Sight To The Blind

Jesus Came To Give Sight To The Blind

3.19.23 [John 9:1-41] River of Life (4th Sunday in Lent)

For many, March is a time for the madness of college basketball—high drama and big upsets. A time to marvel at powerhouse programs being upended by small schools. It’s great. Until it happens to your team. That’s the one you never see coming until it’s too late.

Each March, millions of people fill out names on their brackets. Many have their “system”. Some dig into the stats. Others pick random 12 seeds to upset 5’s. A few look at where the game is being played, or who has the most senior leadership. Most of us just go with our gut. We pick a team because we know them. We think they’re going to win because we like them for whatever reason. Then the games start and our brackets begin busting. We all expect that.

But what we don’t expect is the team we’re rooting for—the team with the All-American player, the team with taller, more athletic, more-gifted players to be out-rebounded, out-blocked, and out-hustled by the Ivy Leaguers from Jersey. I cannot imagine any Wildcat fan was nervous about playing Princeton last Sunday. But they were in the game’s last two minutes. When the final buzzer sounded, the Wildcats faced the reality that they weren’t as good as they thought they were. They were humbled. Nobody wants that in the end. Coaches want their teams to have their eyes to opened to their limitations and their opportunities.

Today’s text is a far more significant eye-opener for each of us. John 9 shows us that Jesus came to give sight to the blind. That’s how Jesus summarized his life’s purpose and mission. (Jn. 9:39) I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who can see will become blind. This summary tells us there is more to this account than just a single fantastic miracle. But it’s not the only clue.

The miracle—giving sight to a man who had never ever seen in his life—in and of itself, is remarkable. But it happens in two verses: (Jn. 9:6-7) Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud, puts it on the man’s eyes and sends him to wash in the pool of Siloam. We may have questions about why Jesus used his own saliva or made mud, or sent the man to wash in the pool, but no one there that day focuses on any of that.

The disciples focused on the reason for the man’s blindness. The neighbors focused on the identity of the man who now sees. The Pharisees focused on the credentials of the one who healed him. The once blind man focused his attention on the Son of Man.

The first two are dealt with quickly. Jesus says the man’s blindness (Jn. 9:3) happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. It wasn’t a consequence for some particular sin—neither his nor his parents. The once-blind man also insists that he was the man who used to sit and beg in their town. This account should guide how we treat suffering people in this sin-broken world. Those of us who live very blessed lives ought not assume we have done something to deserve those blessings. We cannot look down on those who suffer. But the main point of this chapter is in what follows.

The Pharisees are adamant that Jesus could not have done this. When they are confronted with the reality that he really did, they are quick to point out that (Jn. 9:29) they don’t know where he comes from (so, in their estimation, he cannot be from God). But they also know that (Jn. 9:24) this man, Jesus, is a sinner so (Jn. 9:22) anyone who said that Jesus was the Messiah didn’t belong in the synagogue.

It’s easy to see what’s going on. The Pharisees determined that Jesus could not be the Messiah. He was from the wrong place—Galilee. He did the wrong things—like doing work on the Sabbath. Their predetermined verdict blinded them to reality. No matter what Jesus said or did, they were only going to get more riled up and scornful. They were blind to their own foolishness and sinfulness.

It’s easy for us to see. In them. It’s harder for us to admit our own blindness. Each of us has spiritual blindspots or areas we think are in the shadowy margins of “near-sin”. We expect others to ignore these struggles and we think God doesn’t see what’s going on.

Maybe it’s impatience. It’s not that what you want is bad, but you want it on your timetable. When others don’t meet your deadlines, you treat them as if your goals are more valuable than their souls. Your life is consumed with anxiety and worries and you don’t think you’re the root problem. It’s everyone and everything else.

Maybe it’s a lack of self-control. There are a thousand ways this bubbles to the surface. Emotional flare-ups of anger or sadness, obscene language, deceitfulness, eating or drinking too much, laziness, and living as a busybody are but a handful of ways our lack of self-control runs and ruins our lives. It hurts our reputations and many others, too. When someone rebukes us we get defensive. Offended. Then we attack them. We claim we’re just real people—we’re not putting on an act like everyone else. All because God’s light was shining on the darkness of our selfishness and sinfulness.

