An Open Heart to See More Clearly
An Open Heart to See More Clearly
Noah Fitch
March 15, 2026
PART I: The Power to See
John 9:1-7; 35-41. Verse 5 is the key verse of this message. Stepping back, let’s establish what exactly led up to this point in John 9. John 7-9 occurs during the Feast of Tabernacles, a huge festival in Judaism. One of the key features of this event is the lighting of massive temple lights that brightly illuminate Jerusalem. However, in John 8:12, Jesus makes a claim, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” The light the Jews were celebrating and waiting for was here, found in the love of Christ.
The pharisees did not like these claims one bit. They confront Jesus, trying to disprove his divinity and authority over all people. Jesus then claims confidently in John 8:58, “Very truly I tell you… before Abraham was born, I am!” This is echoing the words God spoke to Moses with in Exodus 3:14. The pharisees understood what Jesus was implying, and in the next verse, “they picked up stones to stone him.” Instead of needlessly facing severe injury or even death at this point, Jesus decided to flee the temple. After Jesus made these claims about being the light of the world, we then find Him encountering the blind man in Chapter 9. Let’s pray for today’s service.
Have you ever imagined what it would be like to be physically blind? To not have the ability to see anything at all? Not being able to see sunlight, the colors of a summer day, people’s faces… a disability like this is tragic. It’s natural to think in either two ways about this fate as believers; 1) like the disciples in verse 2 asking Jesus was this the result of sin from this man or the parents? Or 2) why would a loving God allow such a disability to exist?
The 2nd question I asked in my introduction can be rephrased into, “why does God allow suffering?” This has been an age-old question that believers and non-believers have asked themselves consistently- especially when personal suffering occurs. My dad and I would tease my older brother when he broke his leg. We would move our legs up and down, left and right, forward and back, and diagonally, taunting him in his pain. Our teasing made us crack up, while he sat and stared in frustration. But when I broke my arm after a scooter accident, oh boy was it payback time from him. He rotated his arm is ways I’ve never seen anyone else do.
It is very easy to ignore others’ suffering, or worse, to be happy that our enemies are suffering. But when we suffer ourselves, we seek help and attention, we want rest and peace, we want politeness by people who take care of us or are just walking by. We should never be intimidated by the suffering of others, but instead, always willing to assist- whether we are eager to or not. It is very simple to just walk past someone who is plainly suffering- but it takes someone with a truly loving heart, a mind not set on their own, to stop and help. This is exactly what Jesus embodies and who He is.
We often don’t respond to this world’s suffering unless we ourselves have experienced or witnessed a loved one who has experienced a certain type of suffering. It is interesting though, when you flip the perspective on this: suffering drives us to make change- either within ourselves or within or communities and world. Experiencing mental illness myself made me realize the value of my life and the plan God has for me. And the blind man in this passage lived with blindness for a reason: for that very moment of Jesus performing a miracle to show his love and divinity for all to remember.
Additionally, God can directly intervene or show Himself more clearly during our suffering. Julian of Norwich was an anchoress, a sort of Christian hermit, when she became deathly ill at the age on 30 in the 14th century. A curate administered the last rites of the church to her, anticipating her death. When the curate held a crucifix above her bed, she began to lose her sight and felt herself go numb. But looking at the crucifix, she saw Jesus begin to bleed. She proceeded to have 15 visions of Jesus over the next several hours. She then recovered and healed from the illness.
She recorded these visions, and on top of being the only surviving writings of an English anchoress, they also remain to be the earliest surviving English-language works written by a woman (happy women’s history month by the way!) The visions she wrote down included a crucified Christ, God was to make all well, Jesus caring for us, the Devil defeated, and more. Her visions were used to inspire many people throughout centuries to maintain hope in God and the knowledge that He is all-loving and has each of us in His hands. After surviving her illness, she said, “[God] did not say, “You shall not be tempest-tossed, you shall not be weary, you shall not be troubled,’ but He said, ‘You shall not be overcome.’” We will face trial and suffering, people will experience blindness and impairment like the man in John 9, but we can all take heart that a loving God has a plan to use our suffering for good and for His glory.
