Three Blind Men Earlier in the service, I asked you our text poll question: If you had to choose between losing your sight or losing your hearing, what would you choose? Would you rather be blind or deaf? That s a tough call. If I couldn t hear, I would have missed out this week on hearing the phone message from my nine-month old granddaughter. At the same time, if I were blind, I d never see her face when I call her name and she looks at me and beams. Wow! Out of 44 text responses, 12 of you said you would rather be blind, and 32 of you said you would rather be deaf. For most of you, blindness would be the harder loss. Helen Keller, both blind and deaf, once said: Of all the senses, sight must be the most delightful. I tend to agree with that assessment. It is hard to imagine many things worse than never having seen in your life. I think about what it is like to live as a blind person, to have never seen. I think of the amazing and beautiful people and wildlife and landscape and color that you would never take in. I think of the vulnerability--the inability to see when trouble is coming your way. I think of how dependent you would be on others, something that is very hard for me. I know that in Ethiopia, a blind person or a deaf person or a lame person will, in many cases, end up begging as a way of making a living. I expect that the same thing was true in Jesus day. The Bible records a fascinating story of Jesus meeting and speaking to three blind men, one of whom was begging on the roadside. God included this encounter in the Bible for a reason, and I d like us to take a closer look at that story this morning. The story is found in the Bible in a section called John. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (The Bible, John 9:1-2, NIV) One of the things the blind deal with is people acting like they are not even there. When you encounter an adult with a disability, without even thinking about it, you can catch yourself them like children. You can be careless or insensitive. As Jesus and His friends are passing a blind beggar on the street, one of them asks Jesus whose fault it was that this man was born blind. Not the most sensitive question to ask within earshot of this blind man. Did they carelessly assume he was deaf as well? The question is not typically one we would ask in America. In that day, however, some believed that a disability was directly related to someone s wrongdoing. In many parts of our world today, people believe this. Those who believe in karma and reincarnation believe that your current physical condition reflects how you lived in a past life. For them, this would be a perfectly natural question. Jesus answers the question directly:
"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work 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." Having said 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. (John 9:3-7 NIV) Jesus answers: Your assumptions are flawed. This blindness is not the cause of the sins of this man or his parents. What it is, however, is an opportunity for God to do a work in his life. Now, it is Jesus turn to do an odd thing. He spits on the ground, forms a little mud, and then puts the mud on the man s eyes. He then tells him to go and wash the mud off at the Pool of Siloam. I don t know exactly what the blind man is thinking at this point. Is this a cruel joke? That had probably happened many times. He has some reason to believe that this is not the case. After years of blindness, he may have simply thought: what do I have to lose? So, he leaves them to go wash his eyes, and the story moves with him. He gets to the pool, washes his eyes, and then he opens them. I can only imagine what happens then, because I don t know what it s like to have never seen for the first 20 or 30 years of my life. I remember leaving the optometrist s office when I was a kid with a new pair of glasses. The first thing I noticed was I could see the leaves on trees; they were not just a green blur. I didn t even know what I couldn t see. If I saw for the first time, I think I d look around, trying somehow to soak in every sight, my mind making connections with things I had only ever imagined or touched or heard. Then I think I d start shouting, I can see. I m certain my next thought would be my mom and dad. I d walk toward my home. I think I d try to run, something I hadn t done in years, maybe ever. I d get there and see my mother s face, something I had only ever touched before. I d see my dad. I d run out, looking for friends and neighbors. So the story continues: His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man." "How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded. 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." "Where is this man?" they asked him. "I don't know," he said. (John 9:8-12 NIV) Once again, this blind man becomes a conversation piece. Isn t this the guy who always begs on the corner of Main Street and Judea Avenue? I m pretty sure it is. No way, he just looks like him. But he s saying that he was healed from being blind. It s just a joke; someone s pulling a fast one on us. So, one of the first things this man sees are people who don t believe his story. Not that he entirely cares what they think at this point!
It begins to dawn on his neighbors that a genuine miracle may have occurred. He may have been miraculously healed. If so, however, he will have to be evaluated by the religious officials of the area. So, the formerly blind man is taken to these officials. They will make an assessment about the validity of this healing report. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. (John 9:13-14 NIV) Apparently, their very first question was: When did this happen? Answer: It happened on Saturday, on the Sabbath. As it turns out, this was a big problem. John Ortberg explains: On the Sabbath day, you could not do any work and that included any kneading. Any making of mud or clay was breaking the rules, the rabbi said. And also on the Sabbath, healing, oddly enough, was not allowed. The rule was you could receive medical attention on the Sabbath only if your life was in actual danger. And even then it could only be for the purpose of keeping you from dying, not to improve your condition. That was not allowed. Death prevention was okay. Improvement was not okay. So like, if your hand or foot was dislocated, you were actually not allowed to pour cold water on it on the Sabbath because that might help heal the sprain. And Jesus healed this guy on the Sabbath, kneaded mud on the Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided. Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet." The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?" "We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." (John 9:19-23 NIV) Their review of the man s story turns up these details. The man claims to have been blind from birth. Now he can see. On Saturday, someone put mud on his eyes and told him to wash them in the Pool of Siloam. He did so, and can now see. The mud-maker, they discover, was a man named Jesus. This was also problematic since the rulers of the local synagogue had issued a ruling: If anyone believed that Jesus was the chosen one of God, the Messiah, they would be removed from synagogue worship. They had already concluded that Jesus could not possibly be from God or be God. This report of healing on the Sabbath confirmed for them even more that He was not from God. After all, healing on the Sabbath broke their rules. It was certainly a sin, so Jesus could not possibly be
from God. They bring in the man s parents, who turn it back to their son. We know nothing. Ask our son. So, they bring the man in for a second interview. I have to tell you that I love this part of the story. This formerly blind man, who had been dismissed by people for his entire life, has a razor sharp mind and wit. He is amazing. Listen to this second interview: A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner." He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" (John 9:24-27 NIV) If you think that this guy is getting just a bit frustrated and a tad sarcastic, you re right! They re treating him like he has no brain at all. They are speaking to him like a child they can manipulate. I think it s wearing on him. This, however, is when the conversation takes an ugly turn. Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from." 30 The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." With every word this man speaks, he sees reality with even greater clarity. How can you not see? Open your eyes. Think about it. I haven t seen my entire life, and this man changes that in one moment. That is unheard of. And you are debating whether he comes from God or not. I think that should be obvious at this point. So what do you do when your tragically-flawed thinking is exposed? You either change your thinking or you attack the person who exposes it. To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out. (John 9:34 NIV) How ugly is that? We have nothing to learn from you. You were obviously a deep sinner from the day you were born. You re just a beggar. You have no business teaching us. So, what are you thinking about these religious teachers right now? What emotion are you feeling? This is a teachable moment. Consider the anger you are feeling. Whenever you encounter someone and think, I ve got nothing to learn from this person, you are in a really dangerous place. It s an especially insidious form of pride. When you feel morally superior to others, you stop being teachable, and move toward the belief that you need no one.
