Scripture: John 9:35-41 , 17th February,2008

1. The Healing of a Man Born Blind

We are continuing to lecture from the Gospel according to John, a Gospel story about the very character of God and how God makes himself known to the world through the life and death of Jesus.

Today’s reading is from chapter 9, which reports an episode about a man whose blindness was healed by Jesus. When Jesus meets the man and heals him from his blindness, his disciples became curious about the man’s disability, so they asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2).

At that time in history, disabilities were considered to be the result of sins committed by the disabled, or by their relatives. So much so, Jesus’ following answer to the disciples question, was completely unexpected: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:3).

Even in today’s society, the way Jesus’ disciples thought about people with a disability is also widely shared In Japan, so the disabled not only suffer from their physical condition, but also from the social prejudice directed against them. Under such circumstances many disabled people, feeling consoled and comforted by Jesus’ words, are often moved to became Christians.

Verses 13-41 of John divides into five scenes: vv. 13-17, the blind man and the¡¡Pharisees, vv. 18-23, the Jews and the man’s parents, vv. 24-34, the man and the Pharisees, vv. 35-38, Jesus and the man, vv. 39-41, Jesus and the Pharisees.

The conversation among the Pharisees concerned the observation of the Sabbath. They also wanted to investigate the healing of the blind man. Concerning the healer, Jesus, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” (John 9:16). So they were confused and divided.

Its quite obvious the Pharisees could not accept Jesus’ divinity, although they could not deny either, the fact that the man born blind received his sight. Under such a dilemma they questioned the healed man directly. To their questions the man answered sincerely by saying only what he knew and understood, which was his testimony to Jesus’ identity. But he was not fully aware who Jesus really was.

Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet ” (John 9:17). The man’s statement ¡¡opened-up a further conflict concerning the observance of the Sabbath. But, despite the intimidation, the man insisted with his testimony, “Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (John 9:32). Upon hearing this, the Pharisees became angry and threw him out of the city.

2. The truth will set you free

Today’s most important passage is just here, verses 35-37. “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” (John 9:35-37).

At first the man didn’t recognize Jesus’ divinity, so he thought He was a prophet. Now, through conversations with Jesus, he began to see and understand who Jesus really was, and he was moved to confess his faith. He has moved from naming Jesus as his healer, to acknowledging him as the Son of Man. His gift of sight has deepened from physical sight to include spiritual and theological insight.

Now we shall read together from John, chapter 8:31-32, as the invocation verses, to wind-up today’s address. To the Jews who had believed in him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” These much quoted verses are not about truth in the abstract, but the truth of God as revealed in Jesus. Being a disciple of Jesus is necessary in order to know that truth, and to be set free by it.

A zealous faith will not necessarily lead us to the truth in God. The zealous in faith sometimes went too far away from God’s’ truth as Paul once did. Before meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, and having such a fervent faith in Judaism, he (Paul) persecuted Christians as heretics.

Peter committed the same mistake when he struck the high Priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear, an act which Jesus did not appreciate. Those who carried out the Inquisition trials in Spain represent another instance of zealous behavior. They were trying to realize their own fictitious righteousness.

The attitude of the Pharisees’ was the same. Without knowing God, they could not understand or even relate their thinking to the events taking place around them. Recent history has also provided examples of zealous dictators, like Hitler or Stalin. Having zeal without the knowledge and dependence of the supreme ¡¡being, which prevails over all human species, puts at risk the way we behave, live and think.

Now, by reading about the original purpose of the Sabbath from Deuteronomy, we will see just how it has become distorted: “but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor the alien within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest, as you do” (Deut. 5:14).

The fourth commandment to observe the Sabbath day is expressed differently in Exod. 20:8-11, where the command is to “remember” it. The two versions reflect the dual character of the Sabbath day, a time of worship for remembering God as creator, and also a time of rest, even for slaves and during seasonal work. “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day” (Deut 5:15).

But with the passing of time, many lost sight of the original meanings of these verses. Any thought of mercy was changed to severe prohibition, often leading to punishment and even execution. The Pharisees and others, by observing and respecting fundamental laws too literally, eventually lost sight of God and His mercies.

3. To admit we are in the darkness

What prevents us from seeing God, is sin. John calls it darkness. So, Jesus came to us by breaking-down the darkness. To believe in Jesus is to recognize we were in the darkness, by contrasting our state and purpose with the brightness of Jesus’ light. Forgiveness will be accorded to those who acknowledge their sin and repent. But, those who pretend to be righteous and can’t admit to their own sin, even if they received the light from Jesus, are in a continual state of denial.

And so it was that the Pharisees rejected the divine power of Jesus, even though they witnessed His miraculous work. They were too obsessed by observing the Sabbath. Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains” (John 9:41).

Today, many Japanese are trapped, like the Pharisees, by such a stubborn way of thinking. They think they can live by their own abilities and forces, without support or aid from others. Perhaps they could, and do survive under favorable circumstances. But, should unfortunate incidents or events occur, like illness or death for example, they could easily become destabilized.

Those who live by depending on their own power cannot always bear the weight of burdens. I think the very high rate of suicide in Japan might be explained by the fact that almost all of the Japanese population do not have any faith. Deuteronomy records the fact that you may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today (Deuteronomy 8:17-18).

I repeat, to believe in the existence of God, the one who exceeds all human powers, is to accept that we are totally vulnerable and powerless. I would like to present here a quotation by a Catholic priest, Michel Quoist: You were too arrogant, you always trust yourself. If you want to resist all temptations in calm and without getting weak you must surrender yourself to Me. You are never great nor strong, you must admit it and let you be guided by Me in hand in hand. Now my child, give Me your hand without fear. If there is a swamp I’ll take you on my back to carry you. Be little because only little children can be carried on the back of Father¡ÊMichel Quoist : “If we know how to listen to God” ).

We could say that this quotation is one of the best interpretations of chapter 9 in John’s Gospel. Faith is to admit God as God. Then we begin to accept our weakness, our sin, and recognize we are in the dark. From that acceptance a way to salvation opens.

Jesus’ expression, ‘this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life’ (John 9:3), is not focused on the physical recovery, but on the fact that the formerly blind man found God through his contact with Jesus, and the happy incident of healing. What we really need is not only a physical healing, but also a spiritual one, which will also lead us to salvation.