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Blind but Now I See

MARCH 2, 2008

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.  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.”  Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud  and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.  The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”  Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”  So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”  He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So 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.  Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.  So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”  Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.  So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.” . . .

If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”  They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.  Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”  He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”  Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”  He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
John 9:1-17, 33-38 (ESV)

We don’t know his name. We don’t know his age. The only thing we know about him is that he was born blind. He had never seen a sunrise, a rainbow, or the beauty of a iridescent sunset. He had never seen his mother’s face or his own reflection in a mirror. He had wondered for years what such words as red, green, and blue meant. What did a cloud look like? Or the sun? Or the moon? Or the stars? Or fire? And what was the difference between light and darkness? He didn’t know.

Meet the Pharisees. They were the religious police of the day. Jesus had just made a blind man see. Yet these hypocrites were certain that the miracle performed by Jesus was not of God. In their view it was either done by an evil man or by the forces of darkness. Why? Because Jesus performed the miracle on the Sabbath! And God, so the Pharisees said, had forbidden all work on the Sabbath.

Please remember, however, that the Commandment merely says, “Remember the Sabbathday by keeping it holy.”1 This Commandment is not violated when we perform the necessary chores and duties of the day but when we despise preaching and God’s Word,2 i.e., when we don’t attend public worship and when we do not make use of God’s Word or make light of his Sacraments. But the Pharisees added rules of their own, as if the Commandment of God were not enough. For example, they held that a person could not go out on the Sabbath with sandals shod with nails, for the weight of the nails would have constituted a burden and, therefore, work. They also held that it was forbidden to heal on the Sabbath, unless a person’s life was clearly in danger. So, it was also forbidden to set a broken limb or to soothe a toothache.3

So then, when Jesus brought sight to the blind man, this constituted an unnecessary healing. In their eyes, it marked Jesus as a Sabbath-breaker and a sinner of the worst sort. Actually it didn’t. On another occasion, the Pharisees came to Jesus with a leading question. They asked accusingly, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” He [Jesus] said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”4”

Indeed, it is always lawful to do good on the Sabbath. But not according to the Pharisees. They were spiritually blind. They claimed to see, but they saw not. Helen Keller, who was blind since age 2, was once asked by a young boy, “Isn't it the worst thing in the world to be blind?” Smiling, she replied, “Not half so bad as to have two good eyes and see nothing.”5 Such were the Pharisees.

But now let’s look at the blind man. He had been born blind. He was born blind for a particular reason, viz., so that Jesus might heal him on this particular day. This, by the way, teaches us how God feels about the value of a human life, and of a handicapped human life in particular! In this miracle, God wanted not only to show his glory, not only to reveal Jesus’ Messianic credentials, but also to reveal that he is a God of mercy.6 And let us not forget that what to humankind is a miracle is to God nothing more than a normal work.7

For Jesus to heal a blind man was a bold act. It may not seem bold to us, but it was in Jesus’ day. If you think blind people have it tough today, that’s nothing compared to what this guy had to face. You see, the Jews of Jesus’ day looked upon those born with handicaps with utter contempt. Why? Because their theologians taught that God himself was punishing them for some terrible sin. They had either committed some horrible sin while still in the womb, or else their affliction was due to some great sin on the part of their parents.

Thus, the Jews believed that all such external infirmities were the result of some great hidden sin. Even Jesus’ disciples held to this opinion, for when they passed by the blind man in our text, they asked Jesus, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”8 But Jesus immediately corrected this false teaching, for he said to them, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”9 His disciples would shortly see exactly what the Lord had in mind.

Picture this poor man. Every day he sits in the city street and begs for help. Every day people pass him by with no thought of mercy. After all, he’s a great sinner, isn’t he? So they think. And we can easily imagine that not a day went by but that people made fun of him and called him all kinds of hateful names.

But then came Jesus. This man had been born blind--and remained blind--for many years so that Jesus might make his eyes see. The Lord spat on the ground, made some mud and applied it to the man’s eyes. Then he said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.”10 These words were not merely a command. With the command is also Christ’s promise that when he washes in the pool, he will receive his sight. Would the blind man trust the promise or not? See what he does. He takes Jesus at his word and gets up. He stumbles his way through the city streets with mud in his eyes. What a sight he must have been! Jesus’ heart must have “grinned.”

Finally he reaches the pool. He washes away the mud, and, behold, the miracle happens. At long last he can say, “Praise be to God, I see! I see!” Now he could say, “I was blind, but now I see.”

With eyes that now see, he retraces his steps and returns to his familiar spot. But Jesus is not there. A crowd, however, gathers around him and he proceeds to tell everyone that Jesus had given him sight. Soon, the Pharisees step into the picture and question him at length. They ask him how he has received his sight. He says to them, “He put mud on my eyes and I washed, and now I see.”11 They badger and badger him because they believe that God doesn’t heal on the Sabbath. But he refuses to cave in. Finally they ask him directly, “What do you have to say about the One who opened your eyes?” Without hesitation, he replies, “He is a prophet.”12 When they counter that Jesus is a sinner because he healed on he Sabbath, the man says, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”13

This man is bold and courageous. Time after time they ask him what Jesus has done, trying to find a hole in his story. Finally, he can take no more of their nonsense, so he turns the tables and asks them a leading question, saying, “Why do you want to hear it again? You do not also want to become his disciples, do you?”14 He was really saying to them, “You have eyes to see but you are spiritually blind.

Finally, Jesus comes to him again. Christ had already given him physical sight, but now he wants to give him the most important kind of sight, spiritual sight, i.e., saving faith. Our text is gripping. Jesus says to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”15He answered and said, “And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”Jesus said to him, “You have both seen him, and he is the one who is talking with you.”16And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And, then, he fell down and worshipped him.17 How Wonderful! Now this man could truly sing,

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound;
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see!

May I ask you a personal question? Do you have spiritual mud in your eyes, mud that prevents you from trusting in Christ alone for your forgiveness and salvation? You do if you’re like I once was. I used to believe that everybody except really bad people like murderers and rapists would be in heaven. I used to believe that so long as you tried to be good, God would reward you with eternal life. I used to believe that as long as my good deeds exceeded my bad, I was a shoo-in for the pearly gates. But I was wrong then, and you are wrong now if you believe that. You see God doesn’t grade on the curve; he demands sinless perfection. Only Christ did that. We must trust in him alone.

Dr. James Kennedy explains the human dilemma with an illustration. I call it the impossible long jump. Let’s suppose we are on one side of an incredibly deep canyon. The width of this canyon is 100 feet. Now suppose that all of the people who ever lived were to line up on one side of the canyon. In order to save their lives from the fires of hell below, they have to get to the other side. They will die if they don't. The only way they can get across is to jump. Now, the world record for the long jump is a little over 29 feet. How many people would successfully get to the other side and save themselves? None! To be sure, some would be able to jump 20 feet or more. Some would not do as well. But none would make it all the way. All would fall short of the mark. All would fall to their deaths.18

Is there any hope? Yes. His name is Jesus. Saving faith trusts the Gospel, the good news that Jesus has completely earned our salvation. He earned it for us by living a perfect life in our places and by paying the penalty for all our sins, namely, death. You can, then, do one of two things: You can either continue to try to jump across the canyon; or you can walk across the bleeding body of Jesus--whose back alone spans the width of the great abyss. Indeed, the Gospel says, “Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved.”19

This is God’s promise. And God always keeps his promises. And if you believe it, you too can sing, “I once was lost, but now am found/was blind, but now I see!” And that, my friends, is amazing grace indeed!

 In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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