Jesus, the Light of the World

John 9:1-12

See v1.

¹As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.

There are many types of handicaps – lame, deaf, blindness, and others. A lame man is miserable because he cannot climb rocky mountains. A deaf man is miserable because they cannot hear birds’ singing. But a blind man is more miserable because he cannot see the wonderful nature God created. Moreover, this blind man Jesus saw was born blind. This means he could never see anything since his birth. So he couldn’t know how his mother looked like. In addition, he was poor. He was a beggar based on v8. See v2.

²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Disciples of Jesus asked Him the cause of the misery. They thought the cause was basically ‘sin’. So they asked Jesus whose sin caused the misery. The thought of disciples was based on retribution, which is the typical way of thinking in many cultures in the world, including Buddhism. Retribution is embedded in the consciousness of human beings. The point of view based on retribution makes misery a fate. The person with this point of view would think the miserable man is the sinner who deserves the misery and condemn the miserable person. This will make a miserable person even more miserable. But what was the answer of Jesus? See V3.

    ³“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

Jesus’s answer to the reason for the misery was ‘The glory of God’. Jesus says the misery was not because of sin, but the misery happened for the glory of God. This means when the miserable person overcomes the misery, that person will glorify God by his victory. The more miserable person can give God more glory through his victory over his misery. While retribution is negative, the reason for the misery Jesus taught is bright and positive.

Do you have any misery in your life? People might condemn you for the misery, but Jesus is different. He says to you that your misery is to display the work of God in your life. Amen.

Buddhism does not tell them about God. And Buddhists do not know this good & positive reason for misery. Your misery may be given by God to display the work of God in your life! And the time will come when you overcome your misery in the light of Jesus, and that will glorify God. The remaining verses teach us the details.

See v4 & 5.

 ⁴As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Now Jesus explains how the misery can be transformed to the glory to God:

This is how: by doing the work of God who sent Jesus (4a). Jesus says we must do the work of God during the day (4a). Without Jesus, it is night (darkness), and no one can work (4b). Jesus declared that He is the light of the world (4b).

In other words, we must do the work of God, and only Jesus makes this possible. Without Jesus, this world is in darkness, and no work of God can be done. And the work of God will transform the miserable people, and it will glorify God. See v6 & 7.

    ⁶Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

Now Jesus performs the transformation: Misery to Glory.

The born blind man did not ask for healing. This man already accepted the blindness as his life-long reality. So, Jesus healed him in the following procedures so that he might have the desire to be healed first.

First of all, he mixed his saliva and soil to make mud and then paste it on the man’s eyes.

The mud could make him blinder because mud would block sunlight. The mud could cause discomfort and might give him the urge to wash his face.

Secondly, Jesus commanded him to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. “Siloam” means “sent”. The blind man might have a hard time walking to the pool. But this might give him the desire to have the ability to see. This man obeyed Jesus, and his blindness at birth was healed when he washed the mud away from his eyes in the pool of Siloam.

When we are in misery, we may not even know or desire the healing from the misery. But Jesus loves us and gives us a situation so as for us to have the desire for the healing. Halleluiah! Thank God!

Remember, there is no fate in the true light, Jesus. Anything can be changed because of Jesus and God almighty. Don’t listen to fortune-tellers. As written in Acts 16:16, fortune telling is done by a person possessed by a spirit, and it will defile you as written in Leviticus 19:31.

See v8 & 9.

    ⁸His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

As a result of obedience, the born blind man opened his eyes. And the result of the obedience surprised others. Now people couldn’t believe their eyes. But he himself insisted that he was the beggar. It is not easy to admit the past. But this man did. It is important to admit the past to glorify God for what you are now. See v10 – 12.

    ¹⁰“How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.

    ¹¹He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”

    ¹²“Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.

When people asked him how his eyes were opened, he testified what Jesus did for him. We can learn how we should testify what Jesus did for us.

Hallelujah!

Jesus is the light of the world! In Him, our negative and dark mind can become positive and bright, and misery can become the glory to God!

I pray we all may experience this transformation in the light of the world, Jesus.

Also, let us transform people’s lives as well as ours by doing the work of God who sent Jesus.

Amen.