Transcript

The Blind Man Who Saw

John 9:1-7
Sunday, May 25, 2003
Pastor Randy Smith

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It's a joy to return to the book of John. Over the past year my heart has come to cherish this blessed Gospel.

The early church symbolized the Fourth Gospel with an eagle and held it in the highest place of honor since they believed it was written by the "beloved disciple" himself. They came to appreciate this book because of its intimate and unique description of the Savior. It's been estimated by some scholars that 92% of John is not paralleled in the other three gospels. The gospel provides invaluable theological insights related to the character of Christ. Athanasius, for example, appealed to the Fourth Gospel at the historic Council of Nicea in 325 AD to defend the deity of Christ.

The gospel of John is one of God's most treasured gifts to the church. Countless souls have been saved by reading the gospel, and many consider it their favorite book in the Bible. We too have seen God draw men and women to Himself here at The Grace Tabernacle as we have systematically worked our way through the first eight chapters. After all, John's purpose in writing was "so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name" (Jn. 20:31). That word "believe" occurs 153 times in the English Bible, a third of those times are found in John. John wanted his readers to "believe" in Jesus Christ. And there is no doubt he would have wanted us who have already believed Christ to have greater belief, to grow in our faith. I hope this is true for you, Christian. I hope the Lord has enabled you through our time in John to grow ever closer to Him in your intimate walk and to manifest greater love for and obedience to our wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ.

Before us this morning in chapter 9 is the well-known and much treasured account of Jesus healing the blind man. These 41 verses, which I plan to cover over the span of three Sundays, are nothing less than a living parable. Beyond the compassion and power of Jesus which enabled this man to see physically, is the wonderful truth that Jesus is also the One who enables us to see spiritually. This blind man, engulfed in a world of darkness was enabled to see the light.

In the same way, lost sinners without Christ are living in a world of spiritual darkness. They too must be enlightened. They too must have their spiritual eyes opened. They too must see the Light. Is it any wonder that Jesus boldly referred to Himself in the previous chapter as the "Light of the World" (Jn. 8:12)? Chapter 9 basically illustrates that claim.

The New Testament records more accounts of Jesus restoring sight than any other miracle (Mk. 18:22-26; 10:46-52; Mt. 9:27-31; 12:22-23; 21:14; Mk. 8:22-26; Jn. 9:1-41). This predicted Messianic activity (Isa. 29:18; 35:5; 42:7) became somewhat of a hallmark of His ministry. And aptly so! As we have learned in John, the miracles of Jesus were "signs" that pointed to a greater spiritual truth. Jesus came into this world to call people "out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9) and "open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God" (Ac. 26:18). Over the next three weeks, we'll learn about this marvelous Light that shines in a dark place. Some run to the Light for forgiveness, others are blinded by the Light (Mk. 4:12), "(loving) the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil" (Jn. 3:19).

1. THE SITUATION (verse 1)

Well let us begin this awesome chapter with sermon point number one, "The Situation." Verse 1 reads, "As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth."

The timing of this event probably occurred somewhere between the Feast of Tabernacles (ch. 7-8) and the Feast of Dedication (ch. 9). Most likely Jesus was still in Jerusalem.

Without reading too much into this verse, I believe John intends some clear symbolism to establish the whole salvation motif. Remember, the author's primary goal of this account is to emphasize spiritual conversion, illustrated or pictured through the restoration of physical eyesight.

First of all it's important to notice that Jesus had time for this man. Blind people in the first century were on the bottom of the social ladder. They did not have the luxuries of government aid or disability rights. They did not have the help of Braille or Seeing Eye dogs. They were often left to beg for survival. They were social outcasts. However, Jesus loves all types of people. If anything He seemed to go out of His way to minister to those who were rejected by society. In this case He especially went out of His way, since the prior verse, 8:59 (remember, John did not write the chapter and verse breaks), says people were seeking to kill Him! Jesus was running for His life, but the Savior always has time for the needs and concerns of others. As we will learn in the following chapter, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. And the Good Shepherd makes it His priority, even if He must leave the 99 (Mt. 18:12), to bring lost and straying sheep into His fold for salvation.

