Lesson 26

Opened Eyes And Closed Minds

John 9

The plot to kill Jesus began because Jesus healed on the Sabbath and because he claimed to be the Son of God. John 5:16-18 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God. In our text for today, John 9, we discover doing more of the same, healing on the sabbath and claiming to be the Son of God.

The entire chapter is dedicated to a single event. As this incident unfolds we shall discover the opening of one man's eyes and, more importantly, of his heart while at the same time, other men close their minds and their hearts to Jesus. There is a contrast here, a juxtaposition, where one man receives Christ while others reject Him.

The Case, 9:1-5.

Of the many miracles which Jesus performed only seven are recorded in John. This is the sixth. (Water to wine at Cana; the nobleman's son healed from a distance; the paralyzed man healed at the pool of Bethesda; the feeding of the 5000; Jesus walking on water; sight to blinded eyes; raising of Lazarus from the grave).

Please note that the Scriptures tell us that this man was born blind. This is the only congenital disease cited in the gospels. That he was blind from birth hints that his condition is more serious. Were he blind because of an illness or an injury, healing might have come by natural means. But congenital blindness required something supernatural. That he was blind from birth also reminds us of the sadness of his condition. He had never seen the light of day, the gleam of the Sea of Galilee or a sunset over Mt. Carmel. He had never seen a lily or a tree with springtime blossoms or a bird or even a human smile. He had grown up from babyhood to boyhood to manhood in the impenetrable darkness of the totally blind. He was destined to a life of crouching on some street corner and begging for coins. Until Jesus passed by! You see, when Jesus encounters some human need He responds with mercy and compassion and, displaying His power does something about the need. Jesus turns a potentially disastrous wedding reception into the best one anyone can remember. Jesus heals a deathly sick son from a great distance. Jesus tells a man who has been paralyzed for 38 years, waiting and hoping for a miracle, to get up and walk home. Jesus feeds His followers even when there are 5000 of them and not a store anywhere around. Jesus transforms a night of despair into a calm ride across the lake by his power and presence. And Jesus gives sight to the blind. It was prophesied of Him that He had been sent to give the "recovering of sight to the blind" (Luke 4:18). When John the Baptist succumbs to doubt and wondered "Art thou he that should come or look we for another?" Jesus sent word to him that "the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached unto them" (Matthew 11:5). He had healed Bartimaeus and others who were blind, Matthew 10:27-31; Mark 8:22-26; 10:46-52.

Jesus is not like others. The disciples encounter this blind man and he is only the subject for some theoretical, some theological discussion. Who did sin? This man or his parents? It is much easier to discuss an abstract subject like sin, than to minister to a concrete need in a person's life. There was an assumption, a presumption, here on their part. A handicap meant sin either by the parents or by the person. While it is easy to be critical of the disciples, we must admit that when we see human suffering don't we sometimes at least think about why this has happened? Was it because of some sin?

Why is there sickness and disease and disability? You just cannot generalize and lump all illness under one cause. It is true that some are sick because of sin, see I Cor. 11-29-30; Rev. 2:22-23. But we are subject to sickness, to illness and injuries, to diseases and disabilities sometimes simply because we are human. And sometimes it is to bring glory to God, see II Cor. 12:7-10.

So while it is true in general that sin and sickness are related - the reason there is disease and disability in the world is because of the fall of mankind into a sinful state - it is wrong for us to blame a specific disability on a specific sin committed by a specific person. We humans do not have the authority nor the ability to pass such judgments. The Book of Job teaches us that even good and godly people experience sickness and encounter tremendous tragedy. I do not believe that God punishes children for the sins of their parents. I know that Exodus 20:5 is often interpreted this way. I think that it means that it may take 3 or 4 generations to remove a sin like idolatry out of a family. See II Chr. 25:4; Ez. 18:20. I wouldn't punish your children for something which you did wrong and neither would God.

