Blind Eyes

John 9:1-41

Imagine we get to witness someone who has lived their life in darkness suddenly able to see their surroundings and the people they love. Imagine, if you can, what it must be like to go through life unable to see, and then someone develops the technology or a new procedure is found that opens your eyes. They have this technology now to introduce color to color blind people and e-sight gives people who are legally blind to actually see close to 20/20 but actually see the faces of the people they love. How do you think sight changes life for someone who has lived their life blind? Consider a parallel: those who don’t know Christ are spiritually blind. And those who have come to know Jesus can now see.

Let Us Pray

I. THE PURPOSE—vv. 1–12

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?” 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.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 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.”

A. Problem—v. 1. This man was born blind.

Nothing recorded in the OT states a case of blindness being cured

B. Purpose—vv. 2–3. Why was he born blind? That God’s glory might be seen through the healing.

Sin is in the world

Bad things happen to good people not because of what they did but for God

We need to allow God to work in and thru our hardships

C. Plan—vv. 4–5. God’s plan is for all people to do His work while there is time. Soon there will be no time left to do this work.

What work is God calling you to do?

D. Perfection—vv. 6–12.

1. Acceptance—vv. 6–7. Never healed the same way twice

Obedience is necessary for healing. He could have washed in any pool.

But Jesus said the pool of Siloam. Hebrew for gushing forth, born from

1st stop for Jews pilgriming to Jerusalem

2. Attitude—vv. 8–12. Some thought this was not the same blind man they knew. Now he could see!

Miracles, spiritual and physical, were as uncommon in Jerusalem as they are now – everyone amazement

How could this possibly be the same man?

I am he – yes its me! Jesus made mud told me to wash and now I see

We have the Purpose – God to be Glorified

II. THE PERPLEXITY OF THE PHARISEES—vv. 13–17 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. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

A. Arraigned—vv. 13–14.

The healed man was brought before the Pharisees. He had been healed on the Sabbath.

B. Accusation—vv. 15–16. They asked how he was healed. They didn’t want to accept the healing. Some said Christ was a sinner for healing on the Sabbath.

C. Assurance—v. 17. The blind man did not know it was Christ who had healed him.

See, when the Pharisees investigated the healing of the blind man, their motives became clear. Like modern evolutionists who reject a Creator, these religious leaders had already determined that Jesus could not have healed the man. They denied his personal testimony and threw him out.

What do you do when God works in someone’s life that you can’t believe? Does your attitude change towards them? Towards God?

The Purpose causes Perplexity among the religious leaders -

III. THE PRESSURE—vv. 18–23 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.”

A. Faithless—v. 18. The Pharisees did not believe so they called his parents.

Could not accept Jesus had performed a miracle

B. Fact—vv. 19–20. The parents admitted that the man was their son and that he had been born blind.

C. Faith—v. 21. The parents didn’t know how their son was healed. He was healed by faith in the Son of God.

D. Fear—vv. 22–23. The parents were afraid to admit the miracle by Christ, because they would have been removed from the synagogue.

The PRESSURE, like today, causes our next point -

IV. THE PERSECUTION—vv. 24–34 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.

A. Praise—v. 24. The Jewish leaders told the man not to praise Christ, saying He was evil.

Jesus did not fit the mold of the Messiah they had

B. Proof—v. 25. The man didn’t know Christ, but knew he had been healed.

He refuses to judge Jesus

Religious people are always willing to judge – but this man has been set free

C. Problem—vv. 26–33. The Jews refused to believe. They boasted of being Moses’ disciples. They persecuted and reviled Christ. No one could open blind eyes—except Christ!

Even in the midst of miracles

Nowhere in history had this been done

Why could they not accept the miracle?

D. Persecution—v. 34. Despite proof, they cast out the healed man.

Despite proof they still refuse to believe

Science continually proves the existence of God

Science continually proves the Bible to be historically and scientifically accurate

Like the Pharisee’s people still refuse to believe.

Mature faith in the Son of God does not come instantly or even easily. Like the blind man, we grow in our capacity to trust God with our lives and our problems.

The PRESSURE led to PERSECUTION which brings us to our final point – PRIORITY

V. THE PRIORITY—vv. 35–41 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

A. Conversion—vv. 35–38. The man, who hadn’t known Christ, now accepted Him.

Do you believe the Son of Man exists?

But look here, the man did not set out to find Jesus, Jesus sought him out

Like the Father of the Prodigal – He is seeking us!

B. Christ—v. 39. Christ came to open the spiritual eyes of man.

We need to see with spiritual eyes –

God is seeking us

When we are consumed by the world – we become spiritually blind

Do you see yourself as good enough?

Spiritual enough?

C. Claim—vv. 40–41. The Jews claimed to know the truth, but refused to accept, even when proof was given.

They judged themselves by their own code – not God’s

If they were willing to admit they were spiritually blind and going down the wrong path – God would have forgiven them and set them back on the right road

Their pride kept them from seeing

Restoring sight to the blind was one of the miracles Jews expected to see in the Messiah. After chapter 8 in which Jesus claimed equality with the Father, John offered another miracle-message event, using the healing of a blind beggar to highlight the spiritual blindness of religion without Christ.[1]

Purpose? Is there a struggle that you just need to let God work thru in your life so others can see how good God is?

Is God doing a miracle in your life? Are you trying to dismiss it – explain it away with science or emotion? Or are you struggling with the obedience aspect of it?

First admit where pride is spiritually blinding you

Your faith – your relationship only grows when you exercise it – like a muscle that goes unused loses its strength and purpose same with your faith

Jesus calls us to be informed – the only way is to be in His Word

Faith in Christ always leads to worship

Worship leads to obedience – do what He calls you to do

Let the Light of the World shine through you and illuminate not only the darkness in your life but the darkness around you

Only light extinguishes darkness –

Only Light is the remedy to darkness

Be cured of your spiritual blindness!

Let us Pray!

[1] Gangel, K. O. (2000). John (Vol. 4, p. 186). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.