The Man Born Blind          March 2, 2008

This story is so good, I’m going to ask you to do something different this morning. Please sit down. This long story found in john 9:1-41 is a sermon unto itself. So today, I’m not just going to read the gospel and then preach. I’m going read this gospel in parts, and preach as I go.

Here’s the first part of the story.

(John 9 NRSV) As Jesus walked 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?"

Looking at that man troubled the disciples. He looked like a pitiful beggar, an ugly sight to behold. This prompted the disciples to ask a question. What causes people to get like that blind man? It’s a sin. Back in those days, this man was excluded from the rest of the world, even ordinary rituals of life in Jerusalem. They thought that if you’re born blind, is was because someone committed a sin. Was it his parents, Was it him?

What is sin? Back in Jesus day, they thought it was anything that breaks the law, the Jewish torah, and that sooner or later, God exacted retribution on sinners. They thought the sins of the parents were passed down to the children for three of four generations. In the next few verses, Jesus is going to redefine their definition of sin. I like to call sin our disconnect with God, and our disconnect with others, our disconnect with the world we live in.

{3} Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. {4} We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. {5} As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Like a game show, Jesus is giving the answer to a question. Can you hear the question? The question is, “Why did God allow this man to be born blind? ” Jesus is going to use his blindness to show the mercy and grace of God.

Now the stage is set as a classic battle between light and darkness, good and evil. Jesus says that he is the light of creation, the same primordial light that separated light from darkness in the beginning of the creation. Sin is life in that darkness; salvation is life in the light of the world, Jesus.

Notice in the next verse, Jesus takes mud, which in Genesis, is the stuff from which God first created man or Adam. By the way, every time you hear the word “man” remember that in the language of Jesus time and place, the word for man is adam, and the word for woman is adamah. {6} When Jesus had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, {7} saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.

Jesus “sent” the man to the pool called “sent.” How’s that for a play on words? The washing is a reference to our baptism, where we first baptized into his death, with the promise that we will be a part of the resurrection. In baptism, we are given the light of Christ. We are the ones who are sent into darkness of the world to be the light of Christ in the world.

Now this man can see! Now you would think that a miracle like this would be seen as a good thing, and everyone would accept it, thank Jesus and understand that he is the messiah. But that’s not what happened.

{8} The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" {9} Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." {10} But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" {11} He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight." {12} They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."

He really didn’t know. He had not yet seen Jesus because when Jesus put the mud on his eyes, he was still blind. The ordinary people were perplexed by what Jesus did. They took him to the officials, the religious leaders, called Pharisees. They were not going to like Jesus for doing this miracle, not at all.

{13} They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. {14} Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. {15} Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see."

{16} Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided.

The Pharisees were hostile to the miracle. It upset their whole scheme on what God was about. They reminded accused Jews were not permitted to do many things on the Sabbath, even healing activities. Thus, Jesus had broken the Jewish law.

{17} So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet." {18} The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight {19} and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"

{20} His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; {21} but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." {22} His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. {23}

Back in those days, the synagogue was the center of the local culture. Being put out of the synagogue for them was like being put out of society. I’m sure his parents were really worried about their son and the reputation of their family. What could they do? They passed the problem back to their son.

Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." {24} So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man (they were talking about Jesus) is a sinner." {25} He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."

I once was blind, but now I see. Does that remind you of a song? The one who wrote the words to “Amazing Grace” was once blind when he was the captain of a slave ship. He was responsible for the cargo, getting as many slaves as possible from Africa to the market. Thousands of them died on the way, which was considered just part of the cost of doing business. His eyes were opened when he realized that taking even one human life is sin. Amazing Grace is the story of the eye-opening power of Jesus Christ. Not only could the Pharisee’s not see who Jesus was they became even more hostile in their questioning of the man born blind.

{26} They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" {27} He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"

Do you hear the man losing his patience with them, even a little sarcasm? The conversation was going down hill fast. The Pharisees were getting really mad at him, and he had it with them, too.

{28} Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. {29} We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."

The man shoots right back at them.

{30} The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. {31} We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. {32} Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. {33} If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

{34} They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.

Here it is. The man born blind sees some of the light of Christ. He knows that he is from God because Jesus did something that had never happened before, giving a man born blind, his sight. Now he is beginning to understand who Jesus is. He is the light, the truth and the way.

The Pharisees were dead wrong. They thought that this blind man had to be a hopeless sinner. They could not understand how Jesus could be the messiah because he listened to people like him, to sinners! But we know that Jesus does in fact, listen to sinners, he listens to people who are suffering for whatever reason. He hears and sees us and understands us before we do.

Next, some time passes. The scene changes. Jesus finds the man to whom he gave sight, and the man sees him for the first time.

{35} Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" {36} He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him." {37} Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he." {38} He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.

That’s beautiful! This man realizes that Christ found him, and he worshiped him as the messiah. He gave thanks, he sang praises, he retold the story of Amazing Grace. He once was blind, but now he sees. Then Jesus delivers a real clincher.

{39} Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."

Here is the gospel in this story. Jesus did not judge anyone here. The only ones who made any judgement were the Pharisees. They took it upon themselves to judge him a sinner. That made them the real sinners because Jesus reached out to that man with the power of God’s love. I always hate it whenever anyone makes a judgement against people who are suffering.

Somehow, the Pharisees overheard this conversation between Jesus and the man. Maybe they had a spy! People who like to judge others often try to hear what everyone else is saying, and they were offended by what Jesus said. {40} Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?" {41} Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.

Friends, through faith, we can see Jesus is the light of the world, and his light exposes all the darkness of the world. Between now and Easter, I ask you to do the things that will keep our eyes of faith wide open. Through worship, prayer and scripture reading, our good fellowship, and our giving glory to God. On Wednesday evening, we’ll hear about the body of Christ. We’ll remember the gift of Holy Communion on Maundy Thursday. On Good Friday, we’ll see Jesus again giving himself up for us on the cross. On Easter, we’ll remember the sight of the empty tomb, the new day for all creation. Keep open our eyes of faith, and we see our sins are forgiven not because of anything we did, but because he found us.

Let he light of Christ give us our vision for life today, and we’ll see his light for all eternity. We will see him breaking the barriers of sin and death, the light shining through the darkness. Amen

Amen!