Who Sinned?

A sermon by Currie Burris

John 9

February 27, 2005

As Jesus was walking along one day, he saw a man who had been born blind.  His disciples asked, “Who sinned – this man or his parents – that he should be born blind?”  To us today, this question seems absurd, unfair, misinformed. We know and understand many of the causes of blindness, from genetic mistakes, things that might happen to the child while in the womb, or events that happen shortly after birth, accidents or diseases. 

We do not blame someone’s blindness on the inherited sins of the parents or sins somehow committed by the children themselves. For the most part, we do not blame physical illness on a moral failing or sin that someone or someone close to them has committed. Many illnesses or injuries are the result of choices we have made in our lives, like drinking or smoking, reckless living or poor choices. And our health can be affected by the poor choices or even malevolent intent of other people. Some of those choices we might label as sinful, some of them foolish, and some just the fruit of ignorance. We just didn’t know the real consequences of our actions until it was too late.

When Jesus’ disciples asked “Who sinned?” they were not asking about biology or disease causality. They wanted to know about the nature of sin. What does it mean to do wrong? What is it to move away from what is good, what is right, from God’s way—to move away from God?

A little later in the story, some Pharisees are convinced that Jesus has sinned because he did not respect the Sabbath, did not honor the seventh day the way they had come to believe was the right and only way to honor it. They also wanted to make a judgment about who had sinned, and what is sin. They then concluded that the man born blind was a sinner not only because he was blind but because he not willing to condemn Jesus like they had.

Who sinned? What is sin? There are many things that we do that could be called sin. Violations of the Ten Commandments are ever present in our lives: lying, cheating, stealing, dishonoring our parents, dishonoring God’s day, betrayals, killings. And we are quick to pass judgment on those we think are guilty of these transgressions. But when we do, we miss the greatest sin of all. Jesus says that sin in our lives is not what our parents may have done, not what we may have done. It is not working on the Sabbath. It’s not some perceived transgression against a moral code.

Our greatest sin is turning our back on God.  God has come into the world. The light of the world is shining. It is present with us. In Jesus the love of God has come and dwelled among us. It is real. It is present. The greatest mistake we can ever make is to reject the love of God. The greatest sin is the lack of faith. The real blindness of the world is the failure to see the light of God, shining forth before us. Real sight is to receive with the eyes of faith the love of God in Jesus Christ.

Jesus’ encounter with the man born blind is not about physical blindness. It is about spiritual blindness. It not about all the individual things we do called sin. It is about the one thing we either see or are blind to: the love of God made real to us in the shining light of Christ. If we miss that, we miss everything.

Our gospel lesson this day is from John’s gospel, John 9:1-41. Listen for the word of God:

1.  As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.  His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.  As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.  While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

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

His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”  Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

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

He 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.”

“Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

3.  They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.  Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.  Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.

Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

4.  The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents.  “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind.  But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.”  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.  That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

5.  A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”

He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”

Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!  We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”

The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.

6.  Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”

Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.