John 9:13-34 · The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

March 22, 2020

Hall Wesleyan Church, Pastor Dan

Seeing the Unseeing

John 9:13-34 New Living Translation (NLT)

¹³ Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, ¹⁴ because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. ¹⁵ The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So, he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So, there was a deep division of opinion among them.

¹⁷ Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”

The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”

¹⁸ The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. ¹⁹ They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”

²⁰ His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, ²¹ but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. ²³ That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

²⁴ So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”

²⁵ “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”

²⁶ “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”

²⁷ “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

²⁸ Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”

³⁰ “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. ³² Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”

³⁴ “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

Sing along with me:

Amazing grace,

·         How sweet the sound,

·         That saved a wretch like me!

·         I once was lost,

·         But now I'm found;

·         Was blind,

·         But now I see.

This mournful spiritual song

·         Is a favorite among the elderly at the Hospital

o   And of the nursing home residents

§  When Cheryl and I go to give Sunday Service to them.

It seems to be very comforting to those who are:

·         Losing their eyesight

·         And maybe to those

o   Whose Spiritual Sight

§  Is Now Becoming Even Clearer.

I believe

·         That many of us would think that this song

·         Has its Roots - Deep within the

o   Black Worship Songs of the Old.

·         This is Possibly,

o   Because of its

§  “Haunting Spiritual Melody”.

And Just Maybe –

·         That is More to the truth than we realize.

Actually, it was written by John Newton.

·         He was part of the

o   Revival of the Church of England

§  During the late 18^th Century.

He was a self-educated man.

·         He had gone to sea

o   And at one time, he was actually

o   The captain of a ship which serviced

§  Within the African slave trade.

After his conversion,

·         He became an Ordained Minister

o   Of the Church of England.

o   Much Like John Wesley was.

·         But it was there that now

o   Reverend John Newton served as a

§  Rector of a Church in London.

John Newton:

·         From a Slave Runner

o   To a Rector of the Church in London.

Now, this song could have very well spoke of

·         John Newton’s very own personal testimony

·         Which he Referred to

·         During his time of blindness

·         Working within the awful mistreatment

o   And forced transport

§  Of the slaves.

He indeed was a spiritual wretch,

·         Just as the slaves were looked upon as

·         The physical wretches

o   As they were physically bound within

o   The stinking hold of his ship.

FOR SURE - Through an AMAZING GRACE

·         His eyes were opened

·         And he could see clearly God's Will for his life.

o   And it was not to haul slaves.

Now sing it with me once again

·         But this time,

o   Please - Close your eyes

§  And imagine that you are

·         Mr. John Newton.

Amazing grace,

·         How sweet the sound,

·         That saved a wretch like me!

·         I once was lost,

·         But now I'm found;

·         Was blind,

·         but now I see.

See – the thing is,

·         It is not ONLY the Blind

o   Who needs to be healed.

It is True –

·         Most of us would give our own eyes

o   So that we could see

§  What Jesus and His Disciples saw.

And that is the what our Text for Today is ALL About.

What Did Jesus And the Disciples Actually See?

Jesus saw "a man blind from his birth."

·         No sooner had Jesus seen this man that He asked Himself,

o   "How can I help this fellow?"

·         It was so typical of Jesus to see a need.

·         For Him to be sensitive to the person who is before Him.

Here was an opportunity for service,

"... that the works of God might be

made manifest in Him."

The disciples immediately raised the moralistic question:

"Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents?"

Isn’t our first reaction

·         When things happen like this,

·         Isn’t it to find out who should take the blame for it?

I mean, anywhere except upon ourselves.

·         It surely isn’t my fault!

·         But - Whose fault is it anyway?

Doesn’t that sound familiar.

Do we not hear the words all day long?

·         "Who spilled the milk!?"

·         "It needs to be mopped up!”

·         Who didn’t put the mop away like they are supposed to!?”

It begins within our childhood.

·         “I didn’t do it Mom!" “It was Billy1?"

o   And the funny thing is, there is no Billy who lives around here.

At our house, when our children were growing up

·         When things happened, it was always,

o   “Who did this?!?”

§  And the normal response was

·         “I-do-not-know”

My wife once actually set a place at the supper table for the ‘I-don’t-know’.

She said “If he is going to live with us so much, he might as well eat with us.”

The question of ‘WHOSE FAULT IS IT’ has become such an important element within our society for more than one reason.

If you watch any television, see any road signs, read the paper, really, it’s all over, the blame has to be assigned so someone can sew someone.

This has become such an important way of life for so many.

Whose fault is it anyway?

We are such an extremely arguable society and we seem to rush to the courts to find out whose fault it is.

Was it this blind man’s fault or was it his parents?  

Can we blame the disciples for that question?

Do not the Words of God from His Scripture not come to your mind as you read those words of the disciple’s

"... I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me."

That statement is repeated again and again within Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Can you imagine

·         How it must feel to have been born with such an inherited birth defect.

·         And what about the Parents feelings as well?  

How many times do we hear others, and maybe even ourselves, struggle with the ‘WHYS’

·         And do we not come to a decision of shifting the blame upon someone for being this way or doing this or that?

