Blindness

Blindness [John 9]

John 9:1-2 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?"

I’ve heard this before. We all have heard this before.

-- "What did they do to deserve this?"

-- If you had more faith, then you would be healed.

-- That is happening to you because of sin in your life.

In Buddhist teaching, the law of karma, says only this: `for every event that occurs, there will follow another event whose existence was caused by the first, and this second event will be pleasant or unpleasant according as its cause was skillful or unskillful.' A skillful event is one that is not accompanied by craving, resistance or delusions; an unskillful event is one that is accompanied by any one of those things. (Events are not skillful in themselves, but are so called only in virtue of the mental events that occur with them.) Therefore, the law of Karma teaches that responsibility for unskillful actions is born by the person who commits them. SOURCE: http://www.ncf.carleton.ca/freenet/rootdir/menus/sigs/religion/buddhism/introduction/truths/karma2.html

That’s BAD KARMA for you. And that is exactly what the disciples asked. And it is also exactly what an awful lot of Christians and Christian churches and denominations practice today. When bad things happen to people -- according to some Christians who are performance oriented -- obviously they deserved it somehow. Or their parents did something bad and are being punished. Someone "confessed" something they should not have. Wrong words or wrong thoughts came out. There is lack of faith. There must be sin in your life. You should be tithing.

Psalms 69:6 May those who hope in you not be disgraced because of me, O Lord, the LORD Almighty; may those who seek you not be put to shame because of me, O God of Israel.

ENTER JOB, OBVIOUSLY A SINNER

Apparently the disciples had not read the book of Job recently. Or else they bought into the argument that all these troubles came upon Job because he said, "All that I feared has come upon me." As they argue, "If he had not had these fears and trusted more in God, all those troubles would not have come. He confessed them into existence." Did Job say that? Yes he did.

Job 3:25 What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me.

Do you hear the disciples? Do you hear the Super Christians who tell you that the troubles in your life are because of sin? It is karma?

But God said something entirely different.

Job 1:8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."

Job 2:3 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason."

That’s the beginning of the book. But at the end, God clarifies the Confession and Karma advocates position with a strong rebuke.

Job 42:7-8 After the LORD had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."

What did Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar do? They told Job that all his troubles came upon him because obviously he had sinned -- karma -- lack of faith -- wrong Bible and probably the wrong denomination.

But why was that man born blind?

THE ANSWER

John 9:3-5 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

THAT THE WORK OF GOD MIGHT BY DISPLAYED IN HIS LIFE.

Who heals the blind? Jesus does.

Matthew 9:27-31 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, "Have mercy on us, Son of David!"

28 When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

"Yes, Lord," they replied.

29 Then he touched their eyes and said, "According to your faith will it be done to you"; 30 and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, "See that no one knows about this." 31 But they went out and spread the news about him all over that region.

Matthew 11:4-6 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."

Matthew 15:30-31 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind , the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

Matthew 20:34 Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.

This is how he started his ministry by quoting Isaiah.

Luke 4:18-19 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind , to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

Jesus gave sight to the blind. And Jesus told his disciples.

Matthew 10:1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

Matthew 10:7-8 As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick , raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

Luke 9:2 he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick .

Luke 10:9-10 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.'

Do you think that included the blind? How about the disciples of the disciples -- the church?

John 14:12-14 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Luke 24:49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

Power to do what? Study scripture?

1 Corinthians 12:9-10 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.

How about healing of the blind? Or miraculous powers for the blind?

Jesus gave the blind sight. He gave his disciples authority to heal? And the church waited in Jerusalem until the power came.

Acts 9:11-12 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

BUT NOT EVERYONE RECEIVES THEIR SIGHT

Why did this man receive his sight? Really -- he wasn’t asking for it. But notice what happened.

-- He is brought to the attention of the Pharisees.

-- The Pharisees challenged the legitimacy of his healing.

-- He defends his own healing and challenges the Pharisees in their beliefs.

-- Jesus finds him and asks if he believes.

-- Then He submits to the Messiah.

Back up a moment. When asked by his neighbors and relatives, this is what he said.

John 9:11 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."

The pool that he washed in was the same pool the water is taken from during the Feast of Tabernacles. Jesus identified Himself as the source of living water. The Jews who had just sponsored a religious event with juggling torches and choirs and bands and palm branches were upstaged by a "simple" miracle. A blind beggar received sight with a little mud from the Messiah. The torch jugglers didn’t give sight. And neither did the bands and musical groups. Even the same water from the same pool did not give sight. But Jesus did. The Jews were beside themselves.

