Jesus Healed a Man Blind from Birth (John 9:1-41)

Jesus Healed a Man Blind from Birth

 

John 9:1-41

 

Today, we are going to think about Jesus’ healing of a man who had been blind from birth. When Jesus and his disciples were walking along a road, they saw a blind man. He was born blind, so had never seen anything through his life. In verse 8, people say, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” This suggests that when he was found by Jesus and his disciples, he was sitting roadside for begging. Seeing the blind man, the disciples raised a serious question. “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” They were curious about what had caused the miserable life of this man who was born blind and became a beggar. In their thought, this person’s unfortunate life surely came from “sin and punishment for the sin.” The question was “whose sin it was.” If it was because of the man’s own sin, it brings forth another question: “What sin on earth can an unborn child commit?” Or if it is because of the parents’ sin, it is quite unfair and unjust. The blind beggar’s misfortune cast a dark shadow upon the disciples’ hearts.

 

In fact, the disciples’ question is also ours. We often think a difficulty or a problem in connection to sin. When we encounter a difficult situation, we ask what caused the situation, and who should be responsible and blamed for the problem. In the sphere of religion, this anguish goes deeper. Most of people’s religious practices are their struggle to resolve “sin” problems. Like Jesus’ disciples, we also have several fixed ideas about sin. First of all, sin must be followed by punishment. In addition, misfortune resulting from sin is like an unchangeable “fate” from heaven, which I have to endure. Although the disciples didn’t say so, moreover, they might be grumbling that it was, after all, God who inflicted such a pain upon him and his family. In their understanding, God was fearful, reigning high in heaven, detecting people’s sins, and condemning sinners. On the other hand, they might think that they, who avoided such a miserable life, were more righteous, at least, than this man. Also they might pray out of fear that such a misfortune would never happen to them and their families. Sin is like a heavy iron chain. It makes our souls depressed, dark, and scared. We want to take off the chain, and live a free and bright life, but the burden of sin has stuck firmly onto our back, pressing and oppressing us wherever we go and whatever we do.

 

To the disciples’ question, Jesus gave quite an unexpected answer. Jesus said, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” First, Jesus says, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” This is truly a word of life to the blind beggar and his parents. The man’s inborn blindness was an unbearable lifelong burden to the man and his family. Not only Jesus’ disciples, but also all the people must have asked the same question, “Oh my! What bad karma did they do?” In verse 34 of today’s text as well, the Pharisees persecuted the man whose eyes were now opened, saying, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” In this way, people treated him as a sinner openly. Surrounded by such condemning eyes, the man and his parents had to live quietly like a dead man. The best thing people could do for the blind beggar was throwing a few pennies. But Jesus declared, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” Jesus erased the deeply imprinted stigma “Sinner.” Jesus cut off the iron chain oppressing the man and his family. Jesus is saying flatly, “No! This man’s blindness is nothing to do with sin. And it is not of God’s punishment at all”

 

Then, Jesus added, “But this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” Jesus said that the man’s being born blind is for displaying God’s work through him. This word is quite meaningful. One important truth that we should remember is that “God is working.” We often think that God keeps himself far away from the world, and he occasionally gives a reward or penalty for “our works,” or is not much interested in human affairs. In most of religions of the world, it is not God but man who works hard. That is, man struggles desperately in order to calm down God’s wrath, to get blessed, and to reach salvation. But this is quite wrong. In fact, it is not man but God who works. In John 5:17, when the Jews persecuted Jesus for healing a sick person on the Sabbath, Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working.” According to Jesus’ word, God is working for us every day even without a weekend break. In Psalm 121:4-6, the psalmist sings, “Indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.” God is always with us, and his working for us is like parents’ caring of their child. In fact, God’s faithfulness, carefulness, and mercifulness far excel that of any human parents. Our Father in heaven counts and protects the very hairs of our head (Matthew 10:30), and He knows and provides what we need for our life (Matthew 6:32). Even if a mother can forget the baby in her breast, even if a mother can have no compassion on the child she has borne, such a thing never happens to Our Father in heaven (Isaiah 49:15). God is God who is working day and night for us.

 

God’s work for us always has two meaningful aspects. One is “our salvation,” and the other is “God’s glory.” These two are not separated, but one. That is, God displays his glory and lifts up his name by saving us. Psalm 23:3 says, “He (the Lord, my shepherd) restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” God restores our souls and guides us in the paths of righteousness, and God does these “for his name’s sake.” That is, my salvation and God’s glory are one. In today’s story as well, Jesus explains that the man’s being born blind is for displaying the work of God in his life. This means that God’s glory is closely interconnected to the blind beggar’s life. This is amazing. People always associated the poor man’s life with “sin and punishment.” Nobody wanted to be involved in his cursed life. In people’s eyes, he was the very person alienated farthest away from God. In their eyes, he was abandoned by God, and kicked out of God’s grace. In Jesus’ eyes, however, this man was closest to God. God was embracing him in His breast, and holding him in His hands. God put His holy name upon the man’s life. God wanted to show His glory through the man’s life. This is quite a daring challenge. It is because the blind beggar’s life is too miserable. It is a perfect darkness without a ray of light. But Jesus’ word is full of bright hope. “The work of God will be displayed in his life.”

