The Perils of Spiritual Blindness

[0:00] You're listening to the online sermon podcast ministry of the First Baptist Church of Jackson, Kentucky. Hi, my name is Jonathan Clemens and I'm the pastor of the First Baptist Church.

[0:12] We've put this sermon archive together and we pray that it will be a blessing to the saints and edifying to those who follow the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as that it would be a light to those in our community who have questions about the gospel.

[0:24] One of the wonderful benefits of the internet is that it can give us so much access to good quality Bible teaching materials.

[0:35] But I want to encourage you not to use the internet as a crutch or a substitute for obedience to Jesus. It's so important that each and every one of you are trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation and growing in spiritual maturity and in fruitfulness before the Lord.

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[2:43] And the characteristics of these Jews who, they said that they believed in Jesus. As a matter of fact, John even noted that these were the Jews who believed in Jesus.

[2:55] But we also noted that they weren't true believers, didn't we? While they in some sense would say they believed something about Jesus, oftentimes they would claim that he was a prophet.

[3:06] Or if they did admit that they thought he was the Messiah, he was some militaristic figure they were waiting for. Or they believed something about Jesus, but they were not his true disciples. And we saw the four marks of false Christianity or really false religion in general.

[3:23] First, with these Jews, it was said that they believed in Jesus, but they were not Jesus' disciples. Jesus looked at them and said, if you were my disciples indeed, you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

[3:38] And they were offended at the idea that they needed to be freed by the truth of Jesus. So they were not true disciples. And that is a characteristic of false Christianity.

[3:49] People will say that they believe in Jesus. They will bear the name of Christ or Christian, but they are not his disciples. They are not found at the feet of Jesus.

[3:59] They are not in the Word. They are not rehearsing to themselves the Gospel. Those things are unimportant to them. Rather, they simply bear the name. Second, we saw the second characteristic of a false form of Christianity was self-righteousness.

[4:16] Self-righteousness. They did not view themselves as sinners. They did not view themselves as under bondage. They did not think that they needed Jesus or His righteousness.

[4:27] They were self-righteous. They insulated themselves from the Gospel. They insulated themselves from the things of God. And they lived like they were just fine before God when they weren't.

[4:40] The third thing that we saw is that God was second best in their life. They were all about being children of Abraham. They were all about cultural Judaism.

[4:51] They practiced the holidays. They talked the talk. But ultimately, when they looked in the mirror, they were about themselves and their identity and their physical descent. They would assert numerous times that they were descendants of Abraham.

[5:05] And only secondarily did they assert any relationship with God. So God took second best in their life.

[5:15] And finally, we see that they were disrespectful or irreverent towards Christ and the things of God. That being the final characteristic of false Christianity. So today, we can of course apply that and see that there are many who call themselves followers of Christ.

[5:31] But they do not sit at His feet. They are not His disciples. There are many who would claim to be Christians, but their hope is wrapped up in themselves or something they've done. It's not resting in the righteousness of Christ.

[5:43] There are many today who call themselves Christians, but God is not first in their life. He's down the list somewhere as a matter of convenience. I will read my Bible if the whim hits me.

[5:56] I will attend church if I feel like it. I will pray if I really think I'm in need. But they miss the beauty of Christ. They miss fellowship with Christ. They're not interested in walking with Christ or knowing Christ.

[6:10] He's second in their life. We see in the modern church there are many that are disrespectful or irreverent towards Christ and the things of God.

[6:20] These are the symptoms of spiritual blindness. To say that one sees or possesses something, one does not.

[6:31] Of course today we're going to pick up and we're going to see this theme of spiritual blindness all throughout John chapter 9. And we're going to see how spiritual blindness affects people and the solution for spiritual blindness.

[6:47] But not only that, and I know this is a question that perhaps some of you might have here today. Why does suffering happen? Why does evil happen? Why do wrong things happen?

[6:59] That's a question that many people wrestle with and that is an important topic that is touched on by today's text. So please keep your eyes open for that too.

[7:10] So let's look together at John chapter 9. And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

[7:21] And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

[7:40] I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said to him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sent.

[8:08] He went his way therefore and washed and came seeing. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him, he was blind, said, Is this not he that sat and begged?

[8:21] Some said, This is he. Others said, He is like him. But he said, I am he. Therefore they said unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

[8:32] He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.

