August 11, 1999
LIFE & WORK SERIES:
It may be time for a spiritual eye examination
___John 9:1-41
___By Brett Younger
___Lake Shore Baptist Church, Waco
___Blindness was horribly widespread in ancient Palestine. Eye infections were common, and no one knew how to treat them. Blind people went from physician to physician, from crackpot to charlatan and ended up a few coins poorer--their dream to see crushed once more.
___On seeing a blind beggar, the disciples ask, "Who sinned?" (v. 2). Jesus brushes aside their speculation and focuses on helping the man. The disciples stare (like my family doeswhen my uncle puts tobacco on a bee sting) as Jesus puts mud made from saliva on the man's eyes. Jesus offers the man an opportunity to show his faith by washing in the Pool of Siloam.
___After sending the blind man to receive his sight (v. 7.), Jesus is absent from the story until verse 35--his longest absence in the Fourth Gospel. Everybody talks about what happened: the "blind" man and his neighbors (vv. 8-12); the man and the Pharisees (vv. 13-17); the Jewish authorities and the man's parents (vv. 18-23); the man and the Pharisees again (vv. 24-34); Jesus and the man (vv. 35-38); Jesus and the Pharisees (vv. 39-41).
___They ask lots of questions: "How did this happen?" "What kind of person breaks the Sabbath laws?" "What kind of person heals the blind?" "What do you think of Jesus?" "Are you sure this man was born blind?" "How could this happen?" "Do you believe?" "Are we blind, too?" The most ironic question comes from the healed man: "Do you want to become his disciples, too?" (v. 27).
___The one who could not see his hand in front of his face now sees more clearly than the religious leaders. Grace comes for those with eyes to see.
___There is a progression in the man's witness. First, he identifies his healer as "the man they call Jesus" (v. 11). Later he calls Jesus a prophet (v. 17), then a miracle worker from God (v. 33). Finally he says, "Lord, I believe" and worships Jesus (v. 38). This progression marks a deepening of the man's sight, from physical to spiritual. Blindness is not just about physical vision, but about openness to God.
___The evangelist makes the same point with this story, this living parable, that Jesus makes: "I am the light of the world" (v. 5). "I have come into this world so that the blind will see" (v. 39).
___How is our vision? How clearly do we see the people around us? Do we see what the people who love us need from us? How clearly do we see the people with whom we work? Do we see it when they're hurting? How honestly do we see those in poverty? What does God want us to see that we refuse to see? How well do we see the possibilities that surround us? Do we see the promise within us? Do we notice the gifts of God? Do we recognize grace? Do we want God to help us see?
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