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THE MAN BORN BLIND (A Study from John 9:1-7)

Have you ever been concentrating really hard on a problem and then when you finally understand it, you say, “I see!” The biggest “I see” we can ever have is when we understand who Jesus really is and what He has done for us.

One of the most amazing things we learn from studying the life of Jesus Christ is that He was never in a hurry. He was never worried sick; never got burned out; never run down; never so frightened that he panicked. While He did get tired and hungry like everyone else, those are just physical needs. A meal and some sleep would take care of that. You do not ever find Jesus being dominated by the demands and pressures of getting the Gospel out as efficiently as possible; or running for His life when someone was trying to kill Him. Jesus always stayed calm and composed. He completed His mission with purpose and resolve, at His own pace.

We see Jesus acting in this calm way as we study the miracle of the man born blind. It is told in the Gospel of John chapter 9, verses 1-7. The New Living Translation tells the story this way:

As Jesus was walking along, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. “Teacher,” his disciples asked him, “Why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or those of his parents?”

“It was not because of his sins or his parent’s sins,” Jesus answered. “He was born blind so the power of God could be seen in him. All of us must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent me, because there is little time left before the night falls and all work comes to an end. But while I am still here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Then He spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and smoothed the mud over the blind man’s eyes. He told him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing!

Now here is what was going on when this miracle happened. An angry group of Jewish leaders were following Jesus. They were yelling at him and threatening him with death because of His teaching. His life was in danger and the disciples wanted Him to hurry away to a safer place. As Jesus left the temple grounds in Jerusalem to avoid the Jews who were coming after Him, He did not hurry. Verse 1 says, “He was walking along”. To me this means He was not rushing or frantic, but just “Walking along” in a very normal way. I believe the disciples were acting like the bodyguards you see on the TV news around an important president or world leader. They are tense and the last thing they wanted was for Jesus to make an unscheduled stop in the middle of the street, in front of the angry Jewish leaders....especially just to stop and talk with a blind man. They must have been thinking, “What are you doing, Jesus?”
They were about to find out because the reason Jesus stopped was to minister to someone who seemed totally insignificant. Jesus is never too busy or rushed to minister to you; or to me; or to anyone, no matter how much chaos is going on around us. I get great comfort to know the Creator of the universe will stop to minister to me and to you...to us...even when we are insignificant to the world. We are never insignificant to Jesus, and I like that!

He stopped to heal this blind man, not only for the man’s physical sake but for his spiritual sake as well, and to send an important message to people in Jerusalem. Remember, Jerusalem was the capitol of Israel and the headquarters for the Jewish religious leaders. They did not want Jesus getting attention and converting anyone to Christianity. They were willing to kill to keep this from happening.

The Bible does not make any mention that the blind man ever called out to Jesus. Because of his blindness, he probably did not ever know that Jesus was passing by. But right here in the middle of the street in front of an angry group of Jewish religious leaders, Jesus stopped to perform a dramatic miracle that contained a powerful message, even for us today. Please notice that Jesus did not make this into a big elaborate show. He merely stopped and healed the man. In every one of Jesus’ miracles there is a physical reason which is easy to understand. But then there is also a deeper spiritual meaning. And that requires us to search for the meaning.

 
THE PURPOSE OF CHRIST
John 9:2-5

When Jesus stopped, the disciples asked Jesus a question which you too may have wondered about. The disciples wondered about the connection between sin and sickness. The disciples were operating out of a Jewish tradition (not a scriptural teaching) that sickness is always somehow connected to sin. Their question to Jesus was direct when they asked Him, “Why was this man born blind? Was it a result of his own sins or the sins of his parents?”

Notice that the disciples’ question showed that they were not interested in the man as an individual, suffering person. Their question showed that they were concerned with some sort of theological principle having to do with sin. Jesus, however, immediately showed compassion on the man.

The disciples made two mistakes when they asked Jesus about the source of the blind man’s condition.

