Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - June, 1987.

Contributor - John P. Drost,

Title - Blindness

Topic - Faith

Jesus said, "For judgement I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." John 9:39

We recognize different kinds of blindness. There is the physical kind, as illustrated in our story. It is the kind that first comes to mind when we think of blindness. But there are other kinds of blindness.

We may be blind to the needs of others. In the Church Herald, the official publication of the Reformed Church in America, there appeared a letter to the Editor recently, expressing concern that many of us are blind to the needs of the homeless in the larger cities of North America. The writer made a plea with the Church Herald to bring this concern to the attention of its readers so that eyes might be opened to that need.

We may also be blind to dangers: dangers of the road as we drive our car, or moral dangers. Blindness in that case may mean that we are either ignorant of those dangers (we don't know that they exist) or that we do not want to see them.

We may be blind to certain truths, certain realities. We may be blind to the reality of change, pretending that change need not affect us, only to discover that we lost opportunities because we failed to take the reality of change into account. Parents sometimes assume that their children do not change. Well, they do, and we better be there when it happens.

Finally, there is blindness to spiritual truth, and that, basically, is what Jesus is talking about in this passage. Spiritual blindness is blindness to the truth of God.

Now Jesus distinguishes two kinds of spiritual blindness: the kind that is curable and the kind that is incurable. "I came into the world," He says, "that those who do not see may see, . . ." That is the curable kind of blindness. He then continues, in the same sentence, with these words: "and that those who see may become blind." These words are a little deceiving. With "those who see" Jesus actually means those who pretend to see but do not. It is this group, whose spiritual blindness is incurable.

Who is Jesus referring to? In the first instance (the curable blind!) Jesus is referring to the man whom He heals on the Sabbath. It is this man and all those who belong in his group, so to speak, whose blindness is curable. The other group He is refeff ing to are the Pharisees, the religious leaders of Israel. They too, are blind, but their blindness is incurable: there is nothing Jesus can do for them.

As the Lord speaks to us now, He is asking us, "To which group do you belong?" Are we willing to acknowledge our blindness? Do we want to be healed? Can Jesus help us?

The story of the healing of the blind man begins with a discussion on the subject of sin. Sin makes for interesting discussions.

I don't know how closely you have followed the discussions on the downfall of TV evangelist Jimmy Bakker; if you have, you know how intensive the discussion was and how none of the media ignored it. Indeed, the subject of sin has a fascination that few of us can avoid.

Now the man born blind did not enjoy the same coverage that Jim Bakker received. After all, he had sat in Jerusalem, in the same place, begging for many years. Yet, once in a while the subject would come up. Why is he blind? Did he sin, or did his parents sin? No one questioned the connection between sin and suffering. No one questioned that in some way the man's blindness was due to sin! But there was this question: Who did the sinning? And that is the question which the disciples put to Jesus.

It is possible that the Pharisees put the disciples up to asking that question, not out of concern, but out of sly curiousity. What does your Master say about it? Jesus does not come up with a smart answer. He simply says: "it is not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be made manifest." What is Jesus saying? Is He denying the reality of sin in the man's life? No, not at all.

I think what He is saying is this; namely that no one is righteous, no, not one; all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; all of us are under indictment; all of us are spiritually blind!

The blind man is not a sinner because of his physical handicap, but in spite of it. Jim Bakker is not a sinner only because of the moral transgression that has made the newspapers, but he was a sinner all along! And so are the Pharisees, and so are you and I!

It is true, our sins have not made the newspapers, but they are there! Our hearts and minds would reveal them if anyone could read hearts and minds. It so happens that God can. He is a mindreader and a heart-reader; He knows what is there! God does not need the newspapers to see what is going on in a person's life... He knows!

He knows that all have sinned and fall short of His glory. No, let us not entertain the silly notion that the people in the Church are to be perfect. I am not defending Jim Bakker. I was saddened by the news, I believe it has hurt the image of the Church! I believe people in the church should show forth the glory of God and not fall short of it. But to say that people in the Church are to be perfect, that would even more offend God. All, no one excepted, fall short of the glory of God. Over and over again. I think that is what Jesus is saying.

But He is also saying more! He is saying that the works of God are to be made manifest. He is saying that help is available. He is saying that He is here to give the help and that He will go to any length - yes, even to the cross-to bring about the cure: in a man's life, in a woman's life, in the life of a youth, and in the life of a child. He will make manifest the works of God!

