John 9. The Blind See, the Sighted are Blind

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1 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 spat 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 neighbours 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.

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

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.

Spiritual Blindness

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 worshipped 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.

In a recent radio broadcast I was asked,

“Is there anything unique about Christianity?”

There is no doubt how the apostles, who wrote or authorised all the New Testament, would answer. They all considered Jesus and his message to be completely different from those of all other spiritual leaders. Jesus made this extraordinary statement and repeated it publicly,

“I am the light of the world.” John 8:12, 9:5

No-one had ever spoken with such megalomania as Jesus. He puts Mohammed Ali and his boast, “I’m the greatest!” into the shade.

The writer C.S.Lewis made a brilliant statement about humility in his book ‘Mere Christianity’. He suggested that if we were to meet a truly humble person we would never come away thinking they were humble. A person who keeps hinting that they are ‘ever so ‘umble’, like Dickens’ Uriah Heap, are really self obsessed. In contrast the truly humble man would be completely interested in the other person.

Jesus was such a person. He was genuinely concerned about the welfare of others. Yet he made the most astonishing claims about himself such as this. He claimed to be the one and only Son of God that the whole of creation had been waiting for. He proved this by performing extraordinary miracles culminating in his resurrection from the dead. But when these claims are compared with the humble manner he treated others, even social outcasts, we are faced with a unique, impossible, even supernatural paradox. No-one else has combined these two extremes in one personality.

The story given us in John chapter nine demonstrates how and why Jesus relates to different people. We are clearly meant to apply the lessons given there to ourselves.

1. THE LIGHT HAS COME

Jesus is saying,

“I am the only person in the world who understands what life is about!”

“If a person doesn’t follow me, they will never understand what life is for.”

This is staggering. He is saying, “Life is about me and following me!” In the next chapter Jesus said,

“I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” John 10:10

In anybody else such claims would be disregarded as the ranting of a demented megalomaniac but those living closest to him concluded he really was the Son of God.

Today our society needs to ask, “What is life about?” Is it just for making money and being financially secure? Is it just to raise a well adjusted family? Is it to satisfy my sexual needs? Is it to care for others? These all have their place but Jesus says that even together they are not enough. He says that if we want to see clearly what life is about, then we need him, the creator of the universe, to be at the centre of our lives. Nothing less will do.

I have met many people whose lives have demonstrated a peace and security that is extraordinary. I used to work as a Consultant surgeon and will never forget one lovely lady who was in hospital with advanced cancer. She was very weak and was waiting to die. On a ward round which was attended by many students, junior doctors and nurses she asked,

“Mr Palmer, when am I going home?”

“Alice, you wouldn’t cope on your own at home,” I replied. She smiled,

“No. I mean to go home to be with the Lord Jesus.”

She had such peace. She had found something that money, families and satisfying jobs can never give us. She had a personal relationship with God. Her Lord had given her knowledge of what life is about.

The extraordinary story told in John chapter nine is included in order to demonstrate who Jesus is and what he offers everyone. Seven hundred years earlier the prophet Isaiah had foretold many of the features that would enable God’s Messiah to be recognised when he came to earth. He would come as a baby, he would perform remarkable miracles. He would die and then rise from the dead. Three times Isaiah mentions the miracle of his giving sight to the blind that the Messiah would do.

The man begging at the roadside had congenital blindness. He had never seen a beautiful sunset. He would have been denied an education. His life would be one of dependency on others. Then Jesus walks by and his life is never the same again. That is the way it is with Jesus. No-one can meet him and remain the same person.

Jesus’ disciples do not have the same love for people that Jesus had. Their interest in the poor man is to use him as a visual aid for a theological debate. They ask,

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents?” John 9:2

Don’t you feel sorry for this man? Have you ever been in a situation, such as a hospital ward round, where people talk about you as if you were not there? Jesus makes a definitive statement,

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” John 9:3

If you are a parent of a disabled child this is important and very comforting. Too many of these parents load themselves with unnecessary guilt.

Jesus has something much more important to teach all people. He repeats his claim,

“I am the light of the world.” John 9:5

To support this claim he spits onto the ground and made up some mud. This paste he applied to both eyes of the poor man. Then Jesus said,

“Go wash in the pool of Siloam.” John 9:7

John then says succinctly,

“He went and washed, and came home seeing.” John 9:7

Seldom has an event so stupendous been reported so briefly. It reminds us of Julius Caesar’s statement when he had conquered Britain,

“Veni, vidi, vici,” meaning “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

“He went and washed and came home seeing.” John 9:7

Significantly non-Christian writers, such as Josephus, reported that Jesus was widely known to have performed extraordinary miracles. Today, even with modern medical technology, we cannot do anything like this miracle. However what Moorfield’s hospital cannot do, Jesus did.

