A New Perspective Series

Can you imagine what it's like to be blind from birth? Seeing people really have no concept. One man who has been blind from birth said, “trying to imagine what it’s like to see, is as foreign to a blind person as a seeing person trying to imagine what it’s like being blind. How would you explain your world of colors, sunrises, sunsets, and the immensity of an ocean to a blind person? I imagine it is at least possible to give someone who has never seen these things an idea of the splendor of creation but as this blind man who was interviewed said, “it’s two completely different worlds.”

In the same way, we know how difficult it can be to describe heaven to those who are spiritually blind and walking in darkness. They have no concept of the reality of the metaphysical realm and are blind to how truly lost they are. It’s two different worlds. Only when their eyes are opened by the Lord will they be able to see this. Even for those who have experienced spiritual transformation, it is difficult for us to imagine the splendors of heaven and what it will be like to live there for all of eternity.

Today we are looking at John chapter 9. In this passage Jesus and His disciples encounter a man who was both physically and spiritually blind. Let’s read John 9:1-12

1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing! 8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” 10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” 12 “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied.

In this passage in John 9, we see three types of people. Some are:

? Blind from birth

? Blinded by religion

? Blind by choice

Let’s look at the first point:

1. Blind from birth

Physical blindness back then was not uncommon. In reality, almost no effective treatment, no antibiotics, no effective surgical procedures were available to those who suffered from diseases of the eye and blindness. Because of their handicap, blind persons had little opportunity to earn a living and so many blind people resorted to begging.

When Jesus met this blind man, most likely he had been begging at the same spot near the temple gate for many years and many knew him and his history. Scholars surmise that many of the people seeking for alms hung out at the temple gate because it was the safest place for them and because multitudes of devout Jews, would come through these gates bringing their temple offerings with them.

Interestingly enough, Jesus saw this man and picked him out of the crowd. But the blind man obviously couldn’t see Jesus, didn’t know about Jesus, and had no idea that Jesus knew him. This is a picture of people’s spiritual blindness, being in the dark, spiritually lost, dead to God. They don’t know about Jesus and who He is, yet Jesus knows each person and their situation.

Jesus is moved by compassion when He walks up to the blind man. But the disciples start having a theological debate about this man’s condition right in front of him. They ask Jesus, “Why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parent’s sins?” I wonder how the blind man was feeling about this discussion? This brings me to my second point…this man had been blind from birth but Jesus’ disciples had been: