John 9: Jesus and the "blind"

  • Sam Ford
  • Jan 13, 2008
  • Series: Gospel According to John

John 9 - Jesus and the Blind

January 13, 2008

Sam Ford

 

Intro

Luke 4.16

16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18       "     The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

                    because he has anointed me

                    to proclaim good news to the poor.

          He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

                    and recovering of sight to the blind,

                to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

19           to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

 

That is what Jesus says about himself.  Here is what he says about us.

 

John 20.21-22

21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you." 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,  "Receive the Holy Spirit.

 

Do we remember that we're a sent people?  We have a mission?

 

Do we understand that many people are captive, oppressed, and blind? When you begin to realize that everyone is blind, you stop expecting them to act like they can see.  Instead, you start loving them and, in many ways, understanding them because you yourself were at one time, just as blind. 

 

I really have no REASON why this foolish story of Jesus became the most important truth in my life.  I'm not responsible to make them see, rather, I'm called to tell people to tell people what you now see and how you were once blind. But do I?

 

This is the story of a man who met Jesus and whose life was changed.  No theological arguments, no intellectual debates, just plain life-changing experience that cannot necessarily be explained, but definitely cannot be ignored.

READ 1-41

 

V.1-12 Blind from Birth

Somewhere between the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Dedication which takes place in John 10.  Jesus and his disciples pass by the temple and see a man "blind from birth." How they know he has been blind from birth is not told to us, only the very different reactions of Jesus and His disciples.

 

Disciple's Reaction

The disciples see a man suffering and he becomes the topic of their theological debate.  It is much easier to discuss an abstract subject like "sin" than it is to minister to a concrete need in the life of a person.  I always appreciate the record of the disciples because they always ask the questions that everyone else is afraid to.  They often make statements that we all think but never say for.  Here, they wonder why is this guy blind?

 

  • What is blindness?

Judaism viewed blindness as a divine punishment, especially for sins committed with the eyes.  In case of a man ‘born blind', the sin either occurred in the womb (as God forsees future sin) OR, more likely, it was a result of the sin of the person's parents.  The defect also ranks as a wise provision to check the full development of evil impulses. 

 

  • Is this man suffering because of something he did?

It is true that sin does have its natural consequences.  Romans 1 is quite clear, God's passive wrath is poured out when he does not protect us from our choices.  We face the consequences and damage of our own choices as he "gives us up to dishonorable passions" we receive in ourselves "the due penalty for the error."  These are not merely "social" consequences that we'll outgrow when our culture gets progressive enough.  The longer we live away from the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the longer we'll walk a path that leads to our own destruction. 

 

  • Is this man suffering because of something his parents did?

Without question, children who are born with physical defects or problems is at times a result of the parent's sin.  Physical, Emotional, Chemical abuse rooted in sinfulness will have sinful consequences.  The consequences of sin often last generations, God said it would be so.

 

Exodus 34.6-7

6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,  "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.

 

Jesus Response to the Disciples

Jesus clarifies their theological confusion and tells them that it was not the man's sin, nor the sin of his parents that led to this condition.  The purpose of the condition, the objective of this man's suffering, was to display the glory of God.

 

Exodus 4.11

11 Then the Lord said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?

Although it is not wise to blame or accuse God for the sufferings that come into our lives, it is wise to remember that God is sovereignly in control of everything that does happen.  The Devil asks permission to sift us like wheat, and at times, God gives it.  God can use any method He chooses to get the job done. He can use any means He chooses to bring praise to His name. He will even take what the devil meant for evil, turn that thing around for good to the glory of His name. 

 

Jesus' Teaching:   You can't just sit and talk.

Jesus lightly rebukes his disciples here stating, "We (not just I) must work" to point people to the light of Jesus.  Night is coming, Jesus says, for Him to fulfill the plan of God set before Him.  WE CAN'T SIT and TALK THEOLOGY TO NO FRUITFUL END-that's not what Jesus was sent to do.  That is not what we're sent to do!  We are here to pursue God's glory in all that we do! WE ARE NEVER NOT ON MISSION first in our homes, then in the world!  I think we make the mistake believing that being on mission, serving God, working in the world is hard and joyless. John Piper wrote a book called, Don't Waste Your Life.  In it he writes, "

 

"It was not always plain to me that pursuing God's glory would be virtually the same as pursuing my joy. Now I see that millions of people waste their lives because they think these paths are two and not one."

 

Jesus Reaction to the Blind man

Jesus lived a life of perfect pursuit of God's glory-and it killed him.  Here, instead of a theological opportunity, Jesus sees a man in need.  He heals him hocking a DIVINE LOGY on the ground, mixing up some mud, rubbing it on his eyes, and SENDING him to a pool to be washed.  Scholars give all kinds of explanations about the significance of this process.  Some argue that Rabbis condemned the use of saliva as it was a pollutant.  Of course, in the culture of the time, blood and spittle (if from one "authorized") could in fact possess healing powers.  I don't think Jesus used some MAGIC FLEM, but he certainly could have been bucking the "powers that be" for God never said there was anything wrong with SPIT, to continue to dumbfound the wise through foolish means.

