Wednesday in the Word...John 9:1-12..."I Can See!!!"

Probably one of the most famous blind persons was Helen Keller (1880-1968).  She was also deaf and the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree, obtained at Radcliffe College of Harvard University.  She gave lectures and also became an author.

I could have went the music route and posted a picture of Ray Charles, Stevie Wonder, Ronnie Milsap or Andrea Bocelli.  

Our passage today will start off a new chapter of the Gospel of John and the first part of the account of Jesus meeting up with a blind man made famous because of his encounter with Jesus.  Our Wednesday in the Word will cover John chapter 9 and verses 1 through 12, which read,

v.1 - As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.

We start out with two characters.  Jesus who is passing by but sees this man who cannot see and the blind man who has been that way from birth.  We have Jesus pausing His trek to the cross to show again what the Messiah is able to do and in accordance to the Scriptures.  I am so thankful that Jesus took the time to stop and see, another time to look up in a tree and yet another to pause at a tug to His robe.  

v.2 - And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"

Now we add in Jesus' disciples as also characters of this account.  There would have been the 12 main ones and they also know this man's physical condition.  The disciples ask their rabbi teacher Jesus about this man's spiritual condition.  The common and taught thought was that any deformity was the result of some type of sin, either his or even extended to the previous generation of his parents.  This was the curse or the consequence of the sin and so this man was blind, even born blind, because of it.  The question of the disciples was not if it was because of sin but whose sin caused this.  It was a given to them that this man or his parents must have sinned.  Let's read Jesus' response.

v.3-5 - Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."

The disciples and others listening in must have rocked back on their heels when they heard this response.  This suffering was not caused by sin but rather to be used by God to show how great God is.  It is day for Jesus is there with His disciples to show them the power of God but night was coming when He would not be with them.  This answer from Jesus threw a monkey wrench into their explanation of suffering.  

I can't help but think of the prosperity gospel and its preaching of being blessed by God by having much when Jesus exalts the ones who have very little and the Apostle Paul speaks of contentment in whatever situation he is in.  The disciples need to rethink their easy answer for suffering.  Jesus, as the Light of the world, was resetting the definitions that man had made up and was replacing them back to God's intention.  Suffering, at times, could be for God's glory.

v.6, 7 - When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent).  So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.

Remember what we were made of in the book of Genesis?  We are made of the dust of the earth.  Jesus grabs some more of that dirt and adds some of His saliva and who knows that He didn't create in that moment some new eyes for this man.  Jesus gives a command to obey and this blind man does.  He makes his way to this specific pool which is also the same pool we spoke of back in chapter 7 used during the Festival of Booths.  The priests would draw water from it as a sacrifice to God.  Jesus, on the last day of the festival, had said that He was the water to drink from.  He was the sacrifice greater than what was being drawn from the pool.  

It is interesting that we are given the translation of the word "Siloam" which means "sent" and that is what the blind man was commanded to do.  He was "sent" to the pool of "Sent."  He went, did as he was told by Jesus and came back seeing.

v.8, 9 - Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?"  Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him."  He kept saying, "I am the one."

The greatest thing in your life has happened and there are those who are trying to take it away.  Some are questioning.  Some are affirming.  Some are denying.  Isn't this true in life today?  We speak the truth of the greatest thing that has ever happened to us.  We were saved, born again and given eternal life by God through the sacrifice of His one and only Son Jesus Christ and some question our experience.  Some join us in rejoicing about it.  Some tell us that we are "blowing smoke" about some guy named Jesus.

The man who was designated a beggar of society because of his deformity was no doubt rejoicing and saying over and over again, "I can see.  I can see.  I can see."   In the midst of the questions about our salvation or the affirmations of a change or even the denials that it is really true, do we keep saying over and over again, "I am saved.  I am saved.  I am saved."?

v.10-12 - So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?"  He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight."  They said to him, "Where is He?"  He said, "I do not know."

At the start of our walk with Christ and even at the end of our earthly walk with Christ, we don't have all the answers.  He gave them what he knew.  

"There was a man and His name of Jesus.  This man Jesus made up some clay and put it on my eyes.  He told me to go to a specific pool and wash and that is what I did.  After I washed off the clay, I opened up my eyes and I could see."

He gave them all that he had at the time.  When they dug a little deeper to ask where was this man named Jesus, the once blind man didn't have an answer other than, "I do not know."  Notice that he kept honest.  He was honest with his testimony of what happened and he was also honest with an answer to a question he did not know the answer to.  

It is okay to say, "I do not know" when you do not know.  It doesn't mean that you won't dig to find an answer.  Most likely, if you are growing in Christ you will seek out some godly counsel to be able to go back with something from God's word.  I will put in another plug for a website that I use a lot when I have to say, "I do not know."  Got Questions operates like a search engine site with a large field to type in that question.  If the Bible has something to say about it, it will spit back at you articles with Biblical references.  

Our story is not done but we are for this Wednesday in the Word.  Next Wednesday we will unfold more about this once blind man and his increasing knowledge about a man named Jesus who liked to play in the mud.  Let us pray.

"Heavenly Father, may we not stop talking about the salvation You have given us.  Even when some question or deny Your very existence, may we continue to proclaim You as the one who opened our eyes to see You.  Lord, help us to be honest when we don't know and diligent to seek an answer from You.  Amen."

Pastor Adam