·         Have you not found yourself within this casting of the ‘blame or reason’ upon someone?

More times than I like to remember I have heard this blame put upon someone while in the hospital with the assumption that this birth defect, this cancer, this curving of the spine or glaucoma is the punishment for someone’s sin, either their own or of the parents or even upon the grandparents.

But just because sometimes it is the case, does not mean it is always the case.

Jesus said,

o   In this case of the blind man,

§  Sin is not an issue,

o   So, the disciples,

o   So, ‘we’ might just as well put all of that out of our minds and begin to focus upon something that is more positive.

And IF we are Truthful within our ‘focusing of such blame upon someone else’

·         We would also find ourselves expressing prodigiousness towards the “LOWER CLASS”.   

·         Did you know that 96% of your first-time opinions are gathered upon how the person looks and how they are groomed and of how educated they talk? Did you know that?

·         See, Our Principle of Vengeful Justice is

o   Unfortunately – attached to the notion

§  That the rich are obviously more blessed.

§  And that the poor people always deserve their misfortunes.

In Malachi we read,

"Bring the full tithe ... see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing" (Malachi 3:10).

For this example, let’s look at The Book of Job. This Book demonstrates the classic definition of the notion that the ‘good prosper’ and the ‘wicked suffer’.

Do you remember the fairly ‘Unhelpful Counselor’, (Eliphaz) who comes to Job’s aid and said:

"Think now, who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off?

As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same" (Job 4:7-8).

What do you think?

·         Job's children have perished,

·         His oxen have been stolen,

·         His camels carried away,

·         His house destroyed in a windstorm

·         And now, his whole body is covered with boils.

Oh Yes. It is quite obvious that Job must have sinned!

And Sinned Greatly Indeed!

Oh Yes - Job might as well confess to all of these awful sins which are so deserving of so much punishment.

But if you read the entire Book, you would know that something else is at work here.

Jesus said quite simply:

“Not so in the case of this blind man.”

Go Wash in The Pool of Siloam

We often see within the Scripture, that there is some symbolic act in connection with a healing.

·         Do you recall the mighty commander Naaman, who had a terrible case of leprosy.

·         The prophet Elisha did not even meet the great general in person, but rather, he sent a messenger with a humble instruction:

"Go, wash in the Jordan seven times,

and your flesh shall be restored

and you shall be clean" (2 Kings 5:10).

OH - Boy! Did that make this Dignified-General mad.

He got in his chariot in a huff and drove off cursing, saying,

"Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean? (5:12).

I often think of the Jordan as being like Pike’s Creek.

·         Dirty,

·         Smelly,

·         Swift flowing when over it’s banks.

·         And Muddy with a Capital M!

So, What do you think?

·         Wouldn’t the ‘Cleaner’ rivers be better?

·         And let’s just say that they are not cleaner,

o   But I am sure that they are Larger Rivers.

o   Grander in their own nature.

Why wouldn’t that be a better river?

And what about this little prophet

·         Who didn’t even attempt to show up in person?

·         Shouldn’t he have shown this

o   Great – Dignified General the Respect that he deserved?

But - Elisha – this little of a man compared to the General,

·         Elisha didn’t even bother to come out

o   And meet him in person.

And what about the General’s Gift?

·         If you bring a gift, shouldn’t you be invited to the party?

·         What an insult!

o   All of these expensive gifts are ready

§  To be present to Elisha.

§  To pay for the cure.

·         What an insult!"

But God gave not only

·         Great Wisdom

·         But also, enormous courage

o   To one of the General’s lowly servants.

Who finally offered this observation:

"My father, if the prophet had commanded you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, 'Wash and be clean'?" (2 Kings 5:13 RSV).

I believe we can all see that the moral of this story is

·         Commander General Naaman

o   Needed to be healed of his Great Pride

§  As well as of his Leprosy.

How many of us

·         Are walking around

o   With the death of leprosy upon us

§  Because of our own Pride?

But what about this Pool of Siloam?

What do we know about this body of water?

Often – when we think of God working in our lives, we expect to see something NEW. Something Different. Something that we are unfamiliar with and unexpected.

But much more than – than not, God uses things that He has already created. I mean, why does God need to create a new way of walking through a wall when He has already created the ‘door’?

Right?

See – here we see Jesus relying upon others who had already contributed their work (through His Will) so that this healing miracle could occur at the ancient pool.

This pool of water was fed by a remarkable combination of a channel and a tunnel which was dug through solid rock for 150 feet deep and then it stretches a total of 1,800 feet from its spring source.

If you and I were standing before this Pool of Siloam, our jaws would literally be on the floor. It is amazing!!!

If you don’t follow me with this, let me give you an example.

People were totally amazed and as well as impressed to learn that the ‘tunnelers’ from France and England met exactly on target when they completed the passageway under the English Channel. But they cheated! They were using the latest of technology.

See, in both of these tunnels, the diggers began at both ends of these tunnels and then, dug towards each other.

