John 9:1-12
Key Verse: 9:4
“As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.”
In the previous passage we learned that we have to hold on to Jesus’ teachings to become his true disciples and then we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. In the first part of chapter 9, Jesus heals a man born blind. Through this event Jesus declares that he is the light of the world. Jesus found the work of God in the man born blind. He reveals that we can do the work of God as long as it is day. This means that night is coming when no one can work. We have a limited life span to work for God. Jesus dispelled his disciples’ fatalistic view of life by healing this man born blind. Let’s find the work of God in our life. May God give us a bright view of life through this passage. I pray that we may serve the work of God while we are young and powerful.
PART I TO DISPLAY THE WORK OF GOD (1-5)
Look at verse 1. "As Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth." What did the disciples do when they saw this man? Look at verse 2. “His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind.’” When the disciples saw the man, many questions arose in their minds. This man was blind before he was born. (1,2) The disciples' question, "Who sinned this man or his parents." is very fatalistic. Hebrew people thought that blindness came as a result of someone's sin. The Old Testament suggests that parent's sins result in the suffering of their children.(Ex. 20:5,34;7) The disciples wanted to know whose sin was the cause of his misery. Their thinking structure was based on cause and effect. When something went wrong, people used to find someone to blame. Who is the cause of all these troubles? If they could not find any answer, either they blame themselves or feel miserable. When we listened to the life testimonies, most people blamed their parents for the cause of their problems. They said, “Who sinned? My parents sinned. My father’s abusive life style was the cause of all my problems. My parents’ divorce was the source of all my problems.” This kind of view of life causes people to suffer endlessly. They cannot find the meaning of life and become unforgiving and live in sorrow and despair. Job’s three friends suggested that all of Job’s miseries were caused by his sin. Our fundamental question is “Why do men suffer? Why do many tragedies happen? Why did God allow 9-11 happen? Who is fault for my endless suffering?” Many say, “I got an accident because I sinned before God. God is punishing my children due to my sins.” This kind of fatalistic view of life causes us to become a child of sorrow and bitterness. Fatalism causes men to become a prisoner of darkness and negative thinking. Many people think, “My life is a God’s mistake. I am here by an accident.” Jesus’ disciples became very sorrowful when they saw the blind man's fatalistic elements of life.
How did Jesus answer their question? Look at verse 3. " 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned,' said Jesus, 'but this happened that the work of God might be displayed in his life.'" Jesus did not blame this man or his parents for his blindness but found the work of God. Jesus said the same thing when he heard that Lazarus was sick in John 11:4, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Jesus confirmed that human misfortune is not caused by someone’s sin but it is to reveal the glory of God. This verse clearly tells us that man's life purpose is not to feel miserable because of one man's human condition, but to display God's glory, whatever situation he or she might be in. According to Jesus' words, human conditions or circumstances do not make men miserable at all. At the same time, whatever situation we may be in or whatever kind of person we may be, we must not sit down and complain and be miserable. We must find the way to display the glory of God. We must find the work of God in all situations. We should not think that God failed us or made us miserable when we face many difficult human situations. Rather, we must find the way to render glory to God. Then God will bless us beyond our imagination. This is God's truth for mankind. As we know, Shannon Smith lost his parents when he was young. I cannot find a proper word to comfort him. Can we find the work of God in this situation? Yes, God wants Shannon to be a shepherd for many fatherless people. He struggles to live by faith. We were amazed when he memorized the entire book of Romans last year. Recently he found the work of God and volunteered to mow the lawns in our center. Folake Jagun had many reasons to be sorrowful and fatalistic about her life situation. But she refused to allow fatalism to dictate her life. She found the work of God in her life. She shared her powerful life testimony sharing God’s love in her life and attended Guatemala International conference. She found the work of God to become a missionary for many students with broken families using her Spanish. According to Shep. Steve, many Guatemalan students came from poor and broken families. But they are happy when they found the work of God in Jesus. Moses Chon was sorrowful because his parents did not have college degrees. But he found the work of God to be a man of prayer like Moses. Abraham Lincoln was born in a poor family in Kentucky. But he overcame his fatalistic element of life and became one of the greatest presidents of United States of America.
