Let there be Light – Lent 4 19/03/2023
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
3 ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’
6 After saying this, he spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, ‘Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?’ 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, ‘No, he only looks like him.’
But he himself insisted, ‘I am the man.’
10 ‘How then were your eyes opened?’ they asked.
11 He replied, ‘The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.’
12 ‘Where is this man?’ they asked him.
‘I don’t know,’ he said.
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes,’ the man replied, ‘and I washed, and now I see.’
16 Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’
But others asked, ‘How can a sinner perform such signs?’ So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, ‘What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’
The man replied, ‘He is a prophet.’
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 ‘Is this your son?’ they asked. ‘Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?’
20 ‘We know he is our son,’ the parents answered, ‘and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.’ 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. ‘Give glory to God by telling the truth,’ they said. ‘We know this man is a sinner.’
25 He replied, ‘Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!’
26 Then they asked him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’
27 He answered, ‘I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, ‘You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.’
30 The man answered, ‘Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’
34 To this they replied, ‘You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!’ And they threw him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’
36 ‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’
37 Jesus said, ‘You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.’
38 Then the man said, ‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him.
39 Jesus said, ‘For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.’
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, ‘What? Are we blind too?’
41 Jesus said, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Friends, this is a seven-scene drama masterfully told to declare one stunning truth to a dark world – there is light, and because there is light, there is hope and there is love, and it all come from this Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.
But again, as we overhear this long drama mainly between religious leaders, a man born blind and his parents, it takes a lot for this light to switch on in our human hearts.
This sixth sign in John is unique in all of Scripture. There is no account of anyone ever giving sight to a person born with blindness in the whole bible up to this point. Also, this is the only time in John’s telling, that a person worships Jesus. Usually there is worship of God and the like – but not directly worshipping (lying prostrate on the ground) Jesus himself.
Seven scenes that got to one light of truth:
Unless we know we are blind, we will never see.
Unless he enables us to see, we will remain blind.
This person born unable to see will soon really see…..
As he [Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth.
Jesus’ sees’ a person who can’t.
When the disciples see this man who can’t, they assume that this disability is a result of someone’s great sin.
2 His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’
Either this guy did something bad before he was born (which is difficult to know how) or his parents sinned (easier to assign blame there). The belief the disciples display is from their culture. God punishes people for sin in one way or another; and ‘special sin’ gets ‘special punishment’.
Maybe this belief is not only in their culture? Have you heard things like this?
“What did I do to deserve this?” people ask.
“She must have done something really bad to suffer like that”.
“The earth is paying us back for all of this environmental mistreatment”.
“Instant Kharma’s ‘gonna get you”, sung John Lennon – you are reincarnated according to how you did the previous time. If you have a disability or you suffer greatly, you must not have done too well in your previous life…..
Thank the Lord that he dismisses this blind belief.
3 ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Disability and suffering are not payback from God, not ‘curse’. Disability and sickness are places where God is at work too – healing and restoring human beings in love. Jesus gets to work….
Jesus spat on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 ‘Go,’ he told him, ‘wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (this word means ‘Sent’). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
Like wine, salt and olive oil, saliva was given medicinal/healing status in the ancient world.
Like Namaan, the proud pagan general who was sent by Elijah to go and wash in the rather unimpressive Jordan river to cure his skin disease, so this man born blind is directed to go and wash in that water ‘sent’ from the underground spring via the channel king Hezekiah built a few centuries before this day.
Jesus, the one sent to be light in darkness sends the man to the pool that is sent from the spring.
People at the pool are watching … “Who did this for you?”, they ask.
‘The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.’
This causes a stir. Miracles always do – especially when done on the legislated holy day when no ‘work’ can be done – the Sabbath.
The experts in God believe they can truly ‘see’.
15 The Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. ‘He put mud on my eyes,’ the man replied, ‘and I washed, and now I see.’
16 Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man (Jesus) is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.’
But others asked, ‘How can a sinner perform such signs?’ So they were divided.
The man replied, ‘He is a prophet.’
Note that the man is now seeing double – He says that Jesus is now not just ‘a man’ but ‘a prophet’.
The religious leaders have a big problem. How can a man who is obviously not able to see God; Jesus, because he is an obvious law-breaker of God’s holy law, do this work that only God could do (give sight to a blind man)?
They are divided. Some beginning at the Sabbath Law declare that it is impossible for a sinner to do God’s work. This is all fake news. Someone must be lying!
Others start with the miracle and say that Jesus clearly did something only God can obviously do. Let’s see more …
Time to ask the parents (the only ones who could be responsible for this).
19 ‘Is this your son?’ they asked. ‘Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?’
20 ‘We know he is our son,’ the parents answered, ‘and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age…”
Mum and Dad know the cost of coming up against these heavies – being expelled temporarily or permanently from the important social network of the synagogue. They opt out. It is all back on this man now seeing.
They legal eagles persist. They drag the man back in.
26 …., ‘What did he do to you?
27 …., ‘I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?’
Like a power-hungry boss or a cranky tradesman with his apprentice or dear old dad on the farm who wants things done his way or the highway, these fellows sight is being called blind! They are not happy, Jan! Blindness called out brings out their arrogant pride …
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, ‘You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!
This man with new sight seems to grow in confidence….
30 … ‘Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.
Seems that people who claim they see actually can’t, and the person who could not see and knows it, now can. Is it so, that Blindness’ is not admitting that you are blind – not seeing that you can’t see?
Isn’t this you and me when we never admit that we could be wrong; never acknowledge that you have blind spots; never allow new learning but rigidly staying with what you have already learnt, or pretending that you can see when you can’t?
The people who believe they see attack all-out’ now.
34 …, ‘You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!’ And they threw him out.”
Rejecting the Light of the World makes the world so dark. Naming and shaming….. the pain goes on ….
But Jesus is still doing his Father’s work …
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’
36 ‘Who is he, sir?’ the man asked. ‘Tell me so that I may believe in him.’
Jesus is on the job….. Now the light will fully break through…
For a Jewish man of any station in life to kneel before another Jewish man, in public, and for that Jewish man to let this person kneel before him is remarkable
They know that first and greatest commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me” which means not making any human or other images of God.
But the man, who only first knew Jesus as ‘a man’, and then ‘a prophet’, now names Jesus, ‘Lord’ as he worships Jesus lying face down at his feet in full public view.
Seven scenes to get us to this point; to get you to see Jesus, the light of God, the hope of God, the truth of God the love of God for you for real. He will go on to do even more work for you. He will shed his light on you.
With that light you have light to see yourself more clearly, to see others more clearly, to see your work, your lifestyle, your choices, your idols, your status as the ‘en-light-end’ of God because you are ‘beloved’ of God – wholly loved by a holy God of love who lights up any darkness and give sight in any blindness.
But you can shut it out …
41 Jesus said to the Pharisees in earshot, ‘If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
To continue to claim that you can see and are never blind, and so, accuse others of being blind, assigning blame to others, claiming rights and status and need to keep your place and not lose face will keep you blind to this wonderful light of grace for you in Jesus.
To freely admit down to you bones that you are blind to many things and often to God working in your life, you will be open to this Light that enables you to truly see this man of grace working in your life.
Blindness is not admitting that you can’t see, and remaining blind to Jesus’ work.
Faith is admitting that you can’t see, even from birth, and being given new eyes to see Jesus’ at work.
Let there be light!
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