Wingham United Church

March 15, 2026

Can You See It?

John 9:1-41

     Over the last two weeks, we were confronted with the differences between Nicodemus, a Pharisee who came to Jesus in the middle of the night looking for greater understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven, and an unnamed Samaritan woman who encountered Jesus as she came to the well for water in the middle of the day. This week, we are faced with another comparison of opposites. You will remember from our story of the Samaritan woman that, after meeting Jesus, she ran back to town and told the people there that she had met someone whom she believed might be the Messiah. Her neighbours came back to the well with her to hear what Jesus had to say and accepted that she was right – he is the Christ.

          This week, we encounter a very different group, a gathering of Pharisees who, despite overwhelming evidence standing right in front of them, refused to accept the same truth the Samaritans had so readily recognized.

          First, though, we should go back to the beginning of our story. There is so much here for us to absorb. As Jesus and his entourage were walking along, they encounter a man blind since birth. Ancient wisdom suggests that his blindness is punishment for sin, but since he was born blind, how could he possibly have sinned. The disciples are curious about this. In Exodus, it is written that the people’s transgressions will be punished, even to the third or fourth generation of their offspring (Exodus 34:7). However, it has since been written that God will no longer punish children for the sins of their parents. (Jeremiah 31 and Ezekiel 18). So, the disciples want to know, whose sin is the blind beggar suffering for: that of his parents or grandparents, or is it possible that he had somehow sinned while still in the womb, or perhaps in a previous life?

          Jesus reveals to them that his blindness is not the result of anyone’s sin, but it does provide an opportunity to demonstrate the power and grace of God. Jesus then seized the opportunity to give the man the ability to see. This doesn’t follow the usual pattern though. Typically, Jesus says something like, “Your faith has made you well,” and the blind see or the lame walk. In this case, however, the man’s faith could not be given credit because he didn’t know Christ … yet.

          Jesus, then, makes mud with dirt from the roadway and his own saliva, rubs it on the man’s eyes, and tells him to go to a specific pool of water to wash it off. Somewhat surprisingly, the man does as he is told. The man does not know who Jesus is, nor does Jesus tell him that by doing as he is instructed, he will have his eyes opened. He just does what he is told to do, and suddenly he can see for the first time in his life.

          Imagine that moment! For the first time in his life, he can see the faces of people around him, the architecture of the city in which he lives. He can, for the very first time, see the lines of his hands, and see where he is about to place his foot as he walks. I doubt very much that anyone who has not experienced such a miraculous blessing can even come close to imagining what a wondrous occasion that must have been. Naturally, he wants to share this great thing with the people around him.

          Their reaction, however, is puzzling. Although he can now see them, they don’t seem to recognize him. Perhaps the magnitude of what has happened is so far beyond their imagination that they just can’t see it, or perhaps they had just walked on by this blind beggar sitting by the city gates day after day without ever really looking at him.

          Does that give us some insight into our own human nature? How often do we encounter someone who is different than we are, and not really see them, not really give them our full attention? The saying, “Oh, you all look the same to me,” is indicative of our attitude toward those who don’t fit into our usual social circles, whether that is because of a disability, race, age, or some other factor than places them outside our circle of comfort.

          The man soon clears things up. “Yes, I am he!”

          Then the big questions begin to be asked. How have you been healed? Who did this? Disbelief is followed by curiosity, but, in truth, the man didn’t really know. This man named Jesus put mud on his eyes, told him to go to the pool of Siloam to wash it off, and when he did, he could see! He couldn’t tell them where the man who had done this had gone. He couldn’t even describe him. He hadn’t seen him, only felt the gentle touch of his thumbs on his eyelids, and heard the reassuring voice that compelled him to do as he was told. All he knew was that the man’s name was Jesus.

          “Well, we’ll take him to the Pharisees. They’ll sort this out. They know about these sorts of things.” But the Pharisees were no better informed than the crowd that came to them looking for answers. In fact, they couldn’t even agree with each other. One faction says that there is no way Jesus is from God, or he wouldn’t have helped the man on the Sabbath. Another group argues that if God was not with this man, how could he have possibly given the blind man sight? So, this group of respected, educated authorities ask the man who has been healed. “What do think?”

          The man once blind is seeing a little more clearly all the time. “I think he must be a prophet.”

          That response does not sit well with the Pharisees, so they decide that they are being hoodwinked, scammed. This man was never blind at all. He’s making the whole thing up to bolster Jesus’ reputation. They decide to call witnesses to dispute the con man’s claims – his parents.

          Now, please understand that this puts his parents in a very difficult place. If they stand behind their son, and anger the Pharisees, they could be expelled from the synagogue, which would mean being ostracized by their entire community. Friends, neighbours, even family members would cut them off out of fear of receiving the same punishment. No employer would hire them; no one would help support them. They would become beggars like their son had been.  They confirm that he was born blind, and that now he isn’t, and that is all they know. He’s on his own, so the Pharisees turn their attention back to him.

          This is the part I love about the story. The Pharisees were the best educated men in their society, respected for their knowledge and wisdom, but they are swiftly put in their place by a man who, until just a very short time earlier, had been a blind beggar. No education. No status in society. No prospects for a future. But the sight he had been given was more than just physical.

          He stands up to the Pharisees’ grilling with simple logic, and more than a fair share of attitude. “I only know this: I was blind, and now I see.” Then, my favourite part. As their interrogation continues, he interrupts with a question for them. “Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

          That really sets them off. They are disciples of Moses. They don’t even know where this Jesus guy comes from. Whoops! They walked right into the man’s trap. He points out their ignorance and wraps things up with a tidy bow. “If this man were not from God, he could not have done what he did.”

          The Pharisees realize they are beaten. What’s worse, they have been humiliated by a ‘nobody’ in a very public arena. All that is left for them to do is to curse him and throw him out of the synagogue, which means that, although he can now see, and in fact has demonstrated that he can now see things far more clearly than the Pharisees, he is now, once again, an outcast. No friends. No job. No prospects.

          What happens next is very unusual. Jesus goes looking for him. Remember, the man has never seen Jesus’ face. He doesn’t recognize him until Jesus tells him that he is the one who touched him, who smeared on the mud and sent him to the pool called “Sent.”

          “Yes, Lord, I believe!”

          Jesus came into the world so that the blind could be given sight, and those who thought they could see it all could have their blindness revealed.

          Can you see it? Have your eyes been opened to the truth?

          Jesus is the Son of God, our Saviour!

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Rev. Colin Snyder, MDiv