The Message, March 15, 2026: "New Eyes," John 9:1-41

Author: Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
March 19, 2026

 

“New Eyes”
A Meditation by Rev. Scott W. Cousineau
John 9:1-41

[The scripture passage is quite long. In order to offer it in a different way, Rev. Peter Gray and I read it together. We broke the passage into three pericopes. Peter read the words from scripture, and I offered a brief reflection after each section. I have attached that script here.]
Scripture Lesson with Reflection

Peter: (Intro before reading) Jesus had previously been teaching in the Temple Courts of the Synagogue in Jerusalem, which is the only part of the temple open to everyone. He got into a debate over his identity with the Jewish leaders which ended when they tried to stone him and he slipped away.
Ch. 9 contains the amazing narrative of Jesus healing a man born blind, as Jesus resumed his traveling. It is divided into three parts and we will take them one at a time. I will encourage everyone to listen as I tell this story, since The NIV is different from the pew Bibles

John 9:1-17

As he walked 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?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes, saying to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” Some were saying, “It is he.” Others were saying, “No, but it is someone like him.” He kept saying, “I am he.” But they kept asking him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.” Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And they were divided. So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” He said, “He is a prophet.”

Scott:

Jesus was a Rabbi, having advanced through the Jewish education system of his day with flying colors And Rabbis were allowed to give their interpretation of the Jewish Law.  Jesus dispelled the commonly known interpretation that a person's disability, like being born blind or deaf was because 

God was punishing someone’s sins, which had prompted the disciples’ opening question.  And he declared that He is the Light of the world.
After the man returned from the pool of Siloam, his friends and neighbors were not sure who he was until he declared I am the formerly blind beggar.
 And he explained to them how he could see and THEN since he did not know where Jesus was he got taken to the Pharisees, possibly in the Temple, and told them how Jesus had healed him.

THEN since the Pharisees knew it was the Sabbath, they began to interview the man but could not agree on how Jesus' ability to do such a deed.
John 9:18-34

Peter:

The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore, his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” He answered, “I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” Then they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out.

Scott:

The Jews or Pharisees did not believe this mysterious man had been blind so they --- like good investigators turned to investigating the parents. which only cleared up two things, he was their son and he had been born blind. 

So, they brought him back for more questioning like they were investigating a crime and to direct him in how he must recount this miracle. But they were embarrassed by his wisdom and threw him out of the Temple.

John 9:35-41

Peter:

Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see and those who do see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.

Scott:

News travelled fast in those days, even without modern technology
And Jesus caught up with him along the way and asked him a different question? Do you believe in the Son of Man? And responding with his heart filled with gratitude, he said, “Lord, I believe.”

Finally, Jesus seized the opportunity to declare his purpose for coming into the world, namely to pronounce judgement on the hearts of people.

“New Eyes”

            It was Christmas day, sometime in the mid-1980s. A certain family had gathered for the holiday celebration. It was time to open gifts. They sat in a circle in the living room opening the gifts one person at a time, which was the family custom. That year, the family had decided to purchase a piece of modern technology for the grandmother. A microwave oven. Her husband had passed away a few years prior, so the family wanted to make her life a little bit easier.

            As is often the case with new technology, there were questions and concerns. How does it work? Is it safe? Will all of that radiation give me cancer?

            And then came the big question … “Can you put aluminum foil in the microwave?”

            And everyone knows that the answer is … [Congregation replied, “No!]

            Actually… yes! Under the right circumstances and with certain precautions you CAN put aluminum foil in the microwave oven. (According to Maytag, Whirlpool and GE Appliances.)

            The oldest grandson, a Mr. Smarty-pants Know-It-All had indeed read that ‘yes, you can put aluminum foil in a microwave oven,’ while poor grandma argued that you could not. What transpired was the family’s celebration of Christmas descended into a variation of … for you Seinfeld fans out there … Festivus.

            The idiot grandson would not let it go. He was like a dog on a bone. He was not going to lose that argument with grandma. He could have seen … should have seen … that the best answer would have been, “No, Grandma, please do not put aluminum foil in your brand-new microwave oven. It is not safe to do so.”

            The grandson came to see that truth many years later.

            As we experienced the story of the healing of the man born blind this morning, you may have gotten a sense of a similar interaction between the man and the Pharisees. This passage is one of the longest and most detailed chronicles of an interaction in the gospels. It is certainly the longest and most detailed telling of a healing miracle. John went to great lengths to show us what it means to give glory to God.

            What the Pharisees failed to see, or were unwilling to see, was that the man born blind WAS giving glory to God! He was faithful in his testimony. He did not change his story; he did not back down them. And you can likely see the irony that it was the Pharisees who were the ones who were not giving glory to God.

            This interaction is not a parable, but it clearly has a powerful and meaningful lesson to teach. And as is often the case with the parables that Jesus told, we are invited to place ourselves into the story. We can look at the characters and see if we identify with any of them. Which character … or characters … speak to our story?

            Could it possibly be the disciples? Still struggling to understand what the ministry of Jesus is all about, still struggling to grasp his teaching? Even as they were the closest human beings to him, even as they walked with him, and talked with him, and witnessed the things that he did … it was difficult for them to see the world through his eyes.

            Jesus continued to teach them. He continued to peel back the layers in order to help them see, in order to help them understand. For the ancient Hebrew, to “see” was synonymous with “faith” and “knowing.” Jesus was showing them what it really meant to be faithful. He was teaching them how to see and to know God.

            As you listen to the story, can you relate to the man’s parents? I know … this is a tough one. They were afraid. They were intimidated. Standing by their son, defending their son, could have had dramatic ramifications for them. They might have gotten expelled from the synagogue. They might have lost their social standing in the community. They might have suffered financially.

            But, in their defense, clearly they did not comprehend what had happened to their son. How could they possibly know? No one who was born blind had EVER been given sight! He was one-of-one. They may have struggled with that ethical dilemma.

            Then there is the man. Even he was not sure what happened. He just knew that Jesus did SOMETHING and he could see. He did not claim to have the authority to judge whether or not Jesus was a sinner; that is between Jesus and God. As we heard, what the man DID know was that he was blind and then he saw. Clearly Jesus had power that came from God. In his heart and mind there was no other possible explanation.

            And, of course, there may be a part of us that relates to the Pharisees in the story. We KNOW what we know. We KNOW what we have been taught. We KNOW how we have lived in and understood the world. We know the “laws” and the “rules” by which we live … and by which everyone should live. How dare Jesus challenge that! How dare Jesus challenge our assumptions! How dare God disturb the way that we see the world around us!

            John did not write his Gospel and in any way imply that the world in which we live is perfect or flawless. Rather, he wrote about God who sent Jesus so that the people of the flawed and imperfect world would be able to see and know God through him.

            So, we have to ask the “Pharisee” that may live within us … ‘What are our blind spots?’ What are those things that might prevent us from seeing the power and the beauty of God? What might be preventing us from seeing the Truth that Jesus offers?

            And as we contemplate and pray upon this, we ultimately have to ask ourselves “Can we … will we … see the world and the people in it with new eyes?”
            Amen.

 

Postscript ... Yes ... the idiot grandson is me.

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