Open Eyes That See - John 9 - Fourth Week of Lent

 

John 9 NIV

9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

⁸ His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

¹⁰ “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

¹¹ He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

¹² “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵ Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.

¹⁷ Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸ They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹ “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

²⁰ “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³ That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴ A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

²⁵ 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!”

²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³² Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

 

Open Eyes That See

Lead me in my blindness to see Your face each and every day, moment and minute of my life, O Lord.

Just like the man born blind, we cry out, we beg for attention; and look, see, Jesus responds with compassion and grace to our needs out of His endless love. What a God we have!

Out of the darkness of my blind eyes and my blind heart, Jesus calls me into His Light. Thanks be to God!

Jesus is very perceptive to His surroundings, especially when it comes to those in need. Here Jesus notices the blind man. Here Jesus draws His attention to a need, and He draws the attention of His disciples to notice what, and who, is right in their midst. Who’s that? A blind man in need of healing that will be used by God to proclaim “Light” and “Life,” freely given by Jesus to this man and to ALL people as well.

Jesus’ perception goes beyond a physical need of sight for this one man. Jesus begins to draw us in to the contrast between the physical need of sight, and the spiritual need of sight. Once again, like the last few weeks, Jesus leads us from the physical world to the spiritual world.

The Jews would understand blindness as a result of some sin by either the man, or his relatives. But that’s not the truth. Jesus plays an important role here for all to see. Jesus is the Light of the World, and in this role, He brings both physical and spiritual sight, to this man, and to the world as well.

Physical blindness is something we can witness, in this world in which we live. Spiritual blindness is much deeper, and hides our ability to sense spiritual truth. Both the physical and the spiritual are opportunities for God to act, for God to transform lives. How does this happen? God gives us the faith we need, to see the spiritual realities of His salvation, and in other ways, physical healing at times, to use our physical situations to reveal a spiritual message.

So, when we struggle in our physical beings, and when we struggle with our spiritual situations; God can and does use our struggle to show us His plan for our lives and the lives of His people.

But, healing, if physical or spiritual, needs obedience to God’s instructions. Here the man must use the faith that God gives him to follow Jesus’ instructions. As we are changed by Jesus’ healing, no matter if physical or spiritual, we respond by telling others, or witnessing what God has done in our lives, to those God places in our lives. We share how Jesus changes us freely and openly.

But, as other people notice the change in our lives, many will question what has occurred. Many of our friends may doubt this change as an act. Why? Because they struggle with sin and the consequences of sin. Why did God choose to change you or me, or this blind man? I’m sure that he, or you, or I, did something to deserve this blindness, physical or spiritual. That’s the attitude some will take with our healing from God, either physical, or spiritual.

But in this, we also, as we look upon the spiritually blind or the physically blind; we must be careful not to judge the “other.” After all, even here, Jesus emphasized that not all suffering is a consequence of sin. Our blindness may reveal how Jesus IS THE “Light of the World,” as He acts and shows His ultimate word of Salvation that unites humanity with God once again, as always intended.

This healing of the blind man is an extraordinary miracle using Jesus’ power over creation to display how He interacts with the physical and the spiritual realms.

So, Jesus after making the mud with dirt and saliva sends the man to wash at the Pool of Siloam. This pool was an important place in Jerusalem. This pool was fed by the Gihon Spring through Hezekiah’s Tunnel and was used for ritual purification.

Remember last week when Jesus met the Woman at the well? Jesus told her that He was Living Water. Well, Living Water to the Jews at this time, was water which came from a spring or possibly a brook that flowed continuously, always replenishing the pools in which people went for ritual cleansing. So, once a person was declared “unclean” they would wash in such a pool to be ritually clean. But these pools were all manmade pools for the most part. Man cannot cleanse himself by any action, or pool that he makes for himself. The only true source of “Living Water” is Jesus Himself. It’s not about how we cleanse ourselves from sin that makes any difference. It’s only through the cleansing from Jesus, the true “Living Water” from God that cleanses us. So, even though Jesus touched many unclean, or sinful people, including you and me, He never became unclean through His own actions, or sinful Himself. He couldn’t become unclean by His actions, or sinful. But He could take on our uncleanliness, our sin, to make us clean. Wow! That’s a Savior!

What’s the significance of following Jesus’ command to go and wash?

Once again, it’s the faithful following of Jesus’ instructions by the blind man or someone being healed by Jesus. To be healed, sometimes we need to be faithful to God, and to use the faith God gives us to respond.

And again, when others see our healing, they may doubt the reality of it all. They may think it’s just an act. But as we witness to what has changed us and healed us, we begin to “Point to Jesus.” We point to the “Light of the World.” We witness to a power that shows the works and identity of Jesus as the Messiah.

And as we testify, or “Point to Jesus,” we encourage those around us to go after, or follow, Jesus in their own lives. Chasing down Jesus is a good thing too. Sure, Jesus chases us down as well, but when we see Him, we need to run to Him!

Well, since Jesus performed this healing on the Sabbath, the people question Jesus’ authority to do this. Really? So, they brought the man to the religious leaders, the Pharisees, to show them what had happened. I mean, how could you doubt what happened? But I suppose there will always be those that are wanting to hold some power to judge, over the truth, of what has already taken place.

Jesus made the mud and did the healing on the Sabbath. That alone demonstrates through this healing miracle, that Jesus was the Top Dog, even over any Sabbath rules that man has made. After all, Jesus restored sight to the man who believed and acted out in faith.

It’s funny how the Pharisees question the man as to how he was healed. He made mud and told me to go wash. Come on! Can’t you see, I can, see? But that’s not what the Pharisees were driving at. They believe that their laws have authority over what can and can’t be done on the Sabbath, even if it is for the good of this blind man that now sees.

