The Hands of the Savior – Hands that Heal
John 9:6-7
Pastor Richard Mau
Lent Midweek 2 – March 12, 2003
Immanuel Lutheran – Des Plaines, Illinois
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ our risen and ascended Lord and Savior. Amen.
John 9:6-7 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.
When something is broken we fix it, with our hands. Cutting, gluing, taping, welding, whatever it takes, we do it with our hands. When our bodies are ill, we go to the physician and he heals us. We say that doctors have healing hands. A surgeon’s hands are skilled and can do delicate operations and procedures. What a great gift, to be able to heal people with your hands!
Jesus’ hands healed people no matter what their affliction and no matter where they were. The account we just read is no different. The man had been blind since birth. When asked who’s sin caused this blindness, Jesus answered directly, “this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” And it was when Jesus healed him of his blindness.
An expression we use for blindness is that the blind person lives in “darkness.” It takes light to be able to see. A mirror, in which we see the reflection of things, only works with light. A mirror reflects light and does not work in darkness. You cannot see in a mirror unless there is light. Cameras and film work only with light. If there is no light, there is no image on the film, tape, or other recording device.
In healing blindness, Jesus’ healing hands heal darkness. As Jesus heals blindness he gives new light to someone who did not have light before. Just before this in the previous chapter and again in verse 5 before this passage Jesus said, “I am the light of the word.” In bringing that new light to the eyes that had only seen darkness before, Jesus also declared that those who keep his word will never see one thing, death. [8:51]
Just like the blind man in today’s Gospel account, all of us were born blind also. We were born blind to God’s goodness, his love. Each person is conceived and born a sinful person. There is no way out of it. We call that inherited sinful nature “original sin.” It manifests, that is works, itself out in the “actual” sins of our thinking, speaking and doing. And as we look at those sins too, we see that there is no way to erase them from our record. God tells us through Paul that the wages, what we have earned by our sins is death. [Romans 6:23] He continues, “But the gift of God is eternal life.”
Knowing God’s law brings your sins to light so you know you are a sinner and need a savior. Knowing Jesus as your savior is seeing the light out of your dark world of sin in the forgiveness he won for all sins on the cross. Jesus came into the world not to judge you for your sins, but to save you from the death that they bring. [John 3:17] Jesus came to heal you from the disease of sin.
Just like Jesus healed the man’s blindness by his hands, he healed your sinfulness by those same hands. As you look at the cross, you can see those hands outstretched only in love for you for the sole purpose of healing you. He does not want you to suffer the effects of sin any longer. “Today you will be with me in paradise,” tells how immediately confessed sins are forgiven. [Luke 23:43]
In the hymn “Amazing Grace” we sing, “I was blind but now can see.” Each of us was born blind to our Savior. When we hear the good news of God’s love for us through Jesus and believe that good news, trusting forgiveness and healing from sin in Jesus’ hands alone, then we see not only light for today, but the glories of God’s eternal light, his lamb on the throne in all heavenly splendor. [Rev. 21:23]
Amen.
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