John 9:1-7,13-17,34-39
3rd Sunday in Lent – A
February 27, 2005
#091
John 9:1-7,13-17,34-39 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." 6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing… 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see." 16 Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided. 17 Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet."… 34 To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." 37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." 38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
Jesus Opens the Eyes of the Blind
I. The blind from birth
II. Those who blind themselves
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love (2 John 3). Amen.
It’s amazing what they can do with your eyes these days! Having cataracts removed is outpatient work. Laser surgery restores sight, so that glasses and contact lenses can be tossed in the garbage. But we haven’t learned how to eradicate blindness completely from the human experience. All the same, there is amazing technology out there to make life easier for those who can’t see. In Japan scientists are making cameras that are small enough to fit on a blind person’s glasses. The mini-cams recognize the white crosswalk lines and the stop & go lights, and through a miniature computer processes the information, and gives verbal commands: when it is safe to cross the road, or which direction will keep him in the white lines. They are also working on walking canes that detect approaching objects, warn of moving or parked cars. They are also working on GPS technology which will map a blind man’s route, informing him when to turn and when he is near his favorite café.
Yet, as amazing as this technology is, it can’t make the blind person see. What Jesus did in our Gospel reading simply cannot be outdone, even 2000 years later in this age of technological and medical achievement. What he did in John chapter nine, would still amaze the greatest scientist and optometrist. Yet, I wouldn’t be surprised, if just as many people would doubt the authenticity of the miracle. It’s this doubt, then, that is really the blindness that Jesus really wishes to relieve us of. It hinges in Christ’s question to the blind man, who had his sight restored: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” For Christ, it’s not seeing that is believing, but believing is ‘seeing.’
Yet, without Christ, we cannot see, we cannot believe. We need him, for he is the “Light of the world.” To truly appreciate the light that Jesus is and the sight that he gives, we must consider the ‘blindness’ that he has come to remove.
Little did the disciples know it, but graduation time was coming pretty quick. Jesus is winding up his ministry in Judea, where he will soon be crucified in the capital of Jerusalem. Many disciples have already left Jesus, because he is being more and more specific about his relationship with God. He is claiming that God is his Father. His opponents have already tried to stone him in the temple courts for blasphemy. Other disciples are drawing closer. Three of them have seen Jesus transfigured and heard the Father himself claim Jesus as his Son. They are seeing things more spiritually. You could say that every day and every walk was like a field trip for the Twelve. So when they came across this blind man, they decide to make him part of their lesson for the day. “Rabbi (that is, Teacher), who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Did they really say that in front of this poor man? or did they whisper to Jesus as he stood there looking at the man? It sounds quite judgmental, doesn’t it. Well, let’s at least consider some positives behind the question: First of all, they recognized that sin is the cause of our problems in this world. Secondly, they recognized that God rules the world, and that this could not have happened, if the Lord had not allowed it. But their conclusion is wrong. They assume that the man’s blindness was a punishment for a specific sin. Jesus could have returned to a previous lesson, and pointed out once again, that this man is no more sinful than anyone else, but instead they should consider his handicap as a warning to us all that we must repent or we will suffer the worst of consequences, i.e. death. But instead, Jesus points out how suffering can be turned into a reason for glorifying God.
Remember a few months ago, how a man auctioned off his forehead on ebay, to be used as an advertisement. Everywhere that man went, people would see that advertisement. Not only that, but because it was such an unusual advertisement, people would go out of their way to see that guy. God allowed this man to suffer with blindness, so that he would be a living, walking “advertisement” for his Son. The miraculous restoration of his sight was to be proof to the people that Jesus was who he claimed to be. Everywhere the man went, where they had known him to be blind, and they looked into those eyes and saw the man ‘looking’ back, actually ‘seeing’ them, those people would be reminded of the powerful healer, who claimed to be the Son of God. Chapter 10 of John is the Good Shepherd chapter, where Jesus explains how he will lay down his life for the sheep. It is a chapter that we hold dearly. Yet, the Jews were divided over it. Those who opposed Jesus said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?!” Yet others responded, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” (John 10:20,21).
When someone asks us, “What did I ever do to deserve this?” if we know them well, we may be tempted to point out a few things. But unless there is a direct link, like a sexually transmitted disease, an unexpected pregnancy, or a liver destroyed by alcoholism, we shouldn’t assume that we are as wise as God and can point out a direct link. But we can go back to these two points: we suffer, because we are sinners, and God wants to open our eyes to his activity in our lives. If we weren’t born sinful and spiritually blind, we wouldn’t suffer the other aches and pains of life. The very question, “Why me?” exposes our spiritual blindness that assumes that we DESERVE better. Spiritual blindness claims that we have RIGHTS as far as our health and possessions are concerned, and God, if he is just, will continue to bless us with our health and wealth. We see it as a VIOLATION, if God lets harm or some destructive force disrupt our lives. It’s spiritual blindness that disregards God in good times, and blames him in bad times. But it’s that very blindness that Jesus comes to heal. Sometimes we need some mud smeared on our face, before we actually begin to start seeing the light.