But on the Jerusalem tunnel, there is a recorded which was found in 1880, by two boys playfully exploring the tunnel and this writing dates back to at least 700 B.C. It reads as follows:

... This is how the penetration took place. While the diggers were still wielding their axes toward each other, with three cubits (nine feet), they could hear each other shouting, for there was a fissure in the rock running to the south and to the north. So, at the moment of penetration, the diggers struck toward each other, axe against axe. Then the waters flowed from the spring to the pool -- one thousand two hundred cubits. And one hundred cubits was the height of the rock above the heads of the diggers.

I could well imagine that as Jesus directed the blind man to walk towards the Pool of Siloam, He also gave thanks for the workers who had made that water available hundreds of years before.

And right here, there is a great lesson for us.

God the Father, Jesus, Christ, the Holy Spirit, They all use us to help others find their faith. It is just a question for us, are we willing to allow God to use us for His Glory?

Right here, Jesus did not hesitate to make use of other people even of 700 years long gone nor does He hesitate to use His laws of nature to participate in His miracles.

Throughout scripture, water has symbolized cleansing, holiness, purification, and regeneration even as we use it in baptism to this day.

Thus, the water, the workers, and the words of Jesus blind man. As the story goes, "So he went and washed and came back seeing."

What Are the Possible Reactions to A Miracle?

1.      It's terrible! It's illegal!

That is what the Pharisees knew full well, that you should not work on the sabbath. If you tied a handkerchief to your sash, that was okay because it was part of your clothing, but if you carried it in your hand, it was a burden and that was forbidden labor.

We laugh BUT – How far do we take things?

See, the legalistic mind is so often hung up on minute details and mechanics of things.

Oh, healing is fine and good in its place, BUT Absolutely do not do it on the sabbath.

Jesus pretty well killed this argument when He made His famous remark that the sabbath was made for persons and not that persons were made for the sabbath.

The same should be said about most every policy and procedures that we have in manuals, governmental regulations, and even in fine print of endless documents.

And if we don’t, then we are just like those of Jesus’ day.

In our blindness, we will find our outraged and disgusted feelings toward work of any kind being done on our ‘rest day’ and, oh - yah, it is so sad that this blind man can’t see.

2.      "The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight...."

We have a saying, "IF - It's too good to be true."

What is there about us that so often doubts that good things could or would happen?

Even in our daily evening news, there are nine bad things announced for maybe every one good thing that is reported.

·         This house burned down.

·         Two children were eaten by a wild dog.

·         Clerk injured in Quik Trip as thief escapes with unknown amount of money.

·         Two more clergy charged with sex abuse of women parishioners.

·         School bus of 25 were killed as it slid out of control down a hill.

·         A volcano buries 500 natives.

·         Serbs rape and murder another 350 women.

·         A car bomb in Belfast kills six in shopping center.

·         And - Oh, yes, by the way, a school teacher in Kansas City received an award as best debate coach in the state.

And that ends our evening news. Tune in again…

3.      The parents felt themselves in the middle when they were asked to take a stand.

They more or less said, "Leave us out of it."

John reports they said, "Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself."

They feared they would be put out of the synagogue if they showed any inclination to believe in the Christ. We look at Peter and we shake our heads. How can you deny knowing the Lord? But, right here. Do we not have the same? Yes, there is a price to pay when we stand up for our Lord. It is called, Eternity.

4.      What of the man who was healed?

No doubt he had been reduced to sitting at the gate of some street corner with a cup, begging for his meager support. See, he was not only healed so he could see but he was also given great strength. He spoke right up to his betters, to the more educated leaders of the religious community, and said, "Why, this is a marvel! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes" (John 9:30).

He was cast out of the synagogue, and I doubt if he cared one whit. Consider the source. It may even be a positive testimony if genuine knuckleheads reject you. His next encounter with Jesus brought out this testimony of faith: "Lord, I believe."

A Strange Paradox: The Blind See and Those Who See Become Blind

Once again Jesus turns things around and reverses our usual way of looking at things. He summed up the meaning of this whole incident: "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind" (John 9:39).

When Jesus was describing the moral bankruptcy of the two-faced Pharisees, he used the metaphor of blindness: "... they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into the pit."

To some Pharisees who stayed on to question him after he made the remark above, he made this statement: "If you were blind [like a sociopath who can't distinguish right from wrong], you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see [understand the spiritual issue],' your guilt remains" (John 9:41 RSV).

One really needs to wrestle with Jesus' Words here as they might pertain to our own life. I suppose that those who can see physically feel really glad about that, satisfied, one might even say.

Remember back at the beginning when we were talking about John Newton, the once slave trafficker. Back before his conversion, he would have to have had very good physical vision in order to be a captain of a ship, to see the North Star, and read the navigational maps of his day.

But that one day came when he realized that good eyesight was leading him on a dangerous course.

He might gain riches but he was losing his soul.

Although he could see with his eyeballs, his soul was blind. Once he discovered his spiritual handicap, he had a clearer vision for his life as a whole.

He could now truly see in the more important sense.

Let us close today by reflecting once again upon the meaning of John Newton's verse.

Amazing grace,

How sweet the sound,

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost,

But not I'm found;

Was blind,

But now I see.

Amen.