1. Healing (verses 1-7)
2. Hesitation, Hostility, Honesty, Hardness (verses 8-41)

Have you ever thought about how difficult it would be to be blind in our society today? Just try closing your eyes. Imagine if this was your experience. Can you imagine navigating church this morning with your eyes closed? How do you get out of the auditorium? How do you get your snacks after church? How do you eat your snacks with your eyes closed? How do you get to your car? How do you find your car? Who will give you a ride home? What if you need to use the restroom? Could you navigate that with your eyes closed?

What about this morning? How do you know what time it is when you wake up? How do you make sure that your clothes match colors? How do you find your breakfast food? What about trying to live independently? How would you cross streets? How would you navigate public transportation? How would you order your food at McDonalds? How would you pay for your food? How would you use a computer? (You can open your eyes)

These are just the beginnings of questions to navigate life as a blind person today. Fortunately for blind people today, our society gives much help. Those with disabilities are given every advantage to help them succeed. The American’s with Disabilities Act in the United States ensure that people with disabilities have equal access to public spaces, education, employment, and services. Public building have Braille signage to help blind people navigate elevators and bathrooms. Schools provide assistants and adaptive technology to help blind people learn. Financial help is available to reduce the economic hardships of blind people. Audible traffic signals and public transportation systems are designed to with blind passengers in mind. Many businesses have initiatives to help blind people find employment in areas where they can use their skills to be gainfully employed. In our society, we have public awareness campaigns to help us all realize the plight of disabled people. Some sports have been adapted to allow for blind people to play. Have you ever seen blind soccer? It’s a thing! The crowd is silent. The ball makes noise. Guides are given to direct the players.^[1]

Being blind in our society is difficult, but it’s nothing like it would have been in Bible times. No American’s for Disabilities Act. No Braille. No School assistants. No financial help. Exclusion from society. Apart from your family, you would be on your own, relegated to a life of a beggar.

Jesus encountered such a blind man in our text, John, chapter 9. We will see Jesus heal this man. This is my first point:

1. Healing (verses 1-7)

We are introduced to this man in verse 1,

John 9:1
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

Our picture for chapter 9 is a picture of the number "9" that looks like a cane. It’s not a cane for the blind. But it’s enough to remind you that John, chapter 9 is about the blind man who is healed. The title of my message this morning is a quote that the blind man says in verse 25, “I was Blind, Now I See.”

When the disciples saw this blind man, they didn’t feel compassion and give him money for his begging. Instead, they used him as an object lesson to ask their theological question:

John 9:2
And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

I think this showed some great insensitivity on behalf of the disciples. From the context, it appears that the man would have heard their question. How do you think this would make you feel?

How would you feel if you had a child with Down Syndrome, and after church, you are standing around with him, and I pass by to greet you. Then someone comes and asks me, “Pastor Steve, who sinned? This boy or his parents? that he was born with Down Syndrome.” I think that you would be tremendously impolite. I think that you would feel greatly offended.

I can see why they might ask such a question.

Do you remember when Jesus healed the paralytic? (In chapter 5?) This paralytic was sitting by the pool, waiting for the angel to stir the water, so that he could be the first to enter and be healed (according to the tradition of the day). Jesus approached him and asked, John 5:6 “Do you want to be healed?” Of course he wanted to be healed. He had been an invalid for 38 years! Of course he wanted this legs to work again. That’s why he was sitting by this pool! hoping to be the first in the pool when the angel stirred the water. But he could never seemingly get into the pool fast enough. as a result, he had little hope of being healed.

To this man, Jesus said, “Get up, take up your bead, and walk” (John 5:8). and he did! He got up on his feet! He took up his bed. He walked! Later, Jesus found him in the temple. Jesus said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you” (John 5:14).

The implication being that sin brought this paralysis upon him. The promise is that further sin would bring him to a worse place. In other words, it was his sin that brought his great suffering.

Since the man in chapter 9 was blind, the disciples imagined, surely it was sin that caused his blindness. The difficulty for these disciples was his being blind from birth. Did his sin in the womb? Or was it because of something that the parents did?

Jesus responded in verse 3

John 9:3
“It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

The disciples had totally missed it. It wasn’t because of the sin of the man or of the parents that he was born blind. It was because God had his glory in mind ( which we will see as the chapter unfolds, as the man receives sight).

Now, before we move on, let’s linger here a bit. Do you have any such category for this in your worldview? That God would inflict such suffering upon this man for his own glory?

