God punishes sin. It is part of the great principle of justice that pervades the creation and we see in the story of the Old Testament, God in his wisdom and his love creating the human race, caring and providing for it, but when in wilful disobedience people rebel against God and his laws of love, God punishes individuals or whole communities.

Adam and Eve are turned out of the Garden of Eden. The great flood destroys the whole of civilization. The Egyptians are punished for their cruelty in enslaving God’s people. But God’s people are also disciplined. Even great leaders like Moses and David have penalties placed upon them for their sins. There is the God given principle that you reap what you sow. One way that punishment comes on people in the Old Testament is through physical affliction, such as leprosy or blindness.

And this does not end with the Old Testament, even in the New Testament we find instances, in Acts 13 v11 we find a man named Elymas struck with temporary blindness for his sins. We also find Paul telling the Christians at Corinth that it is because of their sins that some of them have become sick. We see today that people by their sins bring illness upon themselves. One example is the way that promiscuous sex often results in AIDS or other diseases.

People have often made the mistake, however, of assuming that because God punishes sin, then illness or misfortunes are always a punishment from God. That is what the disciples assumed when they asked Jesus about this blind man. They wanted to know if it was his sins or his parent’s sins that had caused him to be born blind. Jesus, as always corrects the error. It was neither Jesus tells them.

Often blindness, other disabilities and illness do not come upon people because of their sins, there are many other reasons and causes. Afflictions can come on us because of the sins of others. There are many innocent people suffer dreadfully as a result of violence or road traffic accidents. The book of Job reminds us that suffering can be the work of the devil. Many peoples lives are marred by a deprived upbringing. There can be many different reasons why suffering or affliction comes into people’s lives.

The good news about Jesus, however, is that he did not just come to explain the causes of our problems to us. Jesus rather comes to us as he did to the blind man, and sees in all of us an opportunity. Jesus saw in this blind man an opportunity for the work of God to be displayed in his life. That is the good news of the gospel. Christ came into the world to bring Gods salvation to all, whether the cause of their problems was their own fault or the fault of others.

He reminds his disciples that he wants them to be involved in that work with him. ‘As long as it is day we must do the work of him who sent me.’ That is a reminder to us as Christians, Christ has called us to continue the task he began, bringing the good news to individuals that they are loved by God, pointing them to Jesus, the light of the world.

This miracle of healing the blind man is another of the signs that John tells us of in his Gospel. Like all the miracles, it was a display of God’s power at work through Jesus. But it is also a sign, and a sign points to something other than itself. I believe it is a sign that points to the truth that all people need to have their eyes opened by Jesus, in order to experience God’s grace and love.

We looked at Jesus statement last week, when he said ‘I am the light of the world’. In chapter 9 he says ‘As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ It was perhaps a reminder to his disciples that he wouldn’t be with them too much longer. In Matthews gospel, we know that Jesus said to his disciples ‘You are the light of the world.’ Jesus calls all his followers to continue the task he began. Now, in a very real sense, Jesus says to his church; ‘You are the light of the world.’ It will be good to look at what we could call a case history. We will look at the experience of this man to see how his encounter with Jesus changed his life, and how Jesus led him to a real and living faith in order to help us understand our continuing task of being the ‘light of the world’, or the ‘body of Christ.’

When Jesus came to him, he responded in trust. Notice that when Jesus approached people, he doesn’t major on their sins. Rather he approaches them with gestures of good will and love for them. In this case he offers God’s healing touch. It is the way we should behave towards our neighbours, gestures of good will, friendliness, a sympathetic ear. Generally people don’t need to be told they are sinners, they know that already. And that Christ like, compassionate approach will be more likely to evoke a response. The man responded to Jesus. He goes to the Pool and washes his face as Jesus tells him to. And he can see.

For anyone to receive what God has to give them, for anyone to have their eyes opened to the truth of God’s love, they have to respond in trust to Jesus. Of course some people will not do that, some prefer their darkness to light. But the light is there. The light is what as disciples of Christ we must continue to offer.

But the blind man does not have an easy time on receiving his sight. He runs into the same opposition that Jesus is facing. That is also a reality that many find today. We heard on the BMS prayer tape this week from Lynne and John Thompson, how in Albania when some college students come to faith, their families forbid them to come to church. It is so often the case. Even here in tolerant Britain, to be associated with Jesus and his teaching can evoke cold hostility from many in our politically correct 21st century culture.

But notice that the man does not cave in. He stands by the truth that he knows. He knows the reality of the fact that he was blind, but now he can see. He gives Jesus the credit for that. It is important that we speak the truth about what we know. Jesus said to his disciples ‘You are my witnesses.’ Nothing is so destructive to a society, as when the truth is suppressed. The Pharisees were trying to suppress the truth about Jesus. They had decreed that if anyone should say they believed Jesus to be the messiah, they should be excommunicated, put out of the synagogue. Even the man’s parents were afraid. But he stands by the truth. The Pharisees in their pride and arrogance throw back at him their accusation that he was ‘steeped in sin at birth,’ the old idea that he was born blind because of his or his parents sin. They throw him out.

Read v35-41
But Jesus hears and he comes and finds him. That is lovely. It reminds us of the truth that Christ always knows when his children suffer for his sake. But it also reminds us that sometimes he calls us to be there to encourage those whose faith is tested, and those who face opposition.

This is the point where Jesus leads him on into a deeper faith and understanding. Jesus asks the man, ‘Do you believe in the son of man?’ Now remember, this man had probably never seen Jesus before. When Jesus had anointed his eyes, he was still blind. He had told him to go off and wash. Jesus would not have been there when the man received his sight. So the man answers Jesus ‘Who is he sir, tell me so that I may believe in him.’

Of course it is Jesus. The man says ‘I believe.’ And he worships Jesus.

That is the point that faith must come to, to the point of worshipping Jesus. Everyone worships something. Some sad deluded folk worship themselves. Some worship money. Some worship power. Some worship ideologies. The thing we worship, is the thing that we put first, the thing that motivates and controls all our actions. The only thing worthy of our worship is the almighty creator God of heaven and earth.

But the almighty sent his son into our world to reveal himself to mankind; so that mankind might be reconciled to himself through his only divine son. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except by me.

That is the truth that our world needs to see. While we struggle on divided, worshipping our many different Gods, the world will always be divided. There will always be mistrust, and fear and violence. We mustn’t make the mistake either, of thinking that we can conquer the world and impose Christianity on it by force as the crusaders did. The only hope for our world is as men and women of their own free will open their eyes to see and worship Christ. The prince of peace; the king of love.

Will it ever happen? I do not know.

Let me read you a prophecy, a God-given message, over 2,500 years old that can inspire hope in our troubled world.

Read Micah 4 v1-4
That prophecy was in part fulfilled in Jesus. In his ministry the word of the Lord went out from Jerusalem. Jesus instituted the new covenant, open to all mankind through him. We can hope, and we can continue to pray: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen.
 

Acknowledgement.

I lay no claim to originality in my sermons. They are an attempt to pass on the gospel message in a contemporary way and depend on the bible as well as others who have studied and written on the passages in question. In preaching from John’s Gospel, I acknowledge my debt to Roy Clements for his book Introducing Jesus and I have also used material from Readings in John’s Gospel by William Temple. PN Jan 04

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