“WHAT THE BLIND MAN SAW”
John 9:1-7
1) In the late 90s Hallmark cast the movie “What the Deaf Man Heard” from a
similar titled novel by G. D. Gearino. During a stop on a bus trip, 10-year-old
Sammy Ayers' mother Helen ventured into a bar, while Sammy slept on the bus.
Helen was murdered as the bus left. At the last bus stop in Georgia, Sammy
woke up realizing that his mother had disappeared. He took to heart her warning
to "keep quiet." He was taken in by the bus station manager Norm and informally
adopted by Lucille as the entire small town looked after him. As Sammy grew to
adulthood, he pretended to be deaf and mute as a self-protective device. Over a
20-year period, he heard many secrets and confidences. However, when he
heard something harmful he finally decided to take action, exposing the perpetrator and revealing his own secret. From the first word he spoke in the courtroom, the crowd became hushed, realizing that the deaf man had heard it all.
2) In our gospel reading from John 9 Jesus encountered a man who was born
blind. His disciples made the typical assumption that somebody had sinned to
cause his blindness, but Jesus said rather it was so that God’s works might be
revealed. The story moves quickly to Jesus making a mud paste to apply to his
eyes and inviting the blind man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam where he
received his sight. The other gospel writers tell similar sight-to-the-blind stories
with Mark even giving him the name Bartimaeus. In each Jesus asked the blind
person (persons) what they wanted him to do, and when they requested their
sight, he miraculously healed them of their blindness.
3) In John the restoration of sight is only the first of six scenes. In scene two it
was the amazed neighbors who could not believe this was the same guy who
had begged on the street for all those years. “Yes, it is”—“No it isn’t”—“What did
he do to you?” But by the time the man who had formerly been blind returned
with his eyesight, Jesus had disappeared. So in scene three he was brought
before the Pharisees who wanted to know what happened and then denied that
Jesus had the power to perform the miracle—most especially in violation of
Sabbath work laws. To verify that this wasn’t a ruse, they called in the man’s
parents to see if this really was their son who had been blind. “Yes, this is our
son, but beyond that we’re pleading the right to remain silent lest we incriminate
ourselves.” So on it goes. A second time (scene 5) the man was brought back
before the Pharisees and asked to repeat the story. “What did he do? How did it
happen?” This time he suggested that perhaps the religious leaders secretly
wanted to become Jesus’ disciples, a suggestion which was quickly denied with
strong words and harsh actions. By now the formerly blind man was realizing
that he could see what they could not. “One thing I know, that though I was
blind, now I see.”
4) Scene six brings the story together. (John 9:35-41) “Jesus heard that they
had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son
of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in
him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is
he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into
this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do
see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to
him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind,
you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”
5) In John’s gospel Jesus is all about bringing light and life into the world and
John loves to present the dichotomies between light and darkness, life and
death, etc. So the story of Jesus miraculously giving sight to a blind man takes
on a whole new meaning. Here is a stunning miracle - a man blind since birth
suddenly given sight - and no one celebrates. His neighbors are doubtful, his
parents are worried about the religious and legal ramifications, while the
Pharisees find the whole episode threatening and foreboding. Not until the
healed man realizes who Jesus is and what his presence means do we understand what the blind man saw as he fell on his knees and worshiped his Lord.
And when we do, we must confront our own blindness to the God’s power and
presence in our lives. Only when Jesus, the Light of the World, reveals the God
capable of curing our vision disorder do we move from blindness to sight. The
miracle has very little to do with our physical vision and everything to do with our
spiritual insight.
6) As Isaiah wrote about the exiles returning to their homeland after years in
captivity, “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf
unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless
sing for joy.” Theirs was not a healing of physical ailments and disabilities, but of
blindness and deafness to the mercy and grace of God being offered to them.
So too we may think we understand and have the whole picture, but it is only
when God comes to work in our lives that we can see what the blind man saw
and know that God’s grace can save all who call upon his name. That’s what
happened for John Newton, a formerly foul-mouthed British slave ship captain in
the 18th century. He experienced God’s grace in his life, then became a pastor,
and worked with politician John Wilberforce to bring an end to Britain’s slave
trade. Oh, he also wrote a hymn—Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Let’s
sing it now.