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Title: -- Jesus heals a Man Born Blind
Theme: -- Spiritual Blindness
Text: -- John 9:1-38
Date: -- Sunday, July 17, 2016
Occasion: --
Series: -- THEY MET THE MASTER (Sixth Episode)
Place: -- CCC
Code: -- CA – 10
Main focus: How this blind man met the Master, saw Jesus, and came to believe … and how we can meet him too, coming out of our blindness and believe.
Good morning! I’m intrigued by stories in the Bible about how “They Met the Master”, how men and women had a life-changing encounter with Christ. It teaches us so much about them, about Christ, and about us! Today we look at the episode of the healing of a man born blind (John 9). This man had never witnessed a sunrise, or a sunset. He had never gazed off in wonder into the star-studded night sky. He had never been amazed by the sight of a waterfall, or marvelled at the beauty and intricacy of the plants or trees. It’s very instructive because the Scriptures teach that we are all born spiritually blind and we all need the gift of Divine healing in order to see the glory of God. The natural man knows nothing of the glory of God, or the beauty of Christ, or the marvel of forgiveness and eternity. The gift of light and sight is ours through Jesus, just like it was for this man born blind.
1) People with liabilities and sicknesses were considered cursed by God for some sin. The Jewish disciples evidently shared this popular opinion. 2And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” But it didn’t make sense. If he was born blind, he had no chance to sin. It didn’t seem right for be punished for a sin by being born blind. He had no chance to sin before his punishment. So they reasoned, either God punished him before his sin, knowing what he was going to do, or God punished him because of some sin of his parents.
2) Jesus had a larger and more comprehensive view of suffering and human tragedy. He always does! 3Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Sometimes human tragedy is the opportunity for God to display and demonstrate his compassion, His power, and His glory. Be careful how you interpret your own, and other’s suffering. We’re prone to misread human pain. God often has a different “take” on things.
3) Jesus seizes the opportunity to teach his disciples to “seize the day” (Carpe DIEM). 4We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 Night is coming when no one can work. If we could only see how close we are to the end, we might be more inspired to “seize the day”. Jesus dignifies his disciples and us by being co-laborers with Him. “We must work the works of Him who sent me”. What a truth! Working with Jesus, doing the will of the Father! With the blind all around us, needing Divine light.
4) What a strange way to heal! Why this methodology? 6When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, 7and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing. Seizes Couldn’t Jesus have simply touched his eyes, or simply spoken a healing word? Of course. So why this MO? Allow me to suggest a couple of reasons.
a. Sometimes we need to humble ourselves before we can receive spiritual sight. Perhaps this humbling process was meant to teach us that we should not question God’s ways of healing. The cross may be offensive to some, but if it works, why complain?
b. The word “Siloam” means “sent”. There is a rather significant number of references to Jesus as the “sent one”. Could this be a play on words? Healing and sight comes by the washing of the “sent” one!
5) What follows are a series of interviews, first with his neighbours and friends, secondly with the Pharisees. The neighbours were skeptical about whether or not he was the same one they had seen begging for years. The Jews were skeptical about the Divine nature of this apparent miracle because it was done on the Sabbath. In some of their minds, this healer was breaking the Sabbath by healing, and certainly that meant that he wasn’t from God, for God ordered the Sabbath to be kept, not broken by a work of healing. They try and discredit the healing, by interviewing the blind man, raising questions about whether he was truly born blind by brining in his parents, and then re-interviewing the blind man. The blind man gives a crystal clear testimony of his healing and has some provocative questions for the religious establishment. He ends up being expelled.
a. 29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” 30The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. 32[d]Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 34They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out. being expelled. The phrase “they put him out” may mean simply that they dismissed him, but since verse 22 clearly refers to the decision of the Jesus to excommunicate from the synagogue any who confessed faith in Jesus, it is quite likely that this man was excommunicated. The religious establishment barred, excluded and removed this man from the religious community, inflicting upon him the disgrace, shame, humiliation and embarrassment of being shunned by the religious community.
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6) This is where we want to pick up the story again. 35Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36He answered, “Who is He, [e]Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
a. The attitude of Jesus towards this blind man, now healed, is truly remarkable. Notice the particular compassion and interest Jesus demonstrates towards this man.
i. We see this right from the outset of the story. Verse one of our text reads. 9As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. Jesus saw him. The initiative is with Jesus, not the blind man.
ii. And now, after the excommunication, we read “35Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, …”. He didn’t just happen to bump into him. He went out and searched for him until He found him. That’s grace. Put out by the religious establishment but sought out by Jesus. Excommunicated by men of God, but sought out and embraced by God.
b. He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36He answered, “Who is He, [e]Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
i. This blind man still doesn’t have the full picture. He’s been healed, he knows it was by “the man they call Jesus” (11) but he’s obviously not fully informed about who has healed him, and about what’s really going on.
ii. So when Jesus says “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36He answered, “Who is He, [e]Lord, that I may believe in Him?” He wants to believe, but he’s unaware of what’s really going on, about who Jesus really is.
c. 37Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” 38And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
i. Jesus clarifies who HE is, and that’s enough.
ii. He believes.
iii. He worships.
7) The evolution of faith in this blind man.
a. It’s fascinating to track the development of faith in this blind man.
i. He refers to his healer as “the man who is called Jesus” (11)
ii. When asked by the religious establishment, he refers to him as a prophet (17)
iii. In his dialogue with the Jews, he reasons “sinner or no, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see.” (25)
iv. He reasons with the Jews that this man must be God-fearing (31)
v. He also affirms that Jesus must be “from God” (33).
vi. But all of that is not going far enough for saving faith. It’s finally when Jesus fully reveals Himself to him that he confesses his faith: And he said, “Lord, I believe.”
vii. And he worshiped Him.
CONCLUSION: --
· I mentioned at the outset that this man, in a sense, represents us all. All of us are born blind, spiritually. We all need the “healing” touch of Jesus. The Bible clearly teaches that the god (small g) of this world has blinded the eyes of them which believe not (Ii Cor. 4:4). Just as Jesus touched this particular blind man, he can touch and give you spiritual sight.
· Sometimes there is an evolution in our belief process. Like this blind man, we go through a process of understanding of who Jesus is before we come to a clear and compelling conviction that Jesus is truly Divine and worthy of our full belief, obedience and worship. Where in this belief process are you? Have you come to that culminating point where you recognize that Jesus is indeed Deity and worship of your unswerving belief, obedience and worship?