LENT Day 15 – See

We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. – John 9

My oldest daughter had a teacher in high school that she didn’t care for.  Each day she would come home and have something new to complain about.  She was mean, she was short with them, she yelled, she was too hard, too controlling…..too this, too that.

One evening while we were driving I told my daughter that she really needed to think outside the box about this teacher.  I explained that may be she was acting this way because something was happening in her life outside of school.  I said that was no excuse for treating the students badly, but it was an explanation about why she was constantly on edge.  May be my daughter could give this teacher a break?  My daughter didn’t want to see that there could be any other reason for this teacher’s behavior except that she was a terrible person and a terrible teacher.

Then one day things changed.  The teacher came clean to the class and explained there were some health problems with one of her children.  She told them that she felt things were so out of her control at home, that she was extra controlling in the classroom.    My daughter finally saw there was another side to this teacher and her reaction to her softened.  And you know the best part?  She became one of my daughter’s favorite teachers for the two years in a row that she had her.

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned:  this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”

Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question.  You’re looking for someone to blame.  There is no such cause-effect here.  Look instead for what God can do.  We need to be energetically at work, for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines.  When night falls, the workday is over.  For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light.  I am the world’s Light.”

He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, dubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “Sent”).  The man went and washed – and saw.

For the next few paragraphs after the verses above, the man’s family and the Pharisees are trying to figure out just who gave him his sight back.  They drill this man over and over and even bring in his parent’s to figure out who did it.  The man tells them it was Jesus.  They just don’t believe that Jesus did this because of goodness and love.  They just don’t believe the truth in front of them that Jesus can do miracles because he was sent by God the Father.    These people cannot SEE that the answer is right in front of them.  Finally the previously blind man gets upset:

“I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened.  Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?”

With that they jumped all over him.  “You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses.  We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.”

The man replied, “This is amazing!  You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes!  It’s well knows that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will.  That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of – ever.  If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

They said, “You’re nothing but dirt!  How dare you take that tone with us!”  Then they threw him out in the street.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him.  He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

The man said, “Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him.”

Jesus said, “You’re looking right at him.  Don’t you recognize my voice?”

“Master, I believe.”  the man said, and worshipped him.

Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.”

Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?”

Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”

There are times in all of our lives when we refuse to see the reality of a person or a situation.  And like the Pharisees, we are blinded to the truth that is right in front of us.  Jesus wants us to see that he came into this world to bring us light.  He wants us to see that he came to reduce our sins to ashes so we can become blameless.  Let’s no longer be blind to his love and devotion.  Let’s instead see with clear eyes the undeserved gift of his very life that he gave us.  And let’s return that love and devotion to other people that we view with clear eyes and clean hearts!

STUDY – John 9 (I Am Who I Am) – The Message Bible

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked, “Rabbi, who sinned:  this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?”

Jesus said, “You’re asking the wrong question.  You’re looking for someone to blame.  There is no such cause-effect here.  Look instead for what God can do.  We need to be energetically at work, for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines.  When night falls, the workday is over.  For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light.  I am the world’s Light.”

He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, dubbed the paste on the blind man’s eyes, and said, “Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “Sent”).  The man went and washed – and saw.  

Soon the town was buzzing.  His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, “Why, isn’t this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?”

Others said, “It’s him all right!”

But others objected, “It’s not the same man at all.   It just looks like him.”

He said, “It’s me, the very one.”

They said, “How did your eyes get opened?”

“A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told  me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ I did what he said.  When I washed, I saw.”

“So where is he?”

“I don’t know.”

They marched the man to the Pharisees.  This day when Jesus made the paste and healed his blindness was the Sabbath.  The Pharisees grilled him again on how he had come to see.  He said, “He put a clay paste on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

Some of the Pharisees said, “Obviously, this man can’t be from God.  He doesn’t keep the Sabbath.”

Others countered, “How can a bad man do miraculous, God-revealing things like this?”  There was a split in their ranks. 

They came back at the blind man, “You’re the expert.  He opened your eyes.  What do you say about him?

He said, “He is a prophet.”

The Jews didn’t believe it, didn’t believe the man was blind to begin with.  So they called the parents of the man now bright-eyed with sight.   They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind?  So how is it that he now sees?”

His parents said, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind.  But we don’t know how he came to see – haven’t a clue about who opened his eyes.  Why don’t you ask him?  He’s a grown man and can speak for himself.”  (His parents were talking like this because they were intimidated by the Jewish leaders, who had already decided that anyone who took a stand that this was the Messiah would be kicked out of the meeting place.  That’s why his parents said, “Ask him.  He’s a grown man.”)

They called the man back a second time – the man who had been blind – and told him, “Give credit to God.  We know this man is an impostor.”

He replied, “I know nothing about that one way or the other.  But I know one thing for sure:  I was blind…I now see.”

They said, “What did he do to you?  How did he open your eyes?”

“I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened.  Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?”

With that they jumped all over him.  “You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses.  We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.”

The man replied, “This is amazing!  You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes!  It’s well knows that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will.  That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of – ever.  If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

They said, “You’re nothing but dirt!  How dare you take that tone with us!”  Then they threw him out in the street.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him.  He asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

The man said, “Point him out to me, sir, so that I can believe in him.”

Jesus said, “You’re looking right at him.  Don’t you recognize my voice?”

“Master, I believe.”  the man said, and worshipped him.

Jesus then said, “I came into the world to bring everything into the clear light of day, making all the distinctions clear, so that those who have never seen will see, and those who have made a great pretense of seeing will be exposed as blind.”

Some Pharisees overheard him and said, “Does that mean you’re calling us blind?”

Jesus said, “If you were really blind, you would be blameless, but since you claim to see everything so well, you’re accountable for every fault and failure.”