[8:43] And I went and washed, and I received sight. Then they said unto him, Where is he? And he said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

[8:57] And it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.

[9:08] And he said unto them, He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day.

[9:20] Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him that hath opened thine eyes?

[9:34] And he said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.

[9:49] And they asked him, saying, Is this your son, whom ye say was born blind? How then doth he now see? And the parents answered and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind.

[10:03] But by what means he now seeth, we know not. Or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. He is of age, ask him. He shall speak for himself.

[10:15] These words spake his parents, Because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had agreed already, That if a man did confess that he was the Christ, He should be put out of the synagogue.

[10:28] Therefore said his parents, He is of age, ask him. Then again calling, They the man that was blind, And said unto him, Give God the praise, We know that this man is a sinner.

[10:42] And he answered and said, Whether he is a sinner or no, I know not. One thing I know, That whereas I was blind, Now I see. Then they said to him, What did he to thee?

[10:56] How opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, And ye did not hear. Wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be his disciples?

[11:09] Then they reviled him and said, Thou art his disciple, But we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses, As for this fellow, We know not from whence he is.

[11:22] The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is a marvelous thing, That ye know not from whence he is, And yet he hath opened mine eyes.

[11:33] Now we know that God heareth not sinners, But if any man be a worshiper of God, And doth his will, Him he heareth. Since the world began, It was not heard, That any man opened the eyes of one That was born blind.

[11:49] If this man were not of God, He could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, And dost thou teach us?

[12:01] And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And when he had found him, He said to him, Dost thou believe in the Son of God?

[12:12] And he answered and said, Who is he, Lord, That I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast seen him, And it is he that talketh with thee.

[12:24] And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, That they which see not might see, And that they which see might be made blind.

[12:39] And some of the Pharisees, Which were with him, Heard these words, And said unto him, Are we blind also? And Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, Ye should have no sin.

[12:53] But now ye say, We see. Therefore, Your sin remaineth. This is the word of the Lord. So as we looked at this passage, It opens up with Jesus walking down the road in Jerusalem.

[13:12] Really, it's a street, A narrow street. The city was very cramped, And didn't have building codes like we do today. And as Jesus is walking, He's walking with His disciples, And they pass a man who was born blind.

[13:27] A man impoverished. Those who were disabled, If they did not come from a wealthy family, They would support themselves, By being beggars in the streets. And here was this man, Begging in the street.

[13:41] And of course, That question comes up, Why was he blind? Why was he suffering? Why do bad things happen? Of course, Specifically, The disciples asked, Whose fault it was, That he was born blind?

[13:55] So first, We will consider this. The purpose of this man's suffering, Is that, We might see God's glory. God had a plan, To work in this man's life, And be glorified.

[14:11] And it was yes for him, It was yes for those of his generation, But remember, It was captured by the Spirit, And the Word of God, And is today for us. The purpose of this man's hardship, Was that the glory of God, Might be made manifest.

[14:26] Look with me at verse 1, And Jesus passed by, And he saw the man, Which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, Saying, Master, Who did sin, This man, Or his parents, That he was born blind?

[14:41] Now let's just make a few observations, Of what's going on here. Jesus is passing through the city, And typically, What would happen, Is that Jesus would camp outside of the city, That's where he would find rest, And refreshment, He would pray and seek God there, At the camp outside of the city, And then, During the day, In the morning, He would travel into the city, To the place where he would be ministering, He would minister, And then he would leave the city.

[15:09] And as he's passing through the city, He sees a blind man, As he passes by. Now note, Jesus observes this man, There in his suffering, In his blindness, Sitting there.

[15:27] Jesus was always about the Father's business. There were times where Jesus had to get away, He had to go out to the wilderness, To seek God, He had to seek rest.

[15:37] But as he was about his Father's business, He was observant of the people. And he saw this man suffering. Yes, Jesus was there to preach.

[15:49] Yes, Jesus was there with a public ministry. But Jesus saw the individual child of God here, The Israelite man, Suffering in the street.

[15:59] But you know who else saw him? The disciples saw him. And the disciples probably observed Jesus observing this man, And they had a question.

[16:14] And their question was, Master, who did sin? This man or his parents, That he was born blind.

[16:24] Now that's a peculiar question, And it's easy for us to miss a detail. The disciples knew something about this man. They knew that he was born blind.