Second, in relation to salvation, it's important to observe in verse 1 that Jesus "saw (this) man." Nothing in this account shows this man running after Jesus. He could not see Jesus in a physical or spiritual sense. Rather it was Jesus who first took notice of Him. Jesus took the initiative, motivated solely by His sovereign grace. Throughout the gospel of John we read about Jesus "choosing" lost sinners out of the world (Jn. 6:70; 13:18; 15:16, 19). This blind man, totally unaware of the presence of Jesus was seen and ministered to by the Savior. Though people like to say they "found Jesus" (at a certain date-as if He was lost), they need to realize that they were lost (and blind) and Jesus, like we see in this account, found them.

Finally, the reason people don't seek after Jesus on their own initiative is because they are (verse 1) "blind from birth." As desperate the condition of this blind man, even more desperate is the condition of those without Jesus. Therefore we should be grieved, but not surprised that so many reject Jesus and are hostile toward our witness. The Scriptures declare that all humans from birth, "have eyes, but they do not see" (Psm. 135:16). They are "darkened in their understanding" (Eph. 4:18). 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, "The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (Jn. 3:3). The Light of the World must see us and shine in our hearts, enabling us to be regenerated, born-again and come crying to Him for salvation. 2 Corinthians 4:6, "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."

If you are in Christ Jesus, you need to acknowledge like the blind man that Christ chose to have mercy on you. You need to acknowledge like the blind man that Christ found you before you found Him. You need to acknowledge like the blind man that Christ removed the scales from your spiritually blind eyes and enabled you to see Him and then trust Him for eternal life.

Verse 1 simply shows that salvation is all of God's amazing grace! John Newton captured verse 1 in the first verse of his popular hymn. "Amazing Grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, buy now am found, was blind but now I see."

2. THE SIDETRACK (verses 2-4)

Though unbelievers are blinded to spiritual realities, the disciples, though believers were oblivious to the workings of Christ. While Jesus was concerned about providing an object lesson as to how he would restore this man's relationship with God, the disciples were more concerned about their own theological dilemma. Jesus was concerned about the man's soul; the disciples were concerned about themselves. Verse 2, "And His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?'"

You see there were conflicting beliefs circulating at this time (as there is today) as to the origin of suffering. Some (namely the Babylonians, Persians and Greeks) believed that suffering in one's life was a direct result of and punishment for grievous sins in a previous life. This is commonly called the doctrine of reincarnation. However, reincarnation is not taught in the Scriptures.

Though the Jews did not believe in "past lives," they did believe (and I quote the Rabbinic writings), "There is no death without sin, and there is no suffering without iniquity." Along these lines, some Jews taught that sin was hereditary. In other words it was transmitted to a child as a sort of punishment for disobedient parents. A text often used to support this belief is Exodus 20:5, "For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me. Unfortunately the Jews misinterpreted this text and failed to compare it with other Scripture that teaches exactly the opposite. Ezekiel 18:20 says "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father's iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son's iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself."

Therefore, another group of the Jews, understanding the nature of this personal responsibility and still wanting to connect sin with suffering, drew the conclusion that any person born with a defect must have sinned in the womb (they possibly used Psalm 58:3).

I think this background helps us understand the question that the disciples posed to Jesus in verse 2. If suffering is always a punishment of someone's sin and since this man was born blind whose fault was it, his or his parents?

Without getting sidetracked myself, allow me to briefly probe into this issue of suffering. The Jews strongly believed that all suffering was the result of sin. Yet even many today, especially those among some Charismatic circles believe the same. Many equate suffering with sin and believe that a lack of healing reveals a lack of personal righteousness and/or a lack of faith. John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Movement in his book, Power Healing, said, "There are many reasons that people are not healed. Most of the reasons involve some form of sin and unbelief. Some do not have faith in God for healing; (and some have) personal, unconfessed sin (which) creates a barrier to God's grace (p. 152).