  • He's given you everything you need-you just need to tell them.
  • The only thing the other person needs is to listen and obey.

 

13-17 the First Interrogation

Immediately after being healed, the man goes home.  His neighbors are utterly confused as to what happened to him or if he is who they think he is.  After the once blind man tells them "I AM THE MAN", they ask him how he was healed and he tells them Jesus did it.  "Where is he?"

 

1st Issue of confusion with Jesus

The man is brought before the Pharisees and perhaps more clearly than in any other narratives in Scripture, we see how religiosity is sometimes the greatest barrier between God and Man.  When they ask the man what happened, and he tells them the "work" Jesus did on the Sabbath to heal him, they say, "He's not from God, he doesn't hold the Sabbath!"

 

OPTION 1

  1. Anyone who breaks the Sabbath is a Sinner (Premise is wrong)
  2. Jesus broke the Sabbath
  3. Therefore Jesus is a Sinner

 

The Sabbath

Here the issue is with what "breaking the Sabbath" actually means.  It is not that the Sabbath is not binding for Christians today, that because we're under the covenant of Grace, suddenly the fourth commandment just doesn't apply.  While the Law has been fulfilled by the perfect life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ, not one of the commandments have ever been put aside or repealed. 

 

However, the Lord never intended the Sabbath to become a day of business, or a day of traveling, or a day of "living it up."  It is HOLY as long as the world stands.  The problem is that the Jews have taken observance of the Sabbath to entirely new level. - there were rules about not walking in sandals made with small nails because it was considered a "burden."

 

The 2nd Issue of confusion about Jesus

V. How can a man who is a sinner do such things?

OPTION 2

  1. No man has healed a man born blind.
  2. Only God can heal a man born blind.
  3. Jesus is from God.

 

Unable to reconcile these two problems, they ask the man who he thinks Jesus is - A Prophet!  The Jews then try to prove that he was never blind to begin with.

 

18-23 the parents -BRING IN MOM AND DAD

The parents are brought before the Pharisees and they ask them, "Is this your Son whom YOU SAY was born blind."  How does he see?  The parents know that this is their son and they know he sees now, but HOW that happened, they haven't a clue. 

 

An Obvious Mystery

The salvation of the Lord is a mystery.  How it happens, when exactly it happens, why it happens when it does is all a result of the sovereign work of God.  The only thing we can see is the result.  And the result is transformational.  We are not talking about moral reformation, we are talking LIFE TRANSFORMATION, analogous to a blind many receiving sight, a deaf man receiving their hearing, a mute being able to speak again-complete bodily RESTORATION.  It is a complete change and realignment of desires, hopes, purposes, joys, needs, values, and allegiance. We can see it.  

 

The parents avoid answering for their son (even though the probably know) to avoid excommunication for fear of being thrown out of the synagogue-not for doing anything wrong-for answering the questions incorrectly.  Divisiveness is sinful and destructive, and the bible says clearly to obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls. But, when disagreements with leadership are THE reasons for removal and not scripture, and agreement with leadership are rooted in fear and not scripture, then someone's sinning.

 

24-34 the 2nd Interrogation

So, these guys with PHD's in religion bring in the blind man again, to interrogate him for a 2nd time.  And this once blind beggar is told to "GIVE GLORY to GOD", in other words, TELL THE TRUTH.  Conveniently, they tell him what "truth" they're talking about, the fact that Jesus is a sinner.

 

The witness of Experience - "I was blind and now I see."

When challenged about Jesus being a sinner, he responds with, " I DON'T KNOW whether this man is sinner."  I DON'T KNOW your rules, I ONLY KNOW ONE THING...I was blind and now I see...All I have is my life-changing experience:

  • I was broken now I am whole.
  • I was lost now I am found.
  • I was despairing now I am joyful.
  • I was hurt now I am healed.
  • I was enslaved now I am free.
  • I was prideful now I am humble.
  • I was fearful now I am hopeful.
  • I was devoid of meaning now I have purpose
  • I was guilty now I am innocent.
  • I was sinful now I am righteous.
  • I was damned to hell now I am destined for heaven
  • I was fatherless now I have a father
  • I was alone now I have a family.
  • I was fond of sin, now I hate it.
  • I was in the dark, now I have light.

 

All I know is Jesus.

This man does not offer intellectual or theological arguments, he offers experience. This man is simple.  His knowledge may be small, his understanding incomplete, his doctrinal views not formulated perfectly, but there is NO EVIDENCE as satisfactory as the heart of the REAL CHRISTIAN.  

