Was Blind But Now I See

Introduction

I’m turning in my New Testament to the Gospel of John, chapter 9. John chapter 9, if you’ll turn there with us. Obviously, there’s much to learn from the didactic sections of Scripture. The sections where teaching takes place, the Sermon on the Mount, the many parables that Jesus spoke. But there’s also much to be learned from the actions of Jesus. And the interactions of Jesus with other people. And I think we’ll observe that here in the Gospel of John, chapter 9, in one of my favorite stories, and that is of Jesus healing the blind man. And I’d like for us to use this as our text this morning to see what we can learn about faith from this simple man. Let’s just start in reading the text, and we’ll make some observations and applications as we go.

1. A Man Blind From Birth

John 9, verse 1 says, Now as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. Let’s pause there. Remember how long he had been blind from birth. The text won’t tell us how old this man is, so we don’t know how long he’s been blind.

But he’s been blind from birth. That’s all he’s ever known is darkness. And his disciples ask him, verse 2 continues, who sinned? This man or his parents that he was born blind? A common misconception in that day that if there was something as bad as blindness, that it must be a curse from God. Surely his parents sinned, and this is a punishment. Or maybe he had sinned, and this is kind of a twisted idea, it somehow sinned in some either some prior life, or because of the sin that he would commit, he had been precursed by God. And so let’s pause there and think about this blind man. Take away from what you know about handicaps in our modern day and time, and try to imagine being blind in the first century.

At least two things would have added shame to being blind. Being blind or otherwise handicapped in this way in the first century, you would have had one option. There wouldn’t have been schools for blind people. There wouldn’t have been resources and helps. There wouldn’t have been any kind of training, any kind of vocation. You had one job path if you were born blind. You’re going to be a beggar.

You can imagine the whisperings. His parents must have done something really bad.

What has he done? That God hates him so much that he was born blind. I don’t know that you and I can imagine the really just the shame that shouldn’t have been attached to being blind, but was attached to being blind in the first century. And so here was this man. Now Jesus answers this misconception about the origin of the blindness in verse 3 when he says, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God may be revealed in him. In other words, it’s not the result of his sin. Surely he had sinned, surely his parents had committed sin, but that was not the cause for his blindness. But God, Jesus is going to use this blindness as an opportunity to glorify God.

2. He Went and Washed and Came Back Seeing

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Jesus, in one of those I ams of the gospel of John, says, I am the light of the world. He’s going to demonstrate that in a physical sense here in giving light to this blind man. Verse 6, it says, when he had said these things, he spat on the ground, made clay with the saliva, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And he said to him, Go wash in the pool of Saloon, which is translated sent. So he went and washed and came back seeing. Do you notice the order of events there? He went and washed and came back seeing.

Is there kind of an application maybe to our obedience to the gospel and even baptism today? At what point did he receive the healing? It’s not when he went. It was when he went and washed. When he had done what the Lord had told him, he came back seeing. Therefore, the neighbors and those who had previously seen that he was blind said, Is this not he who sat and begged? Some said, This is he. Others said he is like him. He said, I am he. Can you wrap your minds around what’s transpired already? Here’s a man, a man, grown man, who has been blind from the day he was born. And now, based upon the simple actions and instructions of Jesus, he can now see. I can’t imagine that.

Can you? Of going and washing that clay and spittle off of your eyes and being able to see. And what we know about miracles that he wouldn’t have been just kind of able to see, he would have had 2020 vision instantly. Can you imagine that? Never having seen anything, and now seeing everything with perfect clarity. Both physically and spiritually, we’re going to see. I imagine his head was on a swivel. As he was looking at everything. That’s what that looks like. Maybe he looked, he heard the birds that he had heard so many times in his lifetime and looked and saw and said, That’s what was making that sound. I had no idea. As these people were talking, he now began to put faces with the voices and maybe the names.

Maybe he heard that grumpy man saying, That’s the guy who never gave me anything. Maybe he saw that beautiful older lady’s face and said, That’s the sweet lady that always brought me food. Who always had a kind word to say.

