The Third Sunday in Lent
March 19, 2017
John 9:1-7, 13-17, 34-39
Destination: Calvary
Stop #3— A Visit with a Blind Man
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. 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. 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.” (NIV1984)
Dear fellow Lenten worshipers,
For a number of years I consciously made it a point to read the advice column written by Ann Landers in the newspaper. Many times this column gave me an insight into what people are thinking and doing and saying in our society today. A while back the title of Ann Landers’ column was, “Religious can’t resist making point with atheist.” Permit me to share it with you this morning. “Dear Ann: I am not a religious man. In fact, I consider myself an atheist. I am also very ethical and have high moral standards. I donate to more than a dozen charities. I am kind to animals, children and the environment. I would never raise my hand to my wife or children, and I treat them as the precious people they are. I strive to make the world a better place and understand those different from myself. I am intelligent and kind, and stand up for what I believe. I never impose my beliefs on those around me. So, why is it that as soon as people find out I don’t believe in God, they tell me I am going to hell? One woman said, ‘You cannot possibly have good morals if you don’t believe.’ This is nonsense. I know plenty of ‘God-fearing, church-going folk’ who have rotten moral standards. They drink, smoke, do drugs, lie, steal and cheat on their spouses. I am sick and tired of people making moral judgments about me based solely on the fact that I do not believe in religion. While I don’t advertise my atheism, I don’t wish to deny my ideology, as if it is something to be ashamed of. How can I get these well-meaning but ignorant people off my back? — Unbeliever in Maryland.” How did Ann Landers respond? She wrote, “Dear Unbeliever: You can’t, so stop trying. Deeply religious people feel they must ‘save’ you, and nothing you do will persuade them otherwise. You don’t need to justify your beliefs to anyone. If an acquaintance says you are going to hell, say ‘Thank you’ and walk away.”
As soon as I read that letter I was reminded of what our Lord says to us in His holy Word, “If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14). From glasses to laser surgery, from cataract removal to cornea transplants we are able to do amazing things when it comes to helping people see. And yet, there are limits. There is very little we can do for someone who has macular degeneration. There is nothing we can do for someone who is totally blind. And as this Ann Landers column makes abundantly clear there is a blindness in this world that is so pervasive that many people can’t even see how blind they are. Here, of course, I am talking about spiritual blindness— the blindness that is caused by sin.
The season of Lent gives us the perfect opportunity to focus on both the blindness of sin as well as the only cure for this blindness. Today then, my friends, as the train called Destination: Calvary pulls into Stop #3 let’s humbly watch as our dear Lord Jesus pays a visit to a blind man.
Our text for today is one of those powerful portions of Scripture that needs very little explanation. John tells us that when Jesus and His disciples came across a man who was afflicted with congenital blindness the disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” In this day and age it was commonly believed and widely taught that every handicap, every hardship, every misfortune was the direct result of a specific sin. It may have been the result of a specific sin committed by the person who was afflicted, or, it may have been the result of a specific sin committed by one’s parents. Either way, handicaps and hardships were considered to be punishments sent directly from God.
Jesus’ answer to His disciples’ question is quite revealing— both for His disciples as well as for us. While certain sins do indeed bring with them certain specific consequences (here we might think of drug abuse and alcoholism) Jesus very clearly reveals to us here in our text that not every situation of suffering is the direct result of a specific sin. In fact, sometimes— as in the case of this man who had been born blind— some suffering is allowed to take place so that “the work of God might be displayed” in a person’s life.
In that regard Jesus turns this visit with a blind man into an opportunity to both teach and to save. The truth that Jesus teaches us here is found in His words, “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.” With these words Jesus reminds us that there is a darkness, there is a blindness far worse and far more terrifying than physical blindness. It is spiritual blindness. It is the blindness that by nature shrouds all people in the profound pitch darkness of sin and death and unbelief. It is the blindness that completely prevents a person from seeing the glorious light of God’s amazing grace. At the same time Jesus reveals to us here that He and He alone is the “light of the world.” He is the only One who can rescue a person from that spiritual blindness and lead them into the light of saving faith. How does Jesus do this? We have a touching example of how Jesus does this right here in our text.
I am told that when a blind person is in a group of people it can be very difficult for them to know whether or not the person who is speaking is speaking directly to them, or to someone else in the group, or to the group as a whole. I am also told that when a person loses one of their senses — such as sight— their others senses— such as touch and hearing— are heightened. Notice how this comes into play here in our text as Jesus heals the man who had been born blind. John writes, “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.” In a very tender way Jesus got close to the blind man and personally touched his eyes leaving absolutely no doubt in this man’s mind what Jesus was about to do for him. After slowly making his way to the Pool of Siloam and after carefully washing the mud off his eyes just as Jesus had told him, instantly this man could see for the very first time in his life! Now all of his troubles and all of his hardships were gone, right? Wrong!