 

And in that hear is a recognition of HIS BLINDNESS...of the way he was.  He says quite plainly, look how Jesus changed my life.  You can believe I am delusional, that I'm lying, that there is some medical miracle to blame, I know that the reason I can see is that Jesus touched my soul.

 

We'll go with Moses--tradition

The Jews simply say, we'll go with our religiosity.  The church, as in body of believers, are guilty of saying that same thing.  Instead of Moses, they say, I'll go with my church traditions.  What people need are real experiences with the living Savior Jesus.  Our responsibility is to stand on the rooftops and hills and tell our generation the truth of Jesus.  I can't help but think that you everyday church has LOST its source of power...

 

Revelation 3.16ff

" ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

 

What is Jesus doing on the outside of the church door?

 

We know God spoke to Moses...but we don't know about Jesus.

The Pharisees tell this guy, well, we don't know where he comes from.  The man responds with, well, this is an amazing thing...YOU GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO SEE. 

1.      God does not listen to sinners

2.      God listens to worshipers

3.      No one has ever healed the some born with blindness

4.      Only God can heal.

5.      If He was only a man, he could not heal-Jesus is from God

 

Blind to their own Blindness:  what do you know...you were born in utter sin....

His short and truthful lecture does little more than incense these PURE and EDUCATED teachers.  Ironically, the Jews admit that he has been healed here. By utter sin, they mean blindness.  Unfortunately, they reveal how much they love their religion and not their God.  They have forsaken all that was once meaningful, and replaced it with the idol of religion.  So much so, that when they have a miracle of God before them, they refuse to admit it even though they recognize it.  

 

They have become blind to their own blindness.  People become blind to their own blindness when they STOP pursuing God's will and instead, follow their own.  At the core of this, is HUMILITY.  THEY KICK HIM OUT OF THE SYNAOGUGE. 

 

35-41 Jesus and the truly blind

By the time this story is over, you have a clear distinction between those who are truly blind, and those who are truly see. 

 

Those who are blind make much of themselves.

Those who are blind, make much of themselves.  How much they can see, how much they know, even to the point where they live under self-deception denying what seems obvious. These are the ones who will find every problem they can to justify why they WON'T believe in Jesus...but there is really only one.

 

2Corinthians 4.3-6

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said,  "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. [1]

 

Those who can see worship Jesus.

Those who can see, do so because Jesus said...SEE.  And you can tell, because those who see can't help but worship Jesus.   It is not our church, it is not our behavior, it is not our education, our traditions, or our good reputation that saves us...it is simply Jesus the Light who enters our personal darkness and shows us the way.  

 

Conclusion
Before his conversion around 1750, John Newton had commanded an English slave ship.

  • Captives would be loaded aboard, packed for sailing. They were chained below decks to prevent suicides, laid side by side to save space, row after row, one after another, until the vessel was laden with as many as 600 units of human cargo.
  • Mortality sometimes ran 20% or higher. When an outbreak of smallpox or dysentery occurred, the stricken were cast overboard.
  • Once they arrived in the New World, blacks were traded for sugar and molasses to manufacture rum, which the ships would carry to England for the final leg of their "triangle trade." Then off to Africa for yet another round. John Newton transported more than a few shiploads of the 6 million African slaves brought to the Americas in the 18th century.
  • It was a book he found on board--Thomas à Kempis' Imitation of Christ--which sowed the seeds of his conversion. When a ship nearly foundered in a storm, he gave his life to Christ. Later he was promoted to captain of a slave ship. Commanding a slave vessel seems like a strange place to find a new Christian. But at last the inhuman aspects of the business began to pall on him, and he left the sea for good.
  • For the last 43 years of his life preached the gospel in and around London. At 82, Newton said, "My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Saviour." No wonder he understood so well grace--the completely undeserved mercy and favor of God.
  • Newton's tombstone reads, "John Newton, Clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy."

But a far greater testimony outlives Newton in the most famous of the hundreds of hymns he wrote:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me,
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.

Through many dangers, toils and snares,
I have already come.
'Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
*adapted from http://www.joyfulheart.com/misc/newton.htm

What changed this blind guy?  An expected meeting with Jesus who decided it was time for Him to see.  And in a moment, not because of anything this man did, Jesus pulled him out of the kingdom of darkness and into the light.  We wonder, perhaps, why all of that suffering might have been necessary-why not save him before all of that pain.  I don't know.  But I know that because of the DARKNESS, I see an even more glorious God, and I see hope for so many others who have experienced and are experiencing such darkness.   

I pray that every time we take of the bread and wine, we remember that YOU ARE FOUND.  Jesus knows your name...praise God that I see.   


[1] The Holy Bible : English Standard Version. Wheaton : Standard Bible Society, 2001, S. 2 Co 4:1-6

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