Miracles of Jesus: The Blind Man | John 9

Amen. Well, friends, we this summer and

are in a series on the miracles of

Jesus. And this morning we come to the

most well-crafted and thorough miracle

story in all of scripture, the healing

of the man who was born blind,

the gospel of John. It provides a

significant detail here and a whole lot

of character development plays out in

the ninth chapter of John. Um here John

is going to kind of show us and I want

you to watch for it as we go through the

text this morning. Uh he's going to show

us two progressions that are going to

happen in this story. The first

progression is with the man who is born

blind. He's going to be healed and he's

going to move from darkness, from

blindness toward sight, toward freedom.

And then the other progression and the

one that actually gets the most uh ink

on the page is the progression of the

religious leaders that he encounters in

this story. They too are going to move,

but they're going to move from sight,

from light, and they're going to move

increasingly toward darkness, toward

spiritual blindness. And so I want you

to pay attention to that today as we go

through the text. John is being really

clear about what it means to be able to

see and particularly what it means to

see Jesus the Messiah.

As we read our text this morning, I'm

going to organize my sermon a bit

differently than I normally do. Um, for

one thing, I'm going to read from Eugene

Peterson's translation in the message.

Um, because I just happen to find this

chapter clearer and far more helpful for

the story itself. Um, and then next as

we read along, I'm going to pause as I

go through. I'm going to read a chunk of

the scripture and then I'm going to

pause to sort of draw our attention to

some things that lift from the page. Um,

kind of feel probably a little bit more

like a Bible study rather than a sermon.

I hope you're okay with that. But here,

the word of the Lord, friends,

walking down the street, Jesus saw a man

blind from birth. And his disciples

asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man

or his parents causing him to be born

blind?" And Jesus said, 'You are asking

the wrong question. You're looking for

someone to blame. But there is no such

cause and effect here. Look instead for

what God can do.

Okay, so we read right off the bat that

Jesus and his disciples, they see this

blind man as they're walking along a

village street begging on the corner.

And we are told though that the

disciples immediately see this man uh

not necessarily as someone to help, but

as a problem to be solved. Sort of a

theological question to be answered for

them. They want to know what sin caused

the blindness. Whose fault is it?

Um, and this question, it kind of

illustrates for us just the profound

stigma that was attached to illness at

this time. If you were sick, you

obviously did something wrong to deserve

it. If you were born blind, well, whose

faults could that be? Um, they they

believed that it was either the fault of

this man's parents, that's the obvious

choice, or maybe this baby, even in

utero, was somehow already sinful.

uh you know the line is you know good

things happen to good people and bad

things happen to bad people

and though we probably don't think quite

this same way in our culture I am not so

sure that we've gotten away from this

entirely

I mean how many times have you in your

own life experienced pain or suffering

and you kind of your first knee-jerk

thought is [sighs] I must have done

something to deserve this

Or maybe you even know exactly what you

think you did to deserve it. Probably

most of us have had that thought. We

know this happens all the time. I mean,

when someone gets lung cancer, I think

folks often ask if that person smoked,

right? If a woman is assaulted, there's

plenty of people who immediately will

want to know what she was wearing.

If someone gets laid off, there is an

assumption among some people that they

must not have worked as hard as

everybody else.

The instinct to want to make sense of

pain by blaming someone else um it is

alive and well in us still.

But here Jesus flat out dismisses that

line of thinking. um he is unwilling to

connect suffering and sickness and pain

to some wrath or hatred or judgment of

God. No, he dismisses it right out of

hand. Jesus tells his disciples that

blindness is not some like cosmic karma

for this man's sin or his parents.

And he continues, he says, "We need to

be energetically at work for the one who

sent me here working while the sun still

shines. When night falls, the workday is

over. He's he's kind of pointing

forward, alluding to his crucifixion.

For as long as I am in the world,

there's plenty of light. I am the

world's light. He said this, and then he

spit in the dust, made a clay paste with

the saliva, rubbed the paste on the

blind man's eyes, and said, "Go wash at

the pool of Saleom." Salom means scent.

The man went and washed and saw.

Now, as bizarre as like the spit, mud

pacemaking sounds, it's really quite

important. It's actually quite beautiful

because it's an echo of what we find in

the creation poetry at the very

beginning of the Bible in the book of

Genesis.

