Lent 4 -- John 9:1-41 -- "Spotlight on Jesus"

Lent 4, March 2, 2008

The Spotlight on Jesus

Sermon Theme: The spotlight shines on Jesus to reveal him as the light of the world who casts out the darkness of death.

Text:

Other Lessons: ; ;

Goal: That hearers see in their spotlight Jesus and how he shines with what they as blind beggars need.

Rev. Paul J. Beyer, pastor, Immanuel Lutheran Church, Daykin, Nebraska

Liturgical Setting

The Propers used to be attributed historically to the Third Sunday in Lent, known as Oculi, from the Introit, “My eyes are ever toward the Lord” (). This also corresponds well with the Gradual for Lent, “[Let us fix our eyes on] Jesus” (). Eyes, sight, and light are contrasted with blindness and darkness in the Readings. Blindness gives way to sight through the mighty acts of God (Old Testament Reading, ) in Christ (Gospel, ). The Psalm (142:5) recognizes that the Lord alone is our refuge in a world beset by trouble on every side. The Epistle proclaims who we are in Christ: lights in a dark world () who acknowledge the Lord’s goodness (Collect).

Relevant Context

In , Jesus is teaching in the temple. He shines as the light of the world (8:12) by his teaching, yet the Jews purposely close their eyes. They reject Jesus to the point of attempting to stone him (8:59). Leaving the temple unharmed, Jesus passes by a man blind from birth in the text for this Sunday.

Textual Notes

Vv 1–7: The disciples expect their question about the man’s blindness to be answered as a matter of cause and effect. They see the effect, the blindness, and conclude there has to be a specific sinful cause. Jesus has other ideas. Jesus desires that the spotlight shine on him because he is “the light of the world” (v 5; see also 8:12). His method of healing would only seem to make matters worse: spit and mud in the man’s eyes. But like Naaman in , the man washes in a specific body of water, the pool of Siloam, according to the Lord’s word. The man sees. Siloam is from , where the Israelites reject the blessings flowing out of Jerusalem. John translates Siloam as “Sent” or “Sent One.” The one on whom the spotlight shines is Jesus, the light of the world, through a miraculous deed that only God could do (v 33). As the Pharisees did not recognize Jesus as the light through Jesus’ words, so do they not recognize Jesus as the light through the miracle (10:37–38).

Vv 8–12: The blind man is also identified as a beggar, one dependent on others for his well-being. The healing creates a sensation among the people. They demand an explanation. The man gives a matter-of-fact, objective account. They desire to see Jesus, but the man does not know where Jesus is, though there is no indication he would even know Jesus if he saw him.

Vv 13–17: Unable to talk to Jesus, the people seek out the Pharisees. They should know how this happened. John makes a point of telling us that the healing occurred on a Sabbath and that mud was made as part of the treatment. Jesus had already been criticized for his Sabbath work (5:18) and claiming to be equal with God. Some attempt to discredit Jesus again by accusing him of sinning, by working on the Sabbath. Others draw the conclusion that such a sign could never be done by a sinner, thus dividing the Jews. So they ask the man who had been healed what he says about Jesus.

Vv 18–23: One way to refuse to believe Jesus is equal to the Father (5:18) is to discredit the miracle, saying and proving it never happened. So the man’s parents are called in and attest that their son had been born blind. Since birth he had never been able to see. The parents do not speculate on how their son now sees. They send the Jews back to their son for the answer, protecting their synagogue status by keeping quiet about Jesus. (At vv 18 and 22, John appears to use the term Jews in reference to the Pharisees.)

Vv 24–34: The Jews approach the man a second time, expecting him to change his confession (v 17) of who Jesus is. The man does not back down. When asked how Jesus opened his eyes, the man interjects some sarcasm by asking if they wanted to be Jesus’ disciples. The Jews claim they are disciples of Moses (v 28). But Jesus has already spoken about Moses. Moses wrote about Jesus (5:46)! The spotlight in the Old Testament was on Jesus (5:39). The Jews rely on their understanding of the nature of blindness, thinking that the man was a terrible sinner because he had been born blind. The Jews fail to discredit the miracle, so they throw the man out.

