So that the blind may see!

John Chapter 9 - a whole chapter devoted to one miracle.
It's not just any miracle...Jesus heals a man who had been blind from birth. This was not just a "magic trick" that could have been done by anyone. Following the miracle, the man is questioned multiple times about it. And Jesus explains his actions to several people on multiple occasions. What is it about this story that has everyone all RILED up???

I encourage you to read the whole chapter in order to gain understanding through context, however I will only include part of it here as our focus.
 
S - John 9: 13-16, 39-41
They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. ¹⁴ The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵ So again the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight.
“He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”
¹⁶ Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He doesn’t keep the Sabbath!” But others were saying, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.

Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.”
⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and asked Him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?”
⁴¹ “If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see’—your sin remains.

O - Oh how the Pharisees loved to pick apart everything and remind you of the "law". Let's look at a few details of this story and dissect the law for a minute.
First, Jesus uses mud. He sculpts it into a shape to place on the blind man's eyes. In the law, you weren't even allowed to "sculpt" the mud on the Sabbath, the Jewish holy day of rest. The simple fact that he picked up the mud and used it was going against Jewish law.
Secondly, he HEALED on the Sabbath. Now I don't know about you but the fact that he healed on ANY day is pretty amazing! I have never understood why they are getting all worked up and completely MISSING the fact that this guy Jesus just took a man that was blind and made it so he can see. They say he is not God and calls him a sinner specifically because he broke the "law". Seriously! Like wake up people.

I don't know Hebrew law well and it might be in there specifically not to do "healing" on the Sabbath, but my thought is that healing wasn't done on a regular basis, at least the full-on complete healing that Jesus was doing, and it was not the NORM. And it amazes me that they are fixating on the fact that he did something on the Sabbath. AND they are not SEEING what is right in front of them. They are so focused on the actions of the man and what the law says that they are missing God. It seems so silly to be fixated on the day of the week. I don't really get how that makes you a sinner. I don't believe that when God gave them the "laws" He intended for them to hold that above meeting people's needs. God gave them the "law" to set them apart from the rest of the world for the purpose of carrying out His plan of salvation, but it was not supposed to define them when it came to having a relationship with the Lord Almighty, the creator of the universe. And it was definitely not set in place to justify ignoring care for people at a basic level, which was exactly what Jesus was doing.

Going back to the mud again for a moment. I find it interesting that Jesus doesn't do something fancy to perform this miracle. He uses mud...from the ground...and then tells him to wash it off. This is what heals his eyes so he can see. Jesus chooses a very basic material, the same of which incidentally God used to create man in the first place, and does incredible "eye opening" things with it! (sorry, fun little pun there...I am my Father's daughter :)

In vs. 39 Jesus says he came for judgment so let's address this a moment. I think this is talking about how Jesus will be judged and take on the judgment for sin, even while he is sin-less. I think it would be easy to interpret this as him saying he has come to judge us. We would be missing his point by taking this view. Jesus came to show us how to live, and to save, not to judge. He is making a point to give us a play on the word "see" and using the miracle of blindness to sight to teach us to be open to what we cannot see with our eyes but can "see" with our hearts. We do not SEE God but can know Him. He sees us for what we can be instead of who we are in our sin. His plan of restoration includes us accepting the gift of salvation by faith and not by sight...we cannot always see God with our eyes, nor can we see what He has in store for us as He changes our hearts and lives, nor can we see or imagine the immeasurable blessings that He has to give.

In vs. 41 when He says that the Pharisees sin because they "see" it means that they are using their human eyes that have limited power to really see who He is, instead of being open to "seeing" God's plan for all of humanity. They are blinded by the law and their own limited interpretation of God's plan. They believed this was just for the Jewish people but God had a bigger plan in mind from the beginning and they are missing it.

A - There is so much here that we can apply to our own lives and I am humbly reminded to look within myself at my own sin. It would be prideful to say that I am a "good" person and follow the "law", which I do. In reality, I am just as big of a sinner as a murderer, which makes me cringe. My pride, losing my temper, judging others, and a handful of other sins, get in the way of my relationship with God. But I am also reminded that God sees me, little ole me, for who I can become in Christ, not who I am in the world. He has paid the price for my sin and the gospel says that there is NOTHING I can do to make God love me more, or less. NOTHING. (Romans 8) I did not earn my salvation by following the law, nor will I keep it or get a better spot in heaven because of "good behavior".

