Lent 4A

4th Sunday in Lent, Year A

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

There are times when I’m reading God’s Word, and I come across a story that just jumps right off the page at me; it almost screams at me. Our Gospel lesson today is one of those readings. This story should be: Jesus encounters blind man. Jesus heals blind man. All who see it are amazed. Jesus keeps doing miracles. Thanks be to God.

But that’s not how this one goes. Jesus sees this blind man - a man who was born without sight - and he just heals him. The method is a little unusual, but it worked. And there are two facets of this miraculous act that are noteworthy: first, that by using his own spittle to make the mud and put it on the beggar’s eyes, it’s clear that this healing power comes from Jesus; second, that he instructs the beggar to wash it off in one specific place: the pool of Siloam… this requires some degree of faith on the part of the beggar, who must choose to act on this unusual command with nothing but an implied promise. [Lenski, p. 680]

It’s simply amazing to me that the first thing the Jewish leaders do is to try to dismiss the story as either a farce or simply untrue. Certainly there were charlatans who faked being crippled to scam people out of charitable donations. But these religious leaders automatically assumed the worst - that this beggar was just another scam artist. “It’s not really him” or “well, this guy looks like him, but it’s not the same guy”. Once the man made it clear that he was the same formerly blind beggar, they switched to a different angle: well, this Jesus fellow who did this to you clearly violated the Sabbath (meaning that he is a sinner against God and God’s Law!) and therefore could not possibly do acts of God. But his parents confirmed that he had truly been blind his entire life before this, so this was not a scam. And as we read in verse 32 “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” So it’s clearly an act of God that he is now able to see. So the Pharisees argued among themselves.

Rather than rejoicing that a man who was blind his whole life, these people would rather spend their time and effort finding ways to avoid the truth of what had happened. Why would they do this? If you look at the previous chapter… particularly the verses just before this scene takes place, they had just tried to stone Jesus to death in the Temple for claiming he was the Son of God. And if the people were going to believe Jesus’s story, they might continue to do things as they always had done them. They might not continue to look to these scribes and Pharisees for guidance, but to God instead.

The Pharisees and Scribes had a good thing going for themselves. They were well-respected, they had power, they had influence, and they had money. Look at how the beggar’s parents were afraid of their power! Jewish society, culture, and way of life was all centered on God’s Law, and they were the experts on the Law… so they had all the answers, and they controlled access to the source of information. And theirs was a fairly exclusive group. There’s no way some carpenter’s kid - from Galilee of all places - is going to upset this system. They can’t let that happen.

The first time they asked the beggar what happened, he simply told the Pharisees the plain facts: “...He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” (v 15) When that didn’t tell them what they wanted, they asked the man’s parents, who side-stepped the question out of their fear of the Pharisees: “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.”

So they had to go back to the beggar again. His responses are fascinating to me. First he tells them “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” (v 25) He’s focused on the miracle… the good outcome of God’s work. When they ask him how this happened, he says “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?” (v 27)

Now he’s got them mad. They “reviled him” John tells us. “Oh no, you are, not us. We’re good Jews, followers of Moses (the giver of God’s Law).” What the beggar says next is really powerful: “Why, this is an amazing 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 if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (vss 30-33)

They are so insistent on their own perspective being right, that they cannot see the goodness of the miracle that has happened. Truth is staring them in the face, and they can’t see it. It’s unquestionably from God, and they are blind to it. The irony here is simply fascinating. And these were the most knowledgeable people in the entire society about who God is, how He works, and what He wants… or so they thought.

This is a cautionary tale: it’s easy to get caught in the trap that the Pharisees were in. They believed that by understanding God’s Law, they knew all that they needed to know. That by following it to the letter, they would be doing all that they need to do. They got both of those wrong. They interpreted the Scriptures incorrectly by taking it *too* literally…which is not a thorough understanding of it. And they followed the letter but not the intent of God’s Law.

Now, we’re pretty hard on the Scribes and Pharisees when we judge them this way. We’re the ultimate Monday-morning quarterbacks by doing this. They, like us, thought they were being faithful to God, protecting God’s chosen people from charlatans, heretics, and false teachings. But their confidence in their own wisdom and education went beyond what it should have. It became an obstacle instead of a blessing. They had become an idol to themselves, and they didn’t even realize it. They worshiped the Law and those who had mastered it, instead of worshiping the God Who established and gave them that Law. It’s almost like they simply wanted God to be who they wanted Him to be…not who He truly is.

So the man who was physically blind was given sight. He is told to wash in the Pool of Siloam. Siloam means “sent”. The full translation is “the Pool of the One Sent.” Here’s the cool part: this pool is formed from a spring that flows from the hill that the the Temple sits on. The pool formed at the foot of that hill. It’s waters are a symbol of the blessings that flow from the Temple, so they are looked upon as special waters. The Temple is the House of God, which Jesus called his “Father’s House”. And Jesus has said already that he was sent by the Father. So Jesus has just told this beggar, “go and wash in the pool of the One [who was] Sent.” And who is the “One who was Sent?” Jesus, of course. In other words, this pool is Jesus. When the beggar is cast out of the Temple, the Pharisees are intending to throw him out of God’s House, and effectively away from God’s love. But Jesus - yet again - has a better way.

Just as it was Jesus who initiated this man’s healing, it is again Jesus who goes to find this man who has been “cast out” by the Pharisees. Jesus reveals himself to this healed man, and the once-beggar now believes in Jesus and worships him. He is the only person in this whole passage who responds to Jesus appropriately. The man who has been unable to see for his entire life is brought into the light. Those who have not had this problem are willingly staying in the darkness of their unbelief. C.S. Lewis once said that “the doors of hell are locked from the inside!” This is a perfect example of that. The Pharisees simply would not believe the miracle that had happened that day.

Jesus found the man who had been blind and healed him. And when the powers and authorities refused to see the good that had been done, and when they reviled the beggar for speaking the truth about the event, Jesus again found the man and brought him close to himself. Jesus brings light. Jesus brings healing. And there are those who simply don’t want it because his way doesn’t let them have things their way. Jesus confronts them. Light is the great disinfectant, after all…and Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12). So he tells them that since they can’t admit their own blindness - which is now terribly obvious - their “guilt” remains. This word “guilt” used in these verses in Greek means “sin”. They can’t believe that they, the experts on the Law, could possibly have done anything wrong. They can’t see their own sin. They’re blind in the worst way.

We have several lessons to learn from the examples we see in this passage. As we think about our own discipleship, it’s clear that the “good” disciple here is the blind man. He does as Jesus tells him, he is healed, he speaks truth, and he comes closer to Jesus. We all have a few things in common with this guy. Jesus came to us in our baptism, where we were also washed and healed. And as we learn the truth about Christ, we also grow closer to him.

The Pharisees give us an example also - what we are not to do. We are not to blindly follow the letter of God’s Law without considering its intent. We are not to dismiss the work of Christ simply because it does not fit our comfort level. And let’s not forget Jesus’s own disciples at the very beginning of this passage. They were completely focused on whose sin caused the man’s blindness. Jesus corrects them as well. Stop focusing on the sins of the past and look at what good future can come when God goes to work.

Discipleship is more than simply knowing about Jesus. Although that’s a good place to start. Knowing about all that Jesus has done for us is important. But it’s more than that. Discipleship is getting to know Jesus. Discipleship is, as Paul says, walking “as children of light.” I encourage all of us to consider the lessons of this Gospel reading as we grow in our discipleship. Let’s walk as children of light, and as we do, watch as Christ shines on us and through us.

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.