Vv 35–41: The spotlight is back on Jesus, where it has been all the time, as the light of the world. To the man, Jesus is one from God. To the Jews, Jesus is a terrible sinner, a multiple violator of the Sabbath. Jesus encounters the man so the man can indeed confess that Jesus is true God from the Father, equal to the Father (5:18). The man’s posture and confession indicate (v 38) without any doubt what Jesus is trying to get the Jews (and you and me) to confess. No one can know Jesus just from a knowledge of sin. “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” (v 16). No one can know Jesus just through the conclusions reached about the healing. “Though I was blind, now I see” (v 25). Jesus is known through the divine revelation in Word and Sacrament. Jesus makes himself known to the man through the encounter with his word, giving the man faith (v 37). This revelation can be rejected (the Jews), and thus the judgment is upon them (v 41). Jesus’ point in vv 39–41 is similar to . “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.” The Pharisees see. They have no need of someone to correct their vision, so to speak. They see that they are all right in their own eyes and way of thinking (self-righteous). So they are blind for the need for Christ. The blind beggar has need for the physician. Though no specific sin is attributed to him or his parents (v 3), the blindness is an effect of sin in a fallen world. Jesus uses this opportunity for the spotlight to shine on himself so that those in need (the blind) are enabled to receive help (vision) and see Jesus as the light of the world.

Sermon Outline

Introduction: Some people thrive in the spotlight. When the pressure’s on, they can even perform at their best. Others want nothing to do with the spotlight, content with the vocations God has given them and thrilled to be of service without the attention. The spotlight shines on many people in today’s Gospel. But what does it reveal?

3. The spotlight shines on the man born blind, revealing to him the light of the world.

a. The man is born blind, with no light in his eyes (vv 1–2).

(1) Our eyes react to light, and so we see.

(2) This man did not know light.

b. The man is thrust in the spotlight because of Jesus’ miracle (vv 3–7).

(1) His neighbors saw him, and the man told the story of Jesus’ healing (vv 8–11).

(2) The Pharisees were brought in to determine if the healing was from God (vv 13–16).

(3) The spotlight of investigation was put on the man who had formerly known no light.

c. The Pharisees, who put the man in the spotlight, are blind to Jesus’ divinity.

(1) The man claims that Jesus is a prophet (v 17).

(2) The Pharisees turn the spotlight from the man born blind to Jesus.

(3) They claimed that since Jesus healed on the Sabbath, he was not from God (vv 14–16).

d. But the man in the spotlight comes to see Jesus in the true light (vv 35–38).

2. The spotlight shines on us, revealing our darkness in death.

a. We are born spiritually blind.

(1) God is light (; ).

(2) We are born in sin and as enemies of God.

(3) We are born without knowledge of the light of God.

b. Like the Pharisees, we put the spotlight on Jesus to examine him.

(1) Our sinfulness clouds the light of Christ.

(2) We turn the spotlight on Jesus and examine him on our own terms.

(a) We examine the life of Jesus and only see him as a moral example to be followed.

(b) We examine the teaching of Jesus and only listen to the words that support our opinions.

(3) When we put the spotlight on Jesus, we tell him we would rather be his light than to be enlightened by him.

c. A different spotlight—God’s Law—shines on us and reveals us to be sinners lost in the darkness of death (vv 39–41).

1. The spotlight shines on Jesus, revealing the light we need to see.

a. Even though we would turn the spotlight on Jesus in sinfulness, nevertheless, when the spotlight is on Jesus, it reveals him on the cross.

(1) When we examine Jesus as a moral example, his light reveals that he obeyed his Father perfectly, even to the point of death on the cross.

(2) When we examine Jesus’ teaching to bolster our position, his light reveals his word of promise that because of the cross, the sins of the whole world are forgiven.

b. Jesus now shines with the light of the resurrection, casting out the darkness of death.

(1) Jesus passed through the darkness of death to life and light in his resurrection.

(2) His resurrection light now shines through the darkness that engulfs our sinful world.

c. Through Baptism, Jesus’ light shines in you.

(1) Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (v 5).

(2) Jesus is still in the world, administering Baptism through his ministers to those born in the darkness of sin.

(3) The Holy Spirit has enlightened you with Baptism, so that Christ’s light now shines through you.

The Spotlight Shines on Jesus to Reveal Him as the Light of the World Who Casts Out the Darkness of Death.

Conclusion: Like the man born blind, we are born without the light of Christ. But Jesus has come into the world to illuminate our darkness. When the spotlight shines on Jesus, we see his light ever more clearly, shining from the cross. In Baptism, we are enlightened with the light of Christ, which shines in us.