[16:37] He could have lost his eyesight at any time in his life. He could have lost it as a young child. But they understood this man's story. They knew something about him, That he was born blind.

[16:49] Yet, when this man is questioned, He does not know Jesus. He just knows that Jesus healed him. And isn't that interesting? Jesus, whose fame was spread all over Jerusalem, This man didn't know him.

[17:02] Yet, Jesus and his disciples knew about this man, And his condition. They asked the question, Whose fault is it? Did this man sin, Or did his parents?

[17:16] It seems like a cruel question to ask. Especially us who have the benefit of reading this passage, And having instruction from Christ on it. But during Jesus' day, The teaching was that, If you had an ailment, If you had sickness, If there was something wrong with you, It was your fault, Because you sinned, Or someone else's fault, Because of their sin.

[17:38] Usually an authority, Or someone over you. In this case, It would have been the man's parents. And there was precedence in Scripture for this happening.

[17:48] You see, At times, God did judge people based on, For example, A bad decision made by the king. For example, There was a time where King David Decided he would do a census of the nation of Israel.

[18:02] This against God's leading and God's instruction. He would count the men of Israel To know how big his army was. Then he could use that census, Like most kings, To place expectations upon the people of Israel For service and what not.

[18:17] He could take confidence in the numbers. He could muster for battle And make his decisions based on that. And of course, This angered God Because David was not walking by faith. David was not following God's leading And God's instructions.

[18:30] And of course, What did God do? He judged the nation with a plague. And because David had sinned, Guess what? People died because of his sin.

[18:42] So sometimes a leader, Their sins would affect their people. This could be true of the head of a household. Also in Scripture. Sometimes a person's personal sin Directly came back on them When God judged them.

[18:57] Sometimes even instantaneously. Wicked King Jeroboam Stood at the altar And he extended his hand Towards the man of God Who rebuked him To order his guards to arrest him.

[19:09] And immediately his hand froze And withered right there. And he could not draw it back in. Wicked King Jeroboam Sinned and was immediately met With judgment upon his physical health Because of his sin.

[19:23] Yet if you read the book of Job You realize this is not always the case. Sometimes there are other reasons That suffering comes upon a person. But the disciples weren't considering that.

[19:37] In their mind It had to be sin That caused the suffering. And that was the teaching Of the Pharisees of the day. That if you were suffering If you were poor If you were disabled God didn't like you.

[19:50] This is why the disciples Were so astounded When Jesus said It's easier To get the camel Through an eye of a needle Than for a rich man To enter the kingdom of heaven.

[20:01] Because that went against Contemporary wisdom Because the contemporaries Of the day said That well God Favors the rich people And likes the rich people And that's why they're wealthy.

[20:13] They were astounded By that teaching. They were thinking Through fleshly eyes. Looking at the world As the world looked at the world. But it was a Peculiar theological question.

[20:27] If you were given The fact The idea That sin Caused That all suffering Was a result of personal sin It was quite intriguing.

[20:37] You can imagine Why the disciples Were fascinated by this. You see If it was The parent's sin That caused him To be born blind That made sense. But if it was His own sin That caused him To be born blind He would have had To sin in his mother's womb.

[20:56] And isn't that intriguing? What horrific sin Could a baby commit In the womb of its mother? You can understand Why these young men These young disciples Would be bantering About these theological things.

[21:07] And of course Jesus answered Neither. Neither. Sometimes Our suffering Is a result of the wrong That we've done. But perhaps Most times It's just the result Of living in a broken world.

[21:21] It was Neither His parents' fault That he was born blind Nor his fault That he was born blind. It was not Judgment For a personal sin That either party Had committed.

[21:32] Why was it then That he was suffering? Why was it then That he was going Through hardship? Jesus answered Neither This man hath sinned Nor his parents But that the works Of God Should be made Manifest In him.

[21:50] God had A bigger plan For this man And his suffering Was a part of it. And every person In here today Has suffered.

[22:00] You've had hardship In your life. You have had wrong things Said to you Done to you And sometimes In this life We don't understand What God is going To bring out of that.

[22:13] But the scripture Is clear that Even from Evil and wrong In a person's life God can bring about A good ending. Now this man Didn't see it At the time.

[22:25] Metaphorically And physically He was blind. But Jesus Intended To heal him Because his purpose Was to demonstrate God's grace.

[22:37] And of course Who benefited From this healing? Well if you look At this story The man benefited From the healing Because he was healed He also benefited Because he became A Christian Out of it.

