Follow the Leader - Out of the Box

Video from Youtube:

No one likes to be put in a box. Categorized.

Common: Ethnicity, gender, economic status, education, geography

Creating categories for others makes us feel more comfortable. We think we have a handle on that other person or group once they’re in their box in our minds.

But “boxes” limit us. Both the categories others put us in as well as the boxes we create for others.

As the video illustrated, everyone has victories, challenges, hopes, dreams, etc.

We’re more alike than unalike.

As we continue to follow Jesus, we get a front row seat at a boxing.

A blind man gets boxed. A lot.

The Disciples Box Him

John 9:1–2 NLT

1 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

Common belief in 1st c. Judaism that calamity of any kind was a judgment from God.

Still a popular belief today. Still not accurate.

Jesus Releases Him

John 9:3–7 NLT

3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

Jesus corrects that misconception then and now: The result of the man’s blindness is to allow God’s glory to be revealed.

There’s a deeper message here as well: the greater disaster in creation is living in spiritual darkness.

For the disciples: It’s time to get to work!

His Neighbors Stuff Him Right Back In The Box

John 9:8–13 NLT

8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” 10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” 11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” 12 “Where is he now?” they asked. “I don’t know,” he replied. 13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees,

It shouldn’t surprise us that his neighbors and friends are amazed and curious but also immediately try to shove him right back into a box they’re more comfortable with.

He testifies to Jesus’ power and healing but it just seems to bounce off them.

So they decide to kick this conundrum “up a level.”

The Religious Establishment Tries a Different Box

John 9:13–16 NLT

13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.

Summarize the exchanges with the man’s family.

His family gets involved but don’t want anything to do with the situation. (sometimes even family will try to put you in a box.)

The pharisees try not only to box the formerly blind man in, but also Jesus:

John 9:24 NLT

24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”

They can’t handle the truth of the man’s testimony about Jesus’ power - which proves he is from God.

So they box both of them up and toss the whole thing in the trash, so to speak.

John 9:34 NLT

34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

Jesus “Blows Up” the Boxes

John 9:35–38 NLT

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.” 37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!” 38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

It almost feels a little humorous.

The blind guy, of course, had never “seen” Jesus in the flesh so he didn’t know who was speaking to him.

Jesus fulfills what he told the disciples in v.5. He is the true light. This is the healing that the blind man really needed: To find and know God’s Son.

The only box you or I need to be in is the one labeled “faith.”

Pharisees Box Themselves

John 9:39–41 NLT

39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” 41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.

This is both a wonderful truth and a warning message.

Jesus is talking about spiritual darkness and His amazing light.

Some gut checks from the passage:

What boxes do you find most comfortable for others to live in?

What boxes do you find most comfortable to live in?

How do the boxes limit our ability to share the truth with people who aren’t like us?

When we live in the light, we can see others and ourselves more clearly and realize that the only difference between us and anyone else that matters is whether or not they know and follow Jesus.