Mistake number 1 was that instead of having pity on the man, they made a puzzle out of him. They were more interested in having a theological discussion, than in seeing the man become healed. People are not like mice in a laboratory. They need to receive from us the same kind of compassion that Jesus showed.

Mistake number 2 was that the disciples linked specific suffering with some specific sin. Jesus refused to go where the disciples wanted to take Him - the assignment of a specific sin to this case of blindness. His answer was simple. Jesus said, “Neither”. Neither the man nor his parents had sinned.

But Jesus, in His answer, raised a bigger question for the disciples to think about when He said the man was born blind “so that the power of God could be seen in him”. The question then became, and this is still the question for us, “How is God glorified by sickness...How is the power of God seen in sickness...How does God demonstrate His works through people who are suffering?”

2 WAYS GOD IS HONORED IN SICKNESS

THROUGH THE HEALING OF THE SICK PERSON.

If God chooses to heal a person, through whatever means, God is obviously glorified by that. When Jesus healed this man’s blindness, God was given much praise and glory. You may have recovered from serious illness of some sort, or know someone who has, and seen God praised as a result. Healing always results in a child of God praising Him.

THROUGH THE HURTING OF THE SICK PERSON.

Everyone who has suffered knows that when they get well they come out on the other side a changed person. The work that God does in our lives when we suffer brings glory to Him in many ways. We are wiser, more humble, more compassionate, more understanding, and more patient. These characteristics glorify God. In Psalm 119:67, the writer said:

I used to wander off until I had affliction;
but now I closely follow your word.

Also, the ability to withstand the physical and emotional pain that often goes with sickness can only be explained by God’s grace, which is provided by His Holy Spirit. In our ability to endure, God gets glory.

THROUGH THE HELPING OF THE SICK PERSON.

When the body of Christ rallies around a hurting person and serves that person with the love of Christ, God is glorified. It is wonderful to see God glorified when Christians take care of one another in times of sickness and suffering.

CHRIST’S PRIORITY
John 9:4-5

What Jesus says in verses 4 and 5 is not easily understood at first. He is telling the disciples that there is no time to stand around discussing theology. He has work to do and it must be done while the opportunity is there, “before night falls and all work comes to an end.” When night comes, no one can work.

Jesus’ ministry, in other words, is not about solving puzzles but it is about ministering to people. There are people whose whole Christian life revolves around discussing theological questions. They are involved in theological debates and arguments while never noticing the lost people around them who are dying and going to hell. Jesus is not anti-theology; He knows its place in the priority of things. But to Jesus, people are the most important, and that is why He moves quickly to the man who needs healing instead of discussing the philosophy of healing with the disciples. Jesus just does it; He does not stand around and talk about it.

It is important to be theologically accurate. Base your work on solid theology, but do get on with the work. Get on with helping people with their spiritual and practical needs. God has called us to do the work of His kingdom with the same sense of urgency that Jesus had. Let Jesus be your example. Be a “doer of the word”.

THE UNIQUE PLAN OF CHRIST
John 9:6

After Jesus told the disciples about working before night comes, He turned to the blind man and prepared for a unique miracle of healing. He mixed some of His own saliva with dirt and made a mixture of mud. Then He smeared it on the man’s eyes.

THE UNDENIABLE PROOF OF CHRIST
John 9:7

The Jews had many traditions about how healing actually took place. One tradition had to do with mixing saliva with dirt. But the truth is we simply do not know why Jesus chose to anoint this man’s eyes with dirt and spit. If anything, the man was made more blind initially than he ever was before! How could putting dirt in a blind man’s eyes ever help him? But the dirt was not permanent because Jesus told him to go to the pool of Siloam and wash the dirt off.

THE PROMPT OBEDIENCE OF THE BLIND MAN.

John is clear that the man was obedient. He wrote, “So he went and washed”. The blind man did not question Jesus. He just did what Jesus told him to do. On more than one occasion Jesus worked a miracle that required someone to do something. When people act, their faith is moved into gear and the miracle shows itself that way. In this case, the man left for the pool blind and returned from the pool seeing. The miracle seems to have taken place at the pool when he washed the dirt off his eyes.

