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WHICH ONE ARE YOU?
March 2, 2008
John 9:1-41
Deuteronomy 13:1-5
That was a long scripture reading this morning. It had to be that long so that we could meet every person there is in the Church. As we go through the various personalities, I want you to ask yourself which one is you. We start with the Apostles. When they look at the man born blind they don’t see a person, they see a situation, a curiosity. Now, to be fair, there was a scriptural basis for their interest. God himself had promised Moses that no sin would go unpunished, even down to the third and fourth generation after the sin (Exodus 34:4-7). And, Rabbi’s discussing Jacob and his brother Esau had decided that even before a baby was born, it could commit sin (Genesis 25:22, Psalm 58:3). So their question was not without merit. But, you notice there is no interest in getting involved here. It’s a nice thought experiment, but nothing beyond that. These are the people in the Church who find it easier to ask penetrating and challenging questions, than to do anything about the problem.
Jesus’ response is to ask, “Does it really matter where tragedy comes from?” Isn’t it our responsibility to minister to it anyway? Aren’t we supposed to use our gifts, our talents and our time to hunt down and embrace the disenfranchised? There is good news if you are this kind of person. The power of the resurrected Christ changes the Apostles from observers to men of action. They stop being talkers, and they start being doers (James 1:22).
Jesus uses spit and dirt to make mud, and he puts a poultice on the man’s eyes. Jesus has often used spit to fix physical ailments (Mark 7:31-35, 8:22-25), this is the first time he’s included dirt. We’ll talk more about that later. He sends the man to the pool of Siloam to wash away the mud and the blindness. The blind man had to walk about a mile and a half through the crowded and confusing city of David to get to the pool. It was a place he had most likely never been before. Did anyone help him get there? The pericope doesn’t say so. The people watched, and perhaps they even laughed, at the blind man stumbling along. But, they didn’t get involved. He’s not their friend, he’s not their family, and he’s not their problem. Is that you?
The archaeologists who excavated the pool of Siloam say that in Jesus’ day it was most likely a Miqveh, a ritual bath for purification. That means the blind man, because of his inherent sin, wouldn’t be allowed to enter. I’ll bet that’s why Jesus specifically sent him there. There were closer pools to wash in. Somehow the blind man gets into the pool, and when he emerges he can see. Now that he can see, he is no longer tainted by sin, so it’s ok for him to be there. Surely, there must have been men around the pool who shouted, “Hey, what are you doing? You can’t be in there! Oh, wait a minute. I thought you were blind. Never mind. I guess it’s alright.” Is that you? Do you evaluate and judge the worthiness of everyone who walks through the door of the church?
The once blind man returns to his home, and now we meet his neighbors. He had grown up among these people, and yet they had difficulty deciding if it was really him or not. Every day they walked by him as he sat begging, and still they couldn’t clearly identify his face. His perceived sin had made him invisible to them. Even when they decide that it really is him, they don’t have anything kind to say. Someone in the crowd leans over and whispers, “See, I told you he wasn’t really blind. He was just too lazy to work.” No one born blind had ever been cured. This is an amazing miracle! Do they slap him on the back with congratulations? Do they throw him a party? No. They demand an explanation from him for his good fortune. Is that you? When God transforms a broken sinner from trash to gold, do you play it down? “Let’s see how well he’s doing in a year.”
Instead of being joyful for this man’s miracle, the neighbors haul him before the authorities. We meet the Pharisees. The Pharisees recognize that a miracle has taken place, yet that is completely unimportant to them. What is important is whether the miracle is valid or not. Does the miracle violate Sabbath law? None of the actions specifically mentioned with the miracle; spitting, applying mud, going as far as Siloam, washing ones’ face, or healing a blind man – break the Law. You know what breaks the Law? Making the mud. There was a prohibition against kneading on the Sabbath, and Jesus must have kneaded the dirt when he spit on it to make mud. I told you this is the only time Jesus added dirt to his healing spit. I suspect he wanted this confrontation to take place. So, an argument breaks out about the validity of the miracle, and we meet the next two kinds of people in a church.