When scripture describes God creating

humanity for the first time, uh we're

told that God fashions humans from the

dirt and then God breathes divinity into

them. Soul, spirit, life breathed into

humanity, into that dirt. And so John

wants us to see here that echo. He wants

us to see that Jesus is doing the very

same thing with this blind man. The

divine is animating the dirt to bring

things back to life, to open his eyes.

Now, I don't know about you, but I find

it fascinating that Jesus has just wiped

this spit paste on this man's eyes, and

we have not heard anything from him yet.

Notice Jesus doesn't ask the man if he

believes that Jesus can do this. Jesus

gives actually no preliminary conditions

for the healing whatsoever.

He just spits in the mud, tells the guy

to go wash, and this man comes home

seeing.

Friends, it is important to note that

the work of God in our lives is also not

dependent on how aware or unaware we are

of what God might be up to in any given

moment.

We don't always understand what Jesus is

doing. Often we don't even know what we

might need most from God. At times we're

not aware of how God's at work in the

world around us. But this is beautiful

news because thanks be to God, Jesus is

still just willing to do whatever it

takes to help people find their sight,

even if we don't know much about it.

He continues, "Soon the town was

buzzing. his relatives and those who

year after year had seen him as a blind

man begging were saying why isn't this

the man we knew who sat here and begged

and others said it's him all right but

others objected it is not the same man

at all it just looks like him

I just have to say and I mentioned this

actually last week as well but when you

are a blind beggar oh there are so many

people in your life that have never

really stopped long enough to identify

you in the crowd.

It's just too easy for people to

confidently not be able to recognize

your face. Maybe these folks had tossed

a coin in his cup over the years, but

plenty of them don't seem confident that

they could pick him out of a crowd. That

is sad.

Let's go on to [clears throat] which

Jesus said or is the man said, "It's me,

the very one. I'm the guy. And they

said, "Well, how did your eyes get

opened?" A man named Jesus made a paste

and rubbed it on my eyes and told me,

"Go to Saleom and wash." I did what he

said. When I washed, I saw. And they

asked, "So, where is he?" I don't know.

I don't know.

Now, can you imagine for just a second

how overwhelming it must have been for

this man to suddenly be able to see to

suddenly be able to see? I mean,

something life-changing has happened to

him. Even if he has no idea how he has

no idea why he was chosen, he doesn't

even know who this man is that put this

paste on his eyes and told him to go

wash his neighbors. They're not asking

him what it's like to see for the very

first time in his life. No one stopping

long enough to ask if his imagination

all those years while he was blind

matches the new reality he can suddenly

see.

No one turns and asks if the sunlight

hurts his eyes.

No, there's no weeping tears of joy with

this man that they've known their whole

lives. No one celebrating his miracle.

No, they're just immediately

interrogating the poor guy.

And when he can't answer their

questions, at least sufficiently to

them, we're told that they drag him to

the religious leaders, the Pharisees.

Let's go on. They marched the man to the

Pharisees.

This day when Jesus had made the paste

and healed his blindness was the

Sabbath. That's a big uh oh, if you

didn't know, we're not supposed to do

any work on the Sabbath. and healing

people with mud paste. Even if you just

made it with your own spit on the

ground, that is against the rules.

The Pharisees grilled him again on how

he had come to see. He said, "He put a

clay paste on my eyes and I washed and

now I see." Interrogation number two for

this poor guy.

Some of the Pharisees said, "Well,

obviously this man Jesus can't be from

God. He doesn't keep the Sabbath. Others

countered, "Well, how can a bad man do

miraculous God revealing things like

this?" And so there was a split in their

ranks. And so they came back at the

blind man again and said, "You're the

expert.

He opened your eyes. What do you say

about him?" Interrogation number three.

And he said, "I don't know. He's a

prophet."

But the Jews didn't believe it. They

didn't believe the man was blind to

begin with.

Now friends, I want to believe that if

you showed up to church with someone who

had been sick or injured their whole

lives and who suddenly, miraculously was

cured, that I would be over the moon,

that I would be deeply excited, that I

would absolutely demand that we have a

mandatory dance party here and now.