When the disciples made this assumption, Jesus quickly set the record straight. This blindness is not because of sin but for God's glory. This condition was an opportunity to reveal God's touch - "that the works of God should be made manifest in him." God is too loving to be unkind, too wise to make mistakes, too powerful to have His purposes thwarted. All human arguments on such circumstances are done with incomplete data. This man's blindness was a touch of God in his life - not punitive, not arbitrary. It was part of a plan unknown to anyone but God and His Christ, a plan intended to bring Christ ito this man's life and ultimate praise and glory to God. It was also to reveal God's timing, v. 4. The timing of all this was absolutely providential. According to verse 5, this also was an opportunity to reveal God's truth. Jesus has already said that He is the light of the world. He says it again and shows it in no uncertain terms.

The Cure, 9:6-12.

Instead of arguing over why the man was blind, Jesus choose simply to give him sight! His method was somewhat unique. Jesus often varied his methods of performing a miracle so that men would understand that there is no magic in the method, no formula by which to guarantee a miracle, but the miraculous power is in His person. One another occasion, Jesus healed the blind by touching their eyes. Here, He chose to spit on ground, make a little clay out of the dust/saliva combination, anoint the man's eyes with the clay, send him to the pool of Siloam to wash out his eyes. This method required a degree of faith and obedience on the part of the blind man. When he obeyed, he came seeing, v. 7.

Verses 8-9 are somewhat comical to me. His neighbors saw him and asked, "Is that the blind beggar?" Some said, "Yeah, that's him." Others added, "It sure looks like him." But he said, "It's me."

Whenever there is a miracle, our natural inclination is to find out the mechanics of it. How (v. 10)? It would have been better for them to rearrange the letters of their interrogative from H-O-W to W-H-O. Not how but who! The man reported all the facts accurately but verses 11-12 indicate a great deal of ignorance. At this point, to this man, Christ is only "a man called Jesus" whose present whereabouts is unknown.

But Christ is not finished with this man yet. He has more to see. His eyes have been opened and his heart is about to be opened. He has been given a degree of light. And because he responds positively to that light, Christ will give him more light.

Of course, the Pharisees are going to get involved beginning in verse 13. Jesus made clay out of His saliva and some dust on the Sabbath day, v. 14. Oh, no! Here comes trouble. (And that is where we will begin tonight. Please be here.

The Clash, 9:13-34

Up to this point in the story of John 9 the only characters involved have been Jesus, his disciples, a man born blind whom Jesus healed, and a few of the man's neighbors. But beginning in verse 13 the Pharisees get involved and suddenly a controversy has been created. The Pharisees are pre-disposed against Jesus. Jesus is a problem to them - a theological problem (Jesus has no regard for any of their man-made religious rules and traditions particularly with regard to the sabbath), a political problem (Jesus is very popular with the people) and even a potential financial problem (Jesus is ruining the religious racket of the Pharisees at the Temple). Jesus is a problem to them and the best thing to do with a problem is get rid of it. But, to this point, Jesus has been hard to get rid of. He has disappeared from them on more than one occasion (see 7:1, 30, 32; 8:20, 59). And it didn't help matters that Jesus kept performing these incredible healings and miracles. John 7:31 And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

And now another incredible healing has been reported to them. The people bring a man who everyone says was born blind and has been healed by Jesus, v. 13. And, as always it seemed, of course, to have been done on the sabbath, v. 14. Thus begins an investigation and a serious of interview by the Pharisees into this healing. The trouble is that they are not investigating for the purpose of discovering the truth but for the purpose of discrediting the Lord Jesus.

Like the neighbors (v. 10), they also want to know how this miracle happened. The man repeated the story for them, v. 15.

There is even a division among the Pharisees, v. 16. Some of them conclude that Jesus cannot have come from God because he did not keep the sabbath. (Actually, Jesus did nor break the sabbath. These Pharisees have confused divine truth and man-made tradition). If Jesus is not from God and claims to be, then Jesus is a liar. If Jesus is a liar then Jesus is a sinner. "If Jesus is a sinner," they asked, "how can he do such miracles?"

