A few years after High School I felt strongly that people in my family, who believed themselves to be Christians but did not live lives that seemed Christian needed to be warned. I felt deeply about this. I mentioned a few things to a few people to no avail. So, I tried a different medium. I sent out a deep heart-felt email about my concern for them. It was met with ridicule, not any introspective thought. Who was I, this young man in college, to express my concern for their eternal destiny?

Years later, little has changed. If Christ is mentioned at all it’s when someone is near death. My concern for many of them is worse than it was before. But, I do have hope for them. My hope is that Christ would open blinded eyes. My hope is found in the fact that He can do the miraculous. He can change them.

You may be in one of a few different categories here today. You may be skeptical that Christ has done anything and are just here for the sights and sounds of the Student Ministry. You may be here today not believing in Christ at all. You may be here today with parents and family and friends that don’t believe and you are worried about what will happen to them when they die. I want you to know this:

Jesus Gives Sight For God’s Glory and Our Salvation

One of the more interesting stories in Jesus’ life is here in John 9. Jesus has proclaimed Himself to be the Light of the World and will now open the blinded eyes of a man born blind. This story, as far as I can tell, is told and then used by Jesus to teach about the blindness of mankind. In other words, John tells the story then records Jesus using the story to teach the once blind man about the spiritual blindness of mankind.

So, we will look at the story and then at Jesus’ interpretation of the story and draw our understanding about the blindness of mankind from His interpretation.

God is Glorified In Salvation (John 9:1-12)

 

Jesus is walking with His disciples and He notices someone. With all the people surrounding Him, He notices this one person. It is a man who was born blind. This moves me to read, though it is not really the main point of the story. Most people would have moved past this blind man without noticing him. They would have ignored him and never given him a second thought. But that’s not what Jesus did here. Jesus took notice of him. And it started a discussion.

It was commonly thought in this day that to be born with what we now term some sort of special needs meant that either the person with the disability or the parent had sinned. In fact, the reason this question was asked was not to determine whether or not sin was a factor, but whose sin was the cause. Was it the child in the womb or the parents? Jesus’ answer is neither.

The reason that Jesus gives for the blindness from birth is that “the works of God might be displayed in him”. (John 9:3) We understand what this means from the immediate context given. The reason for his blindness is neither his sin nor the sin of his parents. The reason for his blindness is that God would be glorified through the miracle of giving this blind man sight.

“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.”—John 9:4b-5 ESV

 

When I say that God is glorified in something, I am saying that He is made to look great (as He is) because of the man’s blindness. And you will see why this is the case as we read further.

The healing that occurs now is quite remarkable. I watched a video recently of a 50-60 year old man who had never seen in color. He was shaking in happiness at the sight of a tree in color. In my mind, that was a technological marvel, to cause a person to see color that only saw in black and white. Jesus is going to cause a guy that had never seen anything to be able to see.

We believe that God did all things for His glory and saving someone is no different. The salvation that Christ brings truly is miraculous and glorious. He here gives the blind sight, but we will see later that Jesus also gives the spiritually blind sight. But what you need to know right now is that God is glorified when He saves a person.

Jesus didn’t die just so that you could have your ticket punched and get you into Heaven. He died to save you and everyone else He saves for His own glory. The miracle that He works in a believer in salvation brings Him much glory and honor. When God works this miracle in us He does it in such a spectacular way. He is made to look absolutely glorious.

The way Jesus decided to do this miracle is a bit on the weird side, I would say. Jesus spit on the ground and made mud, and then he put it on the guy’s eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. (John 9:6-7) Jesus could have just said, “You’re healed”, but that’s not what he decided to do. I suspect the reason did things this way was to give him the opportunity to leave. Jesus was again healing someone on the Sabbath which is the reason people began wanting to kill him in the first place. When the Pharisees questioned the once-blind man there was no way for the person who couldn’t see moments ago to identify Jesus. I think he did this miracle and knowing that it would cause a stir also had a way of escape.

The Questionings

Now, a man who has been blind since birth being able to see all of a sudden causes quite a stir. It would cause quite a stir in our society, even with people distracted by the amount of technology that we are distracted by. I can’t even imagine what an uproar this would cause in that day. It was decided that he should go tell the Pharisees, or they coerced him to go…I’m not sure, but he goes (John 9:13). Remember, it was the Sabbath day when he regained his sight. Jesus has already been in trouble for doing miracles on the Sabbath and claimed that He had the authority to do so because He was God.

The once-blind man again reports the story of what happened to the Pharisees. I wonder as I read this if he is getting a little agitated about having to tell the story over and over. His talking with the Pharisees causes another stir. Some immediately respond by saying that Jesus is not from God because He does not keep the Sabbath (John 9:16). Others did not feel the same way. They believed that it was not possible for Jesus to be anything other than from God because of the incredible miracle that had just been accomplished. So, again the blind man is asked a question.

“What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”—John 9:18 ESV

The authority on the subject could the man who was once blind, because, well, he was there and he met Jesus. His time came to speak and he stated that he thought Jesus was a prophet. This, however was not met with kindness or really any sort of courteousness from the Jews that were there. They actually believed that he was lying about his being blind previously.

This led the Jews to go and speak with the once-blind man’s parents. They actually confirmed that he had been blind, but did not want to comment any further. They really wanted to stay out of the entire conversation so they said that he was old enough to be asked these questions (John 9:23). So, out of fear they wished to stay uninvolved.

I guess this is understandable. But it is a bit amazing that they were so afraid of the outcome of a conversation with the Pharisees that they just wanted to ensure that nothing happened to them. So, they spoke again with the blind man.

