What Do You See? John 9:1-41
Signs: How Do We Know? • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
(show ambiguous image of dancing woman/man) What do you see first when you look at this image? How many of you first saw a dancing woman? How many of you first saw the silhouette of a man? Isn’t that interesting? We’re all in the same room looking at the same room, and many of us see something completely different.
What’s interesting is that this is supposed to reveal something about our personality. I’m not sure if it does or not, maybe Robyn Snider could give us some insight. But, supposedly, if you saw the dancing woman first, it means that you have a ton of self-confidence and that it makes you stand out in a crowd. If you saw a man first, it means that you should contact your nearest psychiatrist immediately. J/K. It supposedly means that you have a naturally optimistic nature with a good eye for detail. I’ll let you decide how accurate that is.
God’s Word
God’s Word
And, while I’m not sure whether your perspective of this woman/man says anything about you, what you see when you look at your circumstances and when you meet people and when you think of God reveals a lot about who you are. So, John’s concern in this sixth sign is that you would have the right perspective of Jesus. And so, we see Three Perspectives of Jesus: (Headline) in our text this morning.
Some hear Jesus and say…
I “don’t” understand.
I “don’t” understand.
John 9:1–7 “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 spit 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.”
One of the healthiest questions you can ask is: Can you help me understand? (car ride in Swaziland) It’s a great question when someone seems to act out of character and you feel division. “Can you help me understand why felt this way or responded this way?” It’s a great question to ask when there’s tension beneath the surface about an issue (complete with imaginary convos) and you need to resolve it. “Can you help me understand how you interpreted that passage like that or how you arrived at that opinion?” And, it’s a great question to ask when you’re struggling with something in your faith. “Can you help me understand why we can believe God is good and allows evil?” Healthy people don’t seethe or blow up on someone with whom they are frustrated or allow their hearts to drift away from the Lord without intervention. Healthy people pursue healthy perspective. Healthy perspective seeks to understand.
That’s what the disciples do in our passage. They ask a big: “Can you help me understand?” question. They ask, “Rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” This was a big debate in the day. They had a theology that was very much like Job’s friends. You have a problem because you have a sin. But, in the case of being born with a disability, it was tricky. Some in Jewish thought that the baby could sin or rebel in some way within the mother’s womb, leading to such a disability. The more accepted thought was that the parents had sinned in some way that led to a significant consequence in the child’s life — sins of the father/mother passed on to the kids. So, having spent enough time with Jesus to recognize his insightfulness, Jesus’ disciples present him with the tension.
Ask Jesus: “Why?”
It’s important for you to see that this is a perfectly appropriate question to bring to Jesus. Jesus isn’t frustrated or annoyed with them. He doesn’t rebuke them. Jesus invites our questions, and this is significant. Because we need a place to go for the questions science can’t answer, don’t we? We want to believe in our day that science has an answer for everything, but the human spirit simply knows better. There are some questions that can’t be answered — especially the “Why?” questions of life. Those questions make science squirm, but Jesus receives them happily. (personal story — moments when you’re trying to find the answer — when I had a question)(“What’s that question for you?”) (Maybe example “why” questions)
So, Jesus provides their big question with a deep answer. In this case, both sides of the debate are wrong. This man isn’t disabled because of his sin or his parent’s sin. In fact, we could note that this is the most typical reason. No, there are two reasons that this man is born blind. The first is that the world isn’t as it should be. He hasn’t sinned, but the effects of sin are present. The second, though, is the good news. He was born blind “that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Jesus is explaining to his disciples that everyone was missing the answer to the “why” because they were so busy focusing on the trees that they couldn’t see the forest. This man’s suffering wasn’t his fault, but it wasn’t random and trivial either. God was at work in him to manifest something that would be more beautiful than the man or any of these disciples could’ve believed. You’ll notice that this takes place at Siloam and that Jesus calls himself the light of the world. Neither of these are incidental facts. This is taking place at the end of the Festival of Booths. (Remember that the festivals are significant to John.) Well, the Pool of Siloam was where water was collected for the festival of booths and poured down the steps of the temple so that it poured into the streets. It was a picture that through the Jewish people God would satisfy the world. They would also light four large candelabra with large bowls of oil and wicks made from the holy priestly garments. All of Jerusalem could see their light, and it was a mark that revelation and truth came from the Jewish faith.