2. THE BLIND SEE

This miracle was enacted to illustrate Jesus’ claim, “I am the light of the world.” This is what he came to reveal to all of us. He wants to flood our lives with his life so that we can all say,

“Now I can see what life is about. I can see the point of life.”

This is a beautiful picture of what Christ can do for the spiritually blind. They are just as blind spiritually as this man was blind physically. Jesus really is ‘the light of the world’ for all.

What are the symptoms of being ‘spiritually blind’? People may not recognise the affliction but the essential problem is that Jesus has been moved offstage. The vital relationship with the Lord God through Christ is not pivotal in our daily thoughts. I put myself in the centre, my happiness, my reputation, my success are preeminent. In practice I play God. I set myself up as my own authority and live to please myself.

George Bernard Shaw, in his play ‘The Doctor’s dilemma’ describes the doctor with these words,

“ . . . a self-made man who worships his creator.”

A spiritually blind person does what pleases him, irrespective of others needs. I do play God. If I am not happy with my marriage I will ignore my vows to God and walk out. There are four hundred and eighty divorces every day in this country. A spiritually blind person’s self-centred life may be polished and sophisticated or terribly gross. The basic deisease is the same.

But Jesus brings great news, so we need not remain spiritually blind.

Have you met people who say they were once spiritually blind but have now seen the light and been changed? When I first went up as a fresher to university I was outwardly quite respectable. I came from a good home. Possibly I behaved better than some. However I could not see what my life was about, what its purpose was. I needed a purpose that would last into old age and terminal illness. Then I got to know some students who pointed me to Jesus as opposed to religion; school had put me off religion! I became convinced that Jesus’ claims were true and committed my life to him. He then started the business of changing my life.

What did Jesus do to give the spiritually blind ‘sight’ or perhaps better put as ‘insight’?

“He came, he died, he rose again.”

When he died on that cross God took on himself the punishment for my wrongdoing, for my putting myself centre stage, usurping God’s rightful place. He wants to wash away the dirt in my life, my sin. He does this only when I believe in him, when I open my life to him, to follow him. There is much evidence to support this message. There is strong, objective, historical evidence but in addition our instincts shout that Jesus is telling the truth.

This is the Christian message that Christians have been sent to share. Significantly ‘Siloam’, the pool where the man was sent to wash the dirt away, means ‘Sent’.

The identity of Jesus is fundamental. Who is he? If he is God’s Messiah then the entire world needs to know about him.

Unfortunately even the most convincing evidence will not change some people.

3. THE SIGHTED ARE BLIND

The story now reads like a court case with a succession of witnesses being brought in. It is apparent that some, particularly the religious, are determined not to believe in Jesus, whatever the evidence.

a. The local people

Some of the locals could not believe that the healed man really was the same person they had earlier seen begging,

“Soe claimed he was. Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him’. But he himself insisted, ‘I am the man’” John 9:9

This is extraordinary. They would not believe in spite of the evidence. Some claimed the sighted man must be a double since everyone knows that people blind from birth can never see. They think,

“This notion doesn’t fit with our understanding of the world.”

They cared little what the Scriptures had told them. The Scriptures repeated say that when the Messiah comes to free His people he will act in this very way. Even the religious accepted that God had acted supernaturally when the Jews were freed from Egypt by Moses.

b. The man himself

When he assured them that he was the same man, more aggressive questions flowed from the sceptics.

“’How then were your eyes opened?’ they demanded.” John 9:10

It did not make sense to them. The man couldn’t explain the mechanism his healing either. He simply tells them that he obeyed Jesus and as a result he can see.

c. The Pharisees

There is no way they would seriously consider Jesus’ claims.

“This man is not from. God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” John 9:16

Anyone who does miracles on the Sabbath is ungodly, Q.E.D.. Miracles constitute work, so Jesus had broken the law. Actually God only stopped his work of creation on the Sabbath; he continued to sustain all he had made even on the Sabbath. The religious were trying hard to avoid facing the key question,

“Is Jesus from God?”

It is obvious why. If Jesus did these miracles by God’s power they should listen to what he said and follow him. This they were determined not to do that.

“The Jews still did not believe that he had been born blind and had received his sight . . .” John 9:18

Perhaps it would be more accurate to say ‘would not believe.’ The same goes for many today, belief in Jesus is definitely not on their agenda.

d. The parents

The next to be interrogated were the parents,

“Is this your son? . . . Is this the one you say was born blind?” John 9:19

They affirm these two facts but the Pharisees were not content to leave it there.

“How is it that he can now see?” John 9:19

It is interesting that when faced with a difficult choice people often resort to asking questions that are impossible to answer, thinking that this lets them off the hook. They keep asking ‘How?’ as if they had witnessed a conjuring trick, knowing that nobody could answer,

“How can a sinner do such miraculous signs? John 9:16

“But how can he see now . . .?” John 9:21

“How did he open your eyes?” John 9:26

However they never ask the important questions such as ‘Who is Jesus’ or ‘Why did he do this?’