Jesus affirms this idea in verse 3. He says specifically that this man does not have this disability due to sin from him or his parents. Instead, he maintained it so that Jesus’ miracles could be displayed in him. We are naturally imperfect vessels traveling and attempting to survive a naturally imperfect world. But God wants to use every part of us, even the broken parts, to spread His Word and love. And that’s what the definition of love is. To still want to be with us and bless us despite how broken we are as people is what makes it true love.
Jesus also reassures us all through this verse that God does not hand out curses or make people permanently disabled due to sin. It is interesting that it is the disciples, not the pharisees, that bring this up. Concerning the parents, this is even answered in the Old Testament, in Ezekiel 18:20. God does not punish children for the sins of their fathers or mothers. If this were the reality, generational punishment would be so severe that all of us would be so deformed to the point where we wouldn’t even exist. And for me personally, I would be way too scared to see how my child would turn out based on the number of sins I’ve committed in my life.
But concerning the blind man, how could he have sinned to where at birth, he was blind? Now, we are all born with inherent sin, but then wouldn’t we all be physically blind? What could he have done in the womb to where God decided to intervene and punish him as he is being formed? God does not punish the innocent. Moreso, through Christ’s death, He does not curse people for their sins. We face the consequences of sin when we do give in, but God does not damn us to hell or torture under Christ’s name. We must fervently repent, seeking God and to be closer to Him, but we will not be ultimately punished for our sins. Praise God that Christ paid the price for us!
John 9:4-5. What does Jesus mean by this? Is he against nightshift work and is saying He only works before the streetlights turn on? No, Jesus is talking about conducting His spiritual ministry and performing miracles as long as His physical presence is on Earth, or “as long as it is day.” As Jesus was human, He naturally would not have forever to perform endless miracles all throughout time. Plus, if He were still healing directly today, I’m sure the 8.3 billion people alive today would want to make at least one visit, creating a healthcare and logistical disaster. So, Jesus needed to perform the miracles God sent Him to do with the time He was given.
The “night” Jesus refers to in the second half of verse 4 is the time of Jesus death or when He is eventually crucified. His crucifixion would mark an eventual end to His Earthly ministry, where He would no longer be directly involved in preaching and performing miracles. We will find later in the Gospels that Jesus instructs us that we are the new ministry that is to bring the Lord’s works into action. Just because night did eventually come does not mean Jesus’ ministry is over. Night actually needed to come in order to complete Jesus’ Earthly ministry and mission. And now it is our turn to preach the goodness of God’s love and mercy.
Verse 5, the key verse of this sermon, completes the idea Jesus was making in 4 as well as alluding to several key ideas. Jesus is the light of the world. Because He is the light, while He is in the world, He must complete the tasks God placed for Him to do. As Christians, we must feel this same call. Maybe God hasn’t answered you yet with opportunities to serve Him or of blessings, but would you be ready to do so when the time comes? And if the time has come in the past, what was your response? Like Jesus, we do not have eternity on this planet to conduct our ministry. It must be done purposefully and timely- not rushed or against God’s timing- but timely enough to where it is efficient.
Building on top of what I said previously about night being necessary in Jesus’ mission and that it was not the end of what He set out to do is the idea that Jesus is still in this world, with us, even after His death. Matthew 28:20. John 14:18. He will never abandon us, and He resides in each and every one of us who believes in Him. Cling to Jesus, because He died for us and is offering to help us by residing in this world through us.
What does it mean to be the light of the world? Jesus mentioned this earlier in chapter 8, so why say it again? Jesus is approaching the blind man, so how would he have interpreted what light really is? This mirrors our spiritual journey, especially at conversion or times of deep reflection and repentance. We were once completely blind to God, unable to see His love and beauty and how we should enact such things onto others. And Jesus mentions this again because to be the light of the world is to be the one who reveals all. Without light and revelation, we are blind and lost.
