This event is about far more than physical healing; it reveals the necessity of Jesus’ deliverance from spiritual darkness.
“Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
It is a haunting question when faced with human suffering. It is one which rarely gets spoken about, at least in our day. Who is at fault? Whose sin is the cause of this man’s blindness? But as is often the case in John’s Gospel, this question and the scene that unfolds speak deeper truths about fallen humanity and the need for a new creation.
Our Lord’s response opens to us the deeper truth that is playing out. He says, “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.” This event is about far more than physical healing; it reveals the necessity of Jesus’ deliverance from spiritual darkness.
Preaching this text ought to focus on our complete need for such healing. With regard to the truth of God, we are spiritually blind. Every attempt to save ourselves, every effort to gain sight on our own, ought to be exposed as falling short. It might be helpful to speak about the many ways the world offers your listeners to gain sight. All attempts to provide security, identity, and meaning outside of the revelation of God are revealed to be other forms of spiritual blindness.
The healing provided by our Lord is unique and profound. And it is here that a preacher may expand into the recreative work of Christ to bring sight to the blind. We read, “Having said these things, He spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So, he went, washed, and came back seeing.” This is more than a simple command, like the paralytic lowered through the roof. It is more than a touch of His garment or the grasping of His hand. The making of mud and placing it on his eyes is an act of creation.
The making of mud and placing it on his eyes is an act of creation.
Irenaeus picks up on this in Against Heresies (Book 5, Chapter 15). He writes:
“Now the work of God is the fashioning of man. For, as the Scripture says, He made [man] by a kind of process: And the Lord took clay from the earth and formed man (Genesis 2:7). Wherefore also the Lord spat on the ground and made clay, and smeared it upon the eyes, pointing out the original fashioning [of man], how it was effected, and manifesting the hand of God to those who can understand by what [hand] man was formed out of the dust. For that which the artificer, the Word, had omitted to form in the womb, [viz., the blind man's eyes], He then supplied in public, that the works of God might be manifested in him, in order that we might not be seeking out another hand by which man was fashioned, nor another Father; knowing that this hand of God which formed us at the beginning, and which does form us in the womb, has in the last times sought us out who were lost, winning back His own, and taking up the lost sheep upon His shoulders, and with joy restoring it to the fold of life.”
The clay echoes the original formation of man. The water recalls our baptism. Here, at the word and action of our Lord, sight is given to the man born blind. This is a further unfolding of the truth proclaimed to Nicodemus in chapter 3, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.”
The work of giving sight to the spiritually blind is the redemptive work of a new creation that comes in Christ. And this is precisely the Good News given to your listeners. The spiritual blindness of a fallen creation is being made new in the work of Jesus alone. We all, like the blind man, are beggars who cannot find sight on our own. The assurance of the true light of the world is the hope for your congregation.
God bless your preaching!
Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out 1517’s resources on John 9:1-41
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching John 9:1-41
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
The Pastor’s Workshop-Check out all the great preaching resources from our friends at the Pastor’s Workshop!