[22:49] His parents Were confronted With the fact That Jesus Was the Messiah As well as The man's neighbors As well as The rulers In the council Who would judge This man And try and figure out How they can pin Sabbath violating On Jesus And execute him.

[23:04] It was also revealed To the people The wickedness And corruption Of the leaders Who refused To believe the gospel. There was much good That came out of it And also today We can read of it And be edified By it.

[23:17] This is the good That Jesus brought out Of this man's suffering. Now Jesus goes on As he's preparing To heal this man And he explains Something to the disciples It's kind of a side note We will not spend Much time on it But he says this In verse 4 He says I must work The works of him That sent me While it is day The night cometh When no man Can work As long as I am In the world I am the light Of the world.

[23:45] Now Jesus Warns his disciples Very simply That he's not Going to be around In physical form Doing his ministry Forever. He was going To one day Ascend and be At the right hand Of the Father And the ministry Would be passed down To the church.

[24:03] He was working And he was working As much as he could While he had time. But there were Only so many healings That Jesus would do In his earthly ministry. There were only So many sermons He would preach.

[24:16] Only so many Conversations he would Have with the disciples Before his time Was over. Now he goes on And he heals The man.

[24:29] When he had thus spoken He spat upon the ground And made clay Of the spittle And he anointed The eyes of the blind man With the clay And said unto him Go wash In the pool Of Siloam Which is by Interpretation Scent He went his way Therefore And washed And came Singing Now there's a lot Of imagery in here Then there's some Significance to what We see doing With the spit And the clay Now these are two Mediums that Neither one of us Nobody would want That smeared on them But why did Jesus Use clay?

[25:06] Well likely This points back To Genesis When God Formed Adam Out of the ground When you look At the Hebrew For his name And the name of man It seems to indicate The red clay That was common In the ancient world And God of course We get this picture Of him sculpting And molding And creating This man Of red clay And there's no Life in him Though he's been Sculpted By God And then what Does God do?

[25:35] He breathes Into him And he comes Alive And he becomes A living Being Whereas all the Other creatures In the world Were created By the speech Of God God molded And formed Adam from the Ground And breathed Into him Giving him Life So what does Jesus do?

[25:56] Well he takes The clay He uses The clay That soil In the healing Process But he also Uses Spit And in Jewish Culture And according To the law Spit was unclean If there was A priest On the way To the temple And somebody Wanted to ruin His day All they would Have to do Is spit upon Him And they would Be unclean Death Would lead To uncleanliness Blood Would lead To uncleanliness Handling a dead Body Would lead to Uncleanliness But there Were times Where that Which was Counted unclean Was actually Used For good For example Death was a Part of the Sacrificial system Animals were Slaughtered And dismembered And incinerated On the altar And their blood Was taken And sprinkled Upon the priests And upon the Objects in the Temple to Purify them So whereas

[26:57] Blood on the Street might Defile Blood in Worship Was a part Of worship And you Say what's The difference Holiness That lamb Was sanctified The blood Was holy And Jesus Took what From any Other man Would be Unclean And he Took that And formed This clay There's something Different about Jesus Spread it upon The man's Eyes And just God created Man from The earth He created Working eyes For him But first He had to Go wash In the pool Of course This points To in many Ways the story Where Elisha Healed Naaman's Leprosy Remember that Great general Came And wanted The prophet To heal Him And the prophet Said go dip In the river Seven times And he was Offended Didn't want to

[27:57] Go down Into the filthy River But he was Eventually persuaded And obeyed And when he Got out of the Water he was Restored And made Whole And what do We see We see Jesus Speaking to This man Sending him Down to the Pool To wash And him Being Restored Now What did This man Know about Jesus Well Jesus and his Disciples were Passing by And they stood There and had A conversation About this Man He likely Heard everything That happened In his presence There As we understand Especially those With a disability Of blindness Typically are Very keen Listeners And he heard The question Of the disciples And this is Probably something He was familiar With his Whole life Blaming the Parents for His blindness Blaming him For his blindness But what does He hear Jesus say This man Didn't Sin

