march 19 2023
2023 Lent 4, March 19th
Old Testament: Isaiah 42:14-21
Psalm: Psalm 142
Epistle: Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel: John 9:1-41
Sermon Text: John 9
Sermon Title: “Do you see”?
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
From our Gospel text this morning; “Jesus answered, it was not because this man sinned, or his parents, that he was born blind, but that the works of God might be displayed in him”. (John 9:3) “And there was a division among them”. (John 9:16b) “And they reviled the blind man”. (John 9:28a) “You were born in utter sin … and they cast him out”. (John 9:34) “Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, We see; your guilt remains”. (John 9:41)
The last two Sundays, we have heard Jesus’ speak of the need to be born again (in John 3) and to worship God in spirit and truth. (in John 4) Today, He encounters a man born blind and brings him from darkness to light; both physically by giving him physical sight, but more importantly spiritually, by bearing witness to Himself as both Son of God and Son of Man.
I am sure you have heard the term Karma. It is a term used quite frequently in our culture. For example, whenever something bad happens to someone, their opponents/enemies often say it is karma, meaning they are suffering because of something they did wrong. To speak of it briefly, karma is basically the idea that what goes around comes around, that in this life, people always, eventually get what they deserve.
But Karma is not a Christian idea at all; it is an eastern or Hindu idea which is also related to reincarnation; another non-Christian idea that denies the bodily resurrection. For example, in this philosophy, people who are born in extreme poverty or with a severe illness or disability are seen as suffering for something they did in a previous life.
Again, this way of thinking is not biblical. Recall how much Job suffered, losing almost his entire family and all of his property, even though Scripture called him “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil”. (Job 1:1b) Jesus deals with this in another context as well, when He is asked about a tower that fell and killed 18 people in Jerusalem. Jesus responded, “Do not think that these were worse offenders than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem … but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish”. (Luke 13:4b-5) So, we should not automatically assume that because something bad happens it is a direct result of a particular sin; sometimes things happen because we live in a fallen world.
Therefore, in our text this morning Jesus clearly condemns this idea that had also crept even into the disciples’ way of thinking. “As He passed by, Jesus saw a man born blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, who sinned; this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered; It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him”, (John 9:1-3) delivering the man from physical and spiritual darkness. So, God is at work in the lives of His saints, even when things are not the way we would like; even through illness, suffering, persecution, and the like.
Jesus continued, “We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said these things, Jesus spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then He anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, Go and wash in the pool of Siloam … so he went and washed and came back seeing”. (John 9:4-7)
You might think that this healing would make many people happy, but that was not the case. The man gave credit to Jesus for his healing, but shortly afterwards, “they brought to the Pharisees, the man who had formerly been blind. Now, it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes”. (John 9:13-14) “Some of the Pharisees said, this Man (Jesus) is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath. But others said, how can a man who is a sinner do such signs? And there was a division among them”. (John 9:16) In the previous chapter, some of the Jews had already taken sides against Him and “picked up stones to throw at Jesus”. (John 8:59a)
They continue their interrogation of the man born blind. The Pharisees are not looking for the truth, they are looking for a way to blame Jesus and trying to drag this man into their scheme. They had ruled out giving Jesus any credit for something good, so they tried to discredit the testimony of the man Jesus healed.
Many of the “Jews did not believe the man had been born blind and then received his sight, until they called the parents … who said, We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but how he sees, we do not know … ask him, he is of age. He will speak for himself. His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for they had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus as the Christ, they would be thrown out of the synagogue”. (John 9:18-22)
Sadly, even his own parents, who knew what had happened, did not defend their son because of fear of being thrown out of the synagogue. The Pharisees continue to intimidate “the man who had been born blind and said to him, Give glory to God. We know this Man (Jesus) is a sinner … He answered … one thing I know, I was blind, now I see”. (John 9:24b-25) Here you see the cost of following Jesus. All he did was passively receive healing from Jesus and now he is the enemy of nearly everyone; denied by his parents and attacked by the religious authorities.
The pharisees again ask the man how he was healed and he responds with confidence/courage and even a bit of sarcasm; “I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples? And they reviled him”. (John 9:27-28a) They claimed, “we know God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He comes from”. (John 9: 29) They hated this man, simply because he testified of Jesus.
This saying amazed the man who continued to speak of what Jesus had done for him. “You do not know where He comes from and yet this Man opened my eyes … Never since the world began, has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing”. (John 9:30, 32-33) This new believer did not whither under the attacks of the Pharisees, but rather grew stronger.
This was too much for the Pharisees, “They answered him, You were born in utter sin and you would teach us? And they cast him out (of the synagogue)”. (John 9:34) When Jesus heard what had happened, He found the man and said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered, and who is HE sir, that I may believe in Him? Jesus said to him, you have seen Him and it is He who is speaking to you. He said to Jesus, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped Him”. (John 9:35b-38) Moments earlier he had confessed Jesus as a prophet from God, but now he worships Him as Lord and God.
Jesus said, For judgment I came into the world, that those who do not see may see and that those who see may become blind”. (John 9:39) Jesus came to save the world, but those who reject His salvation also bring everlasting condemnation upon themselves. Knowing that Jesus had spoken these words against them, “some of the Pharisees said to Him; Are we also blind”? (John 9:39-40)
They did not like the direct answer that Jesus gave them. “Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, we see; your guilt remains”. (John 9:41) They stubbornly insisted that they were right and that everyone else was wrong about Jesus. If they had simply acknowledged their spiritual blindness, Jesus would have healed them too; but since they refused His gracious gift, they remain in their sins. The same is true for any of us who refuse to admit their need for Christ.
All of us are naturally born enemies of God; spiritually deaf and blind; unable to see and hear and believe the Gospel on our own. But God sent His only Son to this wicked world to redeem sinners; to purchase and win the forgiveness of their sins by His atoning death on the cross. He graciously offers salvation, the forgiveness of sins and the gift of eternal life through the hearing of His perfect, inerrant Word and the receiving of the sacraments; by the power of the Holy Spirit. We who believe in Christ are a new creation in Christ Jesus.
Paul wrote that we all were at one time in the darkness of unbelief, but as a new creation, “you are light in the Lord. (So) Walk as children of the light, for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true … and take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness”. (Ephesians 5:8b-9, 11a) So, by daily contrition and repentance, we strive to live this new life in Christ, that He has given to us as a free gift. We do not make excuses for our spiritual blindless, but rather when we sin, we confess it and receive absolution. This is the free gift of God for all who believe in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
The peace of God …