A Shepherd’s Heart
20/20 Vision and Still Blind as Bats
The story of Jesus mixing mud with spit and giving sight to a man in John 9 is not really about the blind man. It’s more about the Pharisees who were spiritually blind to God, to the people in their world, and finally (and this is the most condemning of all) to their own sin. The irony is that the blind man saw what the Pharisees refused to see.
Several years ago I sat at lunch table with a good man who was upset by a decision of the elders. It wasn’t a matter that was scriptural but one which was against the traditions of his childhood religious training. He kept repeating during the course of the meal "I just don’t understand how you could make this decision!" I finally (after listening to his twentieth exclamation) pointed out that it wasn’t a matter of not understanding the decision but that it was of refusing to accept it.
When I suggested that he needed to submit to the Elders and support them in their work of ministry he said that he only submitted to the elders when he agreed with them. (Think that comment over - It’s a little oxymoronic to say the very least.) The problem that this man was struggling with was the same matter the Pharisees were facing - being spiritually super-sensitive and yet totally blind to the important matters of God.
This coming Sunday I will be starting a four week series of teaching on "A Shepherd’s Heart." I’ll be teaching you about what it means to be a shepherd and how a good shepherd is motivated from the heart of God. Jesus is our example and his work is our mission - people.
This week you will learn:
How this blind man came to see - not just with his eyes but with his heart.
How it’s not "How" and "When" that matters spiritually but "Who" and "Why".
And the critical factor to your own spiritual life is linked to what you must be willing to see yourself honestly.
Getting these lessons down in your personal life will change how you live and how you see others - including those who God has called to guide and teach His people
The blind man came to see – with his heart as well as his eyes
John 9:25
He answered, “… One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see.”
Look at the Pharisees: This story is more about the Pharisees than it is about the Blind Man
There is a kind of irony involved in this event because as you read the story it’s obvious that the blind man had better vision than the Pharisees with their 20/20 religious vision and spiritual training.
The final observation of the whole narrative is that these self appointed spiritual shepherds of Israel are really just hypocritical hirelings.
Here are the Pharisees – separated from the world and devoted to God – yet they were blind as bats to spiritual truth
The Meaning of “Pharisee” The origin of the name “Pharisee” has been debated, but most scholars agree that it derives from the Hebrew root meaning “to separate.” This makes sense, because the Pharisees were separatists.
One such group of Pharisees were known as the "bruised and bleeding" Pharisees. This was because in the attempt to avoid lust they would walk about with their eyes covered - and as a result fall into holes or walk into walls. Their bruises became their proof of spirituality and commitment to God.
The Pharisees were those people who set themselves up as the religious leaders of the people while being separate from them and better then them.
Now look at the blind man: Here is a man – blind from birth till this very moment – yet he came to see clearly. Here was a man who bore a burden that was clearly unfair. It wasn’t fair and it wasn’t easy. The whole of his community looked down at him and assumed that either he or his parents did something that made this calamity happen to him.
Sound familiar? Do you know anyone who has been dealt a tough hand in life? Maybe they have birthmark that covers half their face, ears that stick out like cup handles, or a body that attracts calories like a magnet picks up metal filings. Maybe it’s a little less visible – a father who didn’t love them; a mother that was too busy to care for them; a school full of children that taunted them; or being stuck with a 2 star intelligence rating in a community that values 5 star kids.
Yet when Jesus came along he put mud and spit in his eyes (and the man let him) and sent him to the pool of Siloam to wash them out. This isn’t quite as yucky as we think of it – at least the spit part wasn’t. This was before germs were discovered and the people of that culture believed that spit had medicinal and cleansing value – just like my mom did back in the good old days when she’d spit on a hanky at the restaurant to clean the ketch off my face. Now we use sanitary wipes.
When he washed his eyes out – he could see – for the first time in his entire life he understood the color red and he embraced the clouds in the sky.
When Jesus touches your life like that – it changes you forever. At least it did this man for he saw Jesus not only with his eyes but with a grateful heart.