[28:58] That's not Why he's Blind And his Parents Didn't Sin That's not Why he's Blind He did This so That God His work May be Manifest Now For a Disabled Person To have A rabbi Spit upon Them That most Of them Would take That as An insult They're Not that Gullible But he Heard Jesus Say Something Very Different All he Knew Is that Jesus Stopped Jesus Spoke Of a Miracle Spread That mud On his Face And he Left And he Went down To wash And he Came back Singing He He This Was Somewhat Of a Test Of Faith You See Faith Isn't Just Believing Faith Is Believing Something With such Conviction That it Actually Affects The way You Act And he So Believed Jesus That he Obeyed What

[29:58] Jesus Said And washed And came Back Seeing Of course Several Conversations Resulted On this There was Much Chatter If you Will Sparked By this Miracle And this Man He Comes Home To his Neighborhood There He Returns And of Course Jesus Has Moved On Jesus Sent Him Down To The Pool Which Is In The Southwest Of Jerusalem And Jesus Went About!

[30:22] With His Day!! He Doesn't Know What Jesus Looks Like The World Is Completely Different To Him Seeing He Is Used To Feeling His Way He Can Now See His Way He Eventually Finds His Way Back To The Neighborhood Doesn't Know Where Jesus Is And The Neighbors Begin Talking About Him Verse 8 The Neighbors Therefore And they Which Before Had Seen Him That He Was Blind Said Is This Not He That Sat And Begged And Some Said This Is He And Others!

[30:53] He Is Like Him But He Said I Am He You See The Conversation That Kicks Up Some People Recognize Him And Are Amazed He Comes Back Seeing Some People And This Is Typical Of Those Who Are Disabled They Often Times Are Ignored They Weren't Even Sure Exactly What He Look Like Now This Is Just Someone That Might Look Like Him They Were Astonished And He Said No I Am The Man Who Was Formerly Blind And He Come Back Saying And His Astonished Neighbors They Ask Him Verse 10 Therefore Said They Unto Him How Were Thine Eyes Opened And He Answered And Said A Man That Is Called Jesus Made Clay And Anointed Mine Eyes And Said Unto Me Go To The Pool Of Shalom And Wash And I Went And Washed And Received My Sight

[31:53] And They Said Unto Him Where Is He He Said I Don't Know He Just Met Jesus For The First Time Who Healed Him Of Course They Are Astonished They Are Amazed And The Healing Of This Man's Eyes Points To The Fact That Jesus Is The Promised Messiah He Is The One Who Was Sent By God Matthew 11 2 6 Now When John Had Heard In The Prison The Works Of Christ He Sent Two Of His Disciples And Said Unto Him Art Thou He That Should Come Or Do We Look For Another And Jesus Answered And Said Unto Him Unto Them Those The Disciples He Said Go And Show John Again These Things Which He Do Hear!

[32:38] And See! The blind Receive! Their sight And The Lame Walk The Lepers Are Cleansed The Deaf Hear The Dead Are Raised And The Poor Have The Gospel Preached To Them And Blessed Is He Whoever Shall Come Or Whoever Shall Not Be Offended In Me It Pointed Out To The Fact That Jesus Was The Messiah Now What's Interesting Is This Blind Man Didn't Even Know Who Jesus Was He Was Disabled He Is Probably Loop In Jerusalem And We Don't Have Any Indications Here That He Was Told That Any Of His Neighbors Understood That This Was Pointing To Jesus As The Messiah There's No Indication Because As He's Grilled He's Not Really Certain Who Jesus Is Of Course The Thing About This Miracle We See The Chatter It Caused In His Neighborhood Those Of You Who Are Studious Observers Will Realize Cause

[33:42] Problems For Jesus When Was This Man Healed It Was On The Sabbath Now Remember That Fellow Laying On The Grass Mat Who Couldn't Get Down Into The Water Jesus Healed Him And They Tried To Kill Him Because He Worked On The Sabbath They Treated Jesus As If He Was A Common Laborer Applying His Healing Trade How Dare Jesus Apply His Trade Of Healing On The Sabbath He Should Die That's What They Resolved And Of Course Here Jesus Heals This Man On The Sabbath Of Course He's Doing Ministry He's Doing The Work Of God He's Demonstrating Through The Signs The Message That He's Preaching Which Is The Gospel Of The Kingdom Perfectly Fine To Do On The Sabbath But They Didn't See It That Way So This Man Who Just He Is Drug!