And if people saying, that can’t be him.

3. One Thing I Know: I Was Blind, Now I See

Now look at their next question. The obvious next question was, verse 10, therefore they said to him, How were your eyes opened? He answered and said, A man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, Go to the pool of Saloam and wash. So I went and washed, and I received sight. Then they said to him, Where is he? He said, I do not know. They brought him who was formerly blind to the Pharisees. If this was a movie or a television show, that’s where the dramatic music would be played. To the Pharisees, those watchdogs, self appointed watchdogs. Why they brought him to the Pharisees, we’re not really sure. But they brought him to the Pharisees, and it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

Maybe that’s why they brought him. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, He put clay on my eyes, and I wash, and I see. Therefore, some of the Pharisees says, This man, speaking of Jesus, the one who performed the miracle, this man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath. Others said, How can a man who is a sinner do such signs? And there was division among them. Not only is this blind man’s mind reeling from the ability now to be able to see for the first time in his life, but now all of the furor over this healing. And now the discussion, the debate takes place in the Sanhedrin. This man speaking of Jesus can’t be from God because he’s violated our traditions of the Sabbath.

And others said, Well, how can you hail somebody if you’re not from God? And he’s processing this information. He’s had more time to think about what’s going on. Verse 17, then they said to the blind man again, What do you say about him? Because he has opened your eyes. He said, He’s a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. Then they asked them, saying, Is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind, but by what means he now sees, we do not know, or who opened his eyes, we do not know.

He is of age. Ask him, he will speak for himself. Now notice what verse 22 says, maybe the saddest verse in this text. His parents said these things because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed he was the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore, his parents said, Ask him, he is of age. Isn’t that sad? This day was the best day of their son’s life. The best day of their life. Their son who had been relegated to a life of begging, now could get an education, could get a job. Wouldn’t have to be sitting there at the gate begging every day of his life.

No longer would people be saying, What did his parents do? Now, maybe they could just as incorrectly say, What did his parents do? God must really love this man and his parents. The best day of their lives. And they’re afraid. They’re afraid to embrace the joy and the meaning of this day. Now look at verse 24.

So they then called the man again who was blind and said to him, Give God the glory. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he’s a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see. I want us to notice the juxtaposition of the people involved here. Here we have the Sanhedrin Council, the Pharisees, the most educated people in Jewish society. By modern day standards, they would have had a bunch of initials after their name PhD, MD, all these kind of different initials to show their education. Now think about the blind man. What kind of education would a blind man in the first century Israel had had? None. Why educate a future beggar?

But he was smarter than every one of them in the room. Because he said, All I know is this. Yesterday I couldn’t see a thing. And now I can see everything. The Sanhedrin Council, historians tell us that it was the way it was set up, both physically and everything associated with it, was set up with the goal of intimidating. So that you would bow to their will and to their whim. But this man isn’t intimidated. You grow to love this blind man, don’t you? You love him because of his common sense. They’re arguing all these things. He says, the only thing I know is I was blind, now I can see. You explain that to me. You grow to love him because he’s not going to be intimidated.

I was blind, now I see you’re not going to ruin the best day of my life. What can you do to me? Notice what he goes on to say as they argue with him. Now they said to him again, verse 26, what did he say to you? Or what did he do to you? And how did he open your eyes? He says, I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become one of his disciples? Don’t you love this guy? He’s not intimidated. His parents were. But you’re not going to intimidate me. I’ve just had the greatest blessing I could ever receive. Then they began to revile him and said, You are his disciples.

We are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses as for this fellow, we do not know where he is from. The man answered and said to him, Why? This is a marvelous thing that you don’t know where he’s from, and yet he’s opened my eyes. Now we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, he hears him. Since the world began, it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered and said to him, You’re completely born in sins, and you’re teaching us. And they cast him out. Now let’s pause there. I don’t think that means they threw him out of the room.