So, the Pharisees get in a huff about Jesus. They declare that Jesus can’t be a “Man of God.” He wouldn’t do such a thing on the Sabbath! How dare He?! So, like it seems to happen here, and in the church of today, an argument and a split takes place.  Go figure!

And then, as if this blind man, who now can see, they question him again how his healing took place. Like an ongoing inquisition is going to change the truth of the matter. So, let’s not believe he was blind from birth. Really? How does that change anything? He was blind but now he sees. So, let’s go get the blind man’s parents and find out if this man was really born blind. Talk about fishing for some excuse to deny reality!

Well, that takes the Pharisees nowhere. The truth of the healing is still the truth, no matter who is questioned.

As the parents are afraid to “rock the boat,” they refer the Pharisees back to their son for his testimony again. And testify, this healed man, certainly does, even if it is to the displeasure of the authorities. That says something for having the internal fortitude that God gives people who have been changed by God to speak truth to the face of worldly power. May we all stand up when called!

Well, now the Pharisees call forth the previously blind man and question him as to how he gained his sight. Now who is blind? The Pharisees believe that Jesus is a sinner, because he did not uphold what they believe to be the truth of Law, that forbids Jesus’ healing this blind man on a Sabbath. Seems, to me, that now the Pharisees are blinded by their own misunderstandings.

How many times have I been blinded by my misunderstandings? Especially when I judge another person unjustly. When I place my actions over and against the good actions of another neighbor, then I am the blind one. Judging by your own standards, or even misunderstood standards that are created upon what I think God desires, is a sin. I need God to point this out to me. I need to seek forgiveness as well, just like the Pharisees, have judged Jesus to be a sinner, because he loved a blind man and healed him, even on the Sabbath.

The blind man responds to the Pharisees judgment of Jesus as a sinner with honest truth, and not further judgment. He knows that now he can see. He doesn’t judge Jesus as sinner or not. His spirit is now awake to the love of God in Christ Jesus, and he let’s the world know that! The blind man’s physical eyes are now open along with his spiritual eyes as well. Shouldn’t we all face this openly and acknowledge how God opens our eyes, and tell all the world how that was done for us, on a personal level?

But, even with this testimony, some will question the truth of it all. You can’t do much about that but to proclaim the truth of God active in your own life and let others think what they will. In this case, the Pharisee’s are spiritually blind. So, pray that God may open their eyes as well, someday, somehow.

Then I think the blind man had had enough of all this questioning of how he regained his sight. And he gets a little snarky with the Pharisees. I can’t blame him. I’m afraid I would have sinned with some smart remark much worse.

And this is when the Pharisees become defensive. This will lead to no good solution. And the insults begin to fly. Sounds so familiar with how today, we commonly interact with one another, especially over subjects that are closer to our hearts. It goes nowhere good.

Just like what would later happen to Jesus at His crucifixion, and His coming rejection by the religious leaders; the Pharisees, threw the blind man out for his testimony about Jesus. Expect to be rejected for your testimony of Jesus yourself. It’s not uncommon, but you must be a true disciple and follower of Jesus.

After the blind man was thrown out of the presence of the Pharisees, Jesus finds him. Don’t you just love how Jesus comes when we need Him? Jesus tests the man’s faith and testimony, by asking him if he believes in Him (Jesus) as the Son of Man. Why? So, that the blind man can attest to his belief and move to a deeper understanding, from physical healing to spiritual healing. Jesus is always teaching us along the way, and leading us into the presence of the Holy Spirit.

The man truly wants to know Jesus. This shows his desire to understand on a much deeper level just who Jesus really is. Reminds me of the questions Nicodemus had, as well. This search, even in the presence of God, is a good thing. If we doubt, we can surely turn directly to God, here in Jesus, to seek knowledge that will lead us to believe in God.

And Jesus answer to the man born blind? Jesus tells him that He is the One. Jesus tells us many times that He is the Messiah. Listen to Him, hear the Word, look and see the Light, and believe! Confess your belief in God and worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

Jesus now confirms that he came, physical in flesh and blood, to lead us to the spiritual reality with Him, that ALL may come to believe. He came to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, and for those who choose otherwise, well that’s up to them to turn away.

And some of the Pharisees find out that they may be able to physically see, but their spiritual sight isn’t present as of yet. Will this change? We pray so, for this is, as Nicodemus learned, a spiritual rebirth, or born again.

So, as I follow along with this passage of Scripture, I realize those times that I may too be spiritually blind. What do I do with this? For me, it is turn to Scripture, Sacraments, like Baptism and Communion, and look and listen for what God has to say. To run to Jesus to confess my sin, and to seek Him out to open my eyes to what He would have me hear and see. And it seems that when I run to Jesus, I find that He has already noticed me and is seeking me out, to open my eyes to Him.

And then it’s to obey the commands of Jesus. And then it’s to stand up tall and worship Him even in those difficult encounters with both the religious leaders and the political leaders of this day. All the while professing what God has done, personally in my life, telling the truth of it all in a straightforward, honest, testimony, of God’s presence with me in my life.

At times we all are blind. At times we can’t see. At times it looks like a fog. But only through the power of Jesus can this fog be lifted, our sight be made clear, and our message be of truth.

Sure, “Come, Lord, Jesus, Come!” … today… tomorrow… and forever. Thanks be to God!

Please enjoy this YouTube Music Video that I used during this reflection for inspiration…

“And Now My Lifesong Sings”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLXDsWDetak&list=RDiLXDsWDetak&start_radio=1

 

photo courtesy of http://www.gerhardy.id.au/lent4_08.htm