John 9:1-7, 13-17, 34-39 Sight

John 9:1-7, 13-17, 34-39 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

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

3Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that God’s works might be revealed in connection with him. 4I must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the World.”

6After saying this, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and spread the mud on the man’s eyes. 7“Go,” Jesus told him, “wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

13They brought this man who had been blind to the Pharisees. 14Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15So the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight.

“He put mud on my eyes,” the man told them. “I washed, and now I see.”

16Then some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.” Others were saying, “How can a sinful man work such miraculous signs?”

There was division among them, 17so they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

34They answered him, “You were entirely born in sinfulness! Yet you presume to teach us?” And they threw him out.

35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. When he found him, he asked, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”

36“Who is he, sir,” the man replied, “that I may believe in him?”

37Jesus answered, “You have seen him, and he is the very one who is speaking with you.”

38Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” and he knelt down and worshiped him.

39Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, in order that those who do not see will see, and those who do see will become blind.”

Sight

I.

Being blind is different than a seeing person trying to walk around in a darkened room. Sometimes people lose the full use of their sight through the years. They wear glasses or contact lenses to correct their vision, or they have surgery to eliminate some of their sight problems. But sometimes nothing can be done. They lose their sight. Rather than the typical seeing person who stumbles around in dark rooms, the blind develop their other senses to assist them in feeling their way around.

Eyes are valuable to guide us. Think of the ways you use your eyes every day—every minute you are awake. Our lives are filled with screens. There’s one in your pocket or purse that is your constant companion. Perhaps you have a tablet or reader; maybe a computer screen. You probably watch something on your TV, whether broadcast or some streaming service. There’s a screen here in church to assist in worship. All day long you use these screens. They have even made it into your vehicle. You use a screen to adjust settings and navigate. In fact, you can’t drive unless you are able to see—at least, not yet—engineers are working on that, and there are some systems that seem to be able to navigate without human intervention.

Eyes, of course, can get a person into trouble, too. Spot the snacks on the counter and its hard to resist eating, even when you know you don’t need anything just then. Constant contact with your screen can remove you from personal human interaction. Of course, there are more nefarious problems with screens; there’s no end of things you shouldn’t be looking at that are constantly and easily available.

What about someone like the man in today’s Gospel? Someone who has never, ever been able to see? He didn’t have any of the temptations a seeing person might have, but he also missed the little things in life you and I might take for granted. He couldn’t see the beautiful colors of sunrises and sunsets. He couldn’t see the faces of the people speaking to him. He didn’t have the freedom to move around without putting himself in danger.

“As Jesus was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’” (John 9:1-2, EHV). He looked pitiful, that man, sitting there at the side of the road. In his society he had no choice but to beg; there were no disability programs, no social safety net; all he could do was to hope for the generosity of others. Most of the seeing people passing by probably took no notice of him—or perhaps pretended not to see him.

“Who sinned?” The disciples assumed they were different; we assume we are different. But what if “sight” is the illusion? What if exactly what we need—true sight—is something we have never had.

“‘I am the Light of the World.’ 6After saying this, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and spread the mud on the man’s eyes. 7‘Go...wash in the pool of Siloam’” (John 9:5-7, EHV). One touch. One command. And everything changes. Or does it?

II.

“So he went and washed, and came back seeing” (John 9:7, EHV). Imagine living in a world you have never seen. One touch and a daub of mud. One set of very simple instructions. He followed the instructions and his whole world changed. Imagine the explosion of color. Imagine his new-found freedom. Imagine the wonder of seeing himself, and the faces of those around him. Everything he had previously known was replaced by something far better. Nothing but joy.

But it didn’t last. Real blindness began to show itself.

Some people were certain he was the same man; others were equally certain it was only someone who looked like him.

“They brought this man who had been blind to the Pharisees” (John 9:13, EHV). The Pharisees began an investigation. You would think such religious experts would celebrate a miracle—a man blind from birth can see! But no, they were looking for a reason to reject it.

“Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15So the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes,’ the man told them. ‘I washed, and now I see’” (John 9:14-15, EHV). A simple answer filled with truth.

“Then some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath.’ Others were saying, ‘How can a sinful man work such miraculous signs?’ There was division among them, 17so they said to the blind man again, ‘What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?’” (John 9:16-17, EHV). Division erupted among the Pharisees. On the one hand, godly people did not work on the Sabbath. In their eyes, that included healing. Someone who performed an act of healing on the Sabbath day simply could not be considered godly. On the other hand, giving sight to someone who had never been able to see could not be done by just anyone.

