Scripture Text: John 9:16
Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
John 9:16
This Gospel, when taken in the context of the entire ninth chapter of John's Gospel, presents us with a rather amusing irony. The Lord Jesus restores sight to a man who had been blind since birth and the official reaction of the religious leaders divides them into two camps: there are those who can see who Jesus is by the miraculous signs that He performs and those who are so blinded by their own preconceived notions about the coming Messiah and about their own Law that they condemn Jesus for this tremendous act of compassion.
That's the effect that Jesus always seems to have on people. No "milk toast" is He. He and His words and actions actually mean something and so there is always a reaction—a mixed reaction. We shouldn't be surprised by that, since He warned us about it Himself. The One whom we call the Prince of Peace is the One who said: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household" (Matthew 10:34-36). No matter how meek and mild an image of Jesus we might like to create or foster, the fact of the matter is that you can't take a neutral position when it comes to the Savior and His claims. "Whoever is not with [Him] is against [Him], and whoever who does not gather with [Him] scatters" (Matthew 12:30). As we consider the scattering of the Pharisees into these two camps (as well as all of the contention over the Gospel in our day), let's give some thought to what Jesus has done and to how people react to it.
What Jesus did here is something that He did repeatedly during His earthly ministry: He brought healing to someone who was afflicted. In this particular case, the affliction was blindness. The Lord's disciples, like so many people in their day, assumed that the man's affliction was divine retribution for sin—perhaps his own or maybe that of his parents. Of course, we know that everything in this world that is less than perfect is a consequence of sin, but not necessarily an example of divine vengeance and not necessarily in the direct cause-and-effect manner that the disciples were assuming. Jesus explained to them that "it was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the work of God might be displayed in him" (John 9:3). Jesus cured the man's blindness with mud that He made out of dirt and His own spittle. Perhaps a bit distasteful for us, but a common ritual of cleansing in Jesus' day. So far, so good. But what really got Jesus into trouble was that this act of healing was done on the Sabbath. He dared to do something other than rest and worship on the Lord's Day. And this was simply too much for the Pharisees.
What Jesus did in healing the blind man is only one example of what He did for all of us. His entire life, as well as His suffering and death, brought healing to the afflicted—the afflicted being you and me and everyone who lives and dies under the burden of sin and guilt. He cleansed us and made us whole—acceptable in the sight of God—but He did it in a way that many find strange or even offensive. He didn't come riding in as the hero on a white horse to slay the dragon; He suffered and died in the most humiliating way imaginable. It had to be that way because that's how offensive our sin is to God and that's the kind of punishment that our sin deserves. But what really gets Jesus into trouble with so many people today is what got Him into trouble with the Pharisees: You see, He doesn't exactly play by the rules—at least not the rules of men. He saves sinners without them doing anything to show themselves worthy of such a blessing. He saves them not because they in any way deserve to be saved but simply because they need to be saved. What's more, He saves not only the chosen people of God but others as well, even foreigners.
The reaction to Jesus' healing of the blind man by the first group of Pharisees is more than skepticism; it is outright rejection. "This Man is not from God," they said, "for He does not keep the Sabbath." But it wasn't the Sabbath law that Jesus violated; it was the Pharisees' own particular interpretation of the Sabbath law. The Sabbath law itself, given as the Third Commandment and explained in the book of Leviticus, did not forbid helping others on the Sabbath; what it outlawed was the neglect of worship and rest in the pursuit of personal gain. It was the Pharisees who added to it countless ridiculous regulations, even going so far as to dictate how many steps a man could walk on the Sabbath day. In restoring the man's sight on the Sabbath day Jesus was acting in full accord with the Law and was bringing honor to the God who said: "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6). The problem that this group of Pharisees exhibited is still a danger today--the danger of becoming so focused on your religiosity that you miss the whole point of discipleship and worship. This has become all too clear to us in these difficult times.
The other group of Pharisees had the common sense to look beyond their own prejudices and to ask the obvious question: "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" What Jesus did contradicted what His detractors were saying about Him. Because of the Word and actions of Jesus, this second group of Pharisees also had their sight restored--not their physical sight, to be sure, but their spiritual sight--the sight that the Holy Spirit gave them to enable them to see the things that matter most. Our eyes have been opened as well by the miracle that Jesus performed when He went to the cross bearing our sin and gave us His righteousness in Baptism. Using the sight given to us by the Spirit, we can see that Jesus' suffering and death were not His defeat at all; on the contrary, they were in fact His victory, because in them He accomplished the salvation of sinners--the purpose for which He came into the world.
Reflect
1. How do you see things that Jesus, the Lord, was doing in your life?
2. Are you glorifying Him or still distrusting His works?
3. Do you need more miracles to see?
Remember
The Savior still opens the eyes of the blind today—particularly those who are blind to their sinfulness and to His grace. He does this by the power of the Holy Spirit, who works in and through the Word of God, opening the eyes of ignorant sinners to their sin and its consequences with the Law and opening the eyes of broken and repentant sinners to His grace by the Gospel. And still today the reaction to His mighty works is a divided opinion: some refusing to acknowledge Him as anything more than a man like any other man; others seeing His divine glory in His works. The rhetorical question of that second group of Pharisees ("How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?") is answered resoundingly in Jesus' greatest miracle of all: the salvation of sinners like us through His perfect life and His sacrificial death on the cross--a miracle made certain by His resurrection from the dead.
Read
Luke 13:31-33; John 5:36, 7:12, 14:11
Pray
May the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, making us kings and priests before His God and Father, lead us to a life of repentance and trust. May He also be glorified in our lives, His people. He who calls us is faithful, and He will do it. Amen.
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