And, Jesus is showing that the point of this man being born blind was so that they could see that He was the fulfillment of the festival of booths. He was the one “sent” that the world could be satisfied in God, and He was the “light of the world,” the true revelation who turn the lights on for the world to see.
Trust God’s “Why”.
You see, there was a “why” behind this man’s sufferings. It’s a “why” that was bigger than he could’ve ever imagined. God chose him to be part of the way He would manifest his Son’s glory to the world. There’s always a “why” with God. Our suffering isn’t random, and it isn’t for our ruin. God isn’t some suicide bomber that parks a random car bomb in our lives just so He can watch the destruction. No, as bad as it hurts, as hard as it is, and difficult as it is to understand, there’s always a “why.”
And, this man reminds us that though we may not be able to see it now, though we may be blind to what is happening around us, one day we will see. We can’t see now what we will see, but one day the lights will come on and we will understand. We can trust God’s “why” even when we can’t understand it.
So, the disciples show us that we can go to Jesus when we don’t understand, but better yet, the blind man shows us that Jesus comes to us when we can’t see.
I “can’t” see.
I “can’t” see.
John 9:6–7 “Having said these things, he spit 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.”
John 9:35–37 “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.””
This is, perhaps, the most interesting perspective since this man couldn’t see Jesus to have a perspective on him to begin with. From his perspective, the man could only say, “I can’t see!” So, it’s beautiful when John highlights that the Pool of Siloam means “sent.” Jesus had been sent to this man because this man was never going to be able to find Jesus. Dating all the way back to the church fathers, this man’s blindness has been understood to represent the spiritual blindness that existed right in the heart of Jerusalem. God had “sent” his Son to save his people, but they couldn’t see it.
That is, it wasn’t just that this man couldn’t see his family; he couldn’t see God. He was the perfect picture of what it means to be hopelessly engulfed by his shame. Everyone in town assumed that his blindness was due to his sin or his family’s sin. So, he laid there day in and day out as an open display of hopeless shame, and he couldn’t even see where to turn for help. I wonder if you’re like that. I wonder if you’re here, and you just feel like you’re totally exposed in all of your shame. You can’t help but think that when people see you that think about the job that you had and lost, the number of marriages you’ve had that failed, or the fact that you have a criminal record. You carry with you the regret of decisions that you’ve made or a reputation that you perceive, and you feel totally hopeless to do anything about it. Well, notice the picture of Jesus. John always wants you to see it. You may be blind. You may be hopeless, but Jesus comes to you and Jesus initiates the healing.
Jesus “makes” you “new.”
Jesus does something that may seem strange. He spits in the dirt, and He forms mud that He places on the man’s eyes. Well, remember who John has shown us that Jesus is. He’s the one by whom and through whom everything that has been made has been made. Well, how did God form the man? “From the dust of the earth.” So, what is Jesus doing? Well, He’s remaking the man. He’s drawing this out by returning to the dust of the earth. He’s giving the man what He was formed without in his mother’s womb — sight.
But, it’s even more than eyesight that He aims to give him. You see, this man wasn’t just born without being able to see his mom; He was born without being able to get to God. He was born in shame with a sinful nature. But, Jesus was changing that all. Jesus wasn’t just removing his blindness. He was removing his shame. He wasn’t just taking away the man’s physical disability; He was taking away his spiritual infirmity. Jesus is making him new.He makes the same offer to you this morning.
The man is interrogated by everyone in town that mattered, and they ended up “casting him out” of the Synagogue. All his life he had lived in shame, hoping to see his shame removed by the forgiveness of his sins. But, now that he can see, the religious leaders say that it’s only because he’s in even deeper shame and sin. But, Jesus circles back so that the man could see the truth. “The Son of Man” had sought him to reveal himself to him so that He could really see. The Synagogue may cast him, but He was right with God.
