John 9:1-7 Blindness that Glorifies God

Thesis: Jesus was sent to reverse God-blindness.

Read John 9:1-7

I) Even evil ultimately contributes to the greater glory of God[1]

a)      Jesus’ disciples believed the prosperity gospel (vss. 1-2)

Verse one opens by describing the predicament of a blind beggar. Jesus, still in Jerusalem even after an attempted assassination in the temple, is walking along and happens upon a man blind from birth. The Holy Spirit, who is always intentional with His word choice, wants us to understand how apparently irreversible this man’s situation is. The blind man has not recently caught an illness that has left him blind and he is not in the process of losing his sight. No, this man has always been blind; even from his mother’s womb.

Here in verse two the disciples betray their belief in the prosperity gospel.  The prosperity gospel teaches that if you are faithful God will bless you; if you believe it you will receive it. Which also means if you suffer it is because you have not been faithful; you have not believed God so you have received or continue to receive God’s punishment.

They ask Jesus, “who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Do you see the prosperity gospel? This man’s suffering, a lifetime spent in darkness, had to have been caused by sin. They’re sure his suffering was caused by sin they’re just not sure whose sin caused his suffering. Maybe it was his parents who sinned. Some contemporaries taught that if a pregnant woman worshipped in a pagan temple this could cause what we call “birth defects”. Some even believed in some bizarre capacity that a fetus was capable of sin. They don’t know who sinned but they are sure that someone sinned and that sin caused his blindness.

That’s the prosperity gospel: you are suffering because you did something wrong. The disciples believed it and they wanted Jesus to tell them who had done something wrong. But

b)      Jesus’ disciples were wrong (vs. 3)

Verse 3, “Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents.’”  Jesus destroys the prosperity gospel with truth: there is suffering in this world that is not directly caused by sin.  We live in a world where bad things happen to babies without any fault of that child or even that child’s parents. We live in a world of rampant darkness. The clearest example of the darkness is seen in the suffering of infants and children. Jesus is using an extreme example to teach us, who are well, an important truth.

Pay attention to what Jesus goes on to say in verse 3. This man was born blind and has lived as a blind man not because of his own sin or his parents’ sin but for what reason? “That the works of God might be displayed in him.” The reason this man was born blind was that the works of God might be displayed in him. Is Jesus saying that God sovereignly rules over all things including the suffering and affliction of the unborn?

This is not the first example of this fact. God himself said in Isaiah 45:7, “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the Lord, who does all these things.”

This truth rocks us. It shakes us. It makes us angry at God. How could a good God create calamity? How can I worship a God who does all these things?  If you trust God and worship God only when he gives you what you want and only when he does what you think is best than you won’t worship the true God. We are never given the right to create God in the image of our liking.  So I ask do you worship God because you think everything he does is intended to make you happy or do you worship God because you know everything he does will reveal his glory and restore brokenness?

Jesus tells us plainly that the reason this man was born blind is so that the works of God might be displayed in him. God could have left all of humanity in our fallen state. Adam and Eve were created perfect but when they chose to sin everything about them was effected and stained and distorted by sin. From thought patterns to DNA strands sin damaged everything. God could have abandoned the creation that abandoned him leaving us to our own bitter struggles without help and without hope. But that’s not how God looks at humanity.

God’s plan is to work in such a way that the creation would be restored and his glory would be revealed. God’s plan is to once again make his goodness and power clear in a world that is blind because of sin. We quickly forget the plan of God and the power of Jesus Christ for redemption. Once we forget God’s plan and Christ’s power we stop faithfully engaging the spiritual and physical problems around us and start complaining.

But this is God’s plan: reveal his own glory by restoring broken creation. The man born blind is a small scale testimony of the grand scale redemption that is to be found in Jesus Christ.  God has a plan for this blind man: reveal God’s glory by restoring what has been broken.

Some of you this morning need to hear that the suffering you are currently going through is not your fault it’s for God’s glory. And you need a loving church and spiritually mature people to walk you through the pain and difficulty. Our biblical counseling ministry is here for that reason. There is restoration and purpose in your suffering.

But before Jesus brings restoration to the blind and a blazing revelation of glory there is a lesson for us to learn.

II) It is a divine necessity that we work (vs. 4)

a)      Jesus was sent on a mission

Verse 4 is not what I expect. If I was writing this story I would skip verses 4&5 and go straight to the healing; straight to the restoration and revelation. But when you compare me and God, God is infinitively more wise and good.

Look at verse 4, “We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.” Jesus was sent on a mission.

Jesus was specifically dispatched by God to complete God-revealing and creation-restoring works. There are God-works to be done and the time to do that work will not last forever. Jesus’ time on this earth is quickly coming to a close. The cross, once small on the horizon of Jesus’ life, now towers over every step. Jesus must go to the cross. There is no greater example of the innocent suffering than in the torture and death of Jesus Christ. The work of Jesus’ substitutionary death will reveal God’s redeeming glory and will bring restoration to God’s broken creation. The dark night of Jesus’ death is coming. No one will work then. Jesus must fulfill the mission God gave him. On the path to the cross, on the way to the most powerful of God’s works, there will be small displays of God’s restoring power.  A daughter will be raised from the dead. A withered hand will be restored. A man paralyzed for 38 years will be healed. A blind man will be given sight. Each of these works are God’s works completed by Jesus for the purpose of revealing God’s glory and restoring God’s broken creation. Jesus without apology dedicates himself to completing his mission.

b)      We must join Jesus’ mission

In verse 4 Jesus says something that will knock you off your feet but if you aren’t prayerfully paying attention you’ll miss it. This amazing thing is found in a simple pronoun. Jesus doesn’t say, “I must work the works of him who sent me.” No. Jesus says, “We must work the works of him who sent me.” It is a necessity that we, the followers of Jesus Christ, join in his mission of revealing God’s glory and restoring God’s broken creation. We must work the works of God. Your life is short. Your day will be here and then you will be dead. The night is coming upon you rapidly and when the night comes you will not be able to work.