“What do you say about him?” they asked the blind man. “The man replied, ‘He is a prophet’” (John 9:17, EHV).

The investigation of the Pharisees continued in the verses between sections of today’s Gospel. Eventually, the newly seeing man said to them: “That’s amazing!... You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes... 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (John 9:30, 33, EHV).

That was the last straw! They couldn’t tolerate such an affront to their authority. They explode in anger: “‘You were entirely born in sinfulness! Yet you presume to teach us?’ And they threw him out” (John 9:34, EHV).

The Pharisees made the same assumption the disciples had earlier. The blind man must have been a sinner in some way to receive this judgment from God. It was either his own sin, or his parents’, that was clear.

“Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, in order that those who do not see will see, and those who do see will become blind’” (John 9:39, EHV). If you didn’t already realize it, Jesus reveals that what happened that day as he and his disciples walked past a poor, blind beggar wasn’t really about physical blindness at all. It was about spiritual blindness.

Paul said in the Second Reading: “You were once darkness” (Ephesians 5:8, EHV). Just as the Pharisees accused the blind man, we were entirely born in sinfulness. As Paul says, we were darkness. Not walking in darkness; not surrounded by darkness. Sin demands a life as payment. As those born entirely in sinfulness, we desperately need a Savior.

Worst of all, like the Pharisees, we think we see perfectly well. We assume our morality is good enough; that our spiritual understanding is sufficient; that our judgment is reliable.

That reveals the biggest problem of all. A person who knows he is blind might seek some help. The one who thinks he sees will never ask for help. And that is the human condition without Jesus. It isn’t that we simply need some moral improvement. It isn’t that we need better information. We need something more radical. We need our eyes opened.

III.

After he had been thrown out by the Pharisees, I wonder what the previously blind man did. Did he wander around aimlessly, wondering how such a joyful event could have gotten so messed up? Did he start to wonder what was the point of it all?

After the Pharisees had had their fill, it seems that no one was interested in seeking the seeing man anymore. He was just one of the multitude wandering around. He had become unimportant again, in another way. No one sought him anymore, but he didn’t go in search of Jesus, either.

“Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. When he found him, he asked, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ 36‘Who is he, sir,’ the man replied, ‘that I may believe in him?’” (John 9:35-36, EHV). When he and his disciples had first walked by the blind man begging at the side of the road, Jesus identified himself as “The Light of the World.” The blind man was now able to see light—and everything else around him—but he still couldn’t see and didn’t know “The Light of the World.” He still had a spiritual blindness, and a desperate need to see “The Light of the World.”

“Jesus answered, ‘You have seen him, and he is the very one who is speaking with you.’ 38Then he said, ‘Lord, I believe!’ and he knelt down and worshipped him” (John 9:37-38, EHV). There is the greatest miracle in today’s Gospel. The blind man didn’t just receive physical sight, he received the spiritual sight he needed more than anything else in the world. He received faith. He could really see—he could see the truth about Jesus. The blind man went from total darkness to seeing the Son—the Son of God, his Savior, Jesus.

That’s what Jesus still gives today. The Bible calls our natural human condition spiritual blindness. That’s not something that can be dealt with on our own; it’s not something that we can merely make a decision about; it’s not something we can earn.

Through the gospel the Holy Spirit does what we cannot do. Through the message of Jesus Christ and him crucified, blind sinners are given sight. Faith is created. It’s a miracle. He gives us exactly what we need.

IV.

Paul described the transformation in today’s Second Reading: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8, EHV). Jesus has done for you and me the same thing he did for the blind man. He opened our eyes. Now we see our sin clearly, but we also see our Savior clearly.

The cross once seemed foolishness to us, because we didn’t believe. Now it is the center of our hope. That’s what makes it possible for us to live differently.

“Lord, I believe!” said the blind man. Spiritual sight changed him completely. Jesus found him; the world rejected him; his faith grew. He moved from begging to a bold confession.

We do the same thing. We live and walk as children of light. We fearlessly exclaim: “The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, EHV).

Confess Christ clearly. Shine his reflected light in a dark world. Jesus is exactly what we need—sight. It comes from the One who sees us, who seeks us, and who opens our eyes. Live in the sight he gives. Amen.