Remember what his parents were afraid of? Being cast out of the synagogue, being disfellowship. And so when they cast him out, they probably did throw him out of the room, but I think it means they excommunicated him. They threw him out of the synagogue. But do you think he cares? Jesus heard that he’d been cast out and went and found him and said to him, Do you believe in the Son of God? And he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? In other words, I know, I’ve figured this out. You are a prophet, you’re from God. No one could do the thing that you just did unless you’re from God. And so if you tell me who this Messiah is, I’ll believe you because I know that you’re from God.

4. The Progression of His Faith

Jesus said to him, verse 37, and notice the language. You have both seen him. And it is he who is talking with you. Then he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. Let’s talk about this blind man. Let’s talk, think about the progression of his faith. He says in this short text, he says three things about Jesus. Remember the first thing that he said when they asked him, Who healed you? And he simply said, I know his name. This man called Jesus, made clay, put it on my eyes, and I went and washed, and now I say. That’s not a grand pronouncement of faith, is it? I know his name’s Jesus. I don’t even know where he is now. But as this day progresses, and he has more time to absorb what’s happened to him, as well as hearing the argument between the Pharisees.

Remember, some were saying, Oh, he can’t be from God or he wouldn’t violate the Sabbath, and others were saying, yeah, but how can he perform a miracle if he’s not from God? And so they press him further, and so in verse 17, he says, He’s a prophet. You see the step up. First, he just says, I know his name. His name’s Jesus. But now, after hearing this argumentation and thinking about it, he says, He is a prophet. Now, the word prophet just simply meant he was from God. He is a man and a spokesman of God. How could he do this if he were not from God? Later, when Jesus comes back to him, he’s presented with further evidence. Do you believe in the Messiah? You tell me who he is, and I’ll believe.

And Jesus says, You’ve seen him, and you’re now talking to him. And now he says, Lord, I believe. Look at that progression. I know his name. His name is Jesus. He’s a prophet. He’s from God. All the way to Lord, I believe. All in the span of what we assume is just one day. What a progression of faith. Well, let’s think about some applications that we maybe can make in our own life, and that is that our faith should grow. Our faith may not grow as fast as this man’s faith grew, from simply knowing his name to end it up saying, Lord, I believe in worshiping him. But our faith should be progressing. The more we see God’s blessings in our life, the more evidence that we’re presented with, the more our faith should grow.

The second application is accept the evidence that we’re given. Open your eyes. We sing a song sometimes, open my eyes that I may see. This man’s eyes were opened, not just physically, but spiritually. He looked at the evidence. The evidence of his own healing, his own blessing. The evidence of the argumentation between the Pharisees whether this man was from God or whether he was not from God. And then finally, the evidence of the words of Jesus Himself. Open your eyes to the evidence round about you. Open your eyes to the scripture. And then lastly, with the application of this blind man’s faith, faith demands some reason. Don’t let the world’s ridicule fool you into thinking that if you’re going to be a Christian, if you’re going to be some kind of spiritually minded person, that you have to check your brains at the door.

That’s not true. You are not intellectually inferior because you believe that God created the heavens and the earth. You’re not intellectually inferior to anyone because you believe there is a God in heaven, who sustains this world and who will speak, and this world will come to an end. Think of that day in the Sanhedrin Council. Who was the smartest man in the room?

5. The Pharisees Were Blinded by Their Prejudice

The blind man. Because he accepted the evidence that was given. He used the reasoning faculties that God gave him. And he believed. Well, there’s three groups of people in this story, really. There’s the blind man, and then now there’s the Pharisees. Those nefarious Pharisees. You know, they should have been the ones most receptive to Christ. We said they were the most educated. They knew the law frontwards and backwards. In fact, Jesus himself said, if they tell you something about the law, you can believe it. Now don’t do what they say, what they do, but you can believe what they say about the law because they were experts in the law. When the text says they were lawyers, it doesn’t mean they were lawyers in the sense that we mean that someone who’s supposed to be expert in the laws of the land.