But that's not what these religious

leaders do.

No, instead they start quoting the law.

They start asking why on earth Jesus

would heal on the Sabbath. And you know

what happens in the midst of all their

questioning? They miss the whole

miracle.

They miss it. They refuse to see it.

They literally do not believe he was

blind to begin with.

They refuse to see it. They're not happy

that this man that they've known their

whole lives can finally see.

No, they are so fixated on judgment and

criticism and control that they miss the

miracle.

Now, you like me might think you'd never

miss a miracle. At least not one this

big. My word. But, you know, I'm not so

sure.

I mean, I can't help but wonder how many

miracles I have been blind to myself

because I, too, got sucked into

rulekeeping.

or cynicism

or just going along with the status quo

or moving too quickly through life.

You know, apparently you can miss a

whole lot of miracles when you live like

that.

Let's keep going. So they called the

parents of the man now brighteyed with

sight and they asked them, "Is this your

son, the one you say was born blind? So

how is it that he now sees?" and his

parents said, 'Well, we know he's our

son, and we know he was born blind, but

we don't know how he came to see. We

haven't a clue about who opened his

eyes. Why don't you ask him? He's a

grown man and can speak for himself. And

then John inserts a little side

commentary here to make sure that we

understand what's going on with the

parents. His parents were talking like

this because they were intimidated by

the Jewish leaders who had already

decided that anyone who took a stand

that this was the Messiah would be

kicked out of the meeting place. That's

why his parents said, "Ask him. He's a

grown man.

So, I need you to see that John's side

commentary shows us like this is

serious. What's happening here? This

interrogation is high stakes for

everyone involved.

The parents are afraid that they're

going to be excluded and rejected from

their community if they say the wrong

thing. Now, we don't know what the state

is of the relationship between this man

and his parents. I am wondering why on

earth he's on the street corner begging

when he should be taken care of by his

folks. I don't know. But I find it

deeply sad, deeply sad that these

parents are more afraid of the religious

leaders than they are excited that their

son has been healed.

And because of their fear, they too miss

the joy of this miracle.

John goes on. They called the man back

another time, the man who had been

blind, and they told him, "Give credit

to God. We know that this man, Jesus, is

an impostor." Interrogation round four.

And he replied, "I know nothing about

that one way or another, but I know one

thing for sure. I was blind. I now see."

This man is getting increasingly

frustrated and courageous

and he somehow cuts through all of their

fear, all of their interrogation

tactics. I don't know about all that. I

actually don't care about all that. What

I know is one thing. I was blind and now

I can see.

Friends, all you really need to know

nearly all the time is one thing.

How God has been present and active in

your life. Just one thing.

These religious leaders, they are

convinced they know many, many things.

In fact, over and over again in this

text, they say, "I know. We know. We're

sure. We know." This man knows one

thing, and it's plenty.

He had an encounter with the light of

the world, and he is less and less

afraid with each questioning attempt.

And so, when they say, "What did he do

to you? How did he open your eyes?" The

man responds, "I have told you over and

over and you haven't listened. Why do

you want to hear it again? Are you so

eager to become his disciples?"

And with that, they jumped all over him.

You might be a disciple of that man, but

we are disciples of Moses. We know for

sure that God spoke to Moses, but we

have no idea where this man even comes

from. And the man replied, "This is

amazing. You claim to know nothing about

him. But the fact is, he opened my eyes.

It's well known that God isn't at the

beck and call of sinners, but listens

carefully to anyone who lives in

reverence and does his will. That

someone opened the eyes of a man born

blind has never been heard of ever. If

this man didn't come from God, he

wouldn't be able to do anything. And

they said, "You are nothing but dirt.

How dare you take that tone with us?"

And they threw him out into the street.

Another translation says they this is

what they said to him. You were born

entirely in sin and you dared to try and

teach us. And they drove him out of the

community.

John wants us to recognize, friends,

that not everyone will want to see the

light.

There's actually plenty of people that

prefer the darkness.

Earlier in his gospel in chapter 3, he

writes, "Light has come into the world,

but people love the darkness more than

the light. All who do evil hate the

light. They won't come into the light,

so they won't be exposed."