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?" Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (The Bible, John 9:35-41 NIV) It should be pretty clear by now that this is a story about two blind men. There is a blind man who cannot see physical objects even when they are right in front of him. There is a blind man who cannot see reality even when it is right in front of him. Why were these religious leaders blind? They had closed their eyes. They already knew it all. They already had God figured out. They knew exactly what he was like, what He would do and what He wouldn t do. But they were mistaken. So, when God actually showed up, they couldn t see Him. This is sobering to me because I talk to people all the time who have God figured out. Almost everyone has an opinion of God, and most people are pretty confident of their ideas. So people will say things like: I don t think God is against me shading the truth a bit or sleeping with my boyfriend or looking at someone else s answers on a test. or At the end of time, God will add up all my good and all my bad, and then he ll cut me a break or God is too loving to ever judge people. Ask that person why they believe that, and they ll say it s just what I think. They may not have the slightest bit of evidence that their idea is true, but those opinions shape some of their core life decisions. So sure they are of their ideas that when they encounter a word from the Bible or a teaching from Jesus that suggests something different, they ll look right past it, regardless of how plain it is. Why? Because they ve got God already figured out. They don t let the Bible make them uncomfortable or change their view of God. They just stop reading or choose the view they want to believe. Helen Keller said something fascinating: There is much in the Bible against which every instinct of my being rebels, so much that I regret the necessity which has compelled me to read it through from beginning to end. I do not think that the knowledge which I have gained of its history and sources compensates me for the unpleasant details it has forced upon my attention. (Helen Keller) Encountering God in the Bible can leave me uncomfortable because it challenges my view of God. It is easier to simply stop reading or resist a difficult truth. I can choose blindness. You see, there is a very fine line between I don t know and I don t want to know. There are a couple of traffic laws that I am unsure about. Here is one in particular. I m driving up to an intersection, and I move into the left turn lane. The lights for the lanes going straight are green, but the light for the left turn lane is red. Here is the question: Does the red light mean I can t go or does it simply mean that the left
turn lane is unprotected, that traffic the other way has a green light? I m not sure so if there are no cars coming the other direction, I turn left. Almost every time I do that, I think to myself: I should probably check that law out, but I never have. Why? Because I don t want to know. It would ruin the I didn t know story I ve prepared in my mind just in case an officer were to pull me over. What s more, if one of you came up to me today and told me that the red light means I can t turn, ruining my whole I don t know story, I d still be tempted to turn left on red. Bottom line: I don t want that law to be true. It would change my behavior; it would slow me down. There are many occasions where I don t know is really an expression of I don t want to know or I refuse to know. The truth is that most of us have a view of God that is not random. We choose a view of God that fits the way we want to live. There is a way that we want God to be. We don t want a God that wants us to live differently. These religious leaders did not want a God who challenged their pride and their lack of love. They didn t want a God who required something different from them. So, when that God showed up, they didn t see Him. They chose not to see Him. They closed their eyes. They were the second blind man that Jesus addressed in the story. So, Roger, you said that there were three blind people Jesus addressed in this story. Who is the third? If I were to ask everyone in this room to send me a text message, well, we d have problems because some of you don t have cell phones and some with phones have never sent a text before. Let s assume, however, that that everyone had a cell phone, and all of us had a teenager next to us who could show us how to text. If I asked you to text me the words I m blind when it comes to God or I m not blind, my guess is that almost every single person in this room would text I m not blind. No matter how flawed your ideas about God may be, you are not likely to see it. That s the very essence of the word blind. We don t see it or we won t see it. The third blind person Jesus addresses is us--you and me. God recorded this story in the Bible so that Jesus could speak to more blind people. Every single person in this room has some flawed ideas about God. There is something about God that we don t see accurately. We need to humbly acknowledge this. We need to lose this I know all there is to know about God attitude. We need to ask God to open our eyes. We need to ask Him every day to show us the ideas that we have that are flawed. We need to go to the pages of the Bible to let God teach us more about Himself and His ways. In the next few moments, that is what I want you to do. I want you to ask God to open your eyes to some area of thinking that may be flawed. As He does, you ll have to be open to change. You ll have to open up your eyes. Song: I know you ll have to open up your eyes. Hope Church