John 9: 1-41 “RESTORING SIGHT” by Geoff Vidal 15th March 2026
Last week, Chris began his sermon with an interesting picture asking us, “What do you see?” That’s a good question.
Carol and I saw some beautiful sights on our recent trip in New Zealand. Around the Bay of Islands and right up to Cape Reinga we saw glorious blue sky and magnificent coastlines. And we experienced a great restaurant among the vineyards on Waiheke Island.
“Seeing” can be visual or understanding. Do you “see” what I mean?
There are a few stories in the Gospels about blind people having their sight restored. In our last hymn today, we will sing about the blind man who sat by the road and cried. But that was near Jericho and in our long Gospel reading today we were told about a different blind man who lives in Jerusalem.
What we heard Robin read today is generally agreed to be one of the most important and best constructed chapters of the good news according to John.
The big picture is that we have heard a long story of two journeys.
The setting is that Jesus has come to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Booths. Actually, Jesus has just said “I am the light of the world and those who follow me will never walk in darkness”. Now that statement leads into the disciples asking Jesus a question about the reason this unfortunate man was blind. “Why couldn’t he see light?” “Why was he walking in darkness?”
Even though they knew the story of suffering Job, the people were convinced that poverty and disease were God’s punishment for sin. Thinking that those people who are ill or poor have to be sinners means dragging them further down. Worse still, it makes them wallow in their misery and can prevent them making an effort to get out of their situation.
Jesus answers definitively. “Neither this man or his parents are responsible for his blindness.” Suffering is not a punishment for sin. Sadly, many people don’t believe this, and I have known lots of lovely people weighed down by their thought that a disaster or problem in their life is a result of God punishing them for some wrongdoing. Jesus wants his followers to know that is not the case.
Jesus made mud and smeared it on the man’s eyes. Maybe there is an echo of God’s creation here. Jesus making mud to bring new life to this blind man just as God formed clay to create humanity. “Adam” is the Hebrew word for “earth or soil”.
There may, perhaps, be another echo of Scripture here. King David was anointed with oil by the prophet Samuel to do God’s work and now the blind man is anointed with mud by Jesus to serve God’s purposes.
Washing off the mud as directed by Jesus in the pool of Siloam, the blind man is healed and sees. How many times have we sung the hymn Amazing Grace; “I once was blind but now I see”.
This Gospel / Good News story is a story of a person’s journey TO Jesus - coming to the light of the world. We need light to see. Desiree frequently helps us see something important in a Biblical word or name or place. So, could I point out another possible word of significance. John adds as he writes that “Siloam” means “sent”. Is John highlighting for us that Jesus is the sent one. Sent to us so that we might see!
After the man has washed off the mud from his eyes in the pool of Siloam and begins to see we read that he has to put up with a series of progressively more aggressive interrogations. And each time he is interrogated, the man who is no longer blind “sees” more clearly who Jesus is.
To his neighbours and those who knew him as a beggar he speaks of Jesus as “The man” who had worked the miracle. Then they bring in the Pharisees to interrogate him. But, by now he is standing up for himself, and he is prepared to argue with them as their equal.
A change has occurred in this blind beggar who used to spend his days sitting with his hand out. He confidently goes a step further in his seeing and he says, “He is a prophet!”
In a very human insight, we are told that the parents of the once-blind man (who, without the benefits of NDIS, had obviously fed him and nurtured him as he grew up) are afraid of the Jews and are not prepared to stand up for him. They say, “Yes, he is our son and he was born blind. But don’t ask us about who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”
Abandoned by his parents, this man who now sees has to endure a second tough interrogation by the Pharisees. But he becomes even bolder and he sarcastically asks them: "Do you also want to become his disciples?” He finally gives his interrogators a lesson; “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing”.
The story moves on and John tells us that Jesus is eventually told that this man who has now come very close to true belief has been driven out of the synagogue by the Pharisees. So, Jesus goes to find him.
The man who can now see asks Jesus, “who is the Son of Man?” and Jesus responds, “You have seen him and the one speaking with you is he”.
The man whom everyone, except Jesus, has treated as being insignificant responds to Jesus “Lord, I believe" and he worshipped him.
The blind man and those around him are liberated from this concept that God is going to punish anyone who steps out of line. Freed from blindness, he grows as a human being, and finally he receives the gift of faith. He has gone from describing Jesus as “the man”, to “a prophet”, to “from God”, to “Son of Man” and finally to “LORD” worthy of worship!
A journey into the fullness of sight has come to an end. A man who had grown up blind and helpless now tells others that after a life where there were many things that he could not know or understand, he now sees.
But remember that there is a second journey in this story. Another journey has been taking place as the blind man came to full sight. The journey of the Pharisees!
At first the Pharisees accept the miracle, but they aren’t sure about it being from God. Then, in an attempt to show that there never was a miracle, they call for the evidence of the parents, but the parents don’t want to get involved in the argument. They fear the Jews who will drive out of the Synagogue anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Christ.
When this plan doesn’t work, the Pharisees resort to abuse. They say that they are disciples of Moses, and they tell the man who can now see that he was entirely born in sin and they throw him out.
A journey away from sight has come to an end.
The blind man was always prepared to humbly say, “all I know is” and to look towards Jesus, the Son of Man, as the giver of true light. The Pharisees were full of their own plans and knowledge. They thought that they knew everything. But this only led them on a journey into blindness. It’s always dangerous to be confident that you know! I personally am very pleased to understand that the best thing to know is that I don’t know everything.
Jesus disciples had learned this important lesson that blindness isn’t a punishment from God. God loves us and wants us to live fully. Sometimes our own prejudices and biases are the very means through which God enables us to see new things. Perhaps to see the light!
Lent is a time to examine where we have placed our hopes. Are we being confident in our own knowledge and self-trust, where God hardly has a place, or are our hopes resting on knowing that we need the good gifts that God alone gives us?
Do we really know that our Creator God loves us “just as we are” and wants to bless us?