Opened Eyes

John 9: 1-41

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ amen.  The sermon text for the fourth Sunday in Lent is the Gospel reading John 9.  In the third century BC, the inhabitants of Alexandria, Egypt, had a problem.  Well, they had two problems, actually.  First, ships kept missing their harbor.  The coastline of Egypt was rather flat, with no significant landmarks to say to ship navigators, “Here’s Alexandria.” Second, sailing along the Egyptian coast was quite hazardous, with numerous sandbars lying unseen just beneath the waves. To solve both problems, the Egyptians constructed an enormous lighthouse – the Pharos lighthouse of Alexandria – which would go on to be recognized as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. By day, sunlight would reflect off its white marble exterior and the mirror at its pinnacle, and a large bonfire would be kept lit at its top during the night. It was said that light from the Pharos lighthouse could be seen for nearly thirty miles out to sea – an amazing feat in its time – warning sailors of danger and pointing the way to the grand and safe harbor of Alexandria. (Illustration from Concordia Pulpit Resources, CPH)

In our Gospel reading Jesus calls Himself the Light of the world.  This is indeed true.  The Lord shines His light revealing the danger of our sin and He also brings us into the safe harbor of the heavenly kingdom.  John tells us that Jesus passed by a blind man from birth.  The disciples then ask the Lord if the man was born blind because of his sin or his parent’s sin.  The disciples asked that question based upon a false idea.  It is the idea that bad things happen to people because of a sin that they committed and that blessings happen to people because they do something good.  If you do bad stuff, what goes around comes around.  If you are good, you will be rewarded.  Now it is true that all evil and suffering is a result of sin.  It is also true that some sins bring painful consequences.  But what is also true is that there are many bad things that happen to people that we just don’t understand.  Like, for instance, a person who was born blind.  Jesus answered their question about the blind man with these words. “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in Him.” 

We may not understand everything, but what we do know for certain is that the Lord loves us and cares for us.  Jesus did indeed display the works of God.  The first thing that He did was heal the man’s site.  After the man washed the mud from his eyes at the pool he came back seeing.  It reminds us that the Lord very much cares about our physical needs.  He cares about our health and everything else that pertains to our life here on earth.  Our daily life is important to Him.      

But the most important thing that Jesus did for the man was to open up his eyes spiritually.  The most important thing that happened to the man was that he came to faith in Jesus Christ.  When the Pharisees rejected him Jesus found him and saved him. Recall what John recorded for us in our text.  “Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him He said, do you believe in the Son of Man?  He answered, and who is He, sir, that I may believe in Him?  Jesus said to him, you have seen him, and it is He who is speaking to you.  He said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped Him”. 

You may have noticed that all three of our readings have the same theme running through them.  All three readings talk about the light of God shining in a dark world.  All three readings tell us that it is the light of God that gives us spiritual site. Recall the words of the Lord through Isaiah the prophet in our Old Testament reading.  “And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them.  I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground.”   In our epistle reading Paul said these words about the people of God.  “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord”.  Later on in the reading he said, “Christ will shine on you”.  In our Gospel reading Jesus said these words about Himself. “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world”. 

Our Lord opened up the man’s eyes so that he could physically see.  More importantly Jesus opened up the man’s eyes spiritually so he could believe in Him.  Jesus Christ is the light of the world.  That is important to understand because all people are conceived and born in the darkness of sin, including us.  That is why Christ has come to each of us and has led us out of darkness and into the light of God’s grace.  It is in the darkness of sin that evil takes place in this world.  It is the in the darkness of sin that greed and malice are present.  It is in the darkness of sin that we experience pain, loss, loneliness and hopelessness.  It is in the darkness of sin that we are tempted to look to money, possessions and earthly pleasure to find fulfillment.  It is the darkness of sin that leads to death and to hell. 

The light of Christ comes to us to expose the darkness of sin and to guide us to the safe harbor of God’s grace.  It is in the light of Christ that we see the goodness of God.  Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have been given life and salvation.  It is the light of Christ that gives us comfort, hope and peace in our times of need. It is the light of Christ that opens up our eyes so that we can understand that God’s justice will prevail over sin and evil.  When we look to the light of Christ, we see that God graciously forgives our sins and renews our heart.  It is the light of Christ that shows us that money, possessions and earthly pleasure are not to be worshiped and that we can only be filled by God.  It is the light of Christ that directs our attention to God’s victory over death and hell.  It is the Lord who has opened up the Kingdom of Heaven and who gives us eternal life. It is in the light of Christ that we are given the assurance that God is with us. 

We will be tempted in all sorts of ways to turn back to the darkness of this sinful world, but we are reminded that we have been called out of darkness.  Why would we deliberately go back into that darkness of sin and death when we are in the light of Christ?  So many people in this world are searching for truth and for meaning in their life. The answer has been revealed to us. Jesus is the truth and the life.  Jesus, the Light of the Word opens up our eyes to be fixed on, to gaze upon, Him.  Remember the words of the Introit at the beginning of the service. “My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net.  One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple.”  

As Christians what we desire the most is to gaze upon the beauty of Lord.  “O Come, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”  When Christ shines His light upon us that is what we see most clearly.  Jesus enduring the cross to win our salvation.  Jesus the Light of the world opens our eyes so that we can look to Him and believe.  Amen.