Yes, in a general way, we can attribute every disease, every infirmity, and every form of suffering to the Fall. Had sin not entered the world, we would still be living in Paradise. Yes, as we learned in John 5 (verse 14; c.f. Num. 12:10; 2 Ki. 5:27; Ac. 5:5) some suffering is the result of personal sin, often but not always, through the form of natural consequences (promiscuous-VD, alcoholic-cirrhosis of the liver, etc.). We know that God the Father lovingly disciplines His children. Hebrews 12:6 says, "He scourges every son whom He receives." However, we cannot paint suffering with a broad stroke and say it or the inability to be healed is always the result of personal sin. You'll recall that Job's "friends" had this mentality. Yet we know that Job did not suffer because of his sin. If anything, he suffered because of his righteousness! Our suffering is not always an indication of our sin nor is our lack of affliction (health, wealth and prosperity) always an indication of our godliness. On the contrary, some of the godliest people I have known (like Job, Spurgeon, Brainard and some in this church) bear the greatest ongoing afflictions.

Though the disciples wanted to know whose sin was responsible for this blind man's condition, Jesus responded in verse 3, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents." Of course Jesus is not implying that neither he nor his parents ever sinned (1 Ki. 8:46), rather He was declaring that his blindness was not the result of anybody's sin. In other words, there is no universal connection between suffering and sin.

Well, you might be wondering, if the man's blindness was not the result of someone's personal sin, where did it come from? That's a good question! Some verses attribute our infirmities directly to Satan (Job 1; Lk. 13:11-13), yet obviously happening under the sovereign hand of God. Exodus 4:11 attributes them directly to God Himself. "The Lord said to (Moses), 'Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?'" Though such theology seems difficult to swallow, we must remember that suffering and sin and Satan are not more powerful than God. God if He chose could eliminate all of these in a split second. Some He does, but others He doesn't, and He has wise purposes for doing so. We must remember that there is much more to God's infinite plan than our finite minds can comprehend. We must walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). We must find our hope and confidence in the goodness of God's character. We must believe that His plan is perfect though it defies human logic. We must believe that He is sovereign, always working all things together for our good and His glory (Rom. 8:28).

Such was the case in the life of the blind man. "Jesus answered" in verse 3, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." You see, the man's blindness had a reason. Jesus said it was to glorify God!

Therefore, if your greatest goal is to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31), no longer view your defects as personal flaws or punishments for some secret sin or imperfections without purpose. On the contrary, see them as a means that God has given you to glorify Him (c.f. Jn. 11:4; 21:19). See them as birthmarks of beauty. And we must be sure to remember that whatever is for God's glory, will ultimately bring to us the greatest blessing!

For example, you'll remember the apostle Paul when he battled his "thorn in the flesh." The Scriptures say that he prayed to "the Lord three times that it might leave (him)" (2 Cor. 12:8). Was Paul a godly man? Did God hear his prayer? Did God have the ability to heal? Yes - Yes - Yes. However, do you remember God's response? "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:9a). Paul concluded, "Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Cor. 12:9b-10). Paul knew that because of his affliction (whatever it was), God was glorified and he was better off.

Someone once said, "Grace grows greater in winter." Beloved, this is great encouragement! Though we may not have all the answers, we must take comfort that God (though He can remove suffering) has a wise and often hidden and good purpose for allowing us to continue in our affliction.

Though this theological dilemma would have appeared to sidetrack Jesus, He steered the disciples' question to achieve His purpose. The disciples wondered about the origins of blindness (verse 2). Jesus said that it was so the works of God might be displayed (verse 3). Now in verse 4 Jesus said, "We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work." In other words, there is a time for theological discussion, but such discussion must never take precedence over accomplishing God's work. Jesus had more important concerns - like saving this man's soul! I've seen so many people do this in today's church. They make the same mistake that the disciples committed. They spend most of their time and energy debating the minute points of doctrine when lost sinners are dying and going to hell!

This is the point Jesus is making in verse 4. He's saying, "Folks, our time is short and our labor is immense. There is an urgency to our mission. We must not get sidetracked from the work to which God has called us. We must be steadfast, continually prioritizing the works of God. His agenda must always take precedence over ours. We must seek to make the most of every opportunity for His glory!"

