The Blind Shall See

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

March 21, 2023

in Spritual Growth

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4th Sunday of Lent
Readings: 1 Samuel 16:1-13
Ephesians 5: 8-14
John 9: 1-38

Jesus continues to reveal to us about life and life in its fullness. We see Jesus going to the temple on a Sabbath Day. He began teaching to the people. The Jews brought a woman to Him who was caught in adultery, hoping that He would pass judgment on her. He bent down and wrote something on the ground and when they saw what had been written, they felt guilty and left. These people were the ones who did not believe in Him.

In the Gospel today, there was a blind man, who was blind from birth. He never saw anything for 38 years. But Jesus saw him. The people asked Him, who has sinned. What it the blind man? Was it his parents? Jesus said, it is neither him nor his parents’ sins that has caused this situation to be. It is as it is so that the Glory of God can be seen. What we need to understand is that, while there may be sin or sickness in this world, Jesus is more important than these things. When we are healed, God’s glory is revealed. “We must do the work God has sent me to do,” Jesus continues. “As long as I am here, I am the Light of the World.” He asked the blind man if he wanted to see, and when he said yes, Jesus spit on the ground, made clay, took the mud and covered this on the eyes of the blind man. Then He told him to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash his eyes. When the blind man followed exactly what Jesus told him, immediately he began to see. The people wondered how this was possible so they brought him to the Pharisees so they could question him. Jesus had performed a miracle right before everyone’s eyes during the Sabbath and to them it was against the law. The Jews had such a hatred for Jesus. They wanted to stone Him on many occasions. They hated Him because they were strict followers of the Law. They doubted Him and sent for the man’s parents. But the parents were afraid of the Jewish leaders because if anyone mentions Christ, he will be put out of the temple. The parents said, “ask our son, he is of age.” So they summoned the man again to question him a 2nd time how he got healed. The man said he didn’t know but all he knew was that he was blind, but now he can see. The Jewish leaders got so mad they still accused him of being a sinner and threw him out. They were so arrogant and said, “ how dare you lecture us!” Jesus learned that he had been thrown out of the temple so He asked the man if he believed in the Son of Man. “Who is He, sir, that I may believe in Him.” Jesus said, “He is the One speaking.” So the man believed and worshipped Him.

What Christ was wanting to show us is that, people who think they know everything but reject Christ, people who are arrogant, they will find themselves more blind than the ones who are physically blind. As Christians, we do not know everything. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us and lead us to the truth. The ones who rejected Him were the Pharisees and the Scribes who think they know everything. But they violated their own law. They were the ones who wanted to stone Jesus on a Sabbath and yet when Jesus did something good on the Sabbath, they accused Him of being evil.

Lent is a season that should not let us feel down. It’s about dying to our arrogance and selfishness to be like Christ. We are to be the hope of the world. We think everything has to be done in a certain way but God does things differently. Christ came to lift us up. We should not feel down. In the midst of a crisis or problem, this is when Christ’s glory is seen when we conquer it. The cleansing of the power of God takes away the problem. With God, all things are possible. He can turn what we think to be destructive into blessings. We must let God be God.