This blind man is called a “man.” In Jewish circles, a boy becomes a man at his Bar Mitzvah, when he turns 13. So, at the very least, this man was 13 years old. But the man at the pool was also called a “man. He was at least 38 years old. I think it’s fair to put this man in his 20’s, say

So for 20 years (or so) he suffered the impact of his blindness. He was excluded from society with no financial help. He was a beggar through zero fault of his own! For 20 years (or so), he suffered, so that God may be glorified. In other words, God brought this man through terrible suffering, for God’s own interest, for his own glory! Do you have a category for this in your worldview? It’s clear as a bell here in this text.

I would contend that God may be doing this far beyond what you even think that he is, bringing suffering for his glory.

He did it with his son. He sent Jesus, his son, to face the most undeserved, the most cruel injustice that anyone has ever experienced for his own glory. Jesus was the only perfectly righteous man to walk on the planet, yet, he experienced the greatest injustice that anyone ever faced. Crucifixion! It’s not that crucifixion was unusual, This is how the Romans often executed Jewish criminals. In fact, two criminals were crucified with Jesus. What made it the most cruel injustice is that Jesus was completely innocent. Jesus deserved none of the suffering that he endured.

To add to that, his crucifixion was even worse than that of the criminals. Not only did Jesus suffer and die upon the cross, but he also bore God’s wrath for our sins upon the cross! that we might go free! It was our sin that put Jesus upon the cross!

Now, why this injustice? Why this suffering? For the glory of God, that he might bring sinners, like us, into his presence. This is the gospel! This is suffering for God’s glory. and we rejoice in this!

Yet somehow, when it come to our suffering, we can easily miss God’s hand and God’s purpose in it. James calls us to rejoice in our suffering.

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

God designs suffering in our lives to produce steadfastness in all of us, all to bring him glory.

Back to this blind man. He suffered for decades, all for the glory of God in his healing.

Now, before Jesus heals the blind man, he sets the stage:

John 9:4-5
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.”

Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. I’m going to shine my light through the work I am about to do.” Finally, we get to the healing.

John 9:6-7
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 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Picture what Jesus did. He stooped down. He spit on the ground. He mixed his spit with the dirt, to make mud. (It wasn’t much mud.) Then, he placed the mud upon the man’s eyes. knowing what Jesus actually did, John describes this as “anointing.” Jesus told him to wash. The man washed. And he “came back seeing” (verse 7).

This is amazing! Jesus, the light of the world, gives light to this man’s eyes.

What exactly Jesus did isn’t known to us. Perhaps this man had cataracts, and Jesus removed them. Perhaps this man had a severed optic nerve, and Jesus restored it to health. Perhaps the man was experiencing macular degeneration, and Jesus restored the macula.

Whatever took place, it was amazing! In fact, the blind man will tell us how amazing it is in verse 30,

John 9:30-32
The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 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. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.

Yet, this is the very thing that Jesus does!

As amazing as this miracle is, this is about all that Jesus says about the healing of the blind man. Five verses to set up the healing. And two verses describing the healing. The rest of the chapter shows what happened after the miracle.

Beginning in verse 8, we will see three responses: (1) Hesitation; (2) Hostility; and (3) Honesty. But all of these responses are all mingled and mixed together, so my second point is this: 

2. Hesitation, Hostility, Honesty, Hardness (verses 8-41)

As we work through the rest of the chapter this morning we will see these things. Now, before we dig into these verses, I want to ask you a question: Why did Jesus heal the blind man in this way? He didn’t have to do it this way. Jesus can heal by simply saying the word, like he did to the paralytic: “Get up, take up your bed, and walk” (John 5:8).

Jesus can heal when the sickness is 20 miles away. Do you remember the One O’Clock miracle? Jesus was in Cana when the royal official came from Capernaum, some 20 miles away, to plead for the life of his son, who was on his death bed. Jesus simply said, “Go; your son will live” (John 4:50). He was healed at that very moment! from 20 miles away!

So, Jesus didn’t have to make mud in the dirt with his spit to anoint the man’s eyes so that he could see. So, why did he do so? I believe it was precisely because it was the Sabbath, because what he did was not lawful on the Sabbath.

Jewish tradition at the time, according to their oral tradition (Shabbat 7:2) prohibited any sort of kneading or mixing on the Sabbath, as in kneading and mixing the ingredients for bread or cakes. regardless of how big your mixture was. Even a little bit of dirt made with a little bit of saliva was enough to stir the Jews against Jesus.

