I Was Blind, But Now I See

Introduction | John 9:1-7

Disciples Question

Jesus is in the process of leaving the temple where they were about to stone him.

John 9:1–2 ESV

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

There’s a blind man and the disciples immediately assume that sin is the cause. Either this man’s parents were sinful or the man himself was sinful in some way before his birth so that he was born blind.

It was a common connection to make. Sickness and disease was often associated with God’s judgment while healings were a sign of his grace and goodness. Even today it’s common to assume that a person must have done something to deserve their misfortune or that they just weren’t good enough to earn God’s healing hand.

We’re Not Doing a Theodicy

Jesus rejects this assumption.

John 9:3–5 ESV

3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed 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.”

This passage brings up questions of how God and sin each relate to suffering:

The disciples think somebody sinned and so he deserves to be blind

We wonder if God blinded him just to heal him in front of us

You can repunctuate the sentence so that Jesus doesn’t explain anything about why this man is blind. He’s only focused on solutions, leaving his blindness as a grand mystery.

This isn’t the lesson to dive into the complicated topic of suffering. We got all of chapter 9 to get through and its interested in other subjects.

Two Things To Keep In Mind About the Blind Man

The big points we need to take away are:

It’s assumed by the disciples, and most Jews, that this man deserves to be blind because of sin

Regardless of why he is blind, this suffering is going to be a demonstration of the works of God

Showing the Works of God

And the work of God is more than just his ability to heal physical blindness, but to reveal people as they really are. Jesus calls himself the light of the world, and as such he’s going to divide people.

John 3:20–21 LEB

20 For everyone who practices evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds be exposed. 21 But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, in order that his deeds may be revealed, that they are done in God.

There are two results of Jesus’ light:

The ones who practice evil are exposed

The ones who practice the truth are revealed

In the rest of chapter 9 there’s going to be quiet a bit of irony.

The Pharisees, the ones who are considered righteous and true to God in their day and culture, are exposed as evil

The blind man, who people assume is blind because of sin, is revealed as the ideal disciple and follower of Jesus

The Pharisees who could see all along remain blind to who Jesus is

The blind man sees ever more clearly who Jesus is, more than a man, more than a prophet, more than someone to follow as a disciple - but as his Lord to be worshipped

Revealed | John 9:8-17

John 9:6–9 NABRE

6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and smeared the clay on his eyes, 7 and said to him, “Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed, and came back able to see. 8 His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is,” but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” He said, “I am.”

Jesus can heal with a word. This time he chooses to spit on the ground and make some clay, rubs it in his eyes, and sends about a half-mile away to a pool to wash in.

When he comes back he’s still the same guy.

He’s wearing the same clothes

He has the same hairstyle

His appearance hasn’t changed at all

But nobody seems to recognize him. They used to see him as a blind beggar, but now they see something different about him. He’s like the blind beggar but something is off.

And the man who was blind tells them “I am.”

That’s one of Jesus’ favorite saying in John’s gospel. I am…

The Bread of Life

From Above

The Good Shepherd

And the most recent time Jesus used it was in John 8:58

John 8:58 ESV

58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.”

God introduces himself to Moses on Mt. Sinai as “I Am” and Jesus appropriates it to himself, identifying himself as the God of Israel. And throughout the entire Gospel, Jesus is the only one who ever uses this phrase, about 80 times, except for John the Baptists who says “I am not the Christ”

And then this man. This man introduces himself the same way Jesus does when he identifies himself with the Father.

And I believe that’s the reason people can’t recognize him so well anymore. Just as Jesus is a reflection of God, so that you don’t see Jesus without seeing the Father, it happens with us. The people can’t recognize this man anymore because they can’t see him without seeing Jesus.

Disciples Are Going To Be Different

Being Married Example

That’s the practical result of following Jesus and remaining with him; becoming like him - so much that people start to question whether you’re still really you or not. Just as God likens himself as a potter and us the clay, Jesus takes some clay to reshape this blind man - more than just physically, but spiritually.

And we should take a critical evaluation of ourselves as his disciples:

Have I actually become more like Jesus?

Am I spending enough time with him to learn what he’s even like?

Do people see his light reflecting through me?

But there are always going to be obstacles in coming to Jesus.

Blinded By the Light

The blind man has been revealed as a disciple, now we see the Pharisees and others exposed as God’s enemies.

We Know Better

John 9:10–16 ESV

10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” 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 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

They bring in the Pharisees to settle the matter

The Pharisees know things

That making clay on the Sabbath was against their traditions/law

That the Messiah would have the same interpretation as them

And so they can reject the miracle out of hand because it doesn’t accord with what they know

How often do we dismiss something new or different because ‘we already know’?

We grow in maturity

We might have gotten something wrong

We don’t like new ideas so we brand people

Liberal | Conservative

We put people under suspicion

We hide behind our “official” position

We need to be open to the discussion of things we have never considered

The Pharisees completely dismissed Jesus

We might be wrong

It will strengthen our own faith | I know why we don’t do that

We’re Afraid

John 9:18–23 ESV

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 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.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

The parents are called in

They know he was born blind

They don’t want to know how he sees

They effectively abandon him - ask him! He’s of age!

Because they were afraid of being cast out of the community

Connect: What are we afraid of?

Being labeled a heretic

Peter is the rock!

We’ve bound ourselves too narrowly with our concept of biblical authority

Being labeled a misogynist

I don’t like telling women to be quiet in church

Being wrong for so long

Is grandma going to hell if I accept this doctrine?

We blind ourselves out of fear of what the light reveals

We’re Stubborn

John 9:24–34 ESV

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 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?” 28 And 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.” 30 The man answered, “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.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

They are Stubborn

Stubbornness | 24 - 34

They are in denial

They can’t deny he sees

They can’t deny he was born blind

We know he is a sinner!

The irony is apparent to the blind man – 25 - 27

Vs. 25 – I can see

Why are you asking again?

This should be so obvious to you!

Vs. 29 - I don’t know and I don’t care anything about Jesus!

Forget the miracle

Forget your logic

I’m going to hide in my beliefs

How dare you try and teach us!

Application: They were blind because they didn’t want to see

We will never see the truth of God unless we want to

God will let us give him and his truth up – Rom. 1:24-25

We would rather live in our delusion than face the truth

We need to deny self and let God take over

Application: We Must Work

Jesus reveals, and he exposes. We’re to do the same as his followers.

John 9:4 ESV

4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

Jesus isn’t going to demonstrate the works of God all by himself. He says that we must work the works of God.

I don’t think Jesus is talking about about he and his disciples in general need to work in the short time Jesus has before his death. The disciples don’t do any work in this chapter. Jesus and the blind man need to do the works of God.

He shows them who “I Am” is

He proclaims the signs of Jesus so others might believe

He asks if they want to become disciples of Jesus

He preaches that Jesus must be from God

We must do the same works as we show Jesus in our lives, revealing the light of life in would-be disciples, and leading them to God.