Light gives a naturally calming effect onto humans. Even as infants, we’ve all been attracted to some sort of light. The amount of beaming neon lights at Urban Air is unheard of- a huge attraction for kids. And as adults, the amount of time we spend in front of screens with flashing colors and special lights, me especially, is unheard of. But the light Jesus gives is a light like no other. The peace you receive when Jesus’ light shines on you let’s you cope with life better and see that God is very much active in this world. The change in lenses or perspectives you get when cleansed in the light of Christ heals the deepest wounds. It may not immediately get rid of everything painful, but with time, you learn more that God is with you and there is nothing to fear- and the pain may eventually get easier or even go away.
John 9:6-7. Now we come to the actual miracle. What was the purpose of this ritual? Ultimately, it was to test the faith of the blind man. Was he wiling to let another man put mud that’s mixed with his spit onto his eyes? And then listen to His commands to wash in some pool? It was because this man put his faith in Jesus that this miracle was able to occur. He let Jesus put the mud on his eyes and he walked and washed in the Pool of Siloam. And the result? He came home seeing!
Are you willing to listen to Jesus’ commands and God’s plan for you? Miraculous transformations await for those that do! If Jesus has the power to send a blind man home seeing, what do you think Jesus is capable of doing for you? John Newton is the author of the hymn, Amazing Grace. Before writing this, he was not a believer and was instead deeply involved in the Atlantic slave trade. One night, however, while traveling on one of his slave ships, he found himself in a terrible storm. Thinking that he was going to die, he prayed to God, his first, genuine prayer to Him, asking for help. He and everyone aboard ended up surviving the storm, and Newton thanked God. He ended his business in the slave trade and became a strong abolitionist, protesting and fighting for the end of slavery in America.
Newton encountered the light of Jesus while in the darkest storm. Similar to Julian of Norwich’s story, or the blind man in this chapter, God revealed himself to Newton through a time of great fear and uncertainty. And not to say that God wasn’t ready for him before. God is always ready for us to cling onto Him and come to Him when we need help. Sometimes it takes suffering to understand our need for God and how deep His love truly is as a result of us frequently not coming to Him.
PART II: The Commitment to See
Jumping ahead to the end of the chapter, we find Jesus encountering the blind (now seeing) man again. He had just been thrown our of the synagogue by the pharisees for proclaiming that Jesus was sent directly from God and had done the miracle on him on the Sabbath. The pharisees had even called in his parents to interrogate him further like it was the principal’s office. My mom was once called to the principal’s office when I was in 8th grade for something I did wrong. Up until that point, I had never gotten called to the principal’s office or did any serious rule-breaking growing up. The principal had also called in the computer teacher, as the scene of the crime occurred in the computer lab. Having finished my tasks for the period, I started fooling around on a prank website where you could pretend to be doing different things: writing an email, working on a Word document, or even pretending to hack a system.
The hack-a-system prank got flagged by the school’s system as a potential attack, and linked me as the user behind it. My mom immediately sided with the school and accused me of hacking. Despite my mom’s crossed arms and glares, despite the endless refutes from the computer teacher, I held my ground that this was all a misunderstanding and that this website was clearly for jokes. I thankfully won my case and was not punished. Now, unlike the blind man, my initial incentive was for selfish reasons, trying to look cool pretending to hack. But like the blind man, I held my ground against people of authority that were falsely accusing me of a crime.
Let’s look at verses 35-36. Jesus hears that the man has been thrown out of the synagogue, and the very first thing He asks the man is if he believes in the Son of Man. Jesus understands and knows that this man fought proudly to proclaim the miracle He did for him, despite the consequences of not only being rejected by the synagogue, but also betrayed by your parents. So, Jesus knows what is in his heart and decides to ask him this question about His divinity.
Verse 36 sees the man innocently ask, “who is he, sir?” Here, he is genuinely asking and curious about the Son of Man, or the One promised from God. He reminds me of some sweet old man, someone who is kind and truthful at heart, but can be a little oblivious sometimes. But then the man says, “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” This man experienced the light of Jesus from head to toe and he is more than ready to worship Him! It’s natural to feel the fire- either through excitement or calming peace- and want more of it! Because of such a gracious blessing, the man was willing to put his full faith in Jesus.