Jesus is here emphasizing the necessity God’s people living for the display of God’s glory while on this earth. God isn’t sending you on your own mission to do your own thing. No, God has made the mission clear in the person and work of Jesus Christ. We are to join in that mission. We must work the works of him who sent Jesus Christ. There is no other plan. Our time is short. What are we doing?

Think about what you do and the results of that work. Are you revealing the glory of God? Are you bringing restoration to the brokenness all around you?

Let’s start simple. Find someone you already know who is blind to the glory of God; they don’t want to worship God, they don’t see any reason to worship God, they are blind. Find someone who is blind to God’s glory and start to love them for the purpose of revealing God’s glory to them.  Or find some brokenness. It might be a wounded person or some injustice in your workplace or neighborhood. Find some brokenness and engage the problem for the purpose of restoration through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you are a Christian it is your mission to reveal God’s glory to the blind and bring restoration to the broken. You must bring Christ in all his splendor to bear on the suffering around you. Just helping people feel better or just doing enough to help someone get by is not enough. Jesus is the only cure.

III) Jesus was sent to reverse God-blindness

a)      Jesus is the light of the world (vs. 5)

We saw this in chapter 8 in connection with the lights of the Feast of Tabernacles. All of creation, all of humanity is enslaved to sin. Everyone is blinded by the darkness of selfishness believing the lies of Satan.

But, as long as the presence of Christ is in the world there is light in the world. Jesus says in verse 5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus is speaking of his time on the earth before his crucifixion and resurrection. In these final months a bright light shines; a light that reveals God and restores brokenness. Jesus is working for that very purpose.

But after Jesus ascends to heaven he will pour out his Holy Spirit on his people. The presence of Christ, the light of the world, will not be in one location for only a few to see. No, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit will bring the outpouring of the presence of Jesus Christ. The light of the world will not diminish or disappear when Jesus no longer physically walks this planet. No, the light of the world will multiply and spread rapidly through the indwelling Spirit.

These words in verse 5 are not the words of a man disappointed by his short amount of time or seemingly small impact. No, verse 5 is a word of hope and promise. If the light shines brightly now while Christ is in the world think of the brilliance of the light when the presence of Christ is poured out in all of his people around the globe.

Jesus is the light of the world and because the Holy Spirit rules inside of you, you are a shining light. You are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14). We church are a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden. We are here so that Granbury and Glen Rose will see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ and find restoration in him. Jesus is the light of the world.

b)      Jesus was sent so that you will see God (vss. 6-7)

We’ve learned our lessons: Jesus was sent on a mission to reveal God’s glory and restore brokenness. We are given the orders to follow Jesus in the mission. Now, back to the man born blind

John 9:6, “Having said these things, he spat 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.”

Catch this: the man knows he’s blind but isn’t looking to be healed. This blind man isn’t crying out to be healed. He isn’t even searching for Jesus hoping to touch the hem of his robe. No, the man is just sitting there. That he is healed is an act of free grace. Up to this point he’s only served as an object lesson concerning God’s sovereignty and humanity’s suffering. But God has a plan to reveal his own glory by restoring this broken man.

Jesus spits on the ground, rubs it on the man’s eyes, and then sends the man packing. Why in the world did Jesus do it this way? He could have said the word and the man would have been restored. He could have touched the man and he would have been restored. He could have prayed or done any number of things. Why make a mud pack out of your own spit? Here’s the answer: no one knows why Jesus did it this way. Richard Lenski said it best, “The only answer we know for the question as to why Jesus proceeded in this fashion is that he knew best how to obtain his object (679).

If you belong to God, if you have been bought by Christ, why does he work in your live in such strange ways? Why does God do things that are painful? The only answer we know for the question of why Jesus proceeds in this fashion is that he knows best how to obtain his object. And what is his object? To reveal the glory of God to people who are blind. The opening of blind eyes to the glory of God is the reason Jesus was sent.

Jesus sent the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. What does Siloam mean? It means sent. The solution to this blind man’s suffering was not eyes that see the faces all around him. The solution to this blind man’s suffering was eyes that see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.  This man’s suffering provided the opportunity for God to reveal his glory to a man who would have otherwise died spiritually blind. Jesus was sent to reveal God and restore broken creation.

So the man went and the man washed and he came back seeing. And if we skip ahead to verse 38 we see this restored man believing the words of Jesus and worshipping the glorious Jesus.  Jesus did not heal him just to heal him. Jesus healed him so that he would trust his life to Christ and worship the Son of God.

IV) Think about suffering

a)      You might be suffering today.

You might be suffering because of your own sinful decisions. You might be suffering because of the sinful decisions of others. Or you might be suffering because you live in a fallen world completely distorted by sin. The reason isn’t important right now; you are suffering.

You have two options. One, take the advice of Job’s wife, “curse God and die”. Get angry and resentful. Turn your back on the only solution to blindness and brokenness and walk away. Or two, grab onto the gospel promise that God will work all things for good for those who are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).

You don’t know how and you don’t know when but you know this: in your suffering since you belong to Jesus he will use that pain and difficulty to reveal God’s glory and restore brokenness around you and in you.  God has not abandoned you. God is working his works through the power of Jesus Christ in you.

My invitation today is simple. I invite you to trust Jesus. Trust the one sent for you; engage the blindness and brokenness all around you. Trust your pain to the one who has already borne your sorrows and carried your griefs. All you this morning who are weary and heavy laden because of suffering go to Jesus. He promises you rest.

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[1] Kostenberger, John, 281