In brief, man should not live according to situations; man must live with God’s provision and creation faith. Each person is made to display God's glory. This man was born blind with an obligation to display God's glory through his blindness. Jesus teaches that this man is not born to be miserable, but to display God's glory. There is no accident in God. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” We find God’s purpose in all human situations. We must accept this truth and overcome our human conditions and give glory to God. When one does not live for the glory of God, he cannot but live for selfish human desire. The result is drug abuse, alcoholism, and all kinds of evildoing. Therefore, in whatever situation we may be, whatever kind of person we may be, each of us must live for the glory of God. That’s the purpose of life given to man. God made man to live for the glory of God, not for the glory of perishing world. The seed of the tragedy of mankind is self-seeking. The fountain of happiness is to live for the glory of God.
Many a person says, "I am the most miserable person who ever lived since the world was made because of my human conditions and circumstances." Someone may think, "I am very miserable because I have red hair." Other may think "I am very miserable because the angle of my nose is too low." One young girl said, “I am miserable because I have many pimples.” Jake said, “If I were a little bit taller, I could have attracted all the women of the world.” But God made him uniquely as he is so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. God removed all the possible headaches from me by giving him the best height. One second-generation kid said, “I am fatalistic because I was born as a missionary kid. This is my destiny that I did not choose.” But later he realized God’s purpose in his life and gave thanks to God for giving him a privilege to live with God’s people from young age. There are many gorgeous young men and women in this world. They seem to be happy and have no problem at all. But each of them carries one secret element of sorrow in their life. They have to find the work of God in their life.
The man born blind might have thought he was the most miserable person, because he could not see the beautiful world with his eyes. He could not enjoy the bright sunlight. He could not see all kinds of color combinations. He could not go sightseeing of D.C. His eyes were there only to cry. He could not see his mother's beautiful face. Because he could not see, he could misunderstand many things. As a result, he lived in prejudice and the darkness of night all the time. But to Jesus, he was not miserable because of his human conditions and circumstances; he was miserable because he had no purpose of life in Jesus. We know the story of Fanny J. Crosby who wrote many beautiful hymns touched millions of people's hearts. Though she was a blind, she could see the beauty of the spiritual world better than normal person with two eyes. She saw rapture now bursting in her sight and angels descending bring from above though she did not have physical eyes. (Hymn 437) Her spiritual eyes were always up into the heaven not down in this ugly sinful world. Jesus' words, "...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life," are the words of life that can heal any person's dark thinking and transform any kind of wretched person into a child of God.
Look at verses 4 and 5. "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." In this allegorical expression, "day" refers to "lifetime." "Night refers to "after death." Jesus is telling us that God gives man his lifetime to display God's glory, not to grieve over his miserable human condition or destiny. The night of darkness is coming when no one can work. Some people work in the night shift. How tragic it is for a man to discover too late that he wasted his time with miserable feelings and that he wasted his life, when he might have done something with it to glorify God. The most dreadful thing in the world is that we cannot work any more. But it is a cold reality that a time is coming when we cannot work any longer. Whether we like it or not, death is coming surely and slowly to all men. Hymn number 339 says, “Work, for the night is coming, under the sunset skies. While the bright tints are glowing, work for daylight flies. Work till the last beam fades, fades to shine no more. Work while the night is darkening, when man’s work is over.” We have a limited time to do the work of God. We have to maximize our lifespan to do the work of God. Dr. Daniel Hong was eager to serve the work of God in spite of his failing health due to his liver problem. He wanted to use every minute to serve God’s flocks. His life motto was “life is like a balloon and grab it while it is available.” God used his life to display his glory. One Chinese philosopher said, “It is easier for a young man to become old but it is harder to master the way of learning.” I agree with him totally. It was like yesterday when I met M. Luke Lim as a young medical student carrying a heavy study bag. Now we are growing old together. Many senior missionaries work hard to do the work of God while it is day. M. Moses Chang wants to pioneer another country after he retires. Many young people have a habit of postponing thinking, "There will be plenty of time to do the work of God. So let me enjoy little bit of sin and this world. I lose too much if I do the work of God now." Jay Jagun is the youngest Bible teacher among us. Is she a big loser because she came to UBF too early? I see a great hope of God when I see young YDJ members who are eager to do the work of God while it is day. Don’t delay to do the work of God. We do not know when night will come for us. The night comes, it will come certainly, may come suddenly, is coming nearer and nearer. Now is the best time to do the work of God. Did you find the work of God in your life today?
Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” When any person accepts Jesus in his heart, Jesus drives out all the dark and dead things in him and fills him with the Holy Spirit. So the author said in his prologue, “The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world” (1:9). The blind man was in utter darkness. But when he accepted Jesus into his heart, he could see the light. Those who have accepted Jesus have the light of life. They know what they are doing, and they are happy in Jesus. Here we must remember Jesus’ words, “I am the light of the world.” Here we learn that we must firmly believe that Jesus is the light of the world. Where there is no Jesus, there is only the darkness of sin and death. Where there is the light of Jesus in one’s heart, there is peace and joy, and the glory of God shines upon him. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world."
PART II. "GO...WASH IN THE POOL OF SILOAM” (6-12)
Jesus taught his disciples how to overcome the fatalistic way of thinking in their hearts. Here, Jesus teaches how to put what we know into practice. In chapter 6 we learned that Jesus fed the 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. So, he could have opened this blind man's eyes with one word. But Jesus wanted to teach his disciples how to overcome the fatalistic elements of life practically. Look at verse 6. "Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes.” When he had no water, he used his saliva as water. When he had no medical instrument, he used mud on the ground as medicine. He spit on the ground, made some mud, and put it in the man’s eyes. In this way Jesus found the way to heal the man. When we see Jesus’ way of healing the man born blind, it looks very funny. Jesus might have been accused of medical malpractice. But this is the expression of divine love; it is the expression of God’s shepherd heart for mankind. Those who imitated Jesus in this, all became great leaders in the world. Everyone has saliva and ground. Shep. Steve said that he trained 5 Guatemala messengers though he speaks little Spanish. How? He used his two years Spanish study and a Spanish dictionary and a computer translation software and an interpreter as his saliva and mud. He became a powerful message trainer. This is the way of making things work out. This is the way to overcome the fatalistic elements of life. No one can overcome his or her fatalistic element of life by just sitting and begging for others' sympathy. But most importantly, we learn Jesus' shepherd heart. When Jesus, the Good Shepherd, saw this man, he was determined to help him out, and he did.
How did the blind man respond? The blind man had already been enough humiliated during his short lifetime as a blind beggar. So he must have been very sensitive to others. When Jesus put mud on his eyes mixed with saliva and told him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam," he could have become very rebellious and cried with a loud voice, "You also despise me! Take your hands off of my eyes!" But the blind man obeyed. He was not upset because he trusted Jesus. He could have washed his muddy eyes in the first fountain he found but he went to all the way to the pool of Siloam. He endured Jesus’ obedience training very well. He was not emotional but was very patient. What happened to him? Look at verse 7b. He came home seeing. What a great miracle it was! This miracle, "He went and washed, and came home seeing", is more victorious than Caesar's victory chant, "Veni, vidi, vici--I came, I saw, I conquered." Then this man experienced God's healing when he obeyed Jesus' method though he could not understand why. What a surprise! Here we learn that God can work together with those who obey him.
By the great mercy of Jesus, the blind man could see the beautiful world. He did not need eye surgery because Jesus gave him 20/20 vision. What did the people in his community think of him when he could see? In the past, they must have felt good to see a person inferior to them, begging on the corner of a street, "Alms for the blind!" But the blind man's eyes has been opened, and now he was going around with a big smile. "How are you today? It is a beautiful day. PTL." When his neighbors saw him, they said, "Isn't this the same man that used to sit and beg?" (8) Others said, "No, he only looks like him." (9a) This man's changed life brought identity crisis among the neighbors. You know that Shep. Anthony Ahmed used to be a disciple of Mohammed. Now he was changed to become a disciple of Jesus. His old friends said, "Isn't this the same Anthony who engaged Jihad in the past?’ When we are changed by the grace of God, suddenly old buddies began to feel strange about our new identity as God's children like the neighbors of the blind man. At that time we must testify clearly, " I am the man." In verse 11 he replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see." Did you come here not knowing Jesus the light of the world? I pray that you may go home seeing Jesus after this worship service.
Today Jesus teaches us how to overcome fatalism. Today Jesus teaches us that the purpose of life is to display the glory of God. Today Jesus teaches us that we can see the kingdom of God and enter the kingdom of God when we obey his words, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam.” Finally, we must remember that Jesus is the light of the world. There is no fatalism in the light of Jesus. There is only joy and happiness and burning hope in Jesus.