You know what word gives me comfort in this text, when I consider the blindness that we are born with: “As he went along, Jesus SAW a man blind from birth.” In a world of sin, where we have no aptitude to recognize our Lord and Savior, we are just like that blind man. We couldn’t see Jesus, but he could see us. He came to us, stood before us, and opened our eyes. To us that should be the greatest of miracles! If we can absorb that truth, that we are born absolutely spiritually blind, unable to restore our sight on our own, then we will be so very thankful to our Lord, and we will not be judgmental in our attitude toward others. We will never think that someone else is beyond hope, beyond Christ’s gift of sight, for he is who he claims to be. He has the power and the desire to give sight to the blind. He really does give sight to those born blind.
II. Yet, what seems a tougher case to us, are those who return to their blindness, who put aside their faith, because they want to avoid obedience to God’s will. The Pharisees, who asked the blind man for his opinion, and yet, when the proof was before them, and this man testified that he believed Jesus to be a prophet, they kicked him out, saying “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” (9:34). Notice how they testify to their belief that he was born blind, by accusing him of being steeped in sin from birth, and yet, they will not give God the glory by recognizing what God had done in him!
Who would be guilty of that today? Isaiah put it this way: “Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the LORD? You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing." It pleased the LORD for the sake of his righteousness to make his law great and glorious. But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons” (Isa. 42:19-22a). We are talking about God’s people, who put on an air of faith, and yet have closed their eyes and ears to the full word of God. For them it is most dreadful, because God does not, for their sake, hide his glory. Instead he has made “law great and glorious.” Or as Jesus would put it: “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (John 9:39). To deny what God says in his Word only increases our guilt. Those who wish to remain blind, will be blinded even further.
Scripture time and time again warns against willful sin. If we do what we know is wrong, or if we purposely avoid growing in God’s Word, because we know that God will ask of us to make sacrifices in our lives, which we are unwilling to make, God threatens to blind us further. For instance, if God says, “Do not steal!” and yet, since I am in a serious financial situation with my credit cards, but have access to company funds, and dip in a little. What am I doing? I am closing my eyes to what God’s Seventh Commandment is saying to me. God warns that in judgment he will place his own hand over ours, increasing the darkness. This isn’t a game of Hide-n-Seek. You can’t close your eyes, do what you want, count to a hundred, and open your eyes again, expecting to see. What do you think happened to Judas? Whenever he dipped into the disciples’ treasury bag, God spoke through his conscience. Judas could see Jesus’ smiling face, who embraced him, and warned him, that thieves have no place in heaven. Yet, each time Judas closed his eyes to that face, and little by little the cataract of judgment blinded him, until he was lost in despair, and though he tried and tried to summon up that smiling face in his heart and in his mind, he found that he could not. Because faith, spiritual sight, is not generated from within us. It is a gift from God. It is a gift that we dare not play with. Do we want to be like the blind man in Scotland, who was recently arrested for kicking and actually biting his guide dog? Is that the attitude that God deserves in return for his loving guidance?
Do not join with this generation that finds peace through blindness. If God has given you sight, you should ask what does he want me to see? He wants us to open our eyes wide and to seek his will. He doesn’t want us to be satisfied with a superficial understanding of him. He has a plan for our lives, a plan that calls for complete dependence on him. A plan that reveals that we will be best off in submitting to God in all things, being a servant of our neighbor, growing in virtue. You don’t grow in virtue, by being oblivious to God’s Word, his depiction of love, his words of encouragement. God wants us to be his advertisement, but if we don’t know thoroughly what we are advertising, we can’t do a good job.
We are all guilty of willful sins. We are all guilty of blinding ourselves, so that our conscience doesn’t burn, when we refuse to do what God asks of us. We’ve seriously mishandled the Light of the world. Yet, we are comforted by this text, as we watch our Lord seek out this man and say that his purpose is for the blind to see. Let us daily struggle with our own self-imposed blindness and bring it to Christ to wash our eyes free of sin, so that we do not lose sight of his smiling face. The gravest mistake we could make is to act like the Pharisees who claimed to see, but rejected Christ. They are those, who see, but are made blind. Instead, remember the words of Paul: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Ephesians 5:14).
Christ is the Light of the world. As a member of the world, he brings his light into your life. Your eyes are open now. The blindness that damns you has been vanquished. When I raise my hands in benediction to you after the service, God is saying, “See my smiling face. You are my people. My blessing is on you. I am the power that will keep you safe. My grace will sustain you.” Christ really is the Son of God. The crosses that are in this church were placed here for your visible comfort. All of your sins, willful and careless, have been paid for. Don’t close your eyes again. It’s foolishness to close your eyes in order to feel comfortable with any sin. All sin is harmful. Keep your eyes open and focused on Christ, so that you know in which direction to flee. Flee FROM sin. Flee TOWARD your loving God.
And keep your eyes open, because “Night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). Sure, workers look forward to the night, when they can slump into their beds and rest from their labor. But any work that is not finished when this night comes, the night that Jesus is speaking about, is work that can never be finished. We all know our fair share of blind people. Let’s use the sight that we have been granted to get them safely to Christ, before the day is completely gone and their hand is beyond reaching. You know what to share with them: “Jesus Gives Sight to the Blind – the Blind from Birth and even those who have Blinded Themselves.” As long as there is day, as long as Christ is the light of the world, there is hope. Amen.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful (Colossians 3:15). Amen.