[34:33] For The Pharisees Verse 13 They Brought To The Pharisees Him That Afore Time Was Blind And It Was The Sabbath Day When Jesus Made The Clay And Opened His Eyes So This Is The Second Conversation That Emerged From Jesus Work Then Again The Pharisees Asked Him How He Had Received His Sight He Said To Them He Put Clay Upon Mine Eyes And Washed And I Do See Simple Explanation Of What Had Happened We Have He Said He Said It Before All He Knows As He Was Sitting There Jesus Healed Him And He Explains It To The Pharisees And Of Course This Miracle This Good That Jesus Did Not Only Did It Strike Up A Conversation Amongst The Leaders Of The Pharisees Here It Actually!

[35:25] Opened Up A Division In The That Was Already There Remember What Nicodemus Said In John 3 2 He Snuck Out And Met With Jesus In Secret And He Said Rabbi He Said We Know That Thou Are A Teacher From God For No Man Can Do These Miracles Except That God Be With Him So He Knows That He Sent From God Because!

[36:25] Of The Miracles! And He Knows He's A Rabbi That's What Nicodemus A Leader A Pharisee Knows About Jesus And What Did This Group That Broke Up In The Pharisees Say The Same Thing The Exact Same Thing And Remember When Jesus Was Teaching In The Temple And Those Officers Came Back Having Not Arrested Them And That Other Group Was Chastising Them And What!

[36:47] Did They Do? They Stood Up! See There Is A Small Small Vocal Group Amongst These Leaders That They're Not Believers They're Not Christians Necessarily Yet Some Of Them But They At Least See Something Special About Jesus And We Saw How Nicodemus Was Meeting With Jesus And Affirming Things About Jesus Ministry!

[37:12] Almost Like That Olive Branch From The Group Within The San Hedron Of Course Jesus Refused To Interact With Them He Had A Greater Ministry So Here's The Same Group Saying Now We See We See Something More To This Remember Who John Says Took The Body Of Jesus Down Joseph Of Merimathia And He And Nicodemus Took Care Of Jesus After His Crucifixion There Was A Very Small Minority!

[37:40] That Were Open To Hearing More About Jesus But The Overwhelming Majority Had Rejected Jesus And Of Course They Debate And They Argue And The Blind Man Who's Been Healed Is Standing There Not Involved In This World He Was Viewed As An Outcast He Was Viewed As Cursed By God And All Of The Sudden There's All These Religious And Political Leaders Arguing Amongst Themselves About Who Jesus Is Verse 17 And They Say Unto The Blind Man Again!

[38:15] Prophet Well That's A New Revelation He Hasn't Said That Yet He Goes From Hearing Or I'm Sorry He Goes From Sharing About Jesus Healing Him To Hearing This Debate And Then He Concludes Jesus Is A Prophet His Story Grows They're Pressing Him About The Identity Of Jesus Seems!

[38:41] Reasonable Having Heard Their Debate Of Course The Pharisees The Majority They Weren't Happy With That Were They They Weren't Happy With Him Saying That He Was A Teacher From God Like Nicodemus Had Said Verse 18 But The Jews Did Not Believe Concerning Him That He Had Been Blind And Received His Sight Until They Called The Parents Of Him That Had Received!

[39:06] His Sight Well We're Not Going To Talk With This Guy Anymore Till We Investigate So They Went And They Fetched Mom And Dad Verse 19 And They Asked Them Saying Is This Your Son Who Ye Say Was Born Blind How Then Doth He Now See The Scripture Teaches Out Of The Mouth Of Two Or Three Witnesses It Shall Be Confirmed So They Were Going To Do Their Due Diligence They Were Going!

[39:35] To The Parents Answered And Said To Him We Know That This Is Our Son And That He Was Born Blind But By What Means He Seeth We Know Not Or Who Hath Opened His Eyes We Know Not He Is Of Age Ask Him He Shall Speak For Himself So It Was Kind Of The Minimum Testimony From Mom And Dad Yes He Is Our Son Yes He Was Born Blind We Don't Know Anything Else Ask Him He Is A Grown Up We Are Not Responsible For Him Ask Him Why Did They Say This Well The Scripture Explains To Us Verse 22 These Words Spake His Parents Because They Feared The Jews Which Means They Thought One Thing But They Didn't Say It Why Were They Afraid To Say What They Thought For The Jews Had Agreed!

