[0:00] This time though I would love for us to turn, if you have a copy of God's word, to John chapter 9. I'm going to be reading the text today that Pastor Eric will be preaching from.
[0:10] And so if we turn to John chapter 9, we're going to read the entire chapter. And this is the word of the Lord, John chapter 9.
[0:23] As he passed by, he said, he saw a man blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned that this man or his parents, that he was born blind? And Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned nor his parents, but that God's, the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one will work. As long as I am in this world, I am the light of the world. Having said this, he spat on the ground and he made mud with saliva and he anointed the man's eyes with mud and said to him, go wash in the pool of salam, which means scent. He went and so he went and washed and he came back seeing the neighbors of those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, is this not the man who used to sit and beg? Some said, it is he. Others said, no, it is, it is like him. He kept, but he kept saying, I am the man. So they said to him, then how were your eyes opened? He answered, the man called Jesus made mud anointed my eyes and he said to me, go to the salam and wash and I went and washed and received my sight. They said to him, where is he? He said,
[1:44] I do not know. They brought the Pharisees, the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened the eyes. So the Pharisees asked and said to him, who had received his sight and he said to him, he put mud on my eyes and I washed and now I see. Some of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God for he has not kept the Sabbath. But others said, how can a man who is a sinner do such signs? And there was a division among them. So he said, again to the blind man, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes? And he said, he is a prophet. The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and received his sight until they had called the parents of the man who had received his sight and they asked him, is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? His parents answered, we know this is our son and that he was born blind. But now he sees and we do not know nor do we know who opened his eyes.
[2:54] And he asked him, ask him, he is of age. He will speak for himself. Now his parents said these things because they feared the Jews for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confess that Jesus is the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, ask of his age. He is of age, ask him. So for the second time they called the man who had been born blind, he said to him, give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered, whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know though is that I was once blind and now I see.
[3:30] They said to him, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? And he said to them, I have told you already. You would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples? And they reviled him saying, you are his disciple. But we are the disciples of Moses. Now we know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from. And the man answered, why? This is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God, he does his will and God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing?
[4:32] They answered him and said, you were born in utter sin and you would teach us and they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out and having found him said, do you believe in the Son of Man?
[4:47] And 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 speaks to you now. And he said, Lord, I believe and he worshiped him. Jesus said, for judgment I came into this world that those who do not see may see and those who see may become blind. Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, are we also blind? And Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt. But now that you say, we see your guilt remains.
[5:32] Well, thank you, Scott. Good morning, church. I pray that as we read that story, we are encouraged already. But now as we go about studying this and diving a little deeper into it, that we would continually be encouraged. Isaac, could we start that clock? I said the body might be edified and I won't cause anyone to fall out of a window. Hopefully there's no open windows here.
[5:57] Oftentimes in Scripture, we come across passages in which there is remarkable hope given.
[6:13] And this is a passage that as I have read and studied, I have really come to take hope because of this. This story speaks to each and every person in that it addresses a massive theological question that I have received in eight years of ministry. And if you're a pastor or you're in counseling, you also have received this over and over again. And the question that it really answers is, why does God allow things to happen to me or to people I love or things in my life that seem unfair, that seem like this is a mysterious thing that the Lord would allow?
[7:04] So I pray that we would take encouragement this morning as we look into a passage in which Jesus himself explains and offers a way forward for those who may be struggling or suffering in this life. Oftentimes in gospel narratives with Jesus, they begin with a parable or a story or miraculous work. Then at the end of that story, miraculous work or parable, Jesus drops the main idea or the big truth, if you will. And this often serves as a dramatic reveal. For a couple of examples, the Good Samaritan. This is a big long story and Jesus gives the hypothetical story in order to stump the Pharisees and trick, not excuse me, not trick, but to reveal a truth at the end of the story that would cause them to have to consider what it is they believe. So at the end of the Good Samaritan, we hear this, Jesus says, this question, which one of the men that served this person that was beat up on the side of the road, which one was the neighbor? It's the end of the story. And there's a reveal. Another example would be the cleansing of this temple, which Jesus goes and cleanses the temple out. And at the very end of the story, he says, don't make my father's house a house of business or trade. Another example would be our text from last week in which Pastor Scott shared, the feast of boost. Jesus is talking and he's moving throughout this feast and he's causing a disruption, a holy disruption. At the very end of the feast of boost, the very last thing Jesus does, he says this, before Abraham was, I am. And there's a dramatic reveal.
