Was Blind but Now I See

Jesu Juva

St. John 9:1-41                                                

March 15, 2026

Lent 4A                            

 Dear saints of our Savior~

        I saw a memorable video last week.  It featured a man who was colorblind.  And he was an old guy—older than me.  And for all those decades he had lived a life that was devoid of color—a bland, black and white existence.  No blue sky.  No yellow daffodils.  No green grass or forest.  In the video he’s given what looks like a pair of sunglasses to put on.  But these glasses actually enable him to see the colors of creation for the very first time.  And when that happens, this gruff old duffer absolutely melts with emotion.  He is speechless as his tear-filled eyes take in color for the very first time.

        Of course, that video made me think of the man cured of blindness in today’s Holy Gospel.  This man had been born not colorblind, but totally blind.  He had lived in literal darkness until the Light of the World opened his eyes to see the wonders of this world in colorful clarity.  But being cured of his blindness—that glorious miracle—that was not the greatest thing that happened to him that day.

        This account begins with our blind man begging by the side of the road.  He sees nothing.  But Jesus—Jesus sees him. Blind beggars were a dime a dozen in those days.  And nobody was easier to ignore.  But in the ministry of Jesus, it’s those least likely to be seen who end up receiving the full attention of Jesus.

The disciples immediately want to diagnose why the man had been born blind.  Who sinned? This man or his parents?  The blindness was obviously payback for somebody’s sin. Sin has consequences; therefore consequences must have sins. Right? Wrong! It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. Go figure. His blindness is not a curse for sin.  His blindness is not a punishment.  But rather his blindness will become a canvas on which Jesus will display His glory as the light of the world.

This man born blind represents us. He is you. You too were born blind.  Every disciple of Jesus must make the transition from blindness to light.  You never do see clearly in this life, but only through the eyes of faith.  And that is everything.

Jesus spits on the ground, bends down, and makes some clay with His saliva.  Making clay like this was forbidden on the Sabbath, lest you accidentally create some pottery. But here, the Divine Potter was applying a little fix to Adam’s clay. Here’s mud in your eye. It’s a strange way to cure blindness, don’t you think? Jesus makes him even more blind in a way. Then comes water and the Word:  Go, wash in the pool of Siloam. Echoes of Naaman who was sent to wash seven times in the Jordan to be cleansed of leprosy. Water and a promise. Water and the Word.  A baptism.

The man goes, washes, and comes back seeing. Eyes that hadn’t worked since birth now suddenly see with 20/20 clarity. Can you imagine what it must have been like to see for the first time?  Please upload that video to Instagram. 

The man’s neighbors immediately take note.  They ask about his healing; and he tells them about Jesus. “Where is this Jesus?” they asked. “I don’t know,” the man says.  Even if Jesus were standing right next to him, the man would not have known. He’d never laid eyes on Jesus. Jesus put mud in his eyes and sent him away to wash, and when he returned, Jesus was gone. He’s never seen Jesus. And yet, he believes. Just like you.

Well, this causes a stir. Naturally, the Pharisees want to investigate. This happened on a Sabbath day, and the Pharisees were Sabbath day sticklers. They devised 32 kinds of work you couldn’t do on the Sabbath, including making clay. How can a man who is a sinner do such signs? Much arguing ensued.

Others came up with the easy explanation that the blind man had never been blind in the first place. He was just faking it to get on the welfare rolls—probably running a Somalian daycare center on the side. So the Pharisees call in his parents. But they don’t have much to say because this is a kangaroo court. They plead the Fifth.  Anyone who confesses Jesus to be the Christ is kicked out of the synagogue. 

When they finally put the miracle man himself under oath, he says the one thing he knows: I once was blind but now I see. Amazing grace. But amazing grace is no explanation for a legalist. Rules must be kept. God doesn’t listen to sinners; He strikes them blind. The Pharisees have all the answers.

The man confesses his faith—as much as he could—which didn’t go over well. The Pharisees didn’t take kindly to being lectured in matters of religion.  They are the experts. They told the man he had been born in sin. They were correct. The man was born in utter sin. That’s not why he was blind; but he was born in utter sin. So were the Pharisees. So are we. But the thing about a religion based on works is that you can only see the sin in others; you’re blind to the sin in you.  Don’t be blind to your own sin; but confess it.

The man is kicked out of the synagogue—excommunicated. Things aren’t going too well for him. Now that he can see, no one believes him.

Finally, Jesus returns. He’d heard about all this. “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man’s not sure. Who is He that I may believe in Him? And then the revelation: “You have seen Him and He is speaking to you.” Lord, I believe, and in faith, he worships.  That’s what believers do.

The Pharisees, with their 20/20 commandment-keeping are blind, though they think they see quite clearly. And this man, blind from birth, sees Jesus for who He really is and worships Him.  That man born blind is all of us. You and me. We are born blind, beggars steeped in sin. Just as a blind man cannot make his eyes to see, so we cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ as Lord or come to Him. He comes to us—He sees us—in our sin and blindness. He washes us in Baptism—by water and the Word. And by that washing we are made to see, and to believe. 

The “seeing” we now do is by faith, and not with the eyes. Like the blind man who believed before he saw Jesus, so we too believe prior to seeing. We will see it all one day, when Jesus raises our earthly clay and fixes our eyes in the resurrection so that we can look on Him who is our Light, our life, and our salvation. But for now, we view the world by faith. We see ourselves as the sinners we are; but more importantly, we see Jesus for who He is, the Savior of sinners.

Like the man born blind, we confess Jesus. We tell everyone what He has done. That confession may cost you. Parents may disown you. Friends may distance themselves.  Neighbors will view you with suspicion. But all you can say is what the blind man said: I once was blind but now I see.

Those words were immortalized by John Newton, a hymn-writer and priest in the Church of England.  Newton renounced the faith as a youth and worked on a slave ship. There his profanity was so extreme as to make the other sailors blush for shame.

This vile, obscene slave trader eventually came to faith in Christ. He got married, taught himself theology, and was ordained at the age of 39. As a preacher, he wasn’t eloquent, but honest. While other preachers seemed to be above the sins of the common man, Newton plead guilty to them all; and composed this memorable hymn text:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, That saved a wretch like me.  I once was lost, but now am found.  Was blind but now I see.

God, in the richness of His grace and mercy, in His undeserved kindness to sinners, has washed us in this Siloam pool of Baptism—uniting us with Jesus in His death and resurrection.  Amazing grace to a man born blind that the works of God might be displayed in him.  And amazing grace to you, that the glory of God might also be displayed in you.

        In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.