I think that Jesus knew this, and was intentionally provoking the Pharisees.

This past week, I saw an illustration of this. A week ago, my son-in-law was asked by a friend if he wanted to go outside in the nicer weather and stand by a sign and talk with people. Here is what the sign said: “ABORTION IS MURDER FORGIVENESS FOR MURDER CAN BE FOUND IN JESUS CHRIST ALONE.”

That’s a pretty provocative sign. Why would you take such a sign, and stand outside downtown with such a sign, if not to provoke people to a reaction, and hopefully a discussion about abortion? This is what my son-in-law did. And boy did he get a reaction. He told me that in first 2 minutes after displaying the sign, an older woman walked by and said to he and his friend, “"F'-you, you F-ing fascists.”

But not all interactions were so hostile. He told me, for the most part, that people simply walked by and give a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down according to where they were on the political spectrum. He summarized it well, saying that people would come by and either give him a handshake or the bird. That’s what the sign did. it provoked people, just like Jesus did by making mud on the Sabbath and healing this man born blind.

My son-in-law did have some profitable conversations. At one point, a young woman and young man came by and had a serious conversation with them. It began with her saying that late-term abortion was certainly wrong, but that abortion should be legal. My son-in-law then engaged in discussion by working it back, “Well if 8 months is too late, how about 7 months? “And if 7 months is too late, how about 5 months? “Then what about 3 months? Or 8 weeks?” He said, “Where should you draw the line? And she said, “I’m not sure. I never thought about that before.” My son-in-law told here, “Well, then, shouldn’t you play it safe is a human life is on the line?” It was a profitable conversation, leading her to think about something she had never considered before regarding the abortion debate.

An older, liberal woman approached them with anger, saying, “What are you trying to accomplish with this?” They said, “We are just trying to promote conversations with others.” She said, “Don’t you think that people are thinking about it already?” They were able to tell her about the previous conversation with the young man and woman who hadn’t thought about it much. She was disarmed enough to have a profitable conversation about it.

But there’s no doubt that such a sign was provoking, like the way that Jesus healed this blind man. Now, the only reason I know about this event, is that it was posted on Facebook, not by my son-in-law. The one who posted it happened to see them with the sign, and took the picture from across the street.

As of this this morning, 106 comments were made about the post, and it was shared some 16 times. Some of the comments were "Dorks.” "Losers." “Weird & disgusting.” “Creepers.” One comment simply said, “men.”

Some of the comments were funny. One comment said, “Wish I had known that they would be there. I would have loaded up on beans and stood in front of them.” Another wrote, “I need to start carrying around tomatoes and cabbage.” Yet another, "I have eggs and a fast car.” Another was hostile, "Nazi’s in Uptown."
 
One comment was helpful: “I wonder how many children they foster??” That’s a great question. Pro-life people should be pro-foster care and adoption.

One comment was dangerous and threatening. One man wrote, “Have we doxed them yet?” In other words, have you posted where they live, so that others could go to their house and harass them?

Throughout the entire thread, of the 106 comments, there were a few who tried to help others see that these men were doing a good thing. One comment read, “Using your first amendment rights to call attention to injustice is a great use of your time. Using those same rights to shame people isn’t.”

Anyway, I show all of that to give you a real sense of what Jesus faced as he did this provocative thing. Some were outwardly hostile. Some weren’t quite sure what to think. Some were very honest with what they thought. So, let’s dig into their responses.

Hesitation

John 9:8-9
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?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”

I trust that you see the hesitation going on in these verses, as people are trying to discern the facts about the situation. Is this really the one? Is he just like him?

Beggars were well known at that time, usually sitting in the same spot every day, begging for money to sustain them. But I would imagine that the countenance of a man who had been given sight would be totally different. All of a sudden, his eyes would be tracking you, rather than staring off into space. Perhaps the people couldn't really recognize him. But, the blind man kept insisting that it was indeed him!

John 9:10-11
So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 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.”

Here you see the blind man being honest with everyone with his story. “Jesus anointed my eyes and told me to wash.” “I did, and now I see.” That’s his testimony! That’s his experience! At this point, it’s all that he’s got.

John 9:12
They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

Of course, you ask the man who was blind and sent away to wash where Jesus was. At this point in the narrative, this man never saw Jesus. All he knew as his voice.

Hostility

Then, in verse 13, we see the hostility against Jesus beginning to ramp up.