Let me address "good behavior" for a moment. We Christians are actually sometimes the WORST about holding this over people's heads. We say what you can and can't do. We judge others and we judge ourselves. I know a few people that are so wrapped up tight with guilt over something they have done, or something they didn't do, and perhaps even shame over something horrible that someone else did to them, that they don't love themselves, they don't think they are worthy of God's love, and they most definitely are NOT able to love others because they have nothing to give. Like an empty glass begging to be filled with water. On the other side of the spectrum are some other people that don't care what God thinks actually, and don't think they need Him. They want to justify their behavior because they are "good people" and follow MOST of the laws of the land while JUDGING Christians for speaking out about what is right and wrong. I've been unfriended on facebook for giving my opinion on social issues, which I guess is considered "judging", even though the other person giving their opinion about Christians and "bad" behavior didn't consider their own behavior "judging". Hmmm, but I digress.

But the worst of these in my opinion are Christians that act like they are "better" because they do all the "right things" and don't SEE the log in their own eye. They are happy to be proud of themselves for going to church, being in the "best" bible study where all the other "good" people are, giving money, going downtown to feed the homeless, and bringing you dinner when your husband has surgery. Oh, they won't ever say anything to those "less" than themselves that is judgmental...it will be all sugar and sweetness...but they are gossiping to their close friends about you or telling their kids that they can't play with your kids. I admit it...I know this because I have found myself guilty of this a time or two. It hurts to admit it and I just HATE it when I find myself influenced in this direction. I guess my opinion expressed here could be considered judging as well. I DO believe we need to stand true to biblical principles and there is a time and place, and a LOVING way, to address sin. Parents should be cautious and protect their kids from negative influences, but we should not be afraid to "mingle" with those that are not our "kind". After all, Jesus ate a meal with prostitutes and tax collectors!!! This is a slippery slope that we must be cautious of lest we turn people away from the church for what they SEE in us. Do they see Christ, or do they see US?

And so it is important to read John chapter 9 and remember that we too are guilty like the Pharisees of having limited sight. We see what we see with our eyes every day and justify our sin, judge others, fall into temptation, act based on what is right in front of us, or the fear that we feel from what we don't understand or "see" completely. Maybe our sight is limited because we are so focused on unaddressed pain in ourselves. We are blinded from God's ways because we see every day the ways of the world. We don't always see who God is or we don't see His plan because we forget where to look.

Hebrews 12:1-2 says "Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, ² keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne."

That's right people. We keep our eyes on Jesus. That's what we do. Day in and day out we look to Jesus. And if we don't know how to do that, we keep looking...we seek Him and we mess up...and we learn a little bit...and we keep looking. This doesn't mean we DON'T have to worry about the law because God did give us the Bible, written by His divine power through 40+ authors, that all point to the same thing...God goes before us, He has our back behind us and frankly, He knows what He's doing cuz He like created the whole world or something! Maybe we should listen and stop trying to figure it out on our own. The Bible and the Holy Spirit are our guides. This is how we learn and the more we practice looking, the more we SEE. And when people look for God's plan and trust in Him, He works it all out. He restores, He saves, and He heals with simple materials like mud and water.

P - Oh that I would keep my eyes on you Jesus! I really stink at this sometimes. I sometimes see myself for what I've done in the past, what I haven't done yet, and very often how others see me. But you Lord see me as beautiful, and valuable, and you love me FOR my weakness because it all the more shows your great power when you overcome all that. Use me. Please give me the gift of sight to see your plan for my life and how you want to use me each and every day. I want to look to you and be blinded from the ways of the world. Please hide the temptations from me!!! I pray this prayer for my family and friends as well and especially those that may not believe that you love them, or that you want to use them for GREAT things. I pray they would see themselves as YOU see them and take a step toward loving you and seeking you. I pray they would be surrounded by those that love you and would show them how much love you have to give. May I simply be an instrument to guide others in this same way. Thank you Lord for the privilege of interpreting your word and being able to share it with others. This brings me great joy! I pray all this in Jesus' Holy name! Amen!