9:1-3 As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.
Corporately through tradition, the scriptures and experience we have seen future generations of societies suffer significant consequences related to previous generations' actions.[1] Christian debates around war, the environment and immigration relate to this – if we don’t have a large enough population, we can’t provide income for our retirees and disabled and if we don’t have an environment, it doesn’t matter because we’re all dead anyway. Those with Jesus here seem to have been trying to either stretch or reduce this concept to a one-to-one correspondence.[2] If you do good, good will happen to you; if you do bad, bad will happen to you.[3] Jesus tells them this is wrong. A person is NOT blind because he (or his parents) are bad people and this particular person was born blind for a GOOD purpose. The wrong idea, the heresy (particularly common in the USA and South Korea apparently) that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people has a name, do you know what it is…? The prosperity gospel. Jesus quickly dispatches this error and chats about what he in going to chat about here. Jesus says,
9:4-5 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
Much of the Gospel of John is about light. Here we have a man born blind, who can only see dark and thus Jesus speaks about light. He says we must all work when it is light out because it will soon be too dark to see. As long as we are with Jesus we can still see because He is the one makes the light in the world. Then Jesus reinforces his message about light and darkness through a miracle: he lets light shine in this man’s life.[4]
9:6-8: When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes, saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"
Jesus replaces the darkness in his life with light and everyone who knows this man notices. Who wouldn’t notice? Many of us know Randall – a good faithful man who comes to soldier classes, Bible study and prayer walk, and who plays his instruments for us at every opportunity. Randall, maybe like this man, was born blind. Do you think we’d notice if Randall showed up here for church of for lunch today and he could see?
9:9 Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."
Again thinking of our friend Randall: Can you imagine how frustrating this would be… some of us who know him would vouch for him but others who don't know him may not and still others unkindly may have fun at his expense. And some people who don't know Randall at all, who don't know us, and who don't know Jesus might even deny either that this is Randall or else that Randall was ever blind in the first place because., quite simply, the blind do not just open their eyes and see one day.
9:10-13 But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"
He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' Then I went and washed and received my sight."
They said to him, "Where is he?"
He said, "I do not know."
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
So this is interesting...they keep asking him questions trying to figure out how a blind man can suddenly see. He tells them that someone spit on the ground and rubbed mud in his eyes. This doesn’t sound right. Is this supposedly once blind man mocking them? Who was the man that spit on dirt and rubbed it on your face to make you see? He tells them the name of the man and all the relevant information that he can recall. They aren't satisfied - I assume it isn't his friends here who aren't satisfied; I assume it is people who never really knew the gentleman in question. When he tells them Jesus healed him and he doesn't know where Jesus is, whether they believe him or not, they figure they should go to the Pharisees.
So who are the Pharisees and why would they bring this man to them? They’re not doctors. Who were the Pharisees? The Pharisees were a religious group of Judeans. The Apostle Paul was a Pharisee and so was Nicodemus in the Bible. The Pharisees were known as a moral evangelistic holiness movement. At their best they were probably like a much earlier John Wesley or John Calvin and at their worst they were probably like a much earlier Oliver Cromwell or today's Westborough Baptist. At any rate, these people want a religious opinion on what has just happened. They run and ask the pastors, priests, the captains, the Pharisees to see what they think.[5]
9:14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
This is important. Saturday is the Sabbath and to this days Jewish worshippers, to varying degrees, aren’t supposed to do things on the Sabbath but this is certainly a miracle so they think they should get some more information as to whether it is okay or not: when and how this healing happened.
9:15-16 Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see."
Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided.
It seems that their questioning gets them nowhere. There is a moral judgement to make here and the religious authorities are divided.[6] Some say that God commanded the Sabbath to be made holy and so anyone who would profane the Sabbath by doing something on Saturday that could easily be done on Monday would be disobeying or even insulting God; so how could Jesus come from God if he did this? Others argued that he performed the will of God on the Sabbath by restoring or granting sight to a man. This is not disrespecting God; this is a miraculous sign from God. The religious leaders are divided.
9:17 So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened." He said, "He is a prophet."
This really doesn’t settle anything. I imagine those that already came to this conclusion agreed and those that didn’t, didn’t. They must really be getting into this debate and they must think this is really important because they go to great effort to try to resolve this.
