Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind (Part 2)

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Clarence Rodgers
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1 Weekly Edition March 16, 2018 Gospel According to St. John Third Year Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind (Part 2) 9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Neither this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man s eyes. 7 Go, he told him, wash in the Pool of Siloam (this word means Sent ). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. 8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, Isn t this the same man who used to sit and beg? 9 Some claimed that he was. Others said, No, he only looks like him. But he himself insisted, I am the man. 10 How then were your eyes opened? they asked. 11 He replied, The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see. 12 Where is this man? they asked him. I don t know, he said. Part I The Gospel of St. John Prologue 1:1-14 First Year 1:15 2:22 Second Year 2:23 6:71 Third Year 7:1 12:50 Part II The Last Discourse 13:1 17:26 The Arrest and Trial 18:1 19:16 Death and Resurrection 19:16 (b) 21:25 Entering Into Scripture: A Meditation on the Healing of the Man Blind from Birth It has been some week. I am exhausted, both mentally and physically. The Festival of Tabernacles has culminated with the elaborate and festive closing ceremonies. Happily, for me, that means we will be leaving Jerusalem to go back to the countryside. I can t wait. It is hot here not the weather mind you, although the days are growing longer and the sun is getting hot. I m talking about the rhetoric! It seems like everyone is out to pick a fight with Jesus: the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Herodians, the teachers of the Law, even the Zealots. I can scarcely think of a group that is isn t out to argue with Him or try to trap Him with their questions. The tension is more than I can take, and I am looking forward to getting away from it all. Jesus does not appear to be anxious or upset by any of this. He takes it all in stride. Jesus created quite a ruckus with His teaching this week. I have been with Him for nearly two and a half years. I love Him more than I have ever loved any person. But that does not mean I don t struggle with some of the things He says. Earlier this week He declared Himself to be the only source of living or life-giving water. He said that He is the light of the world, and that He has been sent by God. From my earliest days with Him, He has called God His Father. Yesterday morning He told the Pharisees that because they

2 don t recognize Him, they are not true descendants of Abraham. Jesus declared that He is God, saying that before Abraham was, I AM. All this makes my head swirl. I believe, but I struggle to understand it all. But the Pharisees, they hate Him. They picked up rocks to stone Him, but as He has done on other occasions, Jesus simply slipped away into the crowd. Jesus came to us this morning. Nothing unusual. He often goes off alone after supper and finds us the following morning. Today is the Sabbath. It means a day of rest, so we won t be on our way back to the countryside until tomorrow. Jesus turned to walk, and we followed. The city streets are still packed with people who came up for the Festival. It takes some effort to keep our group together as we go. At one point I strain to find what has caught Jesus attention. Then I see him. I don t know his name, but I recognize him. He is one of the many beggars who line the main gate to Jerusalem every day. He is blind. His lot in life is harsh. He begs. Sits and begs. Every day. Same place. Most take no notice of him. Its as if he does not exist. As if he is nothing and less than nothing. A non-person. A lifeless life. A pity. Bartholomew speaks up. Teacher, who is it that sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? It was a good question, and I wish I would have thought of it myself. We all know that suffering is a consequence of sin. So, if a person suffers it must be on account of sin. But this man has been blind from birth. Can a person sin in their mother s womb? Or was it his mother s or father s sin that is the cause of his blindness. After all, Scripture says that the sins of the parents will be visited upon the children even to the third and fourth generation. Jesus surprises us. He said that neither this man or his parents had sinned, but that he had been born blind that the glory of God might be revealed. I have two questions for Jesus, but things happen so fast I don t have a chance to ask them. The first question I would have asked is why God would punish a man with blindness if he had never sinned. The second question I would have asked is how being born blind could reveal the glory of God. Jesus continued, saying: As long as it is day, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Through my swirling and confused thoughts, I hear Jesus ask me to bring the man over to Him. He was seated in the shade of a wall. I took him by the hand, helped him up, and led him over to where Jesus was standing. Neither one of us spoke a word. The man simply stood up when I took his hand, and he followed my lead trusting me with his life. When we came to Jesus, He squatted down. He spit into the dust. Then He put His finger in it and stirred. He spit a second time, then a third, all the while circling His finger where He spit. Then, Jesus stood up. He caked some of the mud onto the man s left eye, then onto his right eye. The man appeared to be bewildered. No one said a word. Then Jesus spoke up. Go wash in the pool of Siloam. One of the man s friends took him by the hand and led him away, going in the direction of the pool. Jesus turned and continued down the street. We followed. That was before noon. Sometime later, mid-afternoon, one of our group came back with this report. Apparently, after washing in the pool of Siloam, the man s eyes were opened, and he could see for the first time in his life. The man and all who were with him were over-joyed, leaping for joy, praising God and giving each other high-fives. He immediately went to his home to see his mom and dad for the first time ever! The neighbors were amazed. Some immediately recognized him, but others said he is not the man, but rather, a look-alike. But the man himself claimed it was he. They asked him how it was that he could now see, and he recounted for them exactly what Jesus had done making