The final area of blindness is our selfish, foolish, and sinful pride. Pride isn’t just a problem for Pharisees. In fact, pride tends to break out most when our lives are good, when we are comfortable, and when we think we have gotten what we deserved. Our pride leads us to be greedy, inconsiderate, and unsympathetic. Pride makes us argumentative—to think and say things like (Jn. 9:34) How dare you! Proud people demand to be heard and exercise their rights. They are slow to listen and unwilling to admit they were wrong. Pride makes us attack the character of those who have come to open our eyes to our own sinfulness. Proud people burn relational bridges.

When we look at our impatience, our lack of self-control, and our pride, we realize that we cannot pass the spiritual eye exam. We’re blind and it is our fault. We’ve refused to accept the reality of our wickedness. We live like those who reject God’s wisdom and rebel against his authority. How dare we! We deserve to be thrown outside God’s kingdom.

But when we are humbled, Jesus finds us. While we were still blind, begging for mercy from others, Jesus sees us and (Ps. 103:10) does not treat us as our sins deserve. The Son of Man restores our sight. He has opened your eyes. So look at what Jesus has done for you.

That’s what the Gospels give us: a window into what it took to redeem us from our wickedness, the cost of opening the eyes of the blind, and the price tag for saving us from eternal condemnation.

Jesus kept the Law perfectly, not pretentiously. He did not come to show off his righteousness but to shoulder the burden of righteousness for us.

He was different than the Pharisees. For them, the Law of Moses was like a coffee table book. They had it out to be seen. They made a show of what ever they did.They also seemed to enjoy when others didn’t measure up.

But for Jesus, the Law was the way of revealing God’s wonderful nature and wise plan for this world. The flashpoint for this big difference between the Pharisees and Jesus was the Sabbath. They saw it as a day of not doing. Don’t make anything. Don’t walk too far. But Jesus understood the Law was about what God giving mankind. Keeping the Sabbath wasn’t a restriction on productivity, but God keeping his promise to provide enough for his people so that they could spend time in his Word and not just toil away in the fields or in the marketplace.

The Sabbath Day was meant to be a foretaste of the glory of heaven. So why wouldn’t Jesus heal on the Sabbath? Why wouldn’t he let his disciples grab a bite to eat as they were strolling through the fields? The Sabbath was a blessing, not a burden, to man! Jesus helps us see that!

But more than anything, the Gospels show us the Son of Man's dedication to seeing and saving sinners. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, all kinds of people came to him. Do you know why they all came? They had a problem they could see. They were sick. They had a loved one who was suffering. They had some difficult situations. But Jesus saw more. He saw that the paralytic didn’t just need to be healed, but also needed to have his sins forgiven. He saw that the man with a demon-possessed son didn’t just need his son set free, he needed his faith strengthened. Jesus saw past the obvious problems to the root, the deeper issue.

That issue is our sinfulness. That is why he came. That is why he lived. That is why he died. The man they called Jesus made himself the Lamb of sacrifice. He went to the place called Calvary and there he died so that we could see the ugliness of our sin & the magnificence of God’s mercy.

(Is. 53:4-5) Jesus took up our pain. He bore our suffering. He was crushed for us. When we looked at him, we thought he was being rejected by God. What we didn’t realize is we were the reason. But Jesus has opened our eyes. We see, on the cross, Christ making his life an atonement sacrifice for us. (Is. 53:11) He bore our iniquities.

But after he suffered, something wonderful happened. God gifted us something the Sabbath foreshadows. On Easter, Jesus saw the light of life. After making his life an offering for sin, he rose from the grave and then appeared before his disciples so that they could see him. So that he could share the spoils of his resurrection with them. And we have also been given a portion among those great apostles. By faith, we have seen our Risen Lord. By faith, he speaks to us in his Word.

Because, by God’s grace, through the faith only God can create and strengthen in our hearts, our eyes have been opened. Jesus didn’t wait for the final horn of Judgment Day to reveal to us our sinfulness. Once blind sinners now see wonderful things in God’s Word. Words of promise. Words of healing. Words of comfort and encouragement. Words of power. We believe that Jesus is the Christ of God and that he has opened our eyes to the beauty of his plan of salvation.

Seeing that wonderful love, helps us become more patient. Seeing the kindness and love of God live and die for us teaches us say no to ungodliness and to live self-controlled and upright lives even in this present age. Seeing the Son of Man humble himself and become our servant and even die on the cross puts our sinful pride to death. We no longer live like blind people. Because Christ has opened our eyes and we now see his marvelous love. Amen.