Anyone who says that healing comes in direct proportion to faith in Jesus will have a hard time explaining this miracle. The man did not have any idea who Jesus was. He simply received a miracle by the power of God.

The religious leaders in Jerusalem were furious over the man’s healing - their priorities were very misplaced! First, it took place on the Sabbath, which Jesus obviously was aware of. The Pharisees were angry because to them, Jesus did “work” on the Sabbath, and that was against the rules of the Pharisees. They were so upset with the healing that they threw the man out of the assembly - they excommunicated him, just for being made well. Jesus later finds the man and asks him if he believes in the Son of God, and he says, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” (Verse 36). The man was talking to the Son of God and did not even know it! The idea that the man was healed because of great faith in Jesus cannot be shown.

At the end of Chapter 9 we see the spiritual results of the miracle. A blind man’s eyes are open physically, and in Verse 39 we learn that his spiritual eyes are also opened to believe in Jesus. He says:

“Yes Lord, I believe.”
And he worshipped Jesus.

The Pharisees’ physical eyes are open to see the physical miracle, but their spiritual eyes remain closed. Jesus tells them

I have come to give sight to the blind
and to show those who think they see that they are blind.

The Pharisees claimed to see, when actually they refused to see that Jesus was the Son of God. Because of their refusal, Jesus told them that their sin remained (Verse 41).

THE PERFECT CURE OF THE BLIND MAN

What happened that day was not so much that the blind man’s eyes were open physically as much as his spiritual eyes were opened and he came to know Jesus. John tells us that the man worshipped Jesus when he believed. In other words, the man became a Christian; he was “born again” (born spiritually) and saved on the same day that his eyes were opened.

In the Old Testament there is no recorded miracle of a blind person being made to see. And in the New Testament, the Apostles never healed anyone specifically of blindness. The closest we see is Paul being healed by Anania of his temporary blindness at the time of his conversion to Christ (Acts 9:17-19). If I have counted correctly, there are 8 different instances of Christ helping blind people to see. I believe that Jesus is saying to us: I am the only one who can heal blind eyes.

And what is true physically is certainly true spiritually. We cannot be saved by Old Testament prophets or New Testament Apostles. Only Jesus Himself, and no one else, can restore or give us spiritual sight. Spiritual blind eyes can only be opened and made to see by God ...Jesus!

Before any person comes to know Christ as their own personal Savior, that person is spiritually blind. I was blind, and you were blind, before we accepted Jesus into our hearts. That blindness showed itself in our inability to understand spiritual truth. Many people have tried to read the Bible and they can not make any sense out of it.

Then when the Holy Spirit works in their hearts they accept Jesus...they get saved...and it is like they are reading a different book. It takes spiritual eyes to read spiritual words, and the spiritually blind do not have eyes like that. Every person is born spiritually dead and spiritually blind. It takes a spiritual resurrection...just like the resurrection of Lazarus from the dead...to give life. And it takes a miracle of giving sight to receive spiritual understanding.

We preach the Word of God and the Gospel of Christ because those are the ways by which God chooses to awaken faith in people who are spiritually dead. The Word of God and the Gospel are the way that spiritual eyes are opened and made to see.
Let me ask you a question about your eyes. Are you spiritually blind? I do not mean that when you come here to Church, you see the colors on the walls. I mean, does the preaching of the Word and the Gospel do something within you? Do you find yourself saying, “God, I believe in Jesus”?

If the Church is just a building to you; if the Bible is just a book to you; if Jesus is just a famous man, then you are spiritually blind. You need to receive the healing salve of Jesus applied to the eyes of your heart. You need to believe that Jesus died for your sins, that He rose again, and that you will have the free gift of eternal life when you believe in Jesus. Just like the blind man in this story, when you see Jesus with spiritual eyes, then you will know that you have eternal life in Heaven with God.


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