[40:30] That If He Was The Christ He Should Be Put Out Of The Synagogue! Therefore Said His Parents He Is Of Age Ask Him What Weren't His Parents We Can Look At The Fact That They Were Afraid And Didn't Say What They Believed But That Is A Distraction What Did They Think About Jesus That He Was The Christ But They Wouldn't Say It Because They Didn't Want To Get Kicked Out Of The Synagogue Their son Hadn't Come To That Conclusion Yet And They Suspected It But They Were Afraid To Say It They Would Have Been Perhaps Most Amazed Having Raised Him That He Had Received His Sight Of Course The Pharisees Go On Then Again They Called The Man That Was Blind And Said Unto Him Give God The Praise We Know That This Man Is A Sinner We Know That Jesus Is A Sinner That's What They're Saying Here They Go Again That

[41:31] Was The Debate He Was In Before Here's This Poor Man! Off The Street Not Educated Never Has Had A Job He's Been Disabled His Whole Life He Finally Gets It Back Right He Gets A Life Back Where He Can Go Out And Do What He's Always Wanted To Do He's Probably Trying To Think About What He's Going To Do With His Life And He's Ensnared In This Debate What Was The Debate Before One Group Said He Was A Sinner Because He Broke The Sabbath The Next Group Said No He Must Be Sent From God So What Did The Man Say The First Time I Think He's A Prophet Well That Group Still Demanded Saying He Was A Sinner So What Did The Man Say Whether He Be A Sinner Or No I Know Not One Thing I Know That I Was Blind And Now I See He's Starting To Get Frustrated And Then They Said To Him Again What Did He To The How Opened He Thine Eyes They

[42:32] Repeated The Question This Man Doesn't Know Much About Jesus He's Frustrated With The Way He's Being Treated By The Pharisees He's Probably Frustrated That They Went And Fetched His Parents You Know He's Never Seen His Parents Up Until This Point He He He Doesn't Know What A Smiling Face Looks Like He Doesn't Know What A Tear Looks Like And The First Time He Sees His Parents They're Cowering Before The Pharisees Terrified That They're Going To Get Kicked Out Of The Synagogue First Of Their Parents Is It But That's What He Saw He Sees These Cruel Pharisees Here He Keeps Answering Their Question As Best As He Can But It's Not Good Enough He Sees He Getting Pulled

[43:33] Into This Debate These Are The Same People That Have Been Cruel To Him His Whole Life They've Been Cruel To His Parents Blaming Him Blaming His Parents For His Disability He Knows Jesus Healed Him That Jesus Didn't Blame Him For The Blindness That God Intended To Work Some Miracle But That's About It And As He's In The Pressure Cooker adversity, God begins to solidify his faith. Because he did know more about Jesus than he initially realized. Because he experienced the healing work of Jesus. And that sign worked by the Spirit of God through the Son of God, testified that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.

[44:22] And he begins to realize something significant in what he has experienced as he's speaking to these Pharisees. But first he, I guess we could say he begins to poke at them a little bit. Verse 27, And he answered them and said, I have told you already, and ye do not hear. Well that sounds like something John the Baptist would say. I've said this to you before, but you do not hear.

[44:50] That's an indictment against the religious. Hearing they do not hear, seeing they do not see. He says, wherefore would you like to hear it again? He knows. He knows he's just riling them up right now. He says, will ye also be his disciples? Will ye also become Christians? Is that why I'm here?

[45:15] Oh, he knows that he's going to make them angry when he says that. And it worked. Verse 28, Then they reviled him and said, thou art his disciple, but we, we are Moses' disciples.

[45:28] We do not, we know that God spoke to Moses. As for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. There it is. They assert their status, their elite status. We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses. We being religious, we being in the know, we don't know where Jesus came from. He can't be that important. Look, look what they fell back on when they're challenged. Look what they fell back on when they're scared. Look what they fell back on when they're insecure. It's not the grace of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is their own self-righteousness. And that is how you know if someone is a true follower of Christ or a Pharisee in the modern sense. The Pharisee always falls back on his own sense of righteousness. But the man doesn't stop there with these cruel Pharisees.