Two points of verse 4 are very fascinating to me. First, Jesus begins this verse with the plural pronoun, "we." Though spoken originally to the disciples, Jesus includes each one of us in His work. As Christians, we are not on the sidelines. Rather we actively participate in the awesome works of God. God has entrusted us with a special responsibility! He uses us as teammates to accomplish His eternal plan! Second, though Jesus is God, fully sovereign, knowing everything from eternity past to eternity future, we sense a tone of urgency. He says we "must work" and then speaks of a time when our work will cease. Allow me to paraphrase these two points for us today.

"Beloved, your life is a vapor. Your time on this earth is short. Your opportunities will not always be present. Do not be consumed with the trivialities of this world, which offer no eternal significance. Rather, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Know the desires of God. Continually yield yourself to His will and the works of grace which He has called you to."

If the Christian church could get as serious about God as Annika Sorenstam (as we have seen this past week) is about golf, watch out! Is that lady focused or what? The dedication, the training, the diligence, the focus, the motivation, the single-mindedness - for a sport! We need to get serious folks! God's work must be our priority! He has called us to be involved! There is no greater cause! Too many Christians think their relationship with God is of peripheral interest adopting an "I'll get around to it when I feel like it attitude." Such a spirit according to verse 4 is not the teaching of Christ.

John MacArthur once said, "So many Christians are preoccupied with making money and entertaining themselves and exalting their ego and doing the things they want to do, (while) others are lazy and slothful. (To both parties) Jesus is saying the same thing. He is saying, 'Let's get together and do the works of God.' We haven't even begun to tap into what God can do through us if we let Him."

In verse 4 Jesus speaks of being "sent" from the Father. In 20:21 Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." Jesus has sent us to be laborers in His harvest. We must prioritize this special calling, this privileged stewardship, we now possess from God.

3. THE STATEMENT (verse 5)

With the dialogue back on track, Jesus repeats a profound statement that He originally uttered in chapter 8. In verse 5 He said, "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the World."

Just as seeing the light was the indication that a blind man was cured, spiritually blind individuals also need to see the Light for restoration. Jesus, as He declared now for the second time in the gospel is the "Light of the World" (8:12; 9:5; 11:9). Jesus Christ illuminates a world ruined by sin. Just as He called for light in Genesis 1:3 to illuminate a lifeless world that "was formless and void, (engulfed) darkness" (Gen. 1:3), Jesus now shines His light into the heart of man and delivers them from their captivity to sin. Once saved, His light then guides them on the paths of righteousness (Psm 119:105).

Chapter 9 of this gospel illustrates Christ's claim to be the Light of the World. And praise God that we see Him shining His light among us, opening the eyes of lost sinners right here at The Grace Tabernacle. He is drawing men, woman and children to Himself out of the darkness. Last week I received this e-mail from an individual in our flock that trusted Christ this month. "I can't stop thinking about God, Jesus, prayer and the church. I can no longer lie (white or not). I want to see the good in everyone even when they are mean to me or to others. I no longer get mad when I drive. I look to the Lord everyday, all day for strength and help in guiding me through situations. I cry a lot when I am in church and when I read the Bible and especially when I pray, I don't know what's happening to me, but I'm far from scared."

My friend, if you are without Christ don't stay in your spiritual darkness. Possibly the Light of the World is calling you right now. Turn to the Light!

4. THE SUPERNATURAL (verses 6-7)

As we move to point 4, Jesus is about to demonstrate His spiritual claim to be the "light of the World" through a miracle. To show how He seeks to open the eyes of our soul, He will now open the eyes of this man, blind from birth. This event is a parable in action.

Now restoring this man's sight for God is as simple as us snapping our fingers. Therefore we must ask why did Jesus employ such an elaborate procedure spoken of in verses 6-7. In other words, why did He spit on the ground, make clay and then have the man wash in the pool of Siloam? Obviously this was not necessary. Jesus is not some magician that needs to wave a wand or depend upon mystical principles or magical properties. Yet no doubt these things were done for a reason, a reason that helped to illustrate His purpose. The purpose is clear; however, the meaning of the symbols has baffled the minds of scholars over the centuries.

