Does God hear the Law breaker?

As miracles go, giving sight to the blind was perhaps the one Jesus did most often. It was a way of signing the presence of the coming kingdom and of telling us who Jesus is. The Old Testament made us aware that the blind receiving their sight would be a way to tell that the person was the Messiah or God’s anointed one.

This week’s Gospel (John 9.1-41) is part of a larger story that talks about Jesus and his dealings with the Pharisees. In Chapter Eight, there is a discussion about the identities of Jesus and the Pharisees and who is telling the truth. Jesus points out that the reason the Pharisees do not accept Jesus’ testimony about who he is, is because they cannot hear God and thus do not belong to God. In turn, the Pharisees claim their heritage as children of Abraham can tell Jesus he is nothing better that a Samaritan and that he is demon possessed (Jn. 8.48).

It is in the context of this argument about truth, obedience, and life, that Jesus heals the man born blind. And it raises a simple question, “If Jesus is sinful and a law breaker, why does God listen to him?”

The 12 and other disciples have a question about sin – whose fault was it that this man was born blind. Did he sin before he was born or did his parent's sin, causing him to be blind? If I understand Jesus’ reply to the question, it went something like this: every person is responsible for the sins that they commit. But, this man was born blind. God knew that this man would be born blind and chose to seek him out so that he could come to glorify God in his healed state.  

It starts out innocent enough. Jesus makes some mud with his spit. Puts the mud on the man’s eyes and then sends him to Siloam to be washed. The man responds by going (with help I suspect), washes, returns and is now a sighted person.  Immediately there is a discussion that erupts about where this is the man that was formerly blind amongst those that know him. The interesting thing about this story is that the man accepted the word of Jesus and found his physical sight and then, found spiritual sight. It took faith in Christ and his word to make that happen. It was not the act of going or the contact with the water that made the man see, but faith in Christ.

At the same time, there were people, including the Pharisees and the man’s parents who could not or would not accept that this was the same man. They are shown to be blind to the wonders of God’s works in the world and deaf to what God is saying to them through Christ. It is as if they have turned both ‘a blind ear and a deaf eye’ to all that was going on. All the while, continuing to insist that they were correct and that Jesus was the one in the wrong – that Jesus was the sinner for not follow Moses, Abraham and the traditions.

The presence of the healed beggar caused a schism amongst his neighbours and friends rather that leading to praising God for the gift of this man’s sight. The people argue about where this is the man and they refuse to believe him when he identifies himself, “I am the man!” He cannot explain why these things have happened to him. He does not know the man that did this for him and cannot even identify him because he has not seen him. He can only reply it was the man they called ‘Jesus’. When questioned as to where Jesus when he could only proclaim his ignorance: “I do not know.”

The healed beggar’s encounter with the Pharisees shows that when the religious hear that Jesus has broken the Sabbath law, it is all that they can focus on. They believe that they have the evidence that Jesus cannot be from God because he broke the sanctity of the Sabbath by making mud and doing a healing. This is a common argument between Jesus and the Pharisees. Doing work of some kind on the Sabbath breaks the rules. The Messiah would never break the rules, dishonour the tradition of the nation! But as they continue to question the truth, they discover that the man who was healed now considers Jesus to be a prophet.

The only way the Pharisees can think to debunk this miracle then becomes the idea that the beggar was not blind from birth. They draw in the man’s parents. These folks are well aware of what happens to people who go against the religious leaders. They do not want to be blackballed and thrown out of the religious life, so they refuse to answer how they think that their son received his sight. “He is old enough to answer for himself – ask him” they reply to the questions of how he might have his sight. In the constant telling and retelling of the miracle, faith in Jesus moves from being in possession of the facts; from “He did this” to who Jesus is as the giver of eternal life and as the Light of the world.

Not everyone is ready or willing to confess who Jesus is for them. I can see the parents being excited for their son – he has his sight. They understood that if they told the Pharisees what they believed, there would be consequences and that would be too much for them to bear. And at the same time,  I cannot help but think of this man who has had his world turned over and upset by the actions of a man he only knew by the name he was told. He had gained his sight but lost his profession. He gained the help and support of people around him while his parents had to turn their backs on him. He was thrown out and treated as a liar and an imposture for telling the truth.  

This unnamed beggar underwent an amazing journey. He went from believing that Jesus was a man to thinking Jesus was a prophet to discovering that Jesus is the Sent One from God and falling down in worship before him.

So let me ask you: who is Jesus to you? Will you let us know or will you continue to turn a blind eye and a deaf hear to what God is telling you?

Jason+