Immediately after receiving the gift of physical sight this man was confronted by some very powerful men who were spiritually blind. Because this miracle took place on a Sabbath day, the blind man’s own neighbors felt compelled to bring him before the Pharisees who demanded to know how he had received his sight. The man very simply replied, “He put mud on my eyes and I washed, and now I see.” Incensed by the fact that this had taken place on the Sabbath day and divided by the fact that no mere mortal man has the power to perform such a miracle, the Pharisees summon the blind man’s parents and demand an explanation from them. Out of fear they plead ignorance. And when the Pharisees confront the blind man for the third time, and when the Pharisees hear this man say to them, “If this man (Jesus) were not from God, he could do nothing” these so-called religious leaders of Israel openly revealed their utter profound spiritual blindness. In one fell swoop they threw this man out of their presence and excommunicated him from the synagogue.
Healed but still hurting this poor man was probably wondering why all of this had happened to him. Then something even more miraculous happened to him! John goes on to tell us, “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.”
Here is where we see the purpose of Jesus’ visit with the blind man. Here is where we understand what Jesus meant when He said to His disciples, “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” After having been healed of physical blindness and after having seen the spiritual blindness of the self-righteous Pharisees this man was now healed of his own spiritual blindness. By the grace and power of God this man was brought to see that Jesus is the Son of Man, this world’s only Savior from sin. By the grace and power of God this man could now honestly say that he had been given perfect 20/20 eyesight— on both a physical level as well as on a spiritual level!
Which leads me to ask: How is your eyesight these days, my friends? While the dear Lord Jesus may not have put some mud on your eyes and told you to go wash in the Pool of Siloam He has indeed washed you clean of all of your sins in the waters of Holy Baptism. While the dear Lord Jesus may not have drawn up close to you to touch your face, in a truly miraculous way your Savior draws close to you through the real presence of His body and blood in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. While the dear Lord Jesus may not have sought you out and said to you, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?…You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you,” through His faithful servants the Lord Himself speaks to you every time you gather around His holy Word and Sacraments. So I ask you again, How is your eyesight these days?
The train we are calling Destination Calvary stopped here today not so that you might simply see what Jesus did for this poor man who had been born blind. No, my friends, the train we are calling Destination Calvary stopped here today so that you might see what Jesus has graciously done for you! How would you respond if Jesus came and asked you, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Would you have to ask, “Who is he, sir?”? Would the footprints of your life testify to the fact that you are striving by the grace of God to live as “children of light” as Paul encouraged us in our Epistle lesson for today (Ephesians 5:8-14)? Do you see each day of your life as an opportunity for the work of God to be displayed both in you as well as through you? Do the priorities of your heart, the goals of your life and the stewardship of your God-given gifts reveal that you are walking in the light of the cross? Or do you sometimes sound like the man who wrote this letter to Ann Landers? Do you ever say to yourself, “Even though I may not be perfect at least I am not as bad as so-and so”? How is your eyesight doing these days? That is a very good question for us to ponder as we journey through the season of Lent.
There is, however, just one more point I want to make before we close for today— something for you to “chew on” this week. The night and day difference between someone who is spiritually blind and someone who has been given the gift of spiritual sight helps us to understand some of craziness that we see taking place in the world around us. Think about it: How is it that so many people cannot see that homosexuality is “unnatural” when to us it is so clear that the good Lord designed men and women to be “complimentary” to each other— especially on a physical and an emotional level? How is it that killing one’s unborn child is seen and defended as a woman’s “right” when to us it is so clear that even the tiniest unborn child has a God-given “right” to live? How is it that people feel “obligated” to protest in the streets, loot and burn when an election does not turn out the way they wanted, when to us it is so clear that the God of heaven is not only in control of the governments here on this earth, but the God of heaven commands us to show respect and honor for the government that He puts over us. Could it be that situations like this are the result of spiritual blindness, the oppressive blindness of unbelief?
And while we’re at it, how is it that people who claim to be Christians can support and defend situations like this? Could it be that their spiritual leaders as well as their church has caused them to have spiritual “cataracts” by teaching them that they should question and doubt what God has revealed in His holy Word? If these things are the result of spiritual blindness if these things are the result of spiritual cataracts, that will mean that in order to help these people we first need to do what? First and foremost we need to point them to the cross on Calvary’s hill and share with them the only One who can cure them of their blindness!
Today, my friends, marks the midway point in our Lenten journey on the train called Destination Calvary. Three weeks from today the train pulls into Jerusalem. As we pause here at Stop #3 let this visit with a blind man be a truly cleansing visit for you. Take this opportunity to reflect on what your Savior has done to take away your spiritual blindness and give you the awesome eyesight of faith. Then rededicate yourself, my friends. Rededicate yourself to your Lord. Rededicate yourself to walking in the footsteps of this man here in our text who not only said, “Lord, I believe” but also openly revealed his faith by humbly worshiping Jesus.
To God be the glory!
Amen