As far as the clay produced by the spit, the early church fathers believed it was an illusion to Genesis 2:7 when man is made from the dust of the earth. Others' recent opinions range from making the man blinder to increase the intensity of the miracle (c.f. 1 Ki. 18:34) to symbolizing the mud-plastered eyes of unbelief to demonstrating His authority to use that which was spiritually unclean (Lev. 15:8). We cannot be dogmatic on these interpretations.

However, washing in the pool of Siloam, as it is mentioned in verse 7 bears a clearer interpretation. The pool of Siloam was built after Hezekiah redirected water from the Gihon Spring. The large pool was fed by an underground tunnel and provided the only source of spring water for the city of Jerusalem. Therefore the water had ceremonial significance. You'll remember from chapter 7 that the Jews during the Feast of Tabernacles would parade to this spring, draw water in a golden pitcher and then pour it out over the altar. It was during this particular ceremony that Jesus boldly declared, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water" (Jn. 7:37-38). Once again, Jesus showed Himself to be the One to whom the symbols of the Feast pointed. Jesus called the people to drink His pure and living water. Such an action was symbolic of turning to Him in faith for complete satisfaction and spiritual cleansing. Simply put, Jesus is the true Siloam (see Gen. 40:10). Telling the blind man to wash in the pool of Siloam is symbolic of telling Him to be washed spiritually clean in Jesus.

Additionally, as he has done before, John translates the Semitic meaning of Siloam for his Greek speaking readers. He says the name means "Sent." Again, I believe John is intending some clear symbolism. In his gospel, John refers to Jesus over 20 times as the "Sent One" of God. Just as the water is "sent" through the channel built by Hezekiah to the pool in Jerusalem, Jesus Christ is "sent" by the Father into this world. So telling the blind man to wash in "Sent" is again (like Siloam) to symbolize a spiritual washing from Jesus. Therefore, I believe the symbolism is clear. Sinners are called to obey the Sent One of God and be washed in the true Siloam, Jesus Christ for salvation (c.f. 1 Cor. 6:11; Heb. 10:22).

The blind man in our story did just that. He simply obeyed the words of Christ. Verse 7 reads, "So he went away and washed, and came back seeing." Of this event, the great Puritan John Trapp once said, "He obeyed Christ blindly. He looked not upon Siloam with Syrian eyes as Naaman did upon the Jordan; but he believeth and doeth as he was bidden, without hesitation." There were no "maybes" or "buts." Christ spoke and the man immediately responded in faith and obedience. The result? Vision, for the first time in his life! Imagine his prior desperation now contrasted with his present joy! In the weeks ahead we'll see how this man's joy increases when Jesus opens the eyes of His soul!

All the events of this miracle are purely symbols, screaming to those who are even more desperate for something beyond physical eyesight. We all know how dependent we are on our physical eyes, but elsewhere Jesus said, "It is better to enter (heaven partially blind) than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell" (Mk. 9:47). We are desperate to see physically, but more desperate to see spiritually. The blind beggar represents all of us. We were all spiritually blind until the Light of the World, the true Siloam opened our eyes and we obeyed His voice to be healed and washed.

Let me ask you, has Jesus illuminated your heart? Has He opened your eyes to see Him? He has a wonderful gift of deliverance to offer. Your response is simply the faith to believe, the faith to obey His Word and be washed. Let me ask you, have you been washed clean, having all your sins forgiven, in the blood of the true Siloam (Rev. 7:14)?

Tomorrow is a special day for our country to remember the men and women from the armed forces that died to preserve our freedom. But every day is a day to remember and look to Jesus. He is the One who died by shedding His blood to purchase our eternal freedom. And now the Light of the World is passing by lost sinners and opening spiritual eyes to believe Him for eternal life. Have you found eternal life in Him? Are you rejoicing in His amazing grace?