John 9:13-14
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

They brought this man to the religious leaders for their thoughts and guidance about this unusual situation. What do you think about this? How are we to think about this?

At first, these Pharisees were simply trying to get the facts, trying to understand what happened.

John 9:15
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.”

Then the hostility.

John 9:16a
Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

These Pharisees had already drawn their own conclusion about Jesus, simply because he healed a man on the Sabbath. For them, the case was settled. But this was not the case with others.

Hesitation

John 9:16b
But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

These people are trying to figure out the facts of what took place. Some called Jesus a Sabbath-breaker. Others pointed out the incongruity with this.

John 9:17
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.”

Here we see the progression in thought of this blind man. At first, he merely identified Jesus as a “man.” but now as he progresses, he calls him a “prophet.” The investigation continues in verse 18, as the Jews sought out this man's parents in the investigation.

John 9:18-22
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 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 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.” (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.)

Here you see the clear hesitation on behalf of the parents. The religious leaders came and asked him about the blind man. They were able to confirm that he was their son, and that he was born blind. But they were not willing to stand by the story of Jesus being the reason for his healing. because they knew what would happen if they confessed that Jesus had healed him. They would be “put out of the synagogue.” And to be put out of the synagogue would mean that they would be expelled from society, becoming outcasts. We see the parents' response in verse 23.

John 9:23
Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

And this point, the parents weren’t ready to side with Jesus and their son. They hesitated.

Hostility

Then, verse 24, they called in the man who had been healed once again. Their blatant hostility against Jesus is clear for all to see.

John 9:24-25
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.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

I love this statement of the blind man. He diffuses the accusations of the Pharisees, claiming ignorance and inability to make any such statement against Jesus. Then, he gives his testimony, the one thing that he knew for certain: “though I was blind, now I see.”

This is the core of the text. This is the title of my message: “I was Blind; Now I see.” This man was being totally honest! He simply told these religious leaders what he had experienced. In effect, he said, "I used to be a blind beggar, begging at the east gate. But now, I can see like the rest of you. I can walk and go where I want to go.” But the Pharisees weren’t satisfied.

Hostility meets Honesty

John 9:26-27
They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 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?”

I love the boldness of this blind man! Unlike his parents, he didn’t care what happened to him. He was already an outcast anyway. He had nothing to lose.

It seems that he had already decided that he would follow this man who gave him sight. The Pharisees were having nothing of it.

John 9:28-29
And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”

The blind man didn’t back down.

John 9:30-33
The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 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. 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.”

There is much here to learn about evangelism. Speaking for Jesus is much more than having all of the answers to all of the questions might bring you. It’s a boldness, that’s willing to tell others of what you know, little as though it may be.

It’s interesting here that the blind man knew that nobody in the history of the world had been born blind and then given sight. I’m not sure if the blind man knew the prophesy of the Messiah in Isaiah 35:5-6. These verses speak about what will take place at the coming of the Messiah: "The eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy." He didn’t quote these verses. He didn’t need to quote these verses.All he needed to know is that he was blind, but now he sees. All he needed to know is that Jesus came and healed him! All he needed to know is that God did a work in his life.

We can learn much about evangelism from this man who was born blind. He didn’t know much, but what he knew, he spoke. So also with you. You are merely responsible for speaking only what you know.

John 9:33-34
"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.

Being cast out was nothing for this man. He had been an outcast all of his life. I love the tender care of Jesus in verse 35.

Honesty

John 9:35-38
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “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, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

At the beginning of the chapter, the man was a blind beggar, without much hope in the world. But by the end of the chapter, he’s believing and trusting in Jesus. He’s an example for us. The book of John is calling us all to believe in Jesus, that we might have life in his name. This is why John wrote! He included this man as an example of one who encountered Jesus and believed in Jesus. Are you believing in Jesus? Or, are you hardened in your sin like the Pharisees?

Hardness

John 9:39-41
Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

How hard these men were. They hated Jesus. This story begins with a blind man who comes to see. The story ends with those who say they see, but are blind.

This is what the light of the world is all about. It is to give sight to the blind. Further, it is to expose those who profess to be in the light, while not being in the light at all.

What about you? Are you in the light? Can you sing with John Newton,

This sermon was delivered to Rock Valley Bible Church on March 9, 2025 by Steve Brandon.
For more information see www.rockvalleybiblechurch.org.

[1] Here is the 2024 Gold Medal Match at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris between France and Argentina.