Jesus asks just two things of every person he meets – first: trust him even when you don’t understand second tell others what he did for you when you trusted him.
The blind man saw what the Pharisees wouldn’t see.
It’s not “How” & “When”. It’s “Who” & “Why”
John 9:15
15 So now the Pharisees asked the man, “How did you get your sight?”
He answered, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and now I see.”
16 So some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man does not keep the Sabbath day, so he is not from God.”
It’s not “How” that matters!
The Pharisees asked HOW this man was healed 4 times. But how is not the point. It’s not about mud and spit – not the point.
Jesus used several "unconventional" methods to bring healing.
1. He touched a leper
2. He spoke a word while miles away from a sick person
3. He made a mudpack by spitting upon the clay soil. Placing it upon a man¡¦s eyes he told him to go and wash it off.
4. He forgave a man¡¦s sins to bring healing.
5. He took a dead girl by the hand and raised her from the dead
6. He stood in front of the tomb of Lazarus and called loudly for the dead to come out.
7. He put his fingers in a deaf man’s ears, He spit & touched his tongue.
8. He spit on a blind man’s eyes after leading him out of town.
9. Jesus stood over Peter’s mother-in-law and rebuked the raging fever. Etc., Etc
It’s not How – it is WHO!
Pharisees confused How with Who. They also confused when with why. The fact that Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath so enraged them they couldn’t see the good that had been done.
I told you about the man who was upset with the elders – the issue was whether women could serve communion. They could sit in a row and pass a tray but they couldn’t stand in the aisle and pass a tray. Somehow that offended this man to the point that he couldn’t worship – I’m sorry there is something wrong when traditions outweigh people.
It’s not “When” but “Why”
Jesus was about ministering to people and caring for them.
Pharisees were so busy being committed religiously that they would not know themselves honestly.
We need to see both the Sin and the Solution
John 9:39-40
39 Jesus said, “… I came so that the blind would see and so that those who see will become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees who were nearby heard Jesus say this and asked, “Are you saying we are blind, too?”
How can I say this? In the one profound word of the notable and wise Homer Simpson – duh! Yeah! You are totally blind!
They would not see their own sin and they could not comprehend that Jesus was the solution.
Yet these men were the shepherds of Israel. They were self-appointed, self absorbed, and self-righteous – get the point – it was about “self.”
Ezekiel 34 describes them so very well.
‘This is what the Lord GOD says: How terrible it will be for the shepherds of Israel who feed only themselves! Why don’t the shepherds feed the flock? 3 You eat the milk curds, and you clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep, but you do not feed the flock. 4 You have not made the weak strong. You have not healed the sick or put bandages on those that were hurt. You have not brought back those who strayed away or searched for the lost. But you have ruled the sheep with cruel force.
Not a pretty picture is it? God has called his shepherds to take care of his sheep – not themselves.
The distinguishing mark of a false shepherd is that he invariably points to himself.
The distinguishing mark of the true shepherd is that he not only points you to God – he brings you alongside himself and takes you to God.
The issue is sin – it carries power of death in its fangs. The true shepherd is one of the people he is called to lead into the presence of God. He is not separate from them. He is like them.
Don’t make the mistake of making your shepherds out to be more than they are. I don’t like living on the pedestal some try to put me on. Fortunately, I am off balance enough that I usually wobble off that pedestal thing pretty fast.
Do you see with your heart or are you blinded by your pride.
John 9:39
Jesus said, “… I came so that the blind would see and so that those who see will become blind.”
It comes down to a simple question: Are you like the blind man or are you like the Pharisees? Do you see with your heart or are you blinded by your pride. Stubborn pride is a terrible thing. You are one or the other – everyone is.
Follow Jesus – the religious rules and traditions will take care of themselves
Focus on People and be filled with compassion for them.
See the Sin in yourself and Trust Jesus completely and help bring everyone you can to Jesus
