Summary
The title for the sermon from John 9 is “Seeing is Believing.” John 9 tells us the story of the man born blind. The Pharisees ask who sinned that caused a lifetime of blindness. Jesus passes by – and of course, seizes the moment – the moment planned from eternity when heaven and earth collide in the miracle of sight to the blind. The purpose of the blindness – not only God’s purpose to reveal His power, but for the Pharisees to ’see’ what blindness truly is – blinded from the Law, Tradition, seeing no other way to enforce religion, who is really blind?
Jesus took a handful of dirt, from the earth, spit on it and made a mud ball. Just as God ‘blew’ breath into the first handful of earth to create man, Jesus plastered the spitty mud on the eyes of the blind man, sent him to the Pool of Siloam to wash it off. Behold! The man could see. Of course, this sets the Pharisees on their side – they are stuck in their own form of mud – enforcing the Law without mercy. They question the man born blind, and all the man can say is that he once was blind but now he sees. They question his parents – verifying the man was born sightless, but his parents throw him under the bus. Fearful of the Pharisees, they declare he is of age, ask him.
The blind man has to repeat the telling of the miracle, and with each retelling, his confidence grows, as does his faith. When the Pharisees excommunicate him, Jesus seeks him out – and the man sees Jesus – sees what Jesus looks like – with his own eyes, and declares his faith in Christ.
Sometimes God leads us away from old sins – sins of the people who sired us, emotional reactions difficult to manage, and you can think of others. Let Jesus open your eyes to what needs to be healed, wash in prayer and the Bible, and come away seeing more clearly.
If Jesus is the light of the world, allow the light of Christ to illuminate the darkness.
Many blessings this week, keep each other and the world in prayer,
His,
Many blessings,
Cheri