Verses 37-38 shows a direct conversion through conversation. Verse 37 almost reminds me of the humorous line Obi-wan or Ben says to Luke in the original Star Wars after being asked who Obi-wan Kenobi was: “Of course I know him; he’s me!” It’s interesting and almost humorous the way Jesus reveals Himself as the Son of Man to him. It does go along with the rest of the Gospels where Jesus does not word-for-word declare Himself as the Messiah or King of the Jews, but rather implicitly confirms that He is the Christ. Matthew 26:63-64. Matthew 27:11. Mark 14:61-62. Mark 15:2. Jesus makes these implicit claims because He is not a messiah that is a conquering politician, as most of the Jews were expecting. He is a humble a suffering servant.
Verse 38 is a very simple yet beautiful response. “’Lord I believe,’ and he worshiped him.” No strings attached to his commitment, no asking “oh can you first heal this scab on my leg before I believe?”, or “my Aunt Betty needs a new home; help her, then I’ll believe.” Just, “Lord, I believe.” Is your mindset like this when you experience a miracle or blessing? How about when you feel hardships and pain? Are you still able to say, “Lord, I believe?” When things get hard, I know I sometimes forget about God and I try to man the sails alone, wanting to quickly get through the tall waves. But especially when things get hard, we need to cry out to God for help and comfort, first saying “Lord, I believe.”
John 9:39. Jesus here is speaking directly about those who can see Him as the Messiah and one sent from God compared to those who can’t. The irony in both this statement and this passage is that a literal blind man was able to see and accept Jesus. He was the example of Jesus’ mission to come into the world to help the blind see, especially spiritually. We all started as the blind man or even fell back into blindness after a period of time. It is dark, scary, and hopeless when we are blind. Pray that our eyes may be open every day to receive the shining light of God!
The second half of Jesus’ statement in verse 39 speaks of those who see will become blind. If you already know God, how can you go blind from Him? For the Pharisees, it was their direct disagreements and disbeliefs in Jesus. Despite being teachers of the Law, pouring hundreds and hundreds of hours into scripture and actively trying to practice it all daily, despite once seeing God, they had grown blind and unable to see the light Jesus had brought to the world. It is very easy for any of us to fall into the same trap. Do not let your faith go idle- keep it fresh by maintaining Bible study, going to church, and especially trying to pray every day. Keeping in touch with God, even when you’re mad at Him, will always lead you to the best choices.
John 9:40-41. The pharisees in verse 40 snapped back at Jesus’ remarks about sight from blindness. “What?? Are we blind too???” Their arrogance and level of pride was so high that they immediately sought self-defense from the truth. And Jesus response remains true: because they can see, because they understand who God is, their guilt remains. One who is blind or does not believe sins mostly without guilt either out of ignorance of whether what they’re doing is right or wrong, or they simply don’t have a strong conscience feeding them guilt after knowing they did something wrong. But one who does see knows that God’s judgement awaits, and failing to reciprocate His love for others with others will face consequences.
To summarize, 1) Jesus is the light of the world. His love and sacrifice outshines all sin or trouble, and we can be saved by His miraculous grace. 2) God does not punish the unborn or newly born, especially not for the sins of the parents. Suffering exists as part of a fallen world, and God will still shine His light through our suffering. 3) Jesus worked with intent and purpose while on His mission. He deliberately chose times to perform miracles and show that He was the Son of Man. 4) As Jesus is the light of the world, only through Him are we able to see life more clearly. God wants us to use Him as a guide when we are lost and cannot see. 5) Only Jesus can cure our blindness. We must have the faith to accept His healing! 6) Jesus is the Son of Man and promised Messiah. Believing in Him is the only way into eternity. 7) Faith and steadfastness lead to seeing clearly while pride and self-righteousness lead back to blindness
Be humble under the name of Jesus and you will witness many miracles! Let’s pray.