They asked the man whom Jesus had healed, "What is your opinion about Jesus?" He had first referred to Christ as "a man that is called Jesus" (v.11). Now he says boldly (v. 17) , "He is a prophet." Many of the Old Testament prophets worked miracles (Moses, Elijah, Elisha) but the Pharisees do not even want to give Jesus that high of a designation. This man is coming to fuller revelation about the person of Jesus. He reminds me of the woman at the well. If you respond positively to the knowledge that you have, God will give you more knowledge. If you step toward the light, God will give you more light. But if you reject light, you will move into deeper darkness.

Having not been satisfied by the answers of the man, the Pharisees interrogate his parents, vs. 18-23. We learn from these verses both what the questions they asked and the pressure that the family was placed under when asked. Their first question challenged his identity or at least sought to establish it. Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? The second question had already been asked twice? How doth he now see? The pressured parents answered, "We know this is our son?" (Sometimes kids don't want anyone to know who their parents are and sometimes parents are tempted to deny that their children are really their children!) But these parents admitted that this was their son and that he was indeed born blind. As to the second question they were either, to this point, ignorant or unwilling to pay the price of confessing Jesus as the Christ. Everybody knew that the Jewish leaders had said that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Messiah (Christ) would be ex-communicated from the synagogue. To be excluded from the synagogue meant to be cut off from family and friends and to be treated as social outcast of society and business. It was a price they did not want to pay and so they say, "He is a grown in, ask him."

And so the discussion goes back to the man, vs. 24-34. The phrase, "Give God the praise" was the Jewish words for putting a man under oath in a court of law. They want his official testimony but they want him to say that Jesus is a sinner.

If you think about it, this is the greatest day in this man's life. Born blind, having never seen the light of day, he has been miraculously healed by Jesus only to face the threats of the most powerful people in Jerusalem. What should have been a day of great joy and celebration has become for this family a day of fear and threats. The man almost sounds feed up to me as he boldly and fearlessly speaks to the Pharisees. "All I know is that I was blind, but now I can see and Jesus is the reason." "How did he heal you?" (This is the fourth time that this question has been asked). "I have already told you. Are you so interested because you want to become His disciples?" (It would indeed be an act of boldness to use sarcasm as a form of communicating with the Pharisees.) "You are Jesus' disciple. We are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke through Moses. We don't know where this guy is coming from." "I find it incredible that you don't know where someone who is able to open eyes that have never seen comes from. We would all agree, wouldn't we, that God does not give such power, does not even regard the prayers of sinners? Doesn't the scriptures say, ' If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me' or 'The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous' ? How man people have you heard of in history who have had congenital blindness and been healed? If this man were not from God he could not do what he has done." I think of Psalm 27 being illustrated by this man. His understanding of who Jesus is has been raised to the next level - A man - a prophet - a man from God.

The Pharisees respond badly. "Who are you to teach us anything? You have been altogether born in sins." Were not they also born as sinners? Apparently, they didn't think so. Or perhaps they, like the disciples earlier in the chapter, think that because he has been blind, there is greater sin involved. And so the man is excluded from the synagogue or the very day he was able to see for the first time in his life. And the word about it spread.

The Conversion, 9:35-38

Cast out of a dead religion, the man is received and welcomed by Jesus. Jesus heard what had happened and went looking for the man - seeking and finding. The real issue in the man's life is his faith in the Son of God. When he understood that Jesus is the Son of God, he publicly confessed his faith and worshipped Jesus. Here is the man's conversion. Not only have his eyes been opened. His heart has also been opened. He has come to faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

The Conclusion, 9:39-41.

Jesus summarizes the events of the day in verse 39 by expressing another of his purposes for having come into the world. His light opens eyes that cannot see and, at the same time, blinds those who think they see.

Some of the Pharisees heard this statement and challenged it. "Are you saying that we are blind?"

The answer that Jesus give in verse 41 is not that they are blind and thus, not responsible for what they cannot see. He says that they have closed their eyes to the truth and have refused to see and so they are responsible for their sins.

In this chapter blind eyes have been opened but also men's minds have been closed to the truth about Jesus. Every person faces that choice in life - either to step toward the light or to retreat into deeper darkness.