Every church is filled with two different kinds of people: top down, and bottom up Pharisees. Top down people are deeply concerned with doctrinal positions. There is a rule. The rule says don’t violate the Sabbath. Jesus violated the Sabbath. Therefore, the miracle is clearly bad – end of argument. Top down people tend to be selective in which scriptures they embrace. The healing of the blind was a sign from Isaiah that the Kingdom of God had arrived (Isaiah 35:5, 42:7). But, the top down Pharisees ignored that part of the Bible, they only saw the violation of the Law. Top down people value the institution over the individual. I’ve asked you to identify what kind of person you are. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. This is me. I am guilty of being an uncompassionate, rules oriented, top down Pharisee.
Bottom up people care about solutions. They are only concerned with results. The man was blind. Now, the man is not blind. Not blind is a good thing. Therefore, the miracle is clearly good. Bottom up people care about results, not the method. Moses had warned Israel that there were bad prophets who could perform miracles (Deuteronomy 13:1-5), such prophets needed to be carefully investigated. These guys didn’t care to hear about it. If two bottom up people from the same church see different solutions to a problem they will each aggressively pursue their own solution. They will rip a church apart, and never feel any guilt – “I was solving a problem.” Is that you?
To help resolve the situation, the blind man’s parents are brought before the council. We meet the parents. The parents are happy that their son can now see. But, they are afraid if they say too much they will be kicked out of the synagogue. They don’t want to get involved if its going to cost them anything personally. Is that you? Are you happy to see the church advance and progress – as long as it doesn’t require anything of you?
Jesus is resurrected in the year 30. For the next 40 years most of the converts to Christianity are Jews. They live a double life, attending Temple on Friday night, and church on Sunday morning. Then, in the year 70 the Romans destroy the Holy Temple. Orthodox Jews blame the Christians for bringing this calamity upon them. In the year 90 the Council of Jamnia meets. A Pharisee named Samuel the Less forces a change to an affirmation of faith said every week in the synagogue. It’s called the Birkat Ha Minim.
Each Friday night, after Samuel’s addition, everyone in the synagogue would say together, “Let Christians and heretics perish as in a moment; let them be blotted out of the book of life and not be enrolled with the righteous.” Of course a Christian couldn’t say that out loud, and so they were easy to identify and kick out of the community. Jesus predicted that this is exactly what would happen (John 16:2). Jesus says, “You cannot expect to follow me without paying some kind of price (Matthew 10:37-38). I will place demands on you.”
So, who are you? Are you an Apostle, a bystander, a neighbor, a top down or bottom up Pharisee, or perhaps a parent? Let me share some good news with you. At the end of the pericope Jesus condemns the Pharisees – not because of who they are, but because they will not change. They will not even consider change. We don’t have to stay this way. We have the power, through the grace of God and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, to become better. It is possible to shed those attitudes and personality traits that keep us from reaching our full potential as Christians.
The blind man is the epitome of positive change. His encounter with Jesus is accidental and unintentional. He wasn’t seeking a healing. After a brief conversation he moves from ignorance of Jesus to acceptance of him as someone who cares. When Jesus heals him, he recognizes what it means to him personally. He internalizes his commitment to Christ, and refuses to deny him during questioning. Finally, when he gets to see Jesus face to face for the first time he worships him and calls him Lord. That is as thorough as change can be.
We can be better people, change is possible. Who are you, and who do you want to be?
Guillermo Cook, “Seeing, Judging and Acting: Evangelism in Jesus’ Way,” International Review of Mission 87.346 (July 1998), 388-396.
Hershel Shanks, “The Siloam Pool in Jesus’ Time,” Biblical Archaeology Review 31.5 (September/October 2005), 16-23.