Road Trippin With Rachael

One of my favorite hymns is Amazing Grace. There have been several iterations of it over the years, but my favorite is always the one that you will find in the hymnal. It always reminds me of how sweet grace is, that it is only by God’s grace that we are able to be saved from our sins. Grace, as I learned it growing up, is receiving a gift that I do not deserve. God has not reason to extend the gift of salvation to anyone, but because of who he is, he freely offers it to those who believe.

As we get into John 9 today, I want to take a moment to explore how Jesus healed a man that was born blind. Although in many respects a straightforward miracle (if there really is such a thing) it is actually an entire statement of theological proportions. John 9 demonstrates three ways God works all things out to his glory: by giving sight, by working through sinful man, and by using those healed to testify to him.

Receiving Sight

‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ – John 9:5 (CSB)

One of the first things that we see is that grace is extended, but it is up to the person being offered the gift to accept it. Although, Jesus didn’t ask the man if he wanted to be able to see, the fact that he was sitting by the pool of Siloam, would indicate that he did. In the most surprising way possible, Jesus uses mud – what we consider to be just plain icky – to give this man who had been born blind his sight. So, in the ultimate example of the power of “Mom Spit”, Jesus heals a man.

This man being able to open his eyes and take in the world around him, wasn’t the only miracle that took place that day. The real miracle in my opinion, was that this man saw more than the people, trees, flowers, and plants. This man saw that the person who had healed him – who had been blind from birth, not from some injury or old age – he saw that this was a man who had to come from God (John 9:25).

This man not only received his physical sight, but he also received spiritual sight. He was able to recognize that the man who gave him his sight had to have been from God. Recognizing that we do wrong, that we sin, is a natural part of growing up; recognizing that sin is against God and that we need forgiveness of our sins is something that we can recognize only through the intervention of the Holy Spirit. Where we have seen previously that Jesus is the light of the world, that light (once we can see it) shows us the deepest, darkest parts of ourselves.

Why the Disciples asked the question

His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ – John 9:2 (CSB)

At the first reading, this question that the disciples askes sounds odd. What could your parents possibly do that your child would be born blind, and it would be a punishment? However, we do need to take a closer look and consider the theology with which this question was being posed.

Going back to Deuteronomy 30:16 in the Old Testament, we see that from the stance of Biblical Theology (how God reveals himself throughout the course of scripture), this is a reasonable question. The cause and effect of obedience is presented as “if/then” statements (but this can differ depend on the English version you are reading). The premise is that if you are loving God, walking in his ways, keeping his commandments, statutes, and ordinances then you will be blessed and the Lord will multiply your blessings. However, as with anything always remember that context is king. The build up to this statement is the Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). Sin is a part of the world; mankind is fallen; and God’s ways are not our ways. The understanding of being blessed was that if you were doing all that God had called you to do, then you would not be confronted with difficulties that are the result of sin. As I’ve said before, though, just because you are the person suffering that doesn’t mean that it is the result of your own sin – it is the result of sin because we live in a fallen world. When the disciples ask this question, they wanted to know what the parents did for their son to be suffering the results of that specific sin, rather than acknowledging that the world itself is fallen, regardless of one’s participation in the temple sacrifices, religious holidays, and avoidance of all things Greco-Roman. Reasonable, but it misses the mark.

Jesus’ response reinforces a different theological point. ‘”Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. ‘This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him”‘ (John 9:3 – CSB). This is not to say that the parents or the son have never sinned (because that is only Jesus) but that there was not a sin that they committed that was the cause for the blindness. Because we live in a sinful, fallen world the human body is also fallen. We have diseases, injuries, pain, suffering, disabilities, and illnesses. These things are because of sin, but not always because of the individual sins that we ourselves have committed. And although this man has an ailment that came from being in a sinful world, it is going to be used to bring glory to God – it has a purpose. We see this in Genesis 45:5-7 where Joseph says that same about his brothers selling him into slavery. Sin was committed against him, but God meant for it to be used for good – after all because of Joseph being in Egypt was how his family was able to be rescued from the famine that was in Canaan. Paul later explains this to the Gentile believers, “we know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 CSB). God will always be glorified, he will use what happens to bring himself glory, and it works out for the good of believers. It might not always be you who reaps the benefits, but it does work out for believers.

Speaking to the Pharisees

He answered, ‘Whether or not his’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!’ …This is the amazing thing!’ the man told them. ‘You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will, he listens to him. If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything’- John 9:25, 30-33 (CSB)

As we have covered previously, the major issue that the Pharisees used as an excuse to go after Jesus was the fact that he healed on the Sabbath.

They were determined to find something that they could use as an excuse to remove Jesus permanently and decided to try and use this man to do it. They interview this man who can now see, and this man who just received his sight expounds on how wonderful this man is for being able to heal him, a man born blind, so that he was able to see the world for the first time. It was so unbelievable, that the Pharisees didn’t believe him. They actually went and got his parents to interview them, to confirm that this was the same man who had been born blind and that he was healed of his blindness.

His parents confirmed his identity, but shamefully, they passed the buck to their son to confirm how he was healed. I say shamefully because scripture clearly states that they were afraid of the Jews, so instead of stating by their son’s side, they passed any ankst that was to come back to him. In an effort to show these parents some grace, I will say that most would do the same in their situation at the time. If the religious leaders didn’t like their answer, it could result in them being cut off from their local synagogue; this in turn would result in a ripple effect of them being cut off from the local community, which would effect their work, social connections, and their involvement in religious life. Their son, having been born blind, would not have their same ties and being cut off would not have the same lasting affects that they would on his parents.

As a result of the parents’ answer, the religious leaders turn back to this man. And in a way that is so completely believable for a new follower of Christ. He answers them that he doesn’t know who this man was, doesn’t know where he came from, but he has to be of God because what he has done is good, and only good can come from God. Then in something that I just enjoy (because I believe there is some imaginary license in scripture), he asks if they want to also become followers of this man Jesus since they are so interested in learning about him. This man clearly testifies to who Jesus is and what he has done even without the big theological words. I love it! But it also shows that it isn’t about the education or whether you grew up in a church: it is about having a sincere heart and sharing about what and how God is at work in your life. That speaks louder to people than any theological treatise.

Final Thoughts

God is always capable of working miracles. He can and does give sight to the blind, even if it is not always sight of the physical – more often than not, the sight that the Holy Spirit gives is sight to understand and know the spiritual, and to see our need for a Savior. Like the man who received his sight when he was answering questions posed to him by the Pharisees – it isn’t about being able to give answers utilizing big theological terms or concepts. It is about having a sincere and contrite heart, who wants to share about what God has done for you, and how you are now changed. It is about knowing that God does good, and even when we are faced with hard things (sometimes things that aren’t even our fault) God can and does use all things for good.