Title: Eyes that can be blown
Contents
Expository Sermon John 9:1-12 Sunday Sermon on January 25, 2004
eyes to see
As evidence of this, the Gospel of John presents 7 signs as a material to prove the divinity of Jesus, and the story of the blind man in today's text corresponds to the 6th sign. However, among the seven signs, what is unusual in today's text is that the blind man is the main character, not Jesus or his disciples.
There is John's intention in composing this story. What it means is to inform people of the various reactions of various people who have come into contact with Jesus, so that we must judge for ourselves what should be the right mental attitude for those of us who believe in Jesus as our Savior.
Verses 9:1-12 have two themes as a whole.
Verses 1-7: Diagnosis and treatment of the cause of the blindness of Jesus
Also, just as Jesus was obedient to God as a sent person and was working tirelessly and faithfully, even the blind are required to lead a life of obedience as a sent person until their spiritual eyes are opened and they reach salvation.
In verse 1, Jesus is going on the road, but we do not know which area he is going to. Only near the Pool of Siloam and the Sabbath controversy among the Pharisees suggests that this event took place near Jerusalem.
Jesus was going on the road, but he did not go diligently looking forward toward the destination. He went down the road, looking around eagerly to see if there was anyone who desperately needed his help. So, those who believe in Jesus must go along the way, looking around like Jesus. To help those in need with a willing heart and sincerity.
In this way, Jesus was a loving person who cared deeply for those who were suffering. It is not that a person with a problem did not diligently seek Jesus, but that Jesus Himself is coming. That is why it is also said that when a person of faith has a problem, it is a golden opportunity to meet Jesus. This is the reason why we absolutely need faith in waiting for Jesus who will come to us while praying, rather than getting scared and discouraged when problems arise.
Verse 2 shows the difference between Jesus and humans in seeing this one person's misfortune.
Traditionally, as evidence of God's blessing, the Jews were getting good children and land. However, it is obvious without explaining how he must have looked at his child who has been blind since birth. That is why the disciples are also asking Jesus who's sin was caused by this without a spiritual diagnosis according to these social myths and preconceived notions.
There is a reason the disciples ask this question. Some Jewish scholars believed that a person could sin while still in the womb, and others believed that the soul preceded the body, resulting in evil and good souls. Also, based on the Old Testament, they believed that children inherit the sins of their parents (Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Num 14:18).
So, even though he had been blind from birth, he wondered whose sin this was due to.
So Jesus answers verse 3. It's not because of what you think, but because God is doing his work. In fact, as already foreshadowed through the Book of Job in the Old Testament, misfortunes that occur to man can come to reveal the glory of God. That is why he said that deep spiritual insight is needed when diagnosing the cause of human suffering and sickness.
Here is a clear distinction between Jesus and man. It is a qualitative difference in that it is easy for people to diagnose people based on the knowledge and prejudices that have been passed down, but Jesus diagnoses people with spiritual insight. There is a deep meaning to the meaning of human existence. Man exists for the glory of God. The sick may exist to show the world God's work.
Also, there is a reason why John wrote here the account of Jesus healing a man who was born blind. A person who has been blind from birth is a person with an incurable disease that cannot be cured by medicine. The 38-year-old sick man also has an incurable disease. Because only God can solve this absolutely desperate situation, Jesus Christ was sent in the flesh as the Savior of the world.
Verses 4-5 tell the disciples what to do after correcting their wrong thinking. The time is now to work and it is daytime, so as the one who was sent, you must carry out your mission well. As the time for Jesus to die on the cross approaches, he cannot work at that time, so he has to work hard during the day when he is still the light of the world. It also means that you can't afford to waste any time.
Even ourselves, there are periods of time that correspond to the days when we can do God's work. It is to make the best use of the day that has been given to each of you and do your best in every moment.
