It was August 6, 2006, and I had just begun a new job that would shape the remaining years I have on this earth. This was my first Sunday evening working as the youth director at Grace Chapel Presbyterian Church in Madison, MS; this was my first official ministry position. I knew none of the kids beyond their names at this point. I had only attended a few services at the church and had no clue what I was doing since I had never actually worked in a church before. On top of that, one of the kids that was there was very different than the others. He was different in a way that I knew about, but I didn’t fully understand. Steve Bryant Jr., or Stevo, had Down’s syndrome. Stevo also happened to be the oldest child of the pastor, my boss, who very much wanted his son to be in the youth group and wanted him treated just like every other kid there. Stevo also had a younger brother and sister in the youth group who were very protective of him. Now, it wasn’t easy in the beginning, but eventually I figured out what I was doing in youth ministry and I also figured out how to work with Stevo and to include him in everything that we did, but it took time. However, in the end, I probably ended up learn more from Stevo than he ever learned from me.
I can remember talking with Stevo’s daddy about the emotions that he felt when he and his wife Elizabeth learned that their firstborn son had a condition known as Down’s syndrome. He very openly and honestly confessed that he was angry. He was angry with the news and directly angry with God. He questioned God on a daily basis why this would be happening to him. He didn’t understand how someone like himself, who had devoted his life to pastoral ministry, could be “punished” in this way. Steve told me that it took him a long time to get over the news that his son wasn’t going to be just like every other child. However, he will tell you to this day that from the moment that he looked into Stevo’s squinted eyes in that delivery room, that his son indeed has not been like other children, but has been so much greater, and I tend to agree with him.
When I think about Stevo, the words of Jesus in verse 3 come to my mind, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” You see, Stevo may never be able to live what you and I would consider to be a normal life. He may never have the motor skills or the cognitive ability that you and I enjoy, but Stevo loves him some Jesus. During, those first few weeks spent getting to know the kids in that youth group; I would ask each one of them what they wanted to do with their lives. Many of them didn’t know, but Stevo knew exactly what he wanted to do. He would always say, “I’m going to be a preacher just like my daddy and spend my life telling people about Jesus.” You know, Stevo may not have gone to college, he may not have gone to seminary, but he does tell everyone that he meets about Jesus. I used to love watching Stevo beat his chest and point to the stained glass picture of Jesus that was at the front of the sanctuary at Grace Chapel. Stevo, now a 23 year old man, taught me how to not only glorify God, but to truly enjoy him. Because of Stevo’s condition, he has had the chance to meet so many people that he probably wouldn’t have otherwise, and he tells every single one of them about Jesus; the works of God are displayed in him daily.
In our text today, we see a man who is blind; he’s been that way since he was born. The disciples see him and ask Jesus if it was him or his parents that sinned so harshly that it caused him to be blind. Jesus tells them that this man is blind not out of a sense of punishment, but that God may be glorified through his life. You see, God knew that this man was to be healed by Jesus. The events that unfold in our text of Jesus spitting on the ground, making mud, and placing the mud over the man’s eyes so that his sight may be not only restored but given to him for the first time was the plan all along. However, even if this man went his entire life without ever having seen what was in front of him, imagine how glorious his entrance into heaven would have been. Imagine if the first thing that you ever were to see was the gates of heaven and the Father standing there telling you, “Well done my good and faithful servant.” What a glorious moment that would be indeed. However, this man’s blindness was to be cured so that others could see clearly in terms of spiritual things, putting the works of God on display.
Now, I want to go back and clear up something that might cause some confusion. You see, the disciples weren’t completely wrong in thinking that this man’s blindness came about as punishment for sin. No, it wasn’t the case in this particular instance, but it certainly was possible and we have evidence of it happening in Scripture. For example, there is the punishment of David and Bathsheba that fell upon their child. God took the child’s life as a judgment against his parents for their sinful adulterous relationship. However, our situation here more resembles that of Job. Job was a righteous man, the most righteous of men in fact, and yet great punishment fell upon him. His friends believed him to be a notorious sinner and called him to repent. They told him that the reason for his losing his family, his wealth, and his health was because he was being punished by God. Job responded by saying that he had committed no such horrific sin and he continued to praise God no matter what his situation. The book of Job refutes the false notion that all punishment is directly given from God because of the severity or the amount of sin a person has committed. There are cases, just like with my buddy Stevo and with this man born blind, where God uses a “punishment” or a disability or a hardship to bring greater glory to His kingdom, to allow the works of God to be on full displayed. Perhaps you have been in one of these situations? Perhaps you’re there right now? I can tell you that many times in my life, that my faith has been strongest in my moments of weakness. Those moments when the world seemed to be crashing down upon my shoulders only for God to act in a mighty way that left me with no explanation other than that God had carried me and my family through the storm. Sometimes it takes those moments of hardship for the works of God to be on full display in a way that we can see them and recognize them for what they really are.
The people who were around this man after he gains his sight cannot believe what they are seeing. Some folks think that it’s him after having been healed, and some think that it is only someone who looks very similar to him that they haven’t ever seen before. The man insistently says to them that he is indeed the man whom they have seen numerous times blind and begging them for money or food. They want to know how this man has come to have his sight after being blind his entire life. He tells them quite simply that it was the man they call Jesus who gave him sight. He tells them that it wasn’t anything drastic that he did; Jesus simply put mud on his eyes and then told him to go to Siloam and wash the mud off. After the mud went away, his eyes were opened and he could see. Now, don’t think for one second that the mud had a single thing to do with Jesus’ healing of this man. There isn’t any type of chemical in Palestinian clay that could bring sight to the blind. The mud was simply a medium used by Jesus. Had he wanted to, our Savior could have simply spoken a single word and this man’s sight been restored. Think if you will, of the woman who has healed from her bleeding simply by touching Jesus’ cloak. Of the events in our text today, Biblical commentator RC Sproul says of the use of mud that “it was almost as if Jesus were saying, ‘Not everyone who was born from the clay got everything right the first time around. Some people are born from the dust with birth defects, and this man was one of them. Let’s go back to the clay.’”
So what does this miracle mean? Well ultimately it’s a sign pointing to Jesus as the Messiah. After all, the Greek word that we translate as miracle can also be translated as sign. Each of Jesus’ miracles are signs that are pointing the way to him. Not only did Jesus open this man’s physical eyes, but he opened his spiritual eyes as well. It’s the same as a medical missionary team that cures river blindness or fevers or infections while talking to their patients about Jesus. Yes, this man was now able to see the world around him, but he was also able to see in the spiritual sense that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah. My buddy Stevo has helped me and many others to see that God sometimes uses hardships and difficulties to help us see Him more clearly. It’s not always easy. To be honest with you, it can be quite painful for us to go through these experiences in order for us to see God’s glory in such a manner. No one really enjoys going through hardships. We all want to see Jesus and praise him for the good things that he gives to us. We want to be able to see him through our blessings, not through our pain. However, sometimes it takes pain to bring about growth, true kingdom growth. Friends, you will face hardships in this life. You will experience times of sorrow and suffering, but when those times come, don’t look at them as a time of punishment. Don’t look at them as something to be mourned over day and night. Instead, look at them as an opportunity for God to put his works and his glory on full display in your life. I can promise you this, that when God uses those moments and hardships in your life to show you His glory, you will know it. And you will be given the opportunity by God to use those moments in your life to grow in your own faith and to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those around you. You will be given the chance to help others come to know Jesus and grow and strengthen their relationship with God. What a blessing and privilege it is to be used by God is such a mighty way. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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