Realising the Pharisees deep antagonism against Jesus the parents back off and suggest they talk to their son. The following verse says it all, real pressure would be exerted to prevent people believing in Jesus,

“ . . . for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.” John 9:22

Excommunication was a fearful prospect. People would not talk or trade with you. You would have to move and perhaps the sentence of excommunication would follow you around. In 1997 157,000 Christians were martyred for their faith in Jesus.

In desperation they recall the healed man. The Pharisees are clearly getting rattled as they seem to be losing the battle.

“Give glory to God, we know this man is a sinner.” John 9:24

‘Give glory to God’ was a way of saying ‘Swear on oath’. Even this blatant ‘leading of the witness’ failed to work. The man does not back down under the pressure.

“One thing I know. I was blind but now I see.” John 9:25

He is a changed man and will not deny it.

People are changed by Jesus in many ways. Charles Bradlaugh was a Victorian atheist who opposed Christianity. He challenged a Christian minister to a debate. The minister, Hugh Price Hughes agreed, on one condition, that Mr Bradlaugh would bring a hundred people whose lives had been changed for the better by following atheism. Mr Hughes would bring a hundred whose lives had been changed by following Jesus. Knowing that Mr Bradlaugh could not fulfil this demand he dropped the number to fifty, then twenty, then ten, and finally one. Mr Bradlaugh had to withdraw the invitation.

4. THE CHOICE

I was speaking with a medical student about the evidence that Jesus was the Christ, the Saviour of the world. He seemed impressed so I asked if he would consider becoming a follower of Jesus. He replied,

“I admit that the evidence is strong, but, to be honest, I don’t want to change the way I live.”

Bob Dylan once sang,

“You’re going to have to serve somebody.”

When I first went to college, I knew that my Christian friends had something I needed. It took me a little time to realise that it was a relationship that I needed.

I love what comes next. The man understood what was going on. With brilliant sarcasm he asks,

“Do you want to become his disciples, too?” John 9:27

Clearly this man has been won over by Christ. “What about you?” he asks. It is a vital question for all to answer as only Jesus’ followers receive the forgiveness that is vital for acceptance into God’s kingdom. The religious respond by hurling insults. “We are the religious leaders, we follow Moses. How dare you tell us who to follow!” They did not understand that even Moses foretold about Jesus and now worships him.

The tension mounts and it is all over the identity of Jesus and his authority. There is a terrible blindness here which persists to this day. Many refuse to acknowledge that it is only a personal relationship with Jesus that will save them.

Christianity is not an ethic; it is essentially a relationship with the living God through Christ that will affect all I am and do.

It is so common for good, moral, religious people to hope that their lifestyle and activities will satisfy God. But he has said clearly that our works can never be good enough. God’s standard is absolute righteousness. Only the righteousness of Christ can gain me admission into God’s kingdom. That status of being ‘righteous’ is given as a gift only to those who follow Christ; this is what being ‘born again’ means.

Bishop Taylor-Smith was a corpulent Chaplain General to the Forces. One Sunday morning he was preaching in Salisbury Cathedral. Wanting to emphasise this necessity of the new birth he said,

“My dear people do not substitute anything for the new birth. You may be a member of a church, but church membership is not new birth. Jesus said, ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’.”

On his left sat the Archdeacon in his stall. Pointing directly at him the Bishop said,

“You might even be an Archdeacon, like my friend in his stall, and not be born again. Remember, ‘Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’.

A day or two later he received a message from the Archdeacon.

“My dear bishop, you have found me out. I have been a clergyman for over thirty years, but I have never known anything of the joy that Christians speak of. I never could understand. Mine has been a hard legal service. I did not know what the matter was with me, but when you pointed directly at me and said,

“You might even be an Archdeacon and not be born again; I knew in a moment what the trouble was. I had never known anything of the new birth.”

The next day the Archdeacon and the bishop met up and they went through the Bible together. Then the Archdeacon knelt before his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and took his place as a sinner who desperately needed Christ’s forgiveness.

It is vitally important that we don’t harden our hearts as the religious Pharisees did. They began by looking for reasons not to believe, they became more entrenched in their position, then they angrily hurl insults and this finally leads to persecution, they expel the follower of Jesus.

In contrast the blind man allowed Jesus to put mud on his eyes, he obeyed Jesus when told to go and wash. After he was healed he kept telling what he knew of the truth in spite of the antagonism of the questioners. His journey ended with him believing in Christ and speaking up for him.

All of us have to decide about Jesus, a decision with eternal consequences.

BVP