3 Sunday in Lent John 9:1-39 "Things are not always as they seem."
2/27/2005
3 Sunday of Lent
Text: John 9:1-39
Title: Things are not always as they seem.
Let us pray: God of law and of love, dispenser of justice and of mercy, help us to hear your word this day, so that in your speaking and in our hearing your will may be known so that we may faithfully follow you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen
Have you ever noticed that things are not always as they seem to be? If you have not looked at it yet, please take out this sheet of paper, the one with the blocks and slanted lines drawn on it. Are they straight or crooked? They look crooked do not they? If you take the edge of your service folder and lay it alongside any of the lines you will see that they actually are straight. You have fallen victim to an optical illusion. Your brain is not letting you see the truth, and that is exactly what our Gospel reading for today is about, because things are not always as they seem to be.
But, before I explain what I mean, let’s take a quick look at our text. Who would you say are the main characters in the story? Well first off, there is a blind man, who was born that way and who was then healed by Jesus. Then of course there is Jesus, who healed him. Then there are some Pharisees who are arguing with the healed man over who had healed him. Last there are the man’s parents who are trying to side-step the whole issue and not get involved.
If you had to condense the story to just a couple of sentences you could probably say, “Jesus saw a blind man one day. He gave him his sight after which the Pharisees gave the healed man a hard time. That is what it is about is it not? It sure appears so, but things are not always as they seem to be.
You see the story is not about the blind man, or the Pharisees, or even the man’s parents who are trying to save their own skin. No, the story is about Jesus. Surprised? Maybe not, but I think that most people would think that the story was about the blind man being given his sight.
Well, maybe you are one of those that know this story is about Jesus, after all he did heal the blind man, but things are not as they seem, for the story is really not even about Jesus giving eye sight to the man born blind.
It is true Jesus did heal him, but what the story is about is the healing of spiritual blindness, for as we get near the end of the story, we discover that the man who we had thought only been healed of his physical blindness was also healed of his spiritual blindness, unlike the Pharisees, who could see but are being accused by Jesus of being blind.
Let me read just a few verses, particularly those right after the man who was blind had been thrown out of what was probably the temple. Starting in verse 35, “Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, (I love that, Jesus found him, he went to him, good news) and he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." 37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." 38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.”, in the Greek,” fell down at his feet”.
You see before this second encounter, the man did not know who Jesus was. He only knew that someone, probably a prophet, had healed him of his blindness. That is all he knew, so Jesus sought him out, so that he could have the healing that really mattered, spiritual healing. The man saw Jesus the Word, and believed. Why is it then that the Pharisees who also saw Jesus the Word did not belief?
I think that we could find all kinds of reasons behind their unbelief, but the main reason was that Jesus did not fit the mold that they had created for the Messiah. First of all he was an unknown, certainly not a king. Secondly Jesus had made mud on the Sabbath. As silly as that might sound to us today, when Jesus made a little mud from his spit, he broke the Sabbath law. Thirdly, Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath. Emergency medical care was okay, but this man had been blind since birth, so it certainly had not been an emergency. It could have waited until Sunday.
The Messiah would not have broken those laws. He would have kept them, all of them perfectly. You see the Pharisees had gotten so wrapped up in the rules of their religion that they could not see the Gospel act that Jesus had done.
That is why Jesus said to them in verse 41,"If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” In other words, he is telling them that just because a person is blind does not mean God caused him to be blind for committing a sin. No, he is telling them that their seeing is the sin.
Let me explain what I mean by that. You see, the Pharisees were the spiritual leaders of the people. They studied God’s Word and then applied it to the people’s lives. What he is telling them is that they are the ones who are really blind, for even though they could see with their eyes that the blind man could now see, they could not really see who it was that healed him, for they were spiritually blinded by their strict adherence to the law which did not allow them to see that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
What we can learn from this lesson is that we too can become spiritually blind, maybe without really knowing it. We can trust in Jesus as our Savior, but if we are so tied into the law, the have to do this, or have to do that, then we too can become spiritually blind, or at the very least not see the Gospel of Jesus Christ for what it is, sight giving life.
God’s commands cannot reveal the Good News of Jesus. Only the Gospel reveals Jesus. The Law is all about what we are to do to please God. It is our rules and guidelines on how we are to live our lives and worship God. Its main purpose is to let us know that there is nothing we can do on our own to please God. It condemns us, because every one of us here this morning should know that we cannot keep the entire law, that even one little slipup condemns.
The Gospel on the other hand, can only comfort you because it is all God’s work in Jesus Christ on your behalf. Jesus has taken the condemnation away from the law freeing you to live your life as God wants you to live it, forgiven.
If you are finding yourself saying, “I must do this or that to please God” you are in danger of becoming spiritually blind. It is sort of like a cataract is starting to grow over your spiritual eyes. As the spiritual cataract grows things get out of focus and the Gospel message of Jesus cannot be seen clearly.
All of us have to continually struggle with keeping the law in its proper place because we were all born spiritually blind. None of us have the ability to see spiritual things on our own. That is why people in Jesus’ day did not all believe, and that is why some people, even after reading, or hearing God’s sight giving words to them still will not see him as their Savior.
Just like the man in our Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus has given you more than your eyesight, he has given you spiritual eyesight, and because of that you can now see that all the bad things that happen in life are not punishments from God, for Jesus has already been punished for your sins. You can now see that you have a God who works out all things for your good. You can now see that Jesus has opened up a whole new world of faith to you, for you have been completely and totally forgiven by God. You can now see that you are guaranteed eternal life with Jesus Christ.
Rejoice and be glad in the Lord, for once you were blind and now you can see. Amen
3 Sunday of Lent
Text: John 9:1-39
Title: Things are not always as they seem.
