David Bahn – Reflections

John 9:1-41

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash inthe pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

The whole story of Jesus’ encounter with this blind man, the Pharisees, his parents, neighbors is worth the read. I’ve copied it below. It is filled with plot twists, symbology, and delightful interplay between Jesus and the people surrounding this story. Most notably, however is the blindness of the Pharisees regarding Jesus and his work. They didn’t see that he truly was the Son of God. They dismissed his work as that of a sinner, a charlatan.

The proverb says, “Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint” (29:18). The King James translates the verse, “Where there is no vision the people perish.” Either is defensible, but the better translation seems to be “cast off restraint.” I used to be disappointed with the newer translation. I liked the stark danger of being vision-less; the idea being that if there is no future call, no purpose or sense of direction on the part of God’s people, we’re all headed toward death. That is not to say we’re all going to hell, but we march toward a slow, senseless death of spirit, (or of a church) if we’re not on a path of God’s revelation and leading.

Now, however, I fully and emotionally embrace the newer translation (I’m sure the translators of the ESV and other more modern Bible translators are relieved to learn that!). And here we see how true it is: without the vision or revelation that Jesus is the Son of God, the Pharisees cast of the restraint of love, truth, humility, and compassion in favor of discrediting Jesus. They are blind, and blindly they pursue Jesus’ demise.

We who know the full story, and believe that Jesus is the Son of God see something vitally important and momentous unfolding here. Not only is Jesus healing the blind man, he is uncovering the lack of restraint of the Jewish leaders. Not only is he showing that he is the light of the world, he is bringing this man into the light of life.

I tend to think of restraint as a bad thing. I want all of my options open. But structure, discipline, and certain kinds of restraint actually bring greater freedom. Diane and I discovered this last week at L’Abri in Canada. There was a schedule to keep, including meals, study, work, and even tea time! But we discovered a freedom within those boundaries and were refreshed in the process. Within the restraints of Jesus’ love, commands, ways, and call we will find great freedom and abundant life. What of God’s revelation to you do you need to keep in view today?

John 9:1-41

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud ⁷ and said to him, “Go, wash inthe pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

⁸ The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” ¹⁰ So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” ¹² They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. ¹⁴ Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵ So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man 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. ¹⁷ So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹ and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” ²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. ²¹ But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” ²² (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) ²³ Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” ²⁶ They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered them, “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?”²⁸ And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. ³² Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”³⁴ They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” ³⁸ He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” ⁴¹ Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.