How did Jesus open your eyes ?
In John chapter 9, we find the story about a man who was born blind, and had lived that way into adulthood. But then one day, along came Jesus, and He opened the man’s eyes. It says in verses 1 & 2; “And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him saying; Rabbi, (which means, “teacher”) ..who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?”
People used to think that physical ailments were a punishment from God, because you had sinned. But that’s never been true. So when the disciples asked Jesus who’s sin caused this man’s blindness, Jesus corrects their misunderstanding, and He says in verse 3; “Neither this man sinned, nor his parents. But, it is so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
Causing the blind to see, was a part of the “works of God”. But you know, causing the blind to see, is also an analogy, for causing those who are blinded by sin, to see the light of God, and the light of His word. And I would say.. That is the main part of “the works of God”! To allow those in darkness, to see the light, and thus to be saved from their sin.
Jesus said in John 9, verse 4; “It is necessary for us, to work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; Night is coming when no man shall work.” In other words, there’ll come a time, when you and I and everyone else, will no longer have the opportunity to do God’s work. And so we need to be making the most of the time we have.
The apostle Paul wrote about darkness and light, and about how we conduct ourselves, and how we use our time, in Ephesians 5:11 & 16. Here’s what he wrote; “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. (in other words, reveal the light) For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But all things become visible, when they are exposed by the light; For everything that becomes visible, is light. For this reason it says, “Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you. Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
The days are full of wickedness, they’re full of darkness, but the work of God is to dispel that darkness, with the light of His word. And with the light of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said.. “WE MUST work the works of Him who sent Me..”
Jesus was speaking to His disciples at that moment. But don’t those words now also apply to us today? Jesus is gone from the earth. His disciples are gone from the earth. But WE are here. If we’re to call ourselves Christians, then it’s WE who must work the works of God today.
Jesus said in verse 5; “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” But on another occasion, in Mathew 5, verse 14, Jesus said; “YOU are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Picture a city, set on a hill, at night, and all the lights are shining. It can’t very well be hidden, can it? And who would want to hide it?
Jesus said that while He was in the world, HE was the light of the world. But now Jesus is gone, and so who’s the light of the world now? You are, if you’re a Christian.
YOU are here to illuminate the world. YOU are here to do the works of God, and YOU are here to open people’s eyes to the truth. Christians are like a city set on a hill, like a beacon of truth. Christians are a refuge for the world. The church as a whole, is “a city set on a hill”, lighting the way for the world.
Think back to when you first learned the gospel. How did God “open your eyes” to the truth, that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God? The truth that Jesus is the source of eternal salvation to all whose who obey Him? Did God open your eyes miraculously? Or did He open your eyes, through a Christian preaching God’s word?
The church of Christ is like a city set on a hill; It PROCLAIMS the truth! It REVEALS the truth through the bible, so that eyes can be opened, and hearts can understand. And you as a Christian, are “the light of the world”. You give off light so that others can see. In other words, you exhibit the truth, so that others can see the truth, and know the truth.
Last week, we sang a song called “Let The Lower Lights Be Burning”. It starts out like this; “Brightly beams our Father’s mercy, from His lighthouse ever more”. God’s lighthouse has to be heaven, because that’s where His mercy shines down from.
And then the song says; “But to us He gives the keeping, of the lights along the shore”. WE are the lights along the shore. We need to light the way, so others can see!
Mathew 5, verse 16 says; “Let your light shine before men, in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Let God use you, to open the eyes of others. Isn’t that how your eyes were opened? God used a Christian, to help open your eyes.
And that’s why Jesus said to His disciples, and that’s why He says to us today.. “It is necessary for US to work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; Night is coming when no man shall work.”
We read from John 9, verse 5, how Jesus had said; “I am the light of the world”. And then the scripture says, in verses 6 & 7; “And when He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay (or mud) from the saliva, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him; Go wash in the pool of Siloam (which is translated “sent”). And so he went away and washed, and came back seeing.” The pool of Siloam wasn’t a natural pool of water, but rather, the water was “piped” there, in other words the water was “sent” from a nearby spring. Hence the name “Siloam” or, “sent”.
Do you wonder why Jesus bothered to make an ointment of mud, and put it on the blind man’s eyes? Some people have spent a lot of time trying to rationalize why Jesus did that. In Mark 8, verse 23, Jesus again used His saliva to heal a blind man. And in Mark 7, verse 33, Jesus spit on His finger, and touched a man’s tongue with it, to give the man the ability to speak clearly.
Saliva actually does have healing qualities. That’s why animals lick their wounds, because their saliva cleanses them. But saliva sure can’t cure blindness. So why did Jesus do that? Maybe Jesus was using HIS saliva, and a little bit of the “dust of the ground” to symbolize a balm for healing. But it wasn’t really the balm that cured the blindness. And it wasn’t really the water of the pool of Siloam either. It was the power of God that did the healing.