There is one word for that stately phrase. It is the word GRACE. The manifest works of God are His Grace in Christ Jesus. Grace is unmerited favour. Forgiveness, the cure for sin, is something we do not deserve ... but which we receive anyway! Jim Bakker does not deserve to ever be reinstated. All of us agree that that is the way it should be. After all, this man has sinned! The evidence is there. It cannot be erased. But praise God, Jesus does not agree. Amazing grace!

"For God sent His Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." Through Him! Grace means God's richness at Christ's expense. He bore our sins in His body on the Tree.

And so Jesus says to the blind man, who is much aware of his need (after all the people have talked about him for years!); and Jesus says to Jim Bakker, who is much aware of his need (after all the people have talked about him for two weeks now); and to the disciples; and to the Pharisees; and to you and to me (who ought to be aware of our need)... Jesus says, "Here is help, I have come that you may live. I know you are dead in your trespasses and sin (the newspapers have told all!), but I have come that you may live!"

And so Jesus came to the blind man. And the blind man gladly received Him. That is the bottom line of the story, that is the secret of the man's healing.

But that is also the plain reason why the Pharisees were never healed. Why they remained in darkness, as Jesus says: the shells never came off their eyes. They did not receive Jesus.

Why was the blindness of the blind man curable, and why was the blindness of the Pharisees incurable? First of all, the blind man recognized his need, and the Pharisees did not. The blind man confessed, "though I was blind, now I can see!" The healing process always begins with the acknowledgment of our own personal need. How different was the attitude of the Pharisees. You know what they said about Jesus? "We know that this man is a sinner." They were blind to their own need and they were blind to the true identity of Jesus - to who Jesus really was. Imagine this: The formal charge that led to Jesus' crucifixion was that He blasphemed God! Yet, it was these Pharisees who blasphemed Jesus, the Son of God.

The depth of spiritual blindness is putting the blame of my transgressions on Him, it is making Him (Jesus) the sinner.

Paradoxically, that is the way it happened, but the Pharisees never knew it, for they never saw their own need, and they never recognized Jesus for Who He really was.

Dear friends, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That requires that we recognize Jesus for Who He really is: the Son of God, the Saviour. The healing process always begins with the acknowledgment of our need, and the recognition of Him "who helps in time of need" (Heb. 4).

The second reason why the blind man was cured of his blindness was because he allowed Jesus to help him in the manner that Christ had chosen. Jesus did not heal the man instantly, as we know, but he put mud on his eyes. Mud which consisted of a mixture of Jesus' own spittle and the dust of the ground. The blind man not only acknowledged his need, he also accepted Jesus' method of healing.

Jim Bakker paid $265,000 in cover-up money, but it did not remove the sin or the guilt of sin. He recognized it! The Pharisees prided themselves of fulfilling all the duties which the law prescribed, but it did not remove the sin or the guilt of their sin. They did not recognize it! They were convinced that man can be right before God by means that he has chosen: by the works of the law; by good deeds; by living a life that is acceptable to his fellow man. But it cannot be done that way. It can only be done by the way that Jesus has chosen, and that is by His own blood! The Book of Hebrews says that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sin." No amount of money can lift or remove our sin and guilt. We must be washed in the blood, we must come to the Cross!

Jesus placing the mud on the blind man's eyes and ordering him to wash in the Pool of Siloam signified the method by which salvation comes, namely the Blood of Christ. No effort on our part will heal what is broken, we must come to the Saviour and allow Him to deal with us in His own way.

And that brings us to the last point, namely that the blind man was healed because he accepted the authority of Jesus. He allowed Jesus to have the final say in his life: "Go wash in the Pool of Siloam." The healing required a deed of obedience: "Walk in my way, do it my way." And if we do it His way, we shall see and find joy in the Truth of God.

The Pharisees resisted, yes, rejected the authority of Jesus. They claimed the authority of Moses, but they failed to see that the authority of Moses could not affect their healing unless it found its fulfillment in Jesus Christ. On the Mount of Transfiguration the disciples were told: "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!" Moses and Elijah, we are told, were with Jesus on that same Mount. But they were there for the very purpose of affirming that to Christ belongs all authority in heaven and on earth.

As long as our life is lived according to decisions of our choosing, is based on our own will, in opposition to the authority of Christ and His Word, we remain blind to the truth of God. But if we accept the authority of Jesus, believing that by His blood we are cleansed, by His stripes we are healed, we shall be restored. Yes, by His life we shall receive light! Amen.

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