Jesus Opens Eyes

Text: John 9:1-7, 13-17, 34-39

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

          Have you ever used a pair of binoculars? Or a microscope? Or maybe even a magnifying glass? They’re all wonderful tools for examining things up close. Maybe you’re watching a football game from the stands. The binoculars allow you to see the details that you couldn’t see from those seats way up in the upper sections. Or perhaps you’re bird watching from your window. Those binoculars allow you see the beautiful moment that a momma bird feeds her young.

These up close and personal moments can give us great perspective on unique interactions. That said, if you spend your entire life using binoculars to observe moments within the day, you’re going to miss out on the entirety of life all around you – and other moments that matter. The moment you focus singularly on the snapshot, that’s also when you miss the “big picture.”

In a sense we all do this every day when we spend our time fixated on one particular news channel. Or hours on end on social media. These are amazing tools for disseminating information and for connecting people across time and distance, but they are, in a sense, snapshot moments. One-minute clips that give you one singular view. And if you spend all your time viewing groups of singular, unique moments, you’ll miss the Big Picture of life. And what you’ll get is a different version of truth.

The difference with God is that He wants us to keep that singular focus on Him. And when we do, what He does is that

HE OPENS OUR EYES TO EVERYTHING THAT JESUS DOES FOR US.

Our text from John 9 this morning is of the healing of the man who was born blind. The focus of the text, at first glance seems to be the healing of this particular man. And this is an important part of the message. But, to fully understand God’s work through Jesus, we also need to see this as an eye-opening event for us. In the words of the man who was healed, “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.” But more than that physical healing, he has his eyes opened spiritually, and that’s the even greater blessing. And the good news is, Jesus does these healings for you also, both the physical healing and the spiritual sight.

The account begins with Jesus and his disciples passing by a man born blind. And that raises this question in the disciples’ minds, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” In their minds, if something really bad happened to a person, it had to be somebody’s fault, somebody’s sin, and therefore God was punishing that person with an ailment. It’s like the people who told Jesus about the Galileans slaughtered in the temple. They thought it was because those people were worse sinners that this bad thing happened to them. Or like Job’s friends, who thought Job had some unrepented sin he wasn’t dealing with, and that’s why he was suffering so. But that wasn’t the case in those instances, and it isn’t the case here with the man born blind.

So, Jesus answers: “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Jesus came to do the work of God in the world, and this man’s blindness gives him the opportunity to do so. Jesus came to bring healing and wholeness to fallen mankind as the Light of the World who brings light where there was darkness. Darkened eyes, darkened minds–Jesus will enlighten them both.

So, Jesus heals the man. And notice how he does it. He makes some mud with his saliva, anoints the man’s eyes with it, and sends him off with a word: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” Which the man does and comes back seeing. Isn’t this how our Lord works? He attaches his word of promise to a visible, tangible element, and by that means, He works a wonderfully creative work in our lives. Like in Holy Baptism. Jesus attaches his word to the water, and our sins are washed away. And through it we receive our spiritual sight, with the promise of full physical healing to follow when Christ returns.

The physical healing of this man who was born blind isn’t the end of his interactions with Jesus. But before he sees the Lord again, he’s called in to see the Pharisees. After telling the disbelieving Pharisees how his sight was restored, and in such a strange way, and that he believes Jesus to be a prophet, we see the Lord seeking him out once again. And this is where Jesus has another healing in store for the blind man. He’s going to open his eyes spiritually.

Jesus finds him and asks him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” “The Son of Man” is another way to say “the Messiah,” “the Christ,” the great deliverer promised for centuries, who would bring in an age of blessing and the kingdom of God on earth. “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” the man asks. Jesus answers, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” The blind man responds, “Lord, I believe,” and he worships him.

Now the Lord has worked the greater healing. He’s opened the man’s eyes spiritually. To realize that Jesus is the Christ, the God-sent Redeemer. This is the enlightenment that we all need. For in Christ, in this man Jesus, the Son of God come down from heaven–in him is all our salvation and our hope for eternal healing.

Jesus has opened your eyes, hasn’t he? He’s given you the spiritual eyesight, the faith, to see that He, Jesus, is your Savior. Christ has washed away your sins by his holy blood shed on the cross and delivered you in the waters of Holy Baptism. The Holy Spirit has enlightened your mind to see the truth, to believe in Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life. “I am the light of the world,” Jesus says, and he couldn’t say that unless he was the only one who can bring light and life to all creation.

In the light of Christ, now you can see things as they really are. Unlike holding up those binoculars and only being able to see a slice of the whole, focusing on Jesus allows our eyes to be opened in ways that the whole truth is revealed to us. And in that revelation, we can see that the true meaning and purpose of life is found only in relationship with God, through Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. Jesus works the work of God for you and for all sinners who trust in him. He saves you from your sins. He gives you the gift of faith. He opens your eyes spiritually now, with the sure promise of full physical healing in the age to come. Christ has redeemed your soul, and with that he has also redeemed your body. The sacraments attest to that, when the baptismal water is applied to your body and when you take into your body the precious, life-giving body and blood of Christ.

And you will share in Christ’s resurrection. Bad eyesight? Loss of hearing? Weak knees and achy joints? All will be repaired and restored, better than ever, on the day of resurrection. And we will live with Christ and all his saints, in glorified bodies, in a restored creation, in perfect fellowship forever.

This is the gift that the blind man received when Jesus opened his eyes spiritually. Now he can see, really see. But there are some who refuse to see. They have blinded themselves to the truth. The Pharisees, for example. Jesus says, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees hear this and say, “Are we also blind?” The Pharisees claimed to have it all together, but their pride was blinding them. They didn’t think they needed a Savior. They didn’t think they had anything to repent of. And so, they remained blind spiritually. And their antagonism toward Jesus would only mount. All this is heading toward a showdown, and that’s what we will see when we get to Holy Week.

But for now, the takeaway from today’s account is that Jesus opens our eyes to everything that He does for us. He opens our eyes from the blindness of sin and He will heal us of all our physical ailments–and even death itself–in the age to come. And He uses means to accomplish his purpose in our lives, the means of grace, Word and Sacrament. There will always be opposition to Christ in this world. We see it every day. But Jesus will open your mouth, too, to speak up and to speak out, to confess Christ before men, regardless of the consequences.

Praise God that Jesus has opened our eyes and shown us where to look. “Oh come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Amen.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.