SEE LIKE A BLIND MAN

SEE LIKE A BLIND MAN!
John 9:1–41 (NKJV)

Have you ever felt life was hopeless? That life would never change? You were born a certain way and that is your “lot in life”? I have good news this morning. Jesus is passing by!

1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.

We know from the ending of chapter 8 that Jesus was leaving the Temple because people wanted to kill Him! He had claimed to be God and they were going to stone Him.

As He passed by, He sees the blind man.  The man didn't call out, but Jesus noticed him. This speaks to His compassion.  Jesus healed people because He saw their hurt and their pain. This man knew pain: outcast, beggar, scapegoat…

The blind man was outside the Temple. He was forbidden from entering in. Many of the miracles of Jesus were performed on people who could not enter the Temple but waited and begged outside the gates.  As I said last week, they could not enter the Presence of God, so Jesus brought the Presence of God to them!

There are many instances of Jesus healing blind people; in fact, it is the single most recorded miracle of Jesus and these miracles are told in all the Gospels.

2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Many Jews, including the disciples, believed that blindness and other infirmities were judgments from God. After all, God told Moses…

Exodus 34:5–7 (NKJV) Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

Let me declare clearly: the physical problems of your children and grandchildren are not the result of your sin! What is my authority for that statement?

Jeremiah 31:29–30 (NKJV) In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

Ezekiel 18:2–3 (NKJV) “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.

Besides, Jesus plainly states:

3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

God created us with our individual weaknesses. He knows we are but dust. He desires to display His glory through our weaknesses.

Exodus 4:10–11 (NKJV) Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” 11 So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord?

2 Corinthians‬ ‭12:9-10‬ ‭(NKJV)‬‬ And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

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4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

This sets the theme for the chapter. Jesus came to bring physical light and spiritual light. There will always be two reactions to the same light!

John‬ ‭3:19‬ ‭(NKJV)‬‬ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. 7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So, he went and washed, and came back seeing.

Now folks, this is just gross. I watched Steven Furtick talk about this some weeks ago and he used a friend of his as a living illustration! What would be your reaction?

The pool was a distance away. So the healing was both instant and delayed. Can you imagine the moment?

8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?” 9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.” 10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”

11 He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So, I went and washed, and I received sight.” 12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.” 13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the
Pharisees.

14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.” 25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”

26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”

30 The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

Only instance of healing of congenital blindness in the Bible. There is not a single recorded instance of any blind person being healed in the Old Testament. The healing of the blind was prophesied to come in the day of the Messiah.

Isaiah 29:18 (NKJV) In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.

Isaiah 35:5 (NKJV) Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.

Isaiah 42:1–9 (NKJV) “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” 5 Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. 8 I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. 9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; Before they spring forth, I tell you of them.”

Jesus declared Himself to be the Messiah by announcing healing of the blind:

Luke 4:18–21 (NKJV) “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 20 Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. 21 And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

When John the Baptist began to doubt Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus sent this word to Him:

Matthew 11:2–6 (NKJV) And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

It is also interesting to note that there is not a recorded instance of healing a blind person in the NT after the book of Acts.  The only instance in the book of Acts is Paul's sight being restored after Ananias prayed for him.

Acts 9:17–18 (NKJV) And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.

34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.

35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” 36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” 37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” 38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.” 40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore, your sin remains.

Allow me to draw some applications for us today and how we can implement them.

1. In many ways all of us are like the blind man. We all have areas of darkness in our lives. All of us are born sinners; we are born separated from God. We may struggle with a chronic sin that rises up and defeats us. We may have addiction issues that affect us spiritually, emotionally, and physically. We may have had other challenges for as long as we can remember: fear, insecurity, trust, failure.

The temptation is to believe that this is just the way life is; it will never be any different. But there is an answer; there is a Savior!

Jesus wants to bring us out of darkness into His marvelous light. In fact, He takes the initiative to rescue us. He doesn’t want us to walk in darkness, but to have the light of life.

Where is the darkness in your life? Bring it to the light. Be honest with God about those dark areas. Tell Him about your pain, your failure, your rebellion, your despair. Just like the blind man was right next to the Temple, get as close to Him as you can. Call on Him while He is near. He will save you, and as the book of Hebrews says, save you to the uttermost, completely!

2. Jesus reaches out and touches us when we do not yet believe. You may feel like your darkness is your fault or your faith is small. This man had no faith. Jesus acted because of His compassion. He will do the same for you; He is not a respecter if personals.

3. Sometimes the miracle comes instantly, but the understanding may come gradually and the worship comes ultimately. We see growth in his understanding and testimony as the story develops.

He first calls Jesus a man, then a prophet, then a worshipper sent by God to do the will of God, then the Son of God to believe in, and finally, the Lord to worship!

Where are you in your journey of faith? Don’t quit! God will not quit on you! And don’t reject others who are in a different place in their journey!

4. Notice the man is never named. He is always “the man who was blind”. We will be known by our testimony!

How do people know you? What is your identity to your spouse? Your family? Your neighbors? Your co-workers? Your employees? Your enemies?

2 Corinthians‬ ‭2:15-16‬ ‭(NKJV)‬‬ For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things?‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

A Word of Warning

The Pharisees thought they were were OK. That is a dangerous position to take.

Revelation‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭(NKJV)‬‬ Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Matthew‬ ‭6:22-23‬ ‭(NKJV)‬‬ The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