Jesus will “take” you “in.”
Others may cast you out, but Jesus will take you in. Others may shame you, but Jesus restores you. Others may never see anything but your old self, but Jesus recreates you into someone new. And, brothers and sisters, that is far better. (ICBC, we have to embody Jesus’ perspective — is our impulse to cast out or take in? — reformed culture seems too often focused on casting out — hospital for sinners — safe place for anyone to be)
(slow down — communicate pastoral heart) Over the course of my ministry, I’ve had the honor to preach the funerals of infants whose eyes never saw their mothers. (miscarriages) And, it’s a heartbreaking scene to witness. But, I’ll tell you the greatest comfort that I’ve found each time: The first time that baby opened their eyes, they saw the kind face of Jesus. It’s easy to read about a man like this and pity him, but He had the greatest privilege. The first time he opened his eyes he saw the kind face of Jesus.
And, this morning, my prayer has been that God would open some of your eyes to see his kind face for the first time because once you see it the other faces that look at you with shame and repulsion don’t matter any more. The Son of Man has come to you to open your eyes so that you can see that your shame can be removed.
But, final perspective we see is really a warning to us. Some can’t see, but others won’t see.
I “won’t” see.
I “won’t” see.
John 9:20–23 “His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.””
John 9:24–34“So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” And they reviled him, saying, “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.” The man answered, “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…”
The irony of this story is that the tragic figure doesn’t end up being the one you expect it to be. You expect it to be the man born blind and couldn’t see, but the real tragedy are those who were born with perfect vision but simply won’t see.
Blinded by “shame.”
Think what a tragedy the parents are. Their son was born blind, and now he sees. But, they can’t enjoy it. All of their lives they’ve heard the whispers that their son’s disability was their fault. Perhaps, dad had been unfaithful to his wife so that his birthright was corrupted. Perhaps, mom — and this was a common thought — had worshipped a pagan God and experienced God’s judgment upon her baby. You can imagine what a trauma this had been for them, so much so, that they couldn’t imagine incurring even further shame because of their disabled child. So, when the Pharisees threaten to have them “put out” of the synagogue if they were associated with Jesus, they couldn’t abide it. They refused to open their eyes to the joy of their who had just be healed by Jesus. (Perhaps, the parents knew of their sin and assumed the same theology. — their fault — prob on thin ice with synagogue already — unwilling to receive grace)
They were blinded by their shame. I don’t know what kind of traumas and regrets and baggage you bring in here this morning that might prevent you from seeing Jesus, but don’t let their tragedy become yours. Maybe you’ve experienced spiritual abuse and church hurt, so that it’s hard to open your heart again to what Jesus really wants to do through you. Don’t refuse to see and miss out. Maybe you’ve been told by your parents or your classmates or your siblings that you aren’t anything and can’t amount to anything. Maybe you’ve always felt in the way your whole life so that you can’t conceive that Jesus would want you. Don’t let their tragedy become yours. Jesus invites in those that world “puts out.”
Blinded by “pride.”
But, there’s another group of tragic figures in this story, and it’s the Pharisees. In their second interrogation count the number of times they say they “know” what’s going on. Three different times they say explicitly “We know” before the conclude with “You were born in utter sin, what could you teach us?” in verse 34. They thought they knew who the Messiah would be. They thought they understood who this man was. They were certain they knew how God worked. Their theology was so tight and neat that it didn’t have room for the actual Christ. (reformed circles — southern pride/shame culture) That’s what John wants you to see. Jesus is who He is, not who you want Him to be.
So, they were blinded by their pride. They were sure they were right that they missed how wrong they were. They were so certain of what they knew that they missed who was right in front of their faces. They took their thoughts and opinions of Jesus as fact. They took their traditions as divine revelation. And so, they couldn’t enjoy the actual Savior, not because He wasn’t willing to have them, but because they weren’t willing to see him.
So, Jesus says to them and to us: John 9:39 “Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”” So, will you see him, or will you not?