 

Let me read verse 4,5. “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” According to this word, we can work only during the daytime, namely, when there is light. When night comes, we cannot work any longer. And, while Jesus is in the world, he is the light of the world. Today’s story is about the opening of a blind man’s eyes.  And at the end of this chapter, Jesus says to those who don’t believe him, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” These words suggest that “day” is a state in which we can see the truth under the light, and “night” is not. In addition, Jesus is the source of light that shines the light of truth so that we can see. In the light of Jesus, we can see and know all the truth, and can do the work of God. If we don’t have this light, we cannot do anything and, rather, we may stumble in darkness (John 11:10). Only in Jesus, we can see the truth and do the work of God. In this sense, we can understand what blindness is and what it means to open the eyes. It is receiving Jesus as the light. It is believing in Jesus, obeying his words, and following his ways.

 

We may think we are not blind because we have two whole eyes. But that is not true. In order to see, we should have both sight and light. What is interesting is that what I see depends on what my light is. Simply saying, we see only what we want to see. We have some Pharisees in today’s text. Their light was “the Law.” And deeper inside of their heart, there was their “true light,” which was their greed and murderous heart. They exploited Moses’ Law as a means to hold power, and were engrossed in filling their selfish desires. In their eyes, the poor blind beggar and merciful Jesus were merely obstacles to their interests. When Jesus opened the eyes of the blind beggars by making some mud with saliva and putting it on the eyes, the Pharisees made it an issue, saying that Jesus broke the Sabbath. They argued, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath” (16), and even they condemned Jesus, “We know this man is a sinner” (24). However eager they were in keeping the rules, they should have marveled at the healing of the man born blind. But they denied and neglected what they were seeing. So shocked by their ridiculous unbelieving, the healed man said, “Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (32-33). Still the Pharisees were completely blind spiritually. They couldn’t see and wouldn’t see anything but Jesus’ violation of the Sabbath by making mud and applying it to the man’s eyes. We can imagine how people’s life would have been under the rule of such religious leaders. Even against a very trifle mistake, these rulers might quote hundreds of regulations, and with the laws, condemn and suffocate people’s souls. The world might be in total darkness without a ray of light. Considering this, we can understand why people do not know God who is working day and night, and do not see God’s glory that fills the heavens and the earth.

 

Quite contrary to the Pharisees, the blind beggar had his eyes opened by the grace of Jesus. He testified that Jesus opened his eyes. And because of this, he was persecuted and thrown out of his community. Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and came to him. Jesus asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man asked, “Who is he, sir? Tell me so that I may believe in him.” Jesus revealed who he was, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” Then, the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped Jesus. Jesus said, “You have seen him,” and the man received the Lord, believing in him and worshipping him. This is the true meaning of “the blind will see.” The man received Jesus as the light of his eyes.

 

Verses 6-7 describes how Jesus opened the blind beggar’s eyes. Jesus spit on the ground, and made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man’s eyes. Then, Jesus said to the man, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” Obeying Jesus’ word, the man went to the pool of Siloam and washed his eyes, and his eyes opened. As in the pictures, the Pool of Siloam is a man-made pool carved deeply into the rock. As the pool was made to collect water flowing from the Gihon Spring outside the Wall of Jerusalem, it should be very deep. In order to get water from the pool, people had to climb down long and steep stairs, and it was risky even for those with open eyes. It must be a very difficult assignment for the man. Furthermore, his eyes were messed up with saliva mud. In the Bible, saliva (or spitting) is used to insult someone. Mud is also a symbol of dirt and weakness. It must look quite pitiful that the blind beggar, with his eyes covered with saliva mud, was groping down the steep stairs to the Pool of Siloam. Still this was the man’s obedience. Every obedience involves some portion of shame, pain, and perseverance. With regard to Jesus’ obedience on the cross, Hebrew 12:2 says, “…… fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” I think obedience is like putting thread through the eye of a needle. When I was a young boy, I often sat beside my mother and put thread through the eye of a needle for her whose job was making Korean dresses. In order to put thread through the eye of a needle, first, I wet the tip of the thread with saliva and make the tip pointed and stiff. Then, I align the tip to the eye of the needle carefully, and put it into the hole slowly. Once the tip passes through into the other side, I hold it and pull out the thread. Then, the thread and the needle become one. Wherever the needle goes, the thread also follows. Each of us, living our own ways,

is like “untied loose thread.” But now, in order to be one with Jesus, we must go through this process of obedience. Like putting thread through the eye of a needle, we need to pass through a narrow gate and to walk a narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14). It involves shame, pain, and perseverance. Despite these difficulties, we should keep fixing our eyes on Jesus on the cross, align ourselves to Jesus, and push ourselves into the narrow gate of no return. Then, there we have the glorious light ever-shining our ways until we get to our Father in heaven.

 

John 1:5 says, “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” This verse summarizes the core of all problems we have. “Darkness” itself is not a problem. Being born blind is not a true problem. The real problem is that the darkness does not recognize the light shining in the darkness. The blind beggar lived the darkest life, but when his miserable life was fully exposed to the light of the world, it turned into an exhibition of God’s blessing. But many people wanted to remain in darkness and, going further, they called darkness light, and light darkness (Isaiah 5:20). They were double-blind. Only Jesus is light, and when we see the truth in this light, we are truly blessed. May the Lord cleanse our hearts through Jesus and restore our holy sight so that we are not deceived by false light in this world, but see the work of God and be full of joy!