Blind Eyes Made to See
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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.
13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
Ask questions?
Jesus Makes the blind to see, he brings new out of the old
This week’s reading was about the people putting Jesus on trial - Jesus putting them on trial
Jesus would reverse their inquiry and put them on trial
A picture of Jesus bringing light into the world...
John 1:4-5
4 The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.
12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
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.”
But, also a picture of darkness fleeing from the light
Light and dark are being separated...
39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
Control over disease AND sin...
This man, nor his parents sinned
A reversal of Wisdom Literature (Proverbs, some Psalms, ) that says if you do goo, good will come to you, and if you do bad, you will receive bad.
Yet, disease and decay DID enter the world because of sin - not because of individual sin, but because sin was allowed to enter our system and it desires to kill, steal, and destroy all that is good.
So, Jesus, in order to bring the NEW CREATION must deal with the decay of the old creation.
Images of New Creation
Making mud
A reminder of God creating humanity out of dust and clay
7 Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person.
9 Remember that you made me from dust— will you turn me back to dust so soon?
6 Look, you and I both belong to God. I, too, was formed from clay.
8 And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We all are formed by your hand.
6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.
Jesus using clay to heal the man is pointing to the New Creation that he is a part of, just as he was a part of making the old creation
1 In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.
Sabbath
This miracle was performed on the Sabbath. I believe there is a theological point to be made
We often view sabbath as the pause at the end of the work and toil from a hard week. Yes, that is true, but sabbath also LOOKS FORWARD to what lies ahead.
Sabbath then could be the PAUSE as we wait for the New to come.
Jesus healing on the sabbath then points to the New that God will do in the Great New Week of New Creation.
This is spelled out more fully later in the text as John (and the other Gospels too) write of Jesus’ resurrection on the 1st day of the week. But, John adds a detail that Mary has a conversation with a gardener, who is later revealed to be Jesus.
1 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.
14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” 16 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”).
Jesus is a New Gardener sent to CULTIVATE the NEW CREATION that will come after the Sabbath pause! I like the example in Paul of the New Adam (recognizing that Adam was placed in the garden to cultivate it)
The healed man is unrecognizable
Being part of New Creation should CHANGE US
It might not change us physically - although it could
But, it should change us to where people say, “Is that John? I don’t know. It sure looks like him, but nothing in that man is acting like John would act. And, if it is John, he’s quite different!”
3 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
When Jesus opens our eyes, we should be totally different that we are unrecognizable
His family left him out to dry
They were afraid of being put out of the synogogue (explain the community implications - like the woman who was estranged from her community who came to the well at noon)
At times, being a part of the New Creation drives a wedge between us and others. Family, friends, co-workers, business contracts separate from us. This is NOT because we want it to. It is the result of darkness trying to flea from the light of Christ within us. It is a result of the separating done by light and dark.
We need to keep coming to Jesus to have our eyes adjusted...
The man has another encounter with Jesus.
Jesus asked the man...
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The Son of Man is a character in Daniel. He is one who is given authority by God to judge the world and bring true justice in setting the world straight - to bring God’s New Work into play.
Jesus declares that he IS that man!
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” 37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
Jesus also declares that HE IS setting things straight!
39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
It is in this second encounter that the man believes!
We need to keep returning to Jesus to have our eyes, and our understanding adjusted. Yes, we need eyes to be opened, but then we need a continual encounter with Jesus to know how to CONTINUE (from John’s purpose of the Gospel) to believe who Jesus is. And to continually be transformed as to what that belief means.
A separation of light and dark, blind eyes and eyes that see.
The pharisees thought they could see clearly, but, at the end of the encounter they are determined to be blind while the man born blind can see clearly.
What is the difference?
Their response to Jesus in the midst!
We hold tightly to things that keep us from seeing Jesus and the New He is bringing in our midst!
Not just sin
Rules, traditions, the Manual, certain paradigms and boundaries
And we are BLINDED to see Jesus, and the NEW in our midst!
Open our Eyes Lord!
May our eyes be opened to see Jesus in our midst!
May our understanding grow with our new vision of Light and Life.
May we not only confess Jesus, but may that confession change us - even if it drives a wedge between us and the world
And, may our eyes continue to be opened as we encounter Jesus more and more.