Do You Really See?

Introduction

God created us to have sight. Blindness, or the loss of sight, is a tragedy. As sighted individuals we cannot appreciate the darkness of no or limited sight. Jake Olson plays college football for the University of Southern California Trojans. He has a specialized role as one of the long snappers for the team. His role is to snap the ball to another player who places the ball on the ground for the kicker after a touchdown is made. Called an extra point, the snapping of the ball takes timing and precision in order for the play to be successful. Jake is a junior at USC and on Saturday, September 2, 2017 for the first time, Jake snapped the ball for the extra point after a touchdown. What makes this story so incredible is that Jake is completely and totally blind. As a child, Jake had retinoblastoma. He lost his left eye to the cancer as a baby and his right eye was removed at age 12. One of his last visual memories is watching USC practice on the day before his surgery at age 12. Throughout his teenage years, he was an honorary member of the USC team and then as a college student, he was allowed to join the team. And on this day, for the first time ever in an official game, Jake snapped the ball successfully. While this is a wonderful story, in only extreme circumstances would we choose to go without eyesight.

In John 9, Jesus heals a man who was born blind. We have a story in which a number of things take place. The disciples see this blind man as a debating point about suffering. Jesus reassures his disciples and us that suffering cannot be explained by the simple explanation that we get what we deserve. The man who was born blind did nothing to warrant such a punishment nor did his parents. Suffering doesn’t always come as result of deserving based upon sin. Jesus settles that question in this chapter.

We are also confronted by the reaction of the man’s parents and the religious leaders in relationship to this man. The parent’s acknowledge that the man is their son but pull away from full support. Their fear keeps them from acknowledging what they must certainly know to be true—their son’s sight is the result of a miracle. The religious leaders, on the other hand, refuse to accept the truth. Although it is clearly presented to them, they refuse to believe that Jesus could be the Messiah they have long been expecting. Then the blind man himself goes through a progression of faith. Like most of us, the man’s faith isn’t complete in one event and one experience. Instead, the man’s faith develops over the course of time so that he comes to see Jesus clearly. And that is the point of the text.

The author’s desire is that we like the blind man come to see Jesus clearly. The chapter ends with the words of Jesus and the reality of spiritual sight and blindness. We will look at these words in just a moment. But the point of this chapter is no different from other parts of John’s gospel. This is a sign which testifies about who Jesus is. Let’s be strengthened.

The Story

The story is straightforward. Jesus and his disciples cross paths with a man who has been blind since birth. While the disciples treat him as an object rather than as person, Jesus knows that this man’s life is going to change in more ways than physically. While Jesus heals the man in an unorthodox way (as if any miracle is orthodox), let me remind you that the man never saw Jesus. He was blind when Jesus applied the mud to his eyes and Jesus was not in close proximity when he washed his eyes. But the full benefit of the miracle is often overlooked. Not only is the man given sight but having been blind since birth, he is also given the ability of depth perception and recognition even though he has never seen. In other words, we must understand it isn’t just sight which is given to this man but instant developmental abilities which only comes with being able to see as a baby helping the optic nerve and areas of the brain develop for sight. A miracle indeed.

So complete is the miracle, that some of his neighbors and daily passersby think he is someone else. He doesn’t look the same; he sees with clarity. A miracle of great proportion has been done. There are no instances of blindness being cured in the Old Testament and with the exception of Paul’s blindness being cured with the touch of Ananias in Acts 9 only Jesus gives sight to the blind. Such activity is associated with God in Exodus 4:11 and Psalms 146:8 and is clearly messianic activity in Isaiah 29:18; Isaiah 35:5; and Isaiah 42:7. This may be one of the reasons why John includes this miracle in his writing. This blind man’s healing testifies about Jesus being the messiah.

But it isn’t just the miracle itself which serves as a testimony about Jesus. The blind man is interrogated by the religious leaders to determine who Jesus is. The healing takes place on the Sabbath and as has happened on other occasions such an act is viewed as a sinful action. The religious leaders discount Jesus’ actions by claiming he must be a sinner to violate the law; then they question if the man was ever truly blind; then they insult the man for inviting the religious leaders to join him in faith; finally, the religious leaders decide that he cannot participate in religious observance because he has faith in Jesus. This progression of action against the man comes because the religious leaders do not want to accept what has happened or the one who performed such an act.

In the last section of the chapter, Jesus engages the healed man and has a brief conversation with some of the religious leaders. It is from this brief conversation that we see the intent of the writer and what he wants to accomplish with this sign. Let’s reflect just one moment on John’s points.

Spiritual Blindness

The blind man becomes a believer. The text tells us that he worshiped Jesus. Then in a summary statement, Jesus announces his intention once again. He has come so that the spiritually blind may see and that those who think they are spiritually sighted may be blind. We know this is what he means because the Pharisees who overhear this remark take it personally. They want to know Jesus’ assessment of them. These highly religious and well-versed keepers of the law want to know if Jesus thinks they are spiritually blind. While Jesus answers with a proverb, the answer is yes. Those who are wise in their own eyes; those who reject the only answer to blindness remain blind. Such are the religious leaders. They are blind to the one who stands in front of them.

How did they miss the significance of the sign? How could they see the sign and miss the one who performed the sign? These Torah believing; verse quoting; law keeping religious folk missed the sign. How could that happen? Could it be that they focused too much on their tradition? Could it be that they were too focused on the status quo? Could it be that they were comfortable in keeping things the same? Could it be that their faith was in a system rather than a person? Could it be that they quit searching for God thinking that he was near? Could it be that they rejected anything that didn’t fit their ideas? Could it be that they were more interested in perpetuating what was? Could it be that they looked inward rather than outward? Could it be that they forgot to seek God’s wisdom rather than their own? Could it be that we would miss the sign?

It is very easy to perpetuate the status quo. It is very easy to feel comfortable with what is common. It is very easy to go through the motions without thinking about what is going on. It is very easy to have preconceived notions and miss the sign. It is very easy to place faith in practice and experience than in a person. The real challenge is to allow Jesus to remove our spiritual blindness and fill us with sight. What matters is our relationship with Jesus.

The only one who brings sight is Jesus. Unless we encourage people to see Jesus they will remain blind. It may be that we would have missed the sign too. Only Jesus can give sight. A church building doesn’t speak to people. A preferred practice doesn’t encourage people. What are you doing to help others see Jesus? Do you see others the way God does? Do you see with the eyes of compassion and forgiveness? Do you see with a desire to serve? Do you see the hand of God at work or denounce him for not acting as you think he ought? Do you really see?

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