Jesus and the Man Born Blind

John 9:1-12

Jesus Leaves the Temple

John does not begin a new story here; he continues the same one.

Chapter 8 ends with men who think they see trying to kill Jesus. Chapter 9 begins with a man who cannot see at all, yet Jesus seeks him out. One chapter shows the ruin of man in sin. The next shows the grace of God in Christ.

Notice who sees first. The blind man never sees Jesus. Jesus sees him. Before this man ever knows Christ is near, Christ has already fixed His eyes upon him. Isn't that the story of every believer?

Miracles in the gospel of John are called signs. They are pointing beyond themselves to a greater spiritual reality.

So the key to understanding this chapter is this: the miracle Jesus performs isn't about the eyes at all, it’s about the heart. John wants us to see that the miracle of giving sight to the blind man vision is the sign, but sinner’s receiving spiritual sight is the reality. Christ comes to display the works of God by giving sight to those born blind.

Understanding the Text - 3 vignettes

The Disciples Question

They see the man and ask “Who Sinned?” (vs 1-3)

For them, there were two possible answers:

The man: His suffering was the result of he had done, even in the womb. He must have sinned!

His parents: The notion that God visits the sins of the fathers upon their children.

The Disciples show the blindness of their own hearts.

Their failure wasn’t bad theology, it was a lack of care for those who are suffering. Instead of mercy, they want explanations.

We do the same. If someone’s life falls apart, it must be because of some moral or spiritual failure. If you haven’t received healing, it must be because of unconfessed sin or lack of faith. We become so occupied with theological explanations that we neglect people in need.

Isn't it interesting? The people in this story who can physically see are the ones who misunderstand everything. They ask, "Who deserves blame?” Jesus says, "Watch what God is about to do."

Jesus’ answer - A third option

Neither sinned - Not that they were without sin

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). Every sickness, disaster, is the result of the sinfulness of man, the curse of Adam. Had Adam never sinned, there would be no suffering, no blindness, no sickness, no death.

Jesus told them, “This is for God’s works to be seen.” His blindness was not God’s punishment for some specific sin, but an opportunity for God’s grace to be revealed.

Our suffering is never meaningless. We may not know why we face affliction and hardship, but we know who governs it. God wastes nothing.

There are times when, as a loving Father, God brings trials, hardships, and loss into His children’s lives as discipline: Correcting them of their error - (Hebrews 12), and strengthening and building them up as they learn to rest not in their own power, but in the grace of God (Rom 5, James 1).

Christian, there may be pains in your life that you will never understand this side of glory. This man waited his entire lifetime before anyone knew why he had been born blind. But every one of those years was under the wise hand of God.

God has his reasons for permitting sickness, troubles, and trials. And there is great comfort in this, not that we will necessarily receive a miracle, but that God has a wise purpose that is served even in our affliction. He will be glorified through it. How and when that glory is seen we may never know, but we are called to trust and obey.

A.W. Pink, “That which brings God glory in my life will bring blessing to my life.”

Jesus’ Imperative (vs. 4): We must do the work of the one who sent me while it is day.

The urgency of Christ’s work: Day is limited, the night is coming. Jesus knows the cross is approaching, and he must accomplish the Father’s work.

His time was not spent in the philosophy of suffering, but in bringing the light and grace of God to those who suffer. Instead of rehashing an argument, Jesus intended to relieve suffering.

His mandate, to preach good news, to liberate the captive, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

We must work while we have the light. Jesus doesn’t say “I must” but “We must.” His mission becomes ours.

When we see Christ working, he moves us past the question of “Why is there suffering,” and begin to ask, “What should we be doing in response to suffering?”

Often we find ourselves explaining the brokenness of the world while being very slow to enter into broken places. Christians who see the world in need of the gospel are like doctors with medicine who refuse to see sick patients.

We are to be doing the works of God. We are to reflect the light of Christ for the world to see. His light shines through His Church as we bear witness to Him as we proclaim the gospel in word and deed.

Revealing the Grace of God (vs 5-12).

About the blind man: He was blind from birth, sitting outside, on the margins of Israel’s worshipping community, and a beggar for life, entirely dependent upon the kindness of others.

Grace on Display.

Jesus went outside the temple, where they had rejected him and saw the man who couldn’t see him. The man didn’t cry out to Jesus or ask for healing, he didn’t even know Jesus was there. But Jesus found him. This is the initiative of grace.

Jesus sees. Jesus stops. Jesus speaks. Jesus anoints. Jesus commands. Jesus sends. The blind man contributes nothing but his blindness. That is salvation.

Jesus gave the command to wash, and he obeyed in faith. His obedience did not earn his sight; it revealed that he trusted the word of Christ.

A quick note about the pool of Siloam. John almost never translates Hebrew names unless they matter. Why tell us Siloam means “Sent"?

Because throughout John's Gospel Jesus has repeatedly said that He is the One sent by the Father. The blind man is sent to “Sent." The One whom God has sent is the only place where blind sinners receive sight.

The neighbors couldn’t recognize him.

He had been blind, begging, is entire life. He would have been known outside the temple gates, there would have been those who helped him, who sat beside him. But they couldn’t be sure it was the same man.

When Christ saves a sinner, people notice. Not because Christians become perfect. But because they are different.

This is a picture of salvation.

The greatest miracle in this passage is not that a blind man came to Jesus, but that Jesus came to the him.

We think we can see, but we are blind from birth and we bring nothing to our salvation but our need. We are beggars, possessing nothing of our own, living only by the kindness and mercy of our God. In our sin we are outsiders, excluded from fellowship with God.

But in grace, Christ comes to us. Grace always begins with God. It is his initiative. And he has come to seek and to save the lost. We are washed, healed, and given life in Christ

And because of grace, we will live different than we were before.

Application

Stop asking “Whose fault is this, who can I blame?” Ask instead, “How can God’s grace be displayed in my life?”

Trust in his sovereignty in every situation, it is for his glory and for your good.

You may never know the “why” of what you’re experiencing, but you know who governs it.

Be about the work of the Lord while it is day. Those whose eyes have been opened become bearers of the light, to reflect it for the world to see.

Know the saving grace of God in Christ. Remember that Christ sought you out before you ever had eyes to see him. Every Christian has this testimony: “I once was blind but now I see.”