Let us pray: God of law and of love, dispenser of justice and of mercy, help us to hear your word this day, so that in your speaking and in our hearing your will may be known so that we may faithfully follow you. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen
Have you ever noticed that things are not always as they seem to be? If you have not looked at it yet, please take out this sheet of paper, the one with the blocks and slanted lines drawn on it. Are they straight or crooked? They look crooked do not they? If you take the edge of your service folder and lay it alongside any of the lines you will see that they actually are straight. You have fallen victim to an optical illusion. Your brain is not letting you see the truth, and that is exactly what our Gospel reading for today is about, because things are not always as they seem to be.
But, before I explain what I mean, let’s take a quick look at our text. Who would you say are the main characters in the story? Well first off, there is a blind man, who was born that way and who was then healed by Jesus. Then of course there is Jesus, who healed him. Then there are some Pharisees who are arguing with the healed man over who had healed him. Last there are the man’s parents who are trying to side-step the whole issue and not get involved.
If you had to condense the story to just a couple of sentences you could probably say, “Jesus saw a blind man one day. He gave him his sight after which the Pharisees gave the healed man a hard time. That is what it is about is it not? It sure appears so, but things are not always as they seem to be.
You see the story is not about the blind man, or the Pharisees, or even the man’s parents who are trying to save their own skin. No, the story is about Jesus. Surprised? Maybe not, but I think that most people would think that the story was about the blind man being given his sight.
Well, maybe you are one of those that know this story is about Jesus, after all he did heal the blind man, but things are not as they seem, for the story is really not even about Jesus giving eye sight to the man born blind.
It is true Jesus did heal him, but what the story is about is the healing of spiritual blindness, for as we get near the end of the story, we discover that the man who we had thought only been healed of his physical blindness was also healed of his spiritual blindness, unlike the Pharisees, who could see but are being accused by Jesus of being blind.
Let me read just a few verses, particularly those right after the man who was blind had been thrown out of what was probably the temple. Starting in verse 35, “Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, (I love that, Jesus found him, he went to him, good news) and he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." 37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." 38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.”, in the Greek,” fell down at his feet”.
You see before this second encounter, the man did not know who Jesus was. He only knew that someone, probably a prophet, had healed him of his blindness. That is all he knew, so Jesus sought him out, so that he could have the healing that really mattered, spiritual healing. The man saw Jesus the Word, and believed. Why is it then that the Pharisees who also saw Jesus the Word did not belief?
I think that we could find all kinds of reasons behind their unbelief, but the main reason was that Jesus did not fit the mold that they had created for the Messiah. First of all he was an unknown, certainly not a king. Secondly Jesus had made mud on the Sabbath. As silly as that might sound to us today, when Jesus made a little mud from his spit, he broke the Sabbath law. Thirdly, Jesus had healed someone on the Sabbath. Emergency medical care was okay, but this man had been blind since birth, so it certainly had not been an emergency. It could have waited until Sunday.
The Messiah would not have broken those laws. He would have kept them, all of them perfectly. You see the Pharisees had gotten so wrapped up in the rules of their religion that they could not see the Gospel act that Jesus had done.
That is why Jesus said to them in verse 41,"If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” In other words, he is telling them that just because a person is blind does not mean God caused him to be blind for committing a sin. No, he is telling them that their seeing is the sin.
Let me explain what I mean by that. You see, the Pharisees were the spiritual leaders of the people. They studied God’s Word and then applied it to the people’s lives. What he is telling them is that they are the ones who are really blind, for even though they could see with their eyes that the blind man could now see, they could not really see who it was that healed him, for they were spiritually blinded by their strict adherence to the law which did not allow them to see that Jesus was the promised Messiah.
What we can learn from this lesson is that we too can become spiritually blind, maybe without really knowing it. We can trust in Jesus as our Savior, but if we are so tied into the law, the have to do this, or have to do that, then we too can become spiritually blind, or at the very least not see the Gospel of Jesus Christ for what it is, sight giving life.
God’s commands cannot reveal the Good News of Jesus. Only the Gospel reveals Jesus. The Law is all about what we are to do to please God. It is our rules and guidelines on how we are to live our lives and worship God. Its main purpose is to let us know that there is nothing we can do on our own to please God. It condemns us, because every one of us here this morning should know that we cannot keep the entire law, that even one little slipup condemns.
The Gospel on the other hand, can only comfort you because it is all God’s work in Jesus Christ on your behalf. Jesus has taken the condemnation away from the law freeing you to live your life as God wants you to live it, forgiven.
If you are finding yourself saying, “I must do this or that to please God” you are in danger of becoming spiritually blind. It is sort of like a cataract is starting to grow over your spiritual eyes. As the spiritual cataract grows things get out of focus and the Gospel message of Jesus cannot be seen clearly.
All of us have to continually struggle with keeping the law in its proper place because we were all born spiritually blind. None of us have the ability to see spiritual things on our own. That is why people in Jesus’ day did not all believe, and that is why some people, even after reading, or hearing God’s sight giving words to them still will not see him as their Savior.
Just like the man in our Gospel lesson this morning, Jesus has given you more than your eyesight, he has given you spiritual eyesight, and because of that you can now see that all the bad things that happen in life are not punishments from God, for Jesus has already been punished for your sins. You can now see that you have a God who works out all things for your good. You can now see that Jesus has opened up a whole new world of faith to you, for you have been completely and totally forgiven by God. You can now see that you are guaranteed eternal life with Jesus Christ.
Rejoice and be glad in the Lord, for once you were blind and now you can see. Amen
posted by Pastor Rhoads | 1:17 PM
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