was hurting him and the list could go on and on.
How often does God have a solution for our problem, but we have all kinds of excuses for why we should not obey God, and do as God says. The result is that we see little spiritual growth or change taking place in our lives.
Jesus asks this man to do something without guaranteeing him any results. For all this man knows, Jesus might simply be saying, “your face is dirty and you need to was yourself up.
Jesus doesn’t even offer the possibility that the man would possibly regain his sight.” Sometimes the only way we will know what God intends to do is to follow the instructions that have already been revealed.
The man went to the pool of Siloam and to his astonishment, he came back seeing.
It was the happiest day of his life. He had experienced a miracle from God. Surely everybody would rejoice with him. Nobody could deny the reality of what had taken place in his life. Finally he would belong, he would be accepted, he would have a purpose for his life. I’ll tell others about the goodness of God.
But then comes another sucker punch into the stomach.
Some people claimed he was a fake and a phony—he only looked like the man they had seen begging. We think at times if God does this for me or God does that for them, then people will believe.
We can all put out all kinds of demands that God prove Himself, but nothing God does will wipe away everyone’s doubts.
Sometimes people refuse to believe because they don’t want to, and they don’t want others to believe either. They don’t want to be changed. They have connected the dots. To believe in God means to change my lifestyle.
This man insisted that he was the man that had previously been begging. “I am the man.” He knew something had changed in his life. They demanded an explanation. Tell us exactly how he did it.
He goes through the steps.
The man they call Jesus, made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. I went and washed, and then I could see.
“Where is this man” , they asked. “I don’t know” he said. No matter what he said, they were not going to believe. It wasn’t that he missed the accuracy of the story. The people were just content with where they were.
It’s not that people have thoroughly examined Jesus and his claims that cause them to reject him. It’s that they want to be in charge of their lives.
They took the man to the Pharisees, the religious leaders to get their perspective. Jesus had made this mud on the Sabbath and healed this man on the Sabbath.
The Pharisees had so interpreted rules for the Sabbath, so that the only reason for a healing to take place on the Sabbath was a life and death situation. Obviously healing a man born blind could have waited another 24 hours.
The man explained the story in detail again to the Pharisees. Some of them could only see the part that didn’t fit in with their view of God. This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.
Yet Jesus made it clear in Mark 2:27 that the purpose of the Sabbath was to help humanity with their needs. It wasn’t to come up with a system to condemn people for being set free.
For some of the Pharisees, A man born blind, miraculously healed could not overcome the fact that Jesus was doing work on the Sabbath.
Some of the Pharisees however did see that a miracle had taken place and something bigger than a small five minutes of work on the Sabbath had taken place. They asked “How could a sinner perform such a sign?”
Once again the man is rejected. Was it God or demonic activity which opened his eyes? He’s worse off now because he’s either a tool of God or a “demon in human form.
The Pharisees then puts the man on the spot. What do you say about the man. It was your eyes he opened.” What do we say about Jesus when we are put on the spot. You call yourself a follower of Christ, what should we do here.”
The man says. “He is a prophet”. The man decided to come down on putting Jesus with God.
His bold declaration, didn’t change the unbelievers. They refused to believe that he had been born blind and had received his sight until they sent for his parents.
The spotlight shifts from the man to his parents. They question the integrity of the parents, demanding to know” if they claimed their son had been born blind, then how could he see?”
You would think the parents would boldly declare a miracle has taken place. You would think they would boldly declare their love and acceptance of their son. Their standing by his side believing the truth of his story.
But first century version of Big Tech Censorship and cancel culture was already at work behind the scenes. The parents couldn’t tell the truth as they wanted to tell it with joy and excitement.
They instead humbly admit, “this is our son, and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him, he is of age, he will speak for himself.”
The man probably would have been disappointed in his parents’ lack of enthusiasm and lack of support. But this whole investigation and interrogation is a sham.
You see the religious leaders have already decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
They had closed the issue of debate and there was no room for discussion. It did not matter what the facts were standing in the way.
How many issues in our society have gotten closed and censored before there was any meaningful discussion and serious debate. Somebody decided this is the truth and don’t you dare disagree with it?
How many of us are like this man’s parents, we know the position being pushed on us is not true, but we are afraid to speak on it. We still want to be able to gather with our friends, to be loved and accepted by others. We forget the cost of following Jesus.
They gave this man one last chance to back down from his claims in some kind of way. “You can say that God healed you and give glory to God, but join us in admitting this man is a sinner.”
But the man would not back down. He says, you know, “I don’t know if he is a sinner of not. One thing I do know, I was blind, but now I see.” He was saying I know this man, made a change in my life. I was one way before I met him, and I was something else after I left him.
The Leaders go back to trying to see if he will change his story. “What did he do to you. How did he open your eyes?”
The man said, “I’ve told you several times already what he did, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want me to say it again? Do you want to become his disciples?
They hurled all kinds of insults at him and ridiculed him. They laughed at him and said you might be his disciples, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.
This man was use to being insulted, and laughed at, and ridiculed, so it didn’t shake him. I believe the Holy Spirit came upon him and gave him just the words to say.
He says, “This is remarkable. You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
This short sermon he gave is one that several of the religious leaders might have already preached in one of their messages. It certainly was in line with their theology. He was giving back to them, the doctrine they had given to others.
And yet, rather than listen to the words they had previously placed in his mouth, they choose to attack and further humiliate him by putting him back in their old theology box.
“You were steeped in sin at birth, how dare you lecture us. And they threw him out.”
Let me ask you, what were they steeped in at birth? What were we steeped in at birth? Do we believe that verse in Romans which says, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God? Do we agree with Isaiah when he says there is none that are righteous all seek after their own way?
What a day it has been for this man. He thought he had finally found acceptance, love, and purpose. Now he is right back where he started except for the fact that he can see.
Word got out pretty quickly that he had been thrown out of the synagogue. He didn’t know where to go next. The scriptures tell us when Jesus heard about it, he went and found the man.
It’s so much like Jesus to come looking for us, when we have reached our lowest point.
The man does not know it is Jesus standing before him. Jesus simply asks, “Do You believe in the Son of Man?”
The man no doubt recognizes the voice. This is the same voice he had heard in the darkness that had said, “ Neither this man sinned nor his parents sinned. This happened so that the works of God might be displayed in Him. Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.” So whatever this man says, he’s willing to believe it.
He says to Jesus, “Who is he sir? Tell me so that I may believe in him”
Jesus says, “You have seen Him, In fact he is the one speaking with you.”
The man didn’t ask for any further proof. He knew what Jesus had already done for Him. He said, “Lord I believe”, and he worshipped Jesus.”
What has God done for you that has caused you to worship Jesus. To stand with Jesus even if nobody else did or would.
Jesus final statement to the man was, “For judgment I have into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
Have you ever been able to admit, you have not seen yourself as God sees you? Do you insist that you are fine just as you are? There’s no need to shine any light in your direction. You can see your way through life without Jesus Christ.
It’s the blind man in this passage who has his eyes opened physically and spiritually. He could sense something in Jesus that others couldn’t.
When he said I once was blind, but now I see, he was speaking a far greater truth than he had imagined. Which of the people in this passage of Scripture are you most like today?
It is my prayer that we all get to the place of experiencing and identifying with this formerly blind man and be able to say, “I was once blind but now I see on several levels”. All because we have had a fresh encounter with Jesus.