A man in their own community has been

miraculously healed. But because of

their fear and cynicism and high demand

rules, they not only refuse to celebrate

the miracle,

but these supposed religious leaders,

these moral authorities of the day, they

hurl insults at this man. And even

worse, they cast him back out of their

community,

man.

Now, as a side note, let me just say

this. I know that there are folks

sitting here this morning

um that have been tossed out of their

religious communities or at the very

least been shown the door.

I know that. And maybe that's because

you asked too many questions. Maybe it's

because you spoke up for other blind

beggars when the interrogation started.

Maybe it's because you experienced the

miracle of coming alive to a god that is

far bigger than whatever high demand

fear-based tradition you might have been

a part of.

But no matter if you were thrown out or

you walked out yourself,

here is what I want to say to you. I am

very sorry that you have experienced the

great pain of that kind of exclusion.

It is real

and it is deeply hard to navigate

through and to heal from. Every time I

read this text, I am struck again and

again by the pain that people do to one

another in the name of God.

And so if that's you and that's part of

your story,

I want you to hear what happens at the

end of this this text because Jesus

hears that this man has been cast out

and does whatever he has to do to find

him.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out

and he went and found him. He asked him,

"Do you believe in the son of man?" And

the man said, "Point him out to me, sir,

so I can believe in him." Remember, he'd

not seen Jesus yet. He was blind.

And Jesus said, "You're looking right at

him. Don't you recognize my voice?" He

said, "Master, I believe," the man said

and worshiped him. Jesus then said, "I

came into this world to bring everything

into the clear light of day, making all

the distinctions clear, so that those

who have never seen will see, and those

who have made a great pretense of seeing

will be exposed as blind." And some

Pharisees overheard him and said, "Does

that mean you're calling us blind?

And Jesus said, "If you were really

blind, you would be blameless. But since

you claim to see everything so well, you

are accountable for every fault and

failure."

Friends, this is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

I mean, what a miracle story.

Previously invisible blind beggar. He

might not know much, but he knows one

thing.

once was blind, but now he sees. His

progression, like I told you, it just

moves

through the story from blindness, from

darkness, toward full light, toward

seeing everything very clearly.

Unfortunately though, those religious

leaders, they too have moved further in

their progression.

They have moved from sight and into

blindness, away from the light, and

willfully walked into spiritual

darkness.

And John wrote this so that we would

have to see both progressions.

His point is you can recognize the light

of the world in Jesus Christ and come to

see or you can reject the miraculous all

around you, the goodness of God all

around you and find yourself sitting in

the dark. I I'm not trying to be preachy

here. That's all John

man.

But this story doesn't end with just

like the rejoicing of the community

around this man who was born blind. It

ends with a stern warning,

especially for all of us who might think

we see just fine, that we've got it all

together. We've got all the answers.

Now, I have one final thing I just want

to draw your attention to here as we

wrap this up. There are nine references

in this chapter to seeing or to eyes.

Um, and in every single one of those,

um, John does something really

interesting. Now, normally like a

personal pronoun would be attached to

the word for seeing or for eyes. And

that makes sense in language, right? We

want to know whose eyes we're talking

about, who can see. Um, but normally

that would follow after the word for

eyes or seeing, the personal pronoun.

But John does something quite

intentional. He moves the personal

pronoun in every single one of those all

nine times to the front of the word

to basically make this like emphatic

repositioning of the text so that you

cannot look away from his question that

he's layered into this story. His

rearrangement it it has this effect of

asking the reader a question.

It's an implied question to us. It's

like he's not already been direct

enough. He's basically saying each time

Jesus put mud on his eyes.

What about yours?

He

came back seeing.

Can you see?

His eyes were opened.

What about yours?

He's literally begging us as readers to

see. Jesus is opening eyes.

Will you allow him to open yours?

Miracles, they are happening in front of

you all the time. Will you see them?

Einstein famously said, I love this

quote. There are two ways to live your

life. One is as though nothing is a

miracle. And the other is as though

everything is

everything.

One of the most common phrases of Jesus

when he's teaching is he would say to

the crowd, "Whoever has ears, let him

hear. Whoever has eyes, let them see."

And so, friends, may God give us the

eyes to see Christ at work in the world.

Amen.