It’s like the water of baptism. It’s not really the water that washes away our sins, it’s the power of God that cleanses us.
Let’s go back to John chapter 9. I’m want to start reading, beginning with verse 13, and go all the at through verse 34. Listen to the verbal exchange that goes on here..
“They brought to the Pharisees, him who was formerly blind. Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Again therefore, the Pharisees also were asking him how he received his sight. And he said to them; He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see. Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying; This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath. But others were saying; How can a man who is a sinner, perform such signs? And there was a division among them. They said therefore to the blind man again; What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes? And he said; He is a prophet!”
“The Jews therefore did not believe it of him, that he had been blind, and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them saying; Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see? His parents answered them and said; We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But how he now sees, we do not know, or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him, he is of age, he shall speak for himself.”
“His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed, that if anyone should confess Him to be the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said; He is of age, ask him. So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him; Give glory to God! We know, THIS man is a sinner. He therefore answered; Whether He is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.”
“They said therefore to him; What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
“He answered them; I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear again” You do not want to become His disciples too, do you? And they reviled him, and said; YOU are His disciple, but WE are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from. The man answered and said to them; Well, here is an amazing thing; That you do not know where He is from, and yet He has opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him.” (In other words, THIS man is being blessed by God) “Since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
“They answered and said to him; You were born entirely in sins, and you are teaching us? And they put him out.”
Some people simply refuse to see. They refuse to open their eyes. These Jews who wouldn’t believe, thought that they were disciples of Moses. But if they had TRULY been Moses’ disciples, they would have believed in Jesus. Jesus said in John 5:46; “For had you believed Moses, you would have believed Me; For he wrote of Me.”
Moses prophesied about the coming Messiah in Deuteronomy chapter 18, beginning with verse 15, when he said; “The Lord thy God will raise up a prophet unto thee from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me. Unto Him you shall harken.” And that prophecy continues through verse 22.
And we know that the Jews understood the prophecy of Moses, because it says in John 1, verse 45; “Philip found Nathaniel and said to him; We have found Him, whom Moses in the law, and the prophets wrote; Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus spoke of the unbelieving Jews. He said in Luke 16, verse 31; “..If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.” That’s how blind some people can be. Some people simply will not allow their eyes to be opened, and so they remain spiritually blind.
I’ll just read a few more verses here, beginning with John 9, verse 35; Speaking about the man who was born blind; “Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said; Do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered and said; And who is He Lord, that I may believe in Him? Jesus said to him; You have both SEEN Him, and He is the one who is talking with you. And he said; Lord, I believe! And he worshipped Him.”
“And Jesus said; For judgment, I came into this world, that those who do not see, may see; And that those who see, may become blind.”
“Those of the Pharisees who were with Him, heard these things and said to Him; We are not blind too, are we? Jesus said to them; If you were blind, you would have no sin. But since you say ‘We see”, your sin remains.”
Jesus came into this world, to open the eyes of those who do not see, and to basically “close the eyes” of those who claim to see, but who actually refuse to see! Jesus said; If you were truly blind, and had absolutely no way to see the truth, then you wouldn’t have any sin either. And the reason for that, is that God never demands anything from us, that is impossible for us to accomplish. It’s like saying; “..But sin is not imputed, where there is no law”. Romans 5, verse 13.
But yet there’s plenty of people, who out of their own pride, say: I’m not blind, I can see perfectly well. And so there is a law for them. And when that person refuses to believe, and obey the law, then their sin remains, and it will condemn them.
There’s an old proverb, not from the bible, but it sounds like it could be. It says; “There are none so blind, as those who will not see.”
Here’s one that is from the bible. Jeremiah 5:21 says; “Hear this, O foolish people, without heart, who have eyes, but see not, who have ears, but hear not.”
Jeremiah 8, verse 22 says; “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the healing of the daughter of My people been restored?” There was a balm in Gilead, and there’s a balm everywhere.
And there’s another analogy that can be made here..
Jesus made a balm out of some saliva and some dirt. And He applied it to the eyes of a blind man, and He opened his eyes. And Jesus has made a balm for us, out of water and the word. Ephesians 5, verse 26, speaks about the body of the saved, and it says; “..That He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.”
How does Jesus open the eyes of people today? He does it through His word. Just like when Jesus made a balm for the blind man, and put it on his eyes, Jesus puts His word in front of our eyes, and it has the power to heal. And how was the healing of the blind man completed, after the balm was applied? He was told to go and wash in the water of the pool of Siloam, and he came back seeing.
After we learn His word, we’re told to go and wash in the water of baptism, and when we do, we come back saved.
What about you? Will you let God open your eyes and save you? All you need to do, is focus your eyes on His word, and then believe that word. And then obey the word, by repenting of your sins, and confessing the name of Christ. And then the word sends you to the water of baptism, where you’re washed, and where you’re saved.