[46:20] He goes on. After they speak, he answered them. Verse 30, the man answered and said unto them, these disciples of Moses, he says, why wherein is a marvelous thing that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. You should know this if you're so smart. Now we know that God heareth not sinners. Wait a minute. Where is he getting this? He's starting to preach. He knows some things about God. And the Spirit of God is awakening these things in his heart. He goes from not knowing to trying to avoid the conflict to he's embraced the conflict. He's preaching now truth that he knows about God. He says, we know that God heareth not sinners, but if any man be a worshiper of God and doeth his will, he heareth him. Since the world has begun, it has not been heard that any man has opened the eyes of a man born blind. Well, he's preaching from Scripture. He's preaching from common sense. Verse 33, if this man were not of God, he could do nothing. And all of a sudden, in the fires of adversity, this man who knew a little bit about God, who knew a little bit about Jesus, who'd experienced just a little bit of grace, God uses those moments of adversity to solidify his faith. And of course, we see the Pharisees' hateful response. Verse 34, then they answered and said to him, thou hast altogether been born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

[48:00] There it is. They look back on themselves. They look back on their breeding. Yeah, you're born in sins. You can't teach us. You don't know anything. What did the miracle of Christ do here? It revealed to this man, his parents, all the onlookers, the whole city, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

[48:24] Through this miracle, this man was not only healed, and not only saw God's grace, God used his former disability to free him from the shackles of false religion and the fear of the falsely religious. But that's not where the story ends, is it? I tell you what, this is probably my favorite part of the passage. Remember we started out, and as Jesus passed by, he saw the man that was blind. Verse 35, Jesus heard that they had cast him out. He saw him, and he heard about him. Think about that. Jesus looked for him, and he listened for word about him. Jesus knew what would happen when he healed him on the Sabbath. Jesus knew what happened to the guy with the grass mat when he got healed on the Sabbath. He knew exactly what would happen. He was listening, waiting for word. And someone brought him word about what happened to this man. Just as a side note, don't ever devalue the power of prayer.

[49:44] some person, likely a disciple, likely a saint, had the privilege of bringing this word to Jesus. And did he have to hear that word from them to know? No. But he did hear it from him, and what did he do in response to it? He went out and found him. He was listening for him, waiting for word. When he got the word, he went out and found the man and said to him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? And friends, the Spirit of God had already been at work in his heart. He knew something more was there with Jesus. And what was his answer?

[50:29] Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? Jesus, just point me in the right direction. I'm ready to go. What did Jesus say? Thou hast, and if you were, if you, a blind person would hear this.

[50:48] Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And in that moment, that man knew with certainty what he suspected in his heart, that he was looking on the face of the Son of God.

[51:07] And he believed in Him. And he worshipped Him. A man sought out by Jesus. Found by Jesus. A man who wondered his whole life why he was different.

[51:26] A man faced with cruelty and adversity from the religious crowd. A man who finds Jesus. And God uses that suffering. And works such a great miracle.

[51:41] And so many times I've heard the saints say, after going through a trial. You know what they say? It was hard. I don't want to go through it again.

[51:52] But I would not change a thing about it. Because of what God did for me and in my life. And I imagine this man would have said the same thing about Jesus.

[52:08] Of course, Jesus isn't done talking here. It's almost as if he turns and speaks to the reader. Verse 39. And Jesus said, For judgment I have come into the world, that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind.

[52:30] Jesus came with a purpose. To bring spiritual vision. Verse 40. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words.

[52:42] He said unto him. And asked, Are we blind also? They understood that Jesus was talking about something spiritual.

[52:54] And Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin. But now say ye we see, therefore your sin remaineth.

[53:09] Self-righteousness. Though they were blind, they would not admit it. They maintained that they had perfect spiritual sight.

[53:20] That they were fine without the work of Jesus in their life. That is self-righteousness. How many times do we meet someone who professes Christ, but are perfectly okay with ignoring Him?

[53:40] I know many, many professing Christians, and I have them in my own family, that will tell you that they're a Christian, have no interest in the things of God. Will not worship with the saints.

[53:51] Will not crack the word. Only pray if there is some selfish need. And why do they do that? They think they're okay.

[54:02] They think they're just fine. And that is spiritual blindness. They're blind to their need for Christ's righteousness.

[54:14] Because if they knew how much they needed Jesus, and they had received Jesus, they would be found at His feet.

[54:26] But self-righteousness keeps them from seeing that. And that is the warning for us today. We need spiritual vision. We need spiritual sight that comes from God's working in our lives.

[54:44] And if we are self-righteous, we are blind to that truth. And of course, we also see that even in the midst of great suffering in a believer's life, God can bring about so much good.

[54:57] Let's pray.