In verses 6-7, there is a scene where Jesus heals the blind man after he has finished speaking. There are two actions here. One is the act of love and command of Jesus, the god, and the act of obedience of man in response to this. This scene is reminiscent of the story of the prophet Elisha healing General Naaman in 2 Kings 5:10.
God's special choice may forcefully grant grace to humans, but in general, God's way of intervening in human history is that the command of love precedes the command of love, and humans have the share of obedience in response. God's grace and human obedience combine to reveal God's glory to the world. Through the obedience of those who are sent, the work of God of love and the saving of mankind will be revealed.
Therefore, John here also revealed that Jesus Christ is a man sent by God, and that he who was sent is the Son of God with spiritual authority different from those of the world.
Verses 8-12: Evidence of the healed blind man
Here, the conversation between the blind and those around the blind is recorded in detail. This blind man who has just woken up seems to have been a beggar before, but when people wondered how he got his eyes opened, the blind man who opened his eyes answers the incident. So, the main interest in this part is how the blind man woke up. Therefore, the blind man who has opened his eyes is faithfully witnessing as a person sent by Jesus with the intention of making known to the world the signs that have appeared to him.
Verses 8-9 show that the way of life for the blind or lame in those days was to beg. This was the case with Bartimaeus the blind, and the beggar who was not at the beautiful gate of the temple (Acts 3:1-10) was in the same situation. At that time, these were people who had a hard time living a normal life. Just as these people were healed and received attention, the same thing was happening in Jesus' day. It's a question of how this could happen.
There were many people who couldn't tell the difference between the open and the blind because of how limited people's eyes are. So, an argument broke out between them, and even if the real culprit revealed that he was a blind man, it is hard to believe.
The Jewish thinking you can read here is a false prejudice against a working God. There is no certainty that the God who worked in the past is still at work. And how can God's power be revealed through the Nazarene villagers? Even if you are a devout believer in Judaism like them. Also, we can clearly see how serious the blasphemy against the power of God that God works and that they should always remain within their common sense is.
In verses 10-12, there is a testimony about Jesus who was healed of a blind man. He does not know who he is, but he testifies that a man named Jesus healed his eyes. And if you don't know him well, why don't you? It's because I've never had a personal relationship with him. What he does know is that he had been blind from birth, but it was the one who healed him without any cost.
We have something to learn from the testimony of this blind man. We know very well who we were in the past. Anyone who has faith clearly knows how things have changed between before and after having faith. This is a truth that cannot be hidden only by hiding it from people. To testify of Jesus, if you introduce Jesus with the evidence that has appeared to you, it is persuasive.
But Jesus decided to believe, but because there was no evidence that appeared, the works of God were not clearly revealed to people. Also, even though they come to church, they are not so different from before they came out. Rather, they believe in Jesus and are worse off than they did before they believed in Jesus. A person whose conscience has been burnt can see that even though he has not changed and has never been healed, he pretends to be a new person after being changed and then gets caught and suffers a lot. The person who will go one step further and perish is that the symptoms keep getting worse without even knowing that they are such a person. In the end, even if you believe in Jesus, you will perish because your present condition cannot be accurately diagnosed in the light of your past.
There are a few things we should point out about ourselves through the words of today's text.
1. Insight into the Seeing Eye
Am I seeing what I need to see?
Uncircumcised people see only the wrong things. Therefore, since they cannot make a spiritual diagnosis, they are deceived by themselves, and they are deceived even when they see others. This is what the devil likes the most. Because the devil is a false spirit and has been a liar from the beginning.
2. Am I properly witnessing what I have to testify?
No more, no less, a person who lives with faith clearly knows what a life that has been healed and changed compared to his past is. It is our mission to live by witnessing faithfully to that extent. Life in the past was also noble, and the nobler now is the happy man. However, when most people receive grace and look back on themselves, they are bearing the common testimony that their past lives are not noble.
3. What has God done for me?
Everyone must have this. Jesus healed a fatal flaw that the worldly doctors could not fix. Each of us had it. Those who do not have it are those who do not know Jesus yet.