John Chapter 9
The Blind Chapter
Blindness can be a physical condition as in today’s text. It can and is also a spiritual condition for many who live in a dark and sin filled world.
While walking along with his disciples Jesus sees a blind man. The disciples ask Jesus who sinned, this man or his parents? The physical condition of a person was linked with their spiritual condition by Jewish teaching. Jesus was about to teach them that to understand sin in that context was an error.
God has a plan for all of human history. His plan concerns your life and my life and it also concerned the life and work of His Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
The blind man Jesus met that day was a part of Gods plan. The man did not sin to cause his blindness, and his parents did not sin to cause his blindness. God the Father created the man so that he would be blind from birth until the day he met Jesus.
Our Heavenly Father has designed us and our lives in such a way that we might have an opportunity to escape our blindness. Today is such an opportunity for you.
Jesus ministry would only last for a specific period of time. I must complete my message today in a specific period of time. The clocks of our lives are set by God to last for a specific period of time. Just as the light of day last only for a certain length of time so too the light of God can only be visible for a certain length of time while we live.
When our eyes close in death we will no longer be able to see as we do now. Only the light of God can open our sinful eyes to our blindness and save us from eternal darkness.
Jesus took earth and mixed it with his saliva. Bible commentaries suggest that this man may not have had eye balls that his blindness was complete in every way. He was known by his community to be a blind person. Do people see you as someone who is blind or as someone who is spiritually sighted?
The bible says that God created us from the dust of the earth. It should be no surprise that Jesus reaches down to earth to gather a little dust. He adds something of himself to the dust by way of his saliva. This strange medicine is applied to the man’s eyes and he is told to wash in the pool of Siloam which means - Sent. So the man went and washed and came home seeing.
John the Baptist spent his life and ministry washing people in the Jordan River. He called them to clean away their spiritual blindness saying: Make straight the way for the Lord. John wanted people to see the light of God that had come into the world. That light is Jesus Christ. John sent people to see Jesus. Today I too want to send you to see Jesus because only then can your eyes be opened.
The blind man now sees for the first time. He has not yet seen the face of the person who has healed him. His family and friends marvel at his healing and ask him who was it that healed you? The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes, He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.
Do you suffer from blindness of one form or another? Would you like your eyes to be opened? You need to confess your sin you need to wash them away in the living water. Have your eyes been opened to the things of God?
The Pharisees heard the man’s story then wanted to validate his facts. They called for his parents to testify to his blindness. The parents confirmed that yes he was blind but that now he can see.
Are there people in your life who we can call and who can testify to how you were once blind and how you can now see? Could we call your parents or your brothers or your sisters or your neighbors? What would they say about the change in your condition?
They brought the man to the Pharisees. They wanted an explanation. The healing had occurred on a Sabbath day Holy to God. No work was to be done on the Sabbath yet this man Jesus made clay with his spit and earth. This was considered work by the Pharisees.
In their eyes Jesus had broken the law. In their eyes Jesus had sinned. Therefore since he was a sinner there was no way he could be the author of such a miracle.
Has God ever asked you to visit a sick friend on a Sunday? Have you ever helped someone on a Sunday with some work around their home or farm? Ever helped someone to move or baby-sit and it happened to be on a Sunday. Well likely you have done something like this and you too would by the Pharisees standards be guilty of breaking Gods law for the Sabbath.
God used you a sinner to be a blessing to someone on a Sabbath. Jesus healed on the Sabbath and blessed this man with the gift of sight.
You see when we are surrendered to Gods will He covers us with His Holiness and what we do in His name is made perfect it is done without sin. For the love and light of God cover us. The Pharisees could not understand this for them to be Holy or righteous meant keeping the letter of Gods law. They did not consider the spirit of Gods law.
Can you speak for yourself about the changing power of Jesus Christ in your life? This is what the Pharisees demanded of the man who was once blind. His parents said he is of age he can speak for himself.
If you were to speak about how God has changed your life would your church leaders accept your testimony or would they like the Pharisees have a conflict? What would happen if all of us here at New St. Andrews suddenly had our eyes open to the things of God? Would it create a commotion, would it be accepted or rejected by Presbytery?
That is what Jesus did when he gave sight to the blind man. The whole community was talking about it and the whole community was looking for Jesus. Suddenly Jesus began to replace the authority of the religious leaders in their midst.
That is what we need today. We need Jesus teaching to light our way in this dark world. Only Jesus words can truly illuminate our hearts and open our eyes to the things God desires us to see. The Pharisees went at this man and his story on two occasions. Yet he held his ground and told them the truth of his experience.
Has your faith been challenged by so called religious people? Is your message consistent? Has someone tried to shake your faith in Jesus or replace it with some thing else. There are many kinds of authority that seek to rule over your life, whose authority do you come under?
Persecution may come when you choose to follow Jesus. You may lose friends and family members may give you the cold shoulder. You may even be threatened with excommunication like the blind mans parents were.
But like him you too know there is nothing to compare to knowing and seeing Jesus. The scripture concludes with the blind man now able to see Jesus for the first time. He confronts the teachers of the law with the facts and still they do not admit to who Jesus is.
Jesus heard they had thrown him out and Jesus went looking for him. Do you believe in the Son of Man? The reply was who is he sir? Tell me that I may believe in him.
Jesus said you have now seen him and in fact he is the one speaking to you. Then he said lord I believe and he worshiped him.
This is what it will be like for us when we open our eyes in heaven. When we will for the first time actually see the one in whom we believe. Until then let us walk by blind faith.
Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
