John 9: The "Sixth sign - sight to the blind"

INTRODUCTION: It's kind of tempting to home in on the story of how Jesus did the sign in vv. 6-7.  OK, these verses give us some pointers for how to engage in the healing ministry:-
(a) Jesus spat on the ground and made mud and put it on the man's eyes.  (Maybe that's why people are so reluctant to come forward for healing prayer!) But it shows us a point of contact.  Spit was associated with healing in the ancient world. And spit from the Soon of God has to be specially powerful.  And the soil is the stuff we are made of.  God understands our humanity and uses points of contact where his power and our human-ness come together.  Laying-on of hands, anointing with oil, a prayer, or a listening ear are all human actions that can be points of contact for the power of God.
(b) Jesus sent the man to wash in the Pool of Siloam.  He had to do something, an act of obedience and an act of faith. Sometimes - not always - there is something we have to do to receive God's touch.  Sometimes it is a matter of asking.  Sometimes it is about stepping into the healing: stretch out your hand, get up and walk. Go home, your servant will get better.
(c) Jesus did it! When the man did what Jesus told him to, he came back seeing!

But this isn't just a nice story like you could tell to the kids: "Once upon a time there was a blind man who came to Jesus and Jesus healed him. The End."  It takes the whole chapter to tell the story. The real message of this sign is in the 4 conversations that happened around it...

Conversation 1: Whose sin caused him to be born blind? (Verses 1-5)
The disciples believed - as most Jews did - that blessings, health and prosperity were rewards for being good; and that problems and tragedies were a punishment for being bad. Plain and simple.   They lived in a world of simple absolutes, rewards and consequences.  Because the Old Testament doesn't have a clear vision of heaven and hell, where rewards and punishments could be expected, they saw all the rewards and punishments in this life only. And as a result they were left with a rather ugly, harsh view of God.  So when they see this blind man, they ask Jesus "Who sinned to caused him to be born blind?"  But Jesus doesn't buy that idea.  His answer is "Neither - but the result of it will be that God's work is seen in him."

We need a right understanding of suffering.  If we decide that God sends all sorts of bad things in to our lives to teach us things, to punish us for past sins, it causes two problems.
(a) It messes up mission. We represent God as a very harsh and ugly being, rather than the loving heavenly father we find in the Bible.  People talk al lot about the question "does god exist?"  But there is another question. "Is God good?  Is God nice?"
(b) It messes up the healing ministry. If God sends all these things along, who are we to seek to be healed or set free?    But Jesus says "as long as it is day, we must do the works of the one who sent me."  (Note Jesus says "We."  It's Not just Jesus, it's Jesus and us!)  In the healing ministry we need to keep the space for mystery in how we understand suffering and in how we engage in healing: a crude world of rewards and consequences, of absolutes, where everything has an obvious explanation - whether sickness as Gods judgement, or lack of faith or whatever, messes up the healing ministry. We need the essential element of mystery.  "Father, how are you going to make your work seen in this station?  Through healing? Through triumphing over disability? Through someone dying well?"

Conversation 2: What happened Here? (Verses 8-12)
The whole neighbourhood realised quite quickly that something had happened. Some said, "This is the blind guy who was begging" and others said  "No, it's a look alike!"  Miracles are signs. They tell us something. They point in a particular direction.  But they can be disregarded or misinterpreted: there were in this story and there will always those who will explain miracles away.   Miracles point us in the direction of who Jesus is - the Light of the World; they point in the direction of a loving and powerful god. They start conversations; they make people ask "What happened here?" and give us the opportunity to say, as the formerly blind man did "The man called Jesus made me better."

Conversation 3: The Pharisees (Verses 13-34)
This'd is the biggest conversation and the toughest.  The man was dragged to the Pharisees for them to give an opinion about what had happened.  It's the high point of tension and conflict in the story and it shows us three types of people, three types of character and behaviour.
(a) The powerful, respectable establishment figures who see Jesus as a challenge and a threat.  Let's not be to quick to criticise them. They were the people who loved God's word; they were regular worshippers and sacrificial givers. They wanted to see everyone behaving right.  Buy they misinterpreted the Word they loved, so they made it a law apart from grace. They had narrowed their horizons.  As a result of their mistaken ideas they were using their power to keep the man in line; they tried to coerce him into speaking badly of Jesus.  They used every weapon in the book. First, a sneering intellectual superiority; and in the end, the simple power they had to chuck him out of the synagogue. How doe we use power?
(b) Fence sitters.  The beggar's parents are called before the Pharisees. They don't want to upset the powerful people, so they don't want to get involved in the conversation: "He is of age, ask him" is their answer.  They know the Pharisees had threatened to put followers of Jesus out of the synagogue. That would mean for 30 days one could have no dealings with other Israelites except one's immediate family.  That could make life difficult for; you could lose friends, who might avoid you after the ban for fear of coming under suspicion; and you couldn't carry on your business.  Are we going to keep silent and tolerate evil in our world, or are prepared to speak out even if it costs us?
(c) The powerless formerly blind beggar.  He has no official title, no formal education, and no respectable skills. He carries this stigma "born in sin".  But he was certainly a feisty and courageous guy who was prepared to stand up for what he believed, even in the face of bullying from the powerful.  And his faith is developing. He tells his story in a clear and challenging way - even daring to say "do you want to become his followers too?"  He shows us assertiveness; a strength of character that is further evidence of God's touch in his life.

This issue of character is important as we aim to be Learning to show the Father's Love".  How we handle disagreement and conflict is a test of character.  How we handle the power we have, and how we treat those less powerful than us, is a test of character.

Conversation 4: Do you believe? (Verses 35-41)
Jesus heard that the beggar had been thrown out and went and found him. He asked him "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"  This refers to Daniel 7.13, where Daniel saw "one like a son of man" presented before God the Father and given glory and a kingdom that shall never pass away."  That is Jesus.  The sign says that he is the light of the world (v.  5) and its only saviour.  The sign says that he comes to call people from darkness to light, to open the eyes of spiritually as well as physically blind people. That is what signs are for: they point to this amazing person called Jesus son of God, majestic Son of Man; light of the world!

And this Jesus finds us. It's not about us finding Jesus, it's about Jesus finding us. As William Temple says, "Our Fellowship with Him is rooted in his compassion". Jesus, he son of man, the Light of the world, finds us and wants to start a conversation with us. The last two conversations had been about Jesus.  This conversation is with Jesus.  It's vital that we move from conversations about Jesus to conversations with Jesus.  Signs that "Demonstrate the Father's love" are meant to bring people to have conversation with Jesus! Too much Church and Christian church activity is a conversation about Jesus: preaching, bible studies, and even business meetings, can easily just be conversations about Jesus! .

The beggar's faith had developed, from talking about "The man called Jesus" who healed him, to saying "He is a prophet" to answering "I believe"   Wherever you are on than faith journey, Jesus wants to have a conversation with you, to grow your faith and to reveal himself and his Father's love.  Signs are conversation starters. Let's have a conversation with Jesus.

© Gilmour Lilly August 2012