I find the second conversation with the once-blind man to be humorous. He is fed up. I think he’s a bit angry. And really, he just wants these people to leave him alone. And, he is being called before the Pharisees once again.

“Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered them, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. “—John 9:24b-25 ESV

You begin to get the sense that he is a bit frustrated with all the questions. He seems to just want them to leave him alone so he can go see things that he has not yet had the opportunity to see. He tells them what he knows and why he said that Jesus was a prophet. He was blind but now he sees. It’s simple and the reasoning is quite sound. But, the Pharisees are not yet satisfied with his answer.

Do you ever get into arguments with people that go nowhere? You know, where people just keep yelling or typing the same things over and over. That’s kind of what seems to be happening here. The Pharisees actually ask him to recount the story….again….of what happened. The once-blind man has, however, had enough. He will not tell the story again. The once-blind man will not tell the story again. He will respond to them with sarcasm.

He has told them the story already, and he tells them as much. And then asks why they want to hear it again. He proposes that they “also want to become his disciples” (John 9:27 ESV). This made matters a bit worse. The tone coming from the Pharisees was of reviling him back. But all they could really say is

“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.” (John 9:28-29 ESV)

Instead of changing his tone matters only get worse. He really does not want to be talking with the Pharisees and is tired of answering these questions. It is also an insult to the Pharisees and in a rather sarcastic manner the once-blind man points out how blind the Pharisees are. He was blind, but now he sees. They are still blind.

“Why, this is an amazing 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 if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”—John 9:30-33 ESV

The whole response is a play on the entire situation. And they know it. He was blind. He had just had his eyes opened. He knows there is something special about Jesus and that Jesus is from God, but these people who claim to see clearly don’t understand who Jesus is.

This was not met with any sort of kindness. Not that we would expect it too. It was rather insulting, even though it was the truth. So, they cast him out.

I’m not sure how Jesus heard about his interaction with the Pharisees or his being cast out, but he did. And it is here that we will get most of what we should think about salvation, for Jesus gives a commentary over what had just occurred.

 

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.—John 9:35-41 ESV

Jesus Came To Open Blinded Eyes (John 9:35-41)

 

Jesus sought him out, gave him comfort after the rough dealings with the Pharisees and then asked him if he believed in the Son of Man. The Son of Man is a phrase from Daniel 7 that means the Messiah. Jesus was asking this man, point blank, if he believed in the Messiah. He asks who the Messiah is and Jesus tells him that He is Himself the Messiah. And the once-blind man trusted in Christ.

Notice how Jesus explains all of this. “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Jesus came into the world to do exactly what he did for this once-blind man. He came into the world to open the spiritually blinded eyes.

We as people are all spiritually blind (Romans 3:11; 1 Corinthians 2:14; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4). We are born blind and rejecting Christ. It is only through the opening of our eyes that we can trust in Christ. Jesus opened his eyes physically and through doing so he opened his eyes spiritually.

The miracle illustrates his great power and authority. He also has the power to open the eyes of the spiritually blind as well.

You might be here today skeptical of every single thing about Christianity. I believe, because of what Scripture teaches, that God has the ability to cause you to see. You likely have friends at school that you think would never trust in Christ, but opening blinded eyes is the exact sort of thing that Christ does. You probably have family members who you have hoped and prayed for for years, know that Christ has the ability to open blinded eyes.

Christ has come and accomplished our salvation for us through His perfect life, death, and resurrection. We sinned, and Christ paid the punishment for our sins past, present, and future. And if we are to see the beauty and reality of the work of Christ we are going to have to have our blinded eyes opened. We hope and we pray for God to open blinded eyes.

If you are a believer here today then Christ has not only accomplished your salvation for you but he has opened your blinded eyes and enabled you to see the beauty and truth of what He has done. Marvel at God’s grace. Adore Him for His great love and mercy.

Jesus Came To Further Blind The Deceived (Vv. 39-41)

 

Now, the Pharisees are in a totally different position than the once-blind man. They believe that they already have what it takes to be right with God. They believe that they had it all together. They believed that they had no need for what Christ offered. And so, the self-righteous remain deceived. Well, it’s that they remain deceived. It’s that their blindness is compounded. Though it’s not possible to be more blind physically, it is possible to do so spiritually.

Those who are in the spiritual darkness of self-righteousness believe themselves to be able to see just fine. They reject the True Light and show themselves to actually be blind.

I had a friend at the Post Office who was a semi-practicing Catholic when I first met him. Shortly after that he was an agnostic, then an atheist. You could see the boulder rolling down the hill and picking up momentum as it went. His rejection of Christ was making things worse. His blindness was growing. By the time I left he believe that aliens had told the stories of what occurred in Scripture to people in the Old Testament and that the rest of Scripture’s revelation was just the outworking of that. His blindness grew and grew and grew.

The Pharisees ask the question at this point, “Are we also blind?” (John9:40 ESV) To this Jesus responds with a resounding “Yes!”. They are blind. The blindness that we saw earlier in the Gospel of John is becoming worse and worse. And, we know that this trend continued until they coaxed a crowd to yell “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

The evidence was plain before them. This miracle was told to them multiple times. Yet, they were blind. They believed themselves to be okay without Jesus.

If you believe that you are just fine without Christ then you will have to pay the penalty of your own sins without Him. And, like the Pharisees, your blindness will likely grow as time goes on. You will continue comparing yourself with others that you believe to be more righteous than and feel that you are okay and the blindness will only grow. And the warning that we end is that, since you believe yourself to be able to see then “your guilt remains”. (John 9:41 ESV)

Christ has come and paid the price for sin for all those who would ever trust in Him. But He did not pay the price for those who never trust in Him. For those people who believe they are okay, “your guilt remains” and you will pay the price for your sin.

R. Dwain Minor