3 a mud cake out of spittle and placing it on his eyes, then telling him to go wash in the pool. They all wanted to know where the Man was that had done this, but he said he didn t know. We all listened with great attention, eager to hear every detail. Our hearts were filled with joy. Jesus smiled knowingly, and seemed to take delight in our reactions to the report. My thoughts retrace what Jesus taught this week. The only source of life-giving water. The light of the world. The true descendants of Abraham. Before Abraham was, I AM. It is all so much to take in. I believe, but I want to believe. I gaze upon the One who stands next to me. He radiates love and gentleness. I feel so at ease in His presence. Never before have I met One like Him. His eyes meet mine. They are filled with warmth. He smiles, then looks away. He turns and continues down the street. We follow. Reflection 5: Saliva Formed Mud-Cake This story invites us to think on the wonder of creation. You formed mankind from the dust of the earth and breathed into us the breath of life. Yet on account of sin, we have strayed from You and become as this blind man. Sin impairs life and results in darkness, even as blindness robs one of light and impairs sight. The blind man represents all of humanity this way. You, Lord Jesus, seek him out, find him, and heal him. The man, for his part, does nothing other than wash himself in the Pool as You directed. His sight is restored on account of You, and he has precious Application: How has Jesus given me new sight and new life? little to do about it. At first, the thought of spittle-mud being rubbed on his eyes is repulsive to me. Yuk! But then I realize that his healing comes from Your mouth and so does mine! For it is written: Man does not live by bread alone, but every word that comes from the mouth of God. The sin-soaked dust of the earth is rekindled by Your mouth, and my darkened eyes see anew. And I have precious little to do about it only to accept that it is true by faith and each new day live a little more fully into the reality that I am Your beloved son. Reflection 6: The Pool of Siloam How precious it is, Lord Jesus, that you send the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam. Surely, You could open his eyes directly, without the aids of spittle-formed mud or washing with water from this particular pool. But You did this to make a proclamation by action. The Pool of Siloam was a large and deep pool fed by an elaborate aqueduct called Hezekiah s Tunnel which brought a steady supply of fresh water into the fortified city of Jerusalem from the Gihon Spring. Siloam means sent. Gihon means gushing forth. In healing this man, blind from birth, we are to see that the One sent by the Father is gushing forth with light and life. This gushing forth continues to this very day. The Apostle Paul teaches that You are now Spirit, and where Your Spirit is there is freedom. Your Spirit renews daily the bountiful supply of Your light and life for those who believe on You. Application: How is the Spirit of God gushing forth light and life in my circumstances today?

4 Reflection 7: Went and Washed You never promise the man that he would be healed. You simply tell him to go and to wash in the Pool of Siloam. The man was not compelled to do so. The decision about what to do rested solely on the man himself. He could go and wash as You said, or he could refuse. He does go. He does wash. And he is healed. His eyes are opened for the first time in his life. The man had to take You at Your word. He had to accept what You ask him to do on faith. Did the man believe his eyes would be opened? Or was that too much for him to dare to dream? We often place limits and constraints on what we believe You can do in our lives. So we don t listen to You when You invite us to go and wash. We don t allow ourselves to dare to dream that You can heal us and make us whole that You can give us gushing-forth life and light. So we don t bother. Yet when we dare to take You at Your word, Your super abundance is poured out on us in ways we never dreamed or imagined. Application: Is there something in my life that is too big for me to dare to dream that God can do in me whatever it is? Reflection 8: Came Home Seeing The man went and washed and came home seeing. The verb means to come from one place to another and used both of persons arriving and of those returning. In the man we see this double-meaning. He is arriving in a new place of faith which is demonstrated by his progression of belief: initially recounting the literal facts about how he was healed, then calling You a prophet, and lastly claiming You are sent by God. He is returning in the sense that, by placing his trust in You and accepting You as the Son of God by faith, he is reclaiming that essential abiding restful union with God in love that is the life You are so eager to share with every man and woman. You invite each of us into a deeply personal intimate relationship, and when we respond to Your Spirit we come home seeing. Until then our eyes are really dark no matter how much we may think we see. Application: How is my growing faith in Jesus like coming home seeing for me? 4

5 Reflection 9: Healing Blind Eyes This one act, healing blind eyes, should have been the most convincing evidence for the Pharisees that You are the Christ, the longawaited Messiah. The Old Testament records twelve acts of individual healing and three acts of corporate healing for Israel in a time spanning nearly four-thousand years, but never-before had the miracle occurred of a blind man seeing. Both Isaiah and David prophesized that the eyes of the blind would be opened by the Messiah but no one in all the recorded history of Israel had ever seen it happen until now! I must accept the account of this miraculous healing on faith believing that New Testament accounts are true and are not fake-news. Your miracles in my life are less dramatic, easier to miss or to chalk-up to mere coincidence. Yet when I remain in You my spiritual eyes recover their sight and everything in my life and circumstances, and in the world around me, takes on different perspective. Only when I walk with You am I able to really see. Application: What evidence is there in my life to prove that Jesus is who He claims to be? Reflection 10: The Controversy After his sight was recovered, the man was not recognized by his neighbors. No one had ever heard of someone being healed from congenital blindness. The neighbors were slow to accept the testimony that this new man was, in fact, the man who had been formerly blind. The neighbors liked him the old way and were not prepared to accept his new identity as a man who sees. When the power of the Holy Spirit gives new life to a man or women who is born Application: In what ways has my love of Jesus Christ brought controversy? again, those close by will no longer recognize the new person in Christ. You literally remake us, Lord. But the transformation is not controversyfree. Immediately the new Christian is unrecognizable to his former non-believing companions. The blind man had to claim his new identity publicly I am he. And each reborn man or woman must do the same. I am he. My life is different because I have accepted Your light and life. 5

Jesus answered. "This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. Th

Jesus answered. This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4. We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. Th 209 9. As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2. "Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" 3.