[8:44] Well, in this story, this is not the method that Jesus uses. Instead, Jesus gives the big idea right up front. Before the story plays out, before any teaching has occurred, he gives it straight away. So what I love to do is just read the first seven verses of chapter nine with you and then we'll break down what is the big idea that we're going to shoot for this morning and then we'll see that if it's true or not. Chapter nine verse one. And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth and his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents that he was born blind? And Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed 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. Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva and he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said, go wash in the pool of
[9:50] Salome which means sent. So he went and washed and came back saying. Now you did notice Jesus declares a massive truth that will define the whole chapter before he even heals the blind man. So here's our big idea this morning. We're going to be going to be going. Our human fragility has a place in God's story for his glory. Our human fragility has a place in God's story for his glory. And as we look into this chapter and hopefully take encouragement for what we're going to see, I just want to lay out a quick theological paradigm that has helped me in my ministry and in my understanding of God's Word and working with the saints and people. And I hope that it will help you as well. There's a concept of fallenness in the Bible. And fallenness is something that you might be familiar with or you might not be. So
[10:59] I'm going to hopefully define it a little bit. Fallenness refers to the utter depravity of mankind and constant failure to submit to God and obey his Word. And this fallenness describes the deep problem within each and every person that our hearts are covered in darkness, that their hearts are exceedingly wicked above all else, the Bible says. And that because of this fallenness, we do not seek God and we are on a path to death. Fallenness can be described as our participation in the original act of the fall. Paul says in Romans chapter five that just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin. So death spread to all men, here it is, because all sinned, that all of us participate in that fall and that we too are sinners. So there's the depravity of man, the fallenness factor, which is huge, hugely important to setting up the redemption that is to come through Jesus. But then there's a second factor that I want to offer to us this morning, that Jesus is going to display. And it's this fragility related but not quite the same. Fragility I'm going to define as this, the consequences of living in a fallen world that leads to brokenness, pain, hurt, etc. Fragility defines our experience with the effects of the fall. A couple examples in the Bible, the character of Naomi in the Old
[12:42] Testament, she loses her husband and she loses her two sons and she becomes a widow with very little to her name and now with immense social pressure. Did Naomi cause the death of her husband and her sons? No. But she has fallen victim to this through their death. The Lord has allowed Mephibosheth in the Old Testament, who is the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, the king.
[13:08] He is crippled from age five years on when he's dropped by a nurse as she is walking and he has crippled the rest of his life. Abel, murdered by his hatred, hated or brother filled with hatred and jealousy. And then now in this story we have the man born blind. Some modern examples of fragility affecting each and every one of us would be things like birth conditions. Our own oldest daughter had a birth condition that we did not know of until it reared its ugly head and we went back to the hospital and thankfully by God's sovereignty and providence he healed her but we eventually found that there's a birth condition that wasn't her fault. This wasn't my fault or even Brooke's fault, it's just the way God made her. Other birth conditions, holes in the heart, deformities on and on that many even in this very church have dealt with recently or dealing with now.
[14:10] Things like childhood cancer or many forms of ordinary cancer that come across in the lives of all of us that we've been touched by. Type 1 diabetes, food intolerances, death, loss of a spouse suddenly, abuse in which someone else's fallen condition, their hurt, their brokenness affects someone else, abandonment, a spouse being left or natural disasters. We define each and every one of these under the tag of fragility, the effects of living in a broken world. And having a category for fragility is going to help us in this story and in our lives because in addition to fallenness which is hugely important, if we understand fragility as well, it restricts us from judgment and opens us up to care and concern for others. And I want us to look again now at chapter 9, we work through the text. I'm going to read 1 through 7 actually again. As he passed by, understand the context here, as he passed by, let's read actually verse 59 of the previous chapter. So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.
[15:34] The Jews are upset with his I AM statement, they're going to kill him and he leaves the temple in secret. And as he is fleeing for his life, leaving in secret, he comes across this man. That's the context, isn't that amazing? And then it says verse 91, as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. So we know he's never seen his entire life. And I want you to notice something in chapter 2. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned this man or his parents? Do the disciples have a category for fragility here? No. The only category that they see the situation is in fallenness.