9:18-23 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"
His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
So this is an interesting exchange with his parents for a few reasons. 1) The parents do confirm that he is their son and that he was born blind 2) they are intimidated by this whole thing – I know if I was called before a whole bunch of my bosses, who could throw me out of the church, my work, and my life; I would be nervous too and 3) This man is an adult. He can speak for himself. The parents say – why are you asking us? We weren’t even there. Ask him yourself. Now, I don’t know if those Pharisees who decided earlier that this man was of God have left or not but those that remain seem more than a little antagonistic. They start provoking and arguing with the man.
9:24-26 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner."
He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."
They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
This is a great comeback that the man has. They accuse and ask him AGAIN, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes…?"
9:27 He answered them, "I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"
That would be the last thing they want!
9:28 Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."
The man has undoubtedly had enough now; I guess he figures if they are going to throw him out of church they have already made up their minds to do so.[7]
9:30-33 The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
The Pharisees are totally backed into a philosophical corner here with nowhere to turn – and they know it - so they fall into the trap of the prosperity gospel; the heresy that good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. Instead of addressing this man and responding to the requested theological interpretation of the events that God performed in this man’s own life, they insult him. They choose to be wrong rather than to admit that they were wrong.[8] If they had believed this heresy than none of this conversation would ever had taken place in the first place. They can’t actually believe it but still…
9:34 They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.
How many times do we do that? How many times do we know what is right but defiantly lash out wrongly instead?
Now Jesus enters the story again. It appears that news of this encounter had gotten out and so Jesus was seeking him out.
9:35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
Do we know what the ‘Son of Man’ is? He is the Messiah. He is the leader who is going to deliver God’s people from exile and oppression and establish his kingdom here. Jesus said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
9:36-38 He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."
Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."
He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.
This man has found his salvation and this is extremely important for this man and for everyone else but this story is about much more than his personal salvation. The gospel of John has a much larger story to tell about the whole world and light and darkness and seeing and not seeing. You see, salvation is not just offered to this man; salvation is offered to us all.
9:39-41 Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."
Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.
There are some of us who have never seen the light, like the man in this story and when he finally does, he basks in it. He lets the love and the light of Jesus fill his whole being. If that is you, Jesus wants you to see and feel what you have been missing – the access to joy in the midst of troubles.
Sadly, however, even when we have felt or heard of the light, some have chosen the darkness of separation from God’s comfort and grace; we claim we can see quite well enough without him in our lives (cf. Mark 3:29).[9] We claim that we know, do, and can explain things well enough; we don’t need to be enlightened by Jesus. Some of us in our blindness claim we have gone to school or we have gone to the school of hard knocks so we know how the world really works;[10] some of us continue to walk in the darkness of self-reliance or something else rather than in the light of Jesus and this is sad because this does not need to be.
Jesus has come into our life and our world to lead us all in his light; those who are in darkness; we who have so much going on that we can’t see any way out, we who can’t see any relief for our predicament; God is here to shine His light in our own life so that we might find relief from pain and so that we may experience the joy of His life eternally. If you haven't done so yet, if you are still walking in the dark, I invite you to step into the light of God's love and experience His Salvation today.
More daily blogs at
---
[1] Cf. William Hendricksen, John (New Testament Commentary: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, Michigan: 2007), 72.
[2] Cf. N.T. Wright, John for Everyone Part 1 (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004), 134.
[3] Apparently some Rabbis thought some babies could sin in the womb; cf. Cf. William Hendricksen, John (New Testament Commentary: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, Michigan: 2007), 73.
[4] Cf. Andrew T. Lincoln, The Gospel According to Saint John (Black's NTC: Hendricksen Publishing, Peabody, MA, USA: 2006), 279-80 for a discussion of John 8:12 pertaining to light and darkness in the man's life.
[5] Pharisees could have been acting on behalf of the Sanhedrin; cf. William Hendricksen, John (New Testament Commentary: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids,
Michigan: 2007), 79
[6] For a good discussion of the Syllogisms A and B, cf. William Hendricksen, John (New Testament Commentary: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, Michigan: 2007), 82-93
[7] Gail R. O’day, John. (TNIB 9: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1996), 660.
[8] cf. Bultmann, The Gospel of John, 337, referenced from Gail R. O’Day, John. (TNIB 9: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1996),660
[9] Rodney A. Whitacre, John (IVP Academic: Downers Grove, Illinois: 1999), 251. He likens it to Mark's 'blasphemy against the Holy Spirit'
[10] Cf. Gerard Sloyan, John, (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1988), 123. Our own religious rules and regulations can cause this same blindness if we let it.
Comments
Post a Comment