They were experts in the law of Moses. And they should have been the most receptive. They knew the prophecies far better than this blind man did, far better than anybody did. If anybody had been trained and set up to believe that Jesus was the Christ, it was the Pharisees. But they didn’t.

Pardon the pun, but they were blinded by their prejudice. Have you ever thought about this? What could Jesus have done to convict these Pharisees? To convince them. Could he heal a blind man? Would that do it? Maybe if, maybe not just healing a blind man, maybe healing a lot of people. A lot of different kinds of diseases. If that didn’t do it, maybe if he raised somebody from the dead, that would convince. Maybe if he himself was raised from the dead. You know, prejudice is a horrible thing. Because prejudice blinds us to the reality. And there’s so many people today, are there not? Who were blinded by prejudice, who just can not see.

And we get frustrated, don’t we, with people who are blind. But we need to realize that many times people are blind because, and I hate to say this, because they want to be.

6. His Parents Were Blinded by Fear

Remember how old I was. I like to think I was very young because I was scared. I was scared to shoot the gun. I was scared of the loud noise. I was scared of the kickback. I was scared that I would miss and be embarrassed. And so I can remember us trekking through the woods and stopping and dad saying, There’s one. You see it. And I can remember lying and saying, No, I don’t see it. And Dad getting down on my level and saying, right up there, right between those two trees, in the bend of that. You see? No, Dad, I don’t see it. That makes me think of the saddest people in this story. And that’s the Pharisees and the blind man’s parents. I think about the people today who are blinded because of prejudice.

Because that’s not what they always believe. That’s not what their church, their preacher, their parents, their grandparents. And the fact that some would just rather believe a lie than to openly admit the truth. But even maybe sadder on some level than the Pharisees or this blind man’s parents. They should have been the happiest people, maybe second only to the blind man himself. And you imagine.

And the social stigma that incorrectly but yet prevalently was attached to that problem. And now your son can see. But being afraid to say anything about it because of the fear. They saw the great work of God. They didn’t just see it from afar. It was right in their own home. And yet they had no faith. They were blinded by fear. Just like I was that day in the woods. I didn’t want to see. And I think about people today who may be in the same camp of these parents that are blinded by fear. That they won’t accept the truth though it stares them in the face and is screaming to be accepted and believed. And I think about those today who, because of the fear of filling the blanks, keep them from obeying the gospel.

Maybe it’s the fear of rejection by their parents or their friends. Maybe it’s the fear of the changes that they would have to make in their life. Sometimes very severe changes. Maybe it’s the fear that they won’t be able to do it. They won’t be able to live the Christian life. That it keeps them from obeying the gospel.

That among those heinous sins that are mentioned is one category of people simply known as the cowardly.

Conclusion

Would this man’s parents be in that group? Who, because they were just afraid of the risk to their own lives, that they wouldn’t say, Lord, I believe. Now let’s finish the text there in John chapter 9. Verse 39, after the man had said, Lord, I believe and worshiped him, Jesus said, For judgment I have come into the world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.

Jesus didn’t come blind people physically. But he’s speaking of the Pharisees.

Then some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him, Are we blind also? And Jesus said to him, If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, We see, therefore your sin remains. See how Jesus turns this chapter on its head? The disciples started out saying, This man’s blind, he must have sinned. There must be a reason for it. Jesus said, if you were blind, you’d have no sin. In other words, if you would admit you were blind, if you would admit your affliction, your illness, then you would truly be healed. The ironic thing of this story is the only one that could see was the blind man.

Let’s pray. Our God and Father in heaven, we’re so thankful for wonderful stories such as this that lead us to faith. Wonderful for the lessons of opening the eyes of blind. Father, may we see our true state before you.

Bless those who are with us today, Father. May we open our hearts that our eyes might be open to your truth. Continue to bless us, Father, in the love and the study of your word. It’s in his name that we pray. Amen. We’ll be dismissed to our classes.