The Culture Wars & A Blind Man
Our culture is a mess. Whose fault is it? Isn’t it crazy what people are doing nowadays crazy? How can I protect myself? How can we win this culture war? A man sat on the street. He was blind from birth, which meant he was unable to work and had to beg. John gives us his story with no-holds-barred detail in his gospel, chapter nine. There are five reactions to this man born blind. Four of them are typical and understandable human reactions. One of them is miraculous.
The Blame Game
The disciples saw him. Their immediate response was to ask Jesus, “Who sinned?” They go straight to the blame game. For them, this man was simply an opportunity for speculative discussion. They must not have followed biblical principles, so they are at fault, right? We’ve got to find who to blame.
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The Scandal
After Jesus healed him, his neighbors and the crowd made him the news of the day, arguing about his healing. He was just a curiosity to entertain and pass the time. They probably moved on to something else the next day. Could it be this is similar to how we suddenly are scandalized by a celebrity but move on to the next scandal with the next news cycle?
The Pawn
The Pharisees didn’t see a blind man; they saw another pawn in their ongoing battle against the compromising Sadducees, the Romans, the “mob”, and against radicals like Jesus. This was an opportunity to score points in a culture war they believed they were fighting on God’s behalf. Is this like the way homosexual people are often talked about today by Christians, as enemies or pawns in a culture war?
A Danger
The blind man’s parents feared for their security; they abandoned him. To his parents, he was a liability and a threat to their security. They would lose everything if they were thrown out of the synagogue. This may be similar to the way we are prone to treat addicted people and criminals or the way we prepare for social breakdown. We first worry about our security and comfort.
Predictable Human Reactions
We might be saddened when we consider that these are reactions to a man lying blind in the dust, never having seen his mother’s face or a beautiful sunrise, and having to beg to live. While laid there in the dust, they blamed, mocked, and abused him; these are understandable, predictable human reactions. The disciples asked an eternal question. The neighbors were bored. The Pharisees thought they were defending God. His parents were afraid. What they missed is the fact that a human suffered, crying out, right in front of their spiritually blind eyes. Our modern-day reactions are no less understandable and no less sad.
Jesus the Human Being
To Jesus, the man born blind was a human being made in God’s image. He was a man with faith and a heart of worship. Although he was blind, he was beginning to truly see and had better spiritual eyesight than the rest of the people.
To Jesus, he was a person in need of healing and grace. Jesus was the only one who saw that this blind man carried the universal, human burden of shame and guilt. Only Jesus granted him freedom. He didn’t blame anyone, seek entertainment, fear touching the “cursed,” or seem worried about winning a culture war against the Pharisees—at least not on their terms. Christ our Lord knew that the community of grace and healing he built, not scoring political points, would transform people, the culture, and the world.
Jesus & The Blind Man
They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. 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.
John 9.34-38
When we encounter people who cannot see or who are broken and in need of healing, it’s easy to immediately speculate and blame, like the disciples. It’s natural for our curiosity or need for entertainment to drive us. Often, we fear for our security or see an opportunity to score points in a culture war and perhaps do God’s work for him. We will do that because we are human. However, as predictable and as understandable as those reactions are, they have to change.
Christ’s Example to Once-Blind Men
Yet, Jesus didn’t heal this blind man simply to be an example for us to do likewise. He gave us an example, yes. It points to our spiritual blindness, our guilt and shame, and our inhumanity. Hearts transformed let us see ourselves and others as Jesus sees them. We need healing, not mere increased effort to be kind. He opens our eyes to see that we are human, and we need healing and forgiveness. We will always need healing and forgiveness.
Then Jesus opens our eyes to see others as fellow human beings in need of healing and grace. We seek those cast out and bring them to him because he empowers us through the gospel. Encountering others, we look past initial reactions and bring healing in Jesus’ name. We risk, embrace the cross, and walk the path of loss.
Don’t Play the Culture War Game
Playing the blame game, gossiping about the scandals, building secure bunkers, and trying win a war against “cultural enemies” will get us nowhere. We need healing and forgiveness, and so do the people around us, and only Jesus Christ can give it. A radical reorientation calls us to receive and give healing to fellow image-bearers of God, in Christ’s name. Here is the gospel we proclaim and live.
Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash
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