They questioned some more and found out that this miracle happened on the Sabbath. And even worse, it involved mixing up some mud with spit -- that has to be work. And then the man had to wash himself on the Sabbath. There must be something wrong there, too.

Suddenly, we can dismiss the miracle because it was in the wrong situation. Unless a miracle is done within the correct denomination, at the hands of the correct healing minister, during the correct healing line, and with the approved denominational prayers, it must be sin. It is beside the point that the healing happened. The ruling religion with its liturgy must get the credit. Anything else is considered sin.’

But in this situation, Jesus got the credit. Maybe that is the key for the miraculous, particularly healing. If we were honest with ourselves and knew a little bit more about the eternal, we would admit that the immortal body Jesus promised us is far better than the tent we now live in whether we can see or not. What healing would you actually prefer? The temporary fix or the permanent one? But we don’t go down that path and selfishly want something for the now to satisfy us.

The blind man was blind from birth to adulthood. That’s a long time. How long was Job sick and God did not heal him? God healed him eventually, but not right away. Is this a cop-out? Maybe. But what does the end of the great faith chapter say?

Hebrews 11:37-12:2 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated- 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Not everyone is healed instantly. How many Christians do you know who wear glasses? Or, as some rationalize, are glasses a form of healing? And I know of some wonderful Christians without sight. We also know of children without sight. How can this be within Christianity? There have been many prayers said -- and supposedly much faith displayed -- by people wearing glasses.

PURPOSE OF THE MIRACULOUS?

With our experiential approach to religion in Pentecostalism, we admit with hesitation that everybody is not healed all the time. There is no comfortable explanation. Lack of faith. Not enough prayer and fasting. Sin. All kick back to the Job problem, or should I say advisors and counselors. Even his loving wife told him to curse God and die. And Job’s comforters were rebuked by God -- Job wasn’t.

Job 2:10 He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

But Job may be a poor example for us because after all his troubles, God blessed his life greater than at the beginning. We don’t see that very often and don’t have good Christian explanations why we don’t see that. The argument that miracles were only for the time of Jesus refutes what the Apostles did. The argument that miracles were only for the time of the Apostles until scripture was written doesn’t make the words of scripture of much encouragement, either. "Ask anything in My Name ... but..." No wonder the church is considered irrelevant today. Of what value is the Holy Spirit’s Gift of Healing if healing does not happen? But then why is the miraculous even included in scripture, anyway, if it isn’t for today?

The healed blind man gives us a hint.

First, the miracle got his attention.

Second, the miracle got the attention of the people who knew him such as relatives and neighbors.

Third, the miracle got the attention of the religious leadership types -- who condemned it.

Fourth, Jesus was worshiped as the Son of God.

Is this always the order of things? No. But it is typical.

John and Peter go to the Temple walking by a paralyzed man. They heal a man and then have to explain it. Authorities get involved. Jesus is worshiped by many. The church grows.

Paul gets bit by a viper. He doesn’t die. He explains about Jesus.

Gentiles experience Pentecost. Gentiles are baptized into the church.

Even in a negative sense, a miracle causes things. Ananias and Saphira plot something with a land deal. Peter is miraculously told the truth. They supernaturally die. Fear and respect come over the church.

It seems that the power that Jesus told the church to wait for is the power of the miraculous. To what end? For what purpose? Whenever someone in the church was involved with a miracle such as healing, there had to be some explaining done. And people believed.

Maybe that is supposed to be the pattern of the church?

--CARE CENTER WORSHIP--

JESUS HEALS A BLIND MAN

Jesus was with His disciples and came upon a man who was blind from birth. The disciples had a question for the Son of God.

WHO SINNED?

John 9:1-2 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?"

When things don't go right, we ask the question, "What did I do to deserve this?" But maybe, he didn't do anything and God had another reason.

Jesus answered differently:

John 9:3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

WITNESS TO HIS RELATIVES

Who is it who heals the blind? It is Jesus. When asked by his neighbors and relatives, this is what the former blind man said.

John 9:11 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."

Because he had been blind and could now see, he told his neighbors about Jesus.

WITNESS TO LEADERS

John 9:24-27 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?"

Sometimes religion gets in the way of God. The Pharisees did not want to believe there was a miracle. But this miracle was a witness to the religious leaders.

WITNESS TO HIMSELF

The blind man was with his religious leaders and not getting the spiritual help he needed.

John 9:35-38 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.

WITNESS TO YOU

Do you believe in the Son of God? The Pharisees were spiritually blind, but today you can have your spiritual eyes opened.

Rom 10:7-13 But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for,

"EVERYONE WHO CALLS

ON THE NAME OF THE LORD

WILL BE SAVED."

His name is JESUS.