[16:21] Now fallenness is the reason why fragility exists and why we experience things in life that are hard and broken. But they come into the situation immediately assuming someone messed up and is at fault. That's obviously why this man is born blind. We're going to look at three types of people today. First is the truly blind. There's an ironic thing that's happening in this story, that as Jesus is physically literally healing a man's blindness and gives him literal sight. What's fascinating is there are groups of people, namely the disciples, the Jews and the Pharisees in this story, who their spiritual blindness is exposed. It's a fascinating, beautiful thing that God's Word does. But the first category is the truly blind. And the disciples here in verse 1 and 2, they make an assumption that exposes their blindness. They don't ask Jesus if sinful living can lead to physical repercussions, like a theological question. They could have looked at this and said, man, Jesus, is it possible that if someone is born with blindness that, man, is it possible that something like that could be caused by sin? They don't ask that question. They go straight to the verdict, which is this. Clearly sin caused this blindness. So who was it Jesus? Was it him or is it his parents? Which is really a fascinating question because once you dig into it a little bit, you see the blindness exposed in this. The man is born blind and the disciples have a category or have a root, if you will, that it is possible that because this man sinned, he was born blind. Now stop for a second here.
[18:23] At some point later in his life, he sinned against the Lord and retroactively the Lord before he was born made him blind in the womb and he comes out blind.
[18:43] It's supposed to be a little silly because what it does is it sets up the contrast so well for what Jesus does. So here's what Jesus says in verse three. It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. Everyone judges first in this story. Only one shows compassion first. Everyone interrogates first after this man is healed as we'll see, but only one celebrates and redeems him. Second group of people is the Jewish neighbors.
[19:28] Look with me in verse eight. It says this, that the neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, is this not the man who used to sit and beg? And some said it is he. Others said no, but he is like him. And he kept saying, I am the man. So they said to him, then how were your eyes open? And he answered, the man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Solomon wash. So I went and washed and received my sight. And they said to him, where is he?
[19:56] And he said, I do not know. Now I want to read this and just kind of give us a little bit of a picture here of what happened. Okay, so let's look at what happens here. He recounts the story very, very accurately. He says this man came and made mud. So we told him the story that Jesus used this saliva, he spits on the ground, if you will, he mixes it with dirt, and it becomes a mud paced substance that he then literally wipes on the man's eyes. And then he says, now I want you to go to the pool of Siloam. It says that the text says that it means sent. And there's a lot of really cool theological things in that that I won't get into for the sake of time. But he sends him a blind man to a pool with paste on his eyes. I just want you to imagine if you're living in this time. Okay, maybe you know this guy because apparently he was fairly well known. The neighbors and the people that passed by and saw him regularly, they recognized him. So now you get this blind man with mud all over his eyes and he's walking to the pool of Siloam. It's an incredible picture. And then he says this, this is his recounting of the story. I love this. He says this in verse 11, the man called Jesus made mud and then went to my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash.
[21:16] Get in the pool and wash that dirt off that I put on. And in so doing, he's wiping the very saliva of the Messiah, the Son of God off of his face. And then he recounts this.
[21:35] So I went and washed and received my sight. I think this is remarkable because not only does this man receive his sight, he obeys to the T exactly what Jesus told him to do. Go in wash, receive your sight. And as he comes back to these people, the neighbors, which is kind of signifying the people of the temple that have gone in and out for a long time. They know of this man that's been sitting there. He says this statement. He recounts what Jesus told them in absolutely perfect detail. And as he does it, here's what the Jewish neighbors say.
[22:18] Well, I'm not sure that's actually the guy. Is that really the guy that was sitting there for so long? So you see in verse eight and then verse nine, some said, no, no, no, it is he that that is the guy and he's walking and he sees and he has sight that is him. Then others say, no, no, no, no, but he's like him. There's a guy looks just like that blind guy that can actually be him. You can see the doubt, but also there's some belief happening that crowd doesn't know what to make of this. But I love this in verse and a verse nine. He kept saying, I am the man.
[22:56] He is proclaiming, no, that is me. I'm the guy. I was the blind man. In verse 10, so they said to him, then how were your eyes opened? And he answered. We read this.
[23:12] Jesus told me to do this and I did never see my sight. And then verse 12 is a staggering. They said to him, where is he? He said, I do not know. But I want us to see here is the blindness of these Jewish neighbors is this. All these people who walked by him daily and knew of him are more interested in speculation and debate over who, where, how, why, then they are about celebrating an incredible miracle that is unprecedented. Where's the blindness here? Oh, that's great. You received your sight back. Where's the guy