John 9:1-7, 13-17, 34-39 * February 24, 2008 * Lent 3 * Pastor Leyrer
Dear
Friends in Christ,
In
the Middle Ages, when printed Bibles were scarce and most common people did not
know how to read anyway, the Church sometimes proclaimed its message through
productions which historians today call “morality plays.” The point of these “morality plays” was to
drive home some important Scriptural truth or lesson (or “moral”).
Our
text for today, of course, is not theatre.
It is a factual account from the divinely inspired Word of God. Nevertheless, it does present some literary features
similar to those old morality plays. For
instance, the text is neatly divided into 3 distinct sections taken from John
chapter 9. There are clearly defined
good guys and bad guys. And, as with all
of Scripture, there are deep spiritual truths to be learned along the way.
That
being said, we might consider what we have before us this morning as
In keeping with the “play” analogy, we’ll view our text as three different acts, each with its own title. Let’s turn to it now.
Act
#1 is entitled: “Jesus Turns on the Lights.”
It is the first third of our text (1-7).
As he went along, he saw a man blind
from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents
sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might
be displayed in his life. As long as it
is day, we must do the work of him who sent me.
Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the
light of the world." Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some
mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him,
"wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and
washed, and came home seeing.
The
first light Jesus sheds is on His disciples’ dark, faulty thinking.
When
they first encounter the blind man the disciples immediately draw a conclusion
on the basis of classic “cause and effect” thinking. Meaning:
Behind an “effect” – an action, there is always a “cause” – a
reason. A good cause will bring about a
positive effect; a bad cause will bring about a negative effect. And since bad things weren’t supposed to happen
to good people (at least not according to their way of thinking), somebody had
to be at fault for this man being born blind.
This
was commonly held thinking back then.
And I would suggest it wasn’t only back then; it’s commonly held
thinking today as well. Even, at times,
among Christians.
Regardless
of how common this perception may have been, Jesus tells His disciples this is
simply wrong-headed thinking. He states
very clearly that nothing this man or
his parents did caused his blindness. Rather, God in His divine wisdom allowed
this to happen. Far from being some sort
of punishment, it provided an opportunity for the love and power of God to be
displayed in this man’s life.
And that’s a lesson we need to be constantly reminded of. Because it is easy to fall into “cause and effect” thinking. Both as it applies to the circumstances in others’ lives as well as its application to the circumstances in our lives.
Let’s
be clear on this. Certainly there are
times when we bring consequences upon ourselves by our own actions or
decisions. And sometimes those
consequences are hard or even severe.
But in those cases, we clearly have no one to blame but ourselves.
Yet
at other times things happen which we have no control over. Christians, through no fault of their own,
experience hardship and crisis.
Christians contract cancer or struggle with debilitating diseases or
mental illness. Christians get caught up
in corporate downsizing and suddenly find themselves looking for a job at an
age when the world doesn’t see them as being all that attractive of an
option. Christian couples look forward
to raising a family, but it doesn’t happen or they learn it can’t happen. You get the idea. Things happen which make us feel hurt or
lonely or denied or incomplete or sad.
In
our strong moments we accept our difficulties as God’s will and part of His
plan for us. But in our weak moments the
question “why” bubbles to the top of our consciousness. Why is God letting this happen? Did I do something wrong? Is God evening the score? Is there some unrepentant sin in my past or
some act so shameful that hurt Him so badly that He is now withholding His
blessing from me?
Our
text does not allow us to engage in such wrong-headed thinking.
This
is what we are told: In the events that
cause us pain and hardship, God is there.
He is there sustaining us and upholding us and comforting us and
refining us and strengthening us. He is
there with His love and power. Maybe in
time He will bring an end to our hardship as He did with the blind man, and in
this way display His work in our lives. On
the other hand, maybe He will display His work in our lives by giving us the
strength to endure and carry on in the midst of our ongoing struggles.
Regardless
of how God chooses to work in our lives, of this we are certain: “Never will I leave you, never will I
forsake you…” And if we need
proof of that, let us simply follow Christ in His Lenten journey. It will take Him and us to
Back
to the text. After chasing away the
disciples’ dark thinking with the light of truth, and after referring to
Himself as the Light of the World
whose message must get out to all before it is too late, Jesus displayed the
love and power of God He spoke of by turning on the lights for the blind
man. Using a two step process, Jesus
healed this man of his blindness. In the
words of “Amazing Grace,” he “was blind, but now could see.” Physically and spiritually. Which brings us to our next act,
The
second portion of our text, entitled: “Jesus Brings Mixed Reactions.” (9:13-17, 34).
They brought to the Pharisees the man
who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the
man's eyes was a Sabbath. 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." 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 do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
Finally 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.”
To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you
lecture us!" And they threw him out.
This
miracle was big news in the community.
Soon afterwards, the man is brought to the religious leaders of the day
(the Pharisees) for their reaction. The
Pharisees, remember, composed the religious group that believed a person could
get to heaven by being good and keeping all of God’s commands, which they felt
they did quite nicely. As a result, the
Pharisees were bitterly opposed to Jesus, for His message was precisely the
opposite of theirs. They preached
performance. Jesus offered grace and
faith.
The
Pharisees (who were always looking for new ways to discredit Jesus) discover
this all took place on the Sabbath. That,
you may recall, was the Old Testament day of rest and worship. No work was to be done on that day. The Pharisees then argued whether or not
Jesus could be from God because He performed this miracle of mercy on the
Sabbath.
Usually
they had all the answers, but this time they condescended to ask the opinion of
the man who had been healed. What did he
think? He said He thought Jesus was a
prophet. In other words, he knew that
Jesus was from God. He didn’t know that
Jesus was God (a clearer
understanding was coming), but he knew He was something special. The Pharisees didn’t like that at all. So they belittled the man and threw him out…
What
mixed reactions Jesus brings! For some,
adoration; for others, condemnation.
The
same holds true today. Jesus continues
to bring mixed reactions. Those whose
eyes of faith have been opened like the blind man through the working of the
Holy Spirit see Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; as one to be worshiped, adored
and followed.
On
the other hand, many today reject Jesus out of hand. They view Him, at best, as benign myth; but
usually as an intrusion in their lives or a challenge to the way in which they
do things. And those who reject Him will also have little tolerance for His. This is something we can expect –
and leads us to the third and final act in our drama…
The
final segment is entitled: “Jesus Allows No Middle Ground.” (35-39).
Jesus heard that they had thrown him
out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of
Man?" "Who is he, sir?"
the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." Jesus said,
"You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. Jesus
said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will
see and those who see will become blind."
The
real sight for the blind man now takes place.
We are told that Jesus sought this man out. He went after him. True faith had been awakened in him; now
Jesus confirms and strengthens that faith.
He reveals Himself to the now sighted man as the Son of God and
Savior. The man responds. His confession is simple. He says:
“Lord, I believe…” And notice what
he does next. It is the natural response
of one who truly understands Jesus Christ:
“and he worshiped Him.”
This
man illustrates a basic Bible truth. To
know Jesus is to love Him. To love Him
is to worship Him. To worship Him is to
live for Him. Fully. Completely.
In every area of our lives. True
discipleship understands that there is no middle ground.
The
Christian author C.S. Lewis once remarked that if Christianity is true, it is
such a treasure that it must be the most important thing in our lives; on the
other hand, if it is not true, it is of no importance. But the one thing it cannot be for us is moderately important.
Jesus
Christ leaves no middle ground. The
healed man in our text confessed Christ as His Master, and he brought his
actions into line with his confession. Is
it not the same for us? Like him, to
live for Christ is not our burden. It is
our joy.
Sadly,
for those who line up on the other side of Jesus there will also be no middle
ground. And no joy. Only judgement. Jesus alludes to this in the last words of
our text. Those who reject Him are
consigned to a life of spiritual blindness now and in eternity. These are stern words from Jesus. We find in them a call to personal
vigilance.
And
with these solemn words, the curtain falls on our THREE PART SPIRITUAL DRAMA. What are the lessons of our text once
again?
First
– Jesus Turns on the Lights. Let us ever be grateful to Him for opening
our eyes to see Him for who and what He is:
Our ever-loving, ever present Friend in need who as our Savior has met
our greatest need – the forgiveness of our sins.
Secondly
– Jesus Brings Mixed Reactions. We know Him and call Him our Savior and the
Lord of our life. But not everybody
shares our belief. And those who reject
Jesus may reject us as well – if not entirely, certainly in the areas of our
life where our devotion puts us at odds with the world.
Finally
– “Jesus Leaves No Middle Ground.” Those who truly know Him will have no choice
– and no other desire – than to live with Him and for Him.
Having
considered these lessons as they played themselves out in the drama of Jesus
and the blind man, may God now grant us the strength, power and resolve to act
them out in our lives. Amen.