John 9: 1-16, 35-41

Is it just me, or have we had a lot of sunny days this winter? Snow and cold too, but lots of sun!

Have you stepped out of a building into sunshine so bright that it takes your eyes awhile to adjust? Sunlight from above, glare from ice, snow, and windows; it takes a bit before you can see clearly.

We see something similar in John 9: Jesus announces that he is the light of the world. The man-born-blind cannot see Jesus clearly at first. Gradually, as his eyes get accustomed to the light, he sees Jesus clearly. Listen to his progress

“The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes

John 9:11a (NIV)

“He is a prophet.”

John 9:17b (NIV)

He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

John 9:25 (NIV)

“If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

John 9:33 (NIV)

Implication: he’s done something miraculous\he’s from God.

The final realization comes when Jesus asks him:

“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

John 9:35-38 (NIV)

That’s the goal of John’s gospel. That all who read it recognize and believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Rescuer. But faith in Jesus is a huge step.

Do you remember a month ago when we read about the invalid lying by the pool of Bethesda? Jesus told him to pick up his mat and walk – and he did!

We kept reading, expecting this man to put his faith in Jesus, but he never did. Jesus’ last words to him were

See, you are well again. Stop sinning or something worse may happen to you.

John 5:14 (NIV)

That’s a far cry from the closing scene in John 9 in which the man born-blind publicly professes his faith and worships Jesus.

It doesn’t happen all at once. As his eyes adjust to seeing the light of the world, the man-born-blind sees Jesus more clearly. No matter what the crowd or the Pharisees say, the man-born-blind keeps coming back to the miraculous sign: “I was blind but now I see!”

The Pharisees are different. They reject the light of the world. That’s Jesus’ judgement at the end of this chapter:

If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

John presents the leaders alongside the man-born-blind so we can see 2 reactions. It’s also part of John’s explanation throughout the gospel for why the Jewish leaders had Jesus arrested, tried, and crucified. John explains the problem in chap. 3:

This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

John 3:19 (NIV)

In the next chapter (+ next week’s sermon) John’s gospel invites us to compare the Pharisees with Jesus. Who is a good shepherd?

That’s next week from John 10. If you receive the daily readings by email, we’ll read through John 10 this week. Let me know if you want to receive those emails.

Today in John 9, here’s the conflict: The man-born-blind slowly recognizes Jesus as prophet, healer, Son of Man, and God. But the Pharisees don’t see Jesus the same way.

The Pharisees don’t recognize Jesus as the light of the world nor even as a messenger from God. Yet the leaders are stuck sorting out the miraculous sign of a man-born-blind being gaining his sight.

Is he the same man or isn’t he?

That’s the fun of this miraculous sign. This man was born blind but after seeing Jesus, he isn’t really the same man anymore.

But if it isthe man-born-blind and he was healed on the Sabbath, isn’t Jesus an ungodly sinner b/c he doesn’t keep the Sabbath?

After all, nobody really knows where Jesus comes from anyhow!

In the face of these arguments, the man-born-blind keeps returning to the miraculous sign. Healing his blindness is the event that kicked off the investigation, the debate. The miraculous sign is the key for understanding this passage.

Jesus is keen for the works of God to be displayed in this man who was born blind. Although his disciples and the Pharisees are convinced this man’s blindness is the result of sinful behaviour by the man or his parents, Jesus doesn’t entertain that line of thinking. For Jesus it’s an opportunity to intervene: to reach someone trapped in darkness and bring them into the light.

If you’ve been reading through the 4 gospels, Mt, Mk, Lk, & Jn you’ll notice some differences in the way they tell the gospel. In Matthew’s gospel, written in a Jewish context, the author regularly reminds readers of OT Bible passages that point to the Messiah.

John doesn’t often use language of promise and fulfillment. But there’s an OT connection here. Jesus borrows words from Isaiah the prophet. It comes from one of Isaiah’s description of the Messiah:

“I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;

I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and will make you

to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles,

to open eyes that are blind,

to free captives from prison

and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

Isaiah 42:6–7(NIV)

The man-born-blind comes to see Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promise. Jesus is the light for the Gentiles, the light of the world and he opened the eyes of a man born blind.

Earlier in the service we sang about Jesus:

Light of the world, you stepped down in to darkness

Opened my eyes, let me see.

That’s precisely what Jesus did for the man-born-blind. It’s a sign of what Jesus came to do for the whole world. The whole world is held captive, we’re all trapped in darkness.

Question: which is the greater miracle

giving eyesight to the man-born-blind?

or guiding him to faith in Jesus?

It seems his eyesight and his faith are connected. Every time the crowd or the Pharisees question Jesus’ identity, the man-born-blind pulls his trump card:

Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!

John 9:25 (NIV)

Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.

John 9:30 (NIV)

Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

John 9:32–33(NIV)

Against all doubts and objections, the man-born-blind keeps talking about his eyes being healed. You can understand that. A member of Fredericton CRC experienced that: losing his sight and having it restored. It’s a big deal!

Yet eyesight is only a down payment on the restoration and renewal this man receives by faith. Later in the NT, God’s word describes the benefits of faith in Jesus:

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.

I Corinthians 15:19–21 (NIV)

See: Jesus stepped down from the glories of heaven to enter a world that has been plunged into darkness.

People stop walking in the light of God’s instructions when they disobey God. Any time we

trust or worship anyone or anything more highly than God,

bow down and worship images of God

misuse God’s name

give in to the temptation to dishonour our parents,

steal,

have sex outside of marriage,

lie about our neighbours

we step further and further from the light of God, deeper and deeper into darkness.

Jesus is the light of the world because he uses God’s word as a lamp to his feet. The Lord’s instructions for godly living guide Jesus’ feet on the path of righteousness. Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world. He is the light of the world. At the cross Jesus took the punishment for human sin to free humankind from darkness.

Maybe you recall: while Jesus was on the cross, the light of the sun was blotted out and darkness covered the land for 3 hours. It looked like the powers of darkness had won. Even when the women who went to the grave the first Easter morning, it was dark as they trudged to Jesus’ tomb. But as the sun rose, the light of dawn revealed that the stone was rolled away: The Son of God has risen!

By Jesus’ resurrection, the powers of darkness have been defeated! By faith in Jesus, people can enjoy all the benefits of Jesus’ victory: walking in the light, HS’s help in walking the path of righteousness, renewal of all relationships and eventual healing of all ills.

For Jesus’ followers, for those who put their faith in Jesus, this is what WE keep coming back to: Jesus died and rose to rescue us from sin and death. Just as the man-born-blind kept reminding the Jewish leaders of the irrefutable fact that Jesus healed his eyes, we keep reminding ourselves and others of Jesus’ death and resurrection as his guarantee of life.

When doubts arise or when the worries of this world begin to choke our faith in Jesus, we remind each ourselves and each other:

Jesus died and rose to rescue us and bring us into the light.

When others question our faith, we hold on to God’s amazing grace:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (NIV)

That’s our story. It’s what we believe and we’re sticking to it.

None of us knows what is going to happen tomorrow. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine makes the future seem less certain. both WWI and WWII have been described as a descent into darkness. Only God knows if as season like that is ahead for us. However dark things get, we have seen the light of the world.

Hang on to that!

That’s the value of building habits of reading the Bible and prayer. It’s a regular reminder that Jesus is the light of the world. It helps us focus our eyes on Jesus and walk in the light of God’s word. Devotions or Bible studies with others keeps us telling each other our story of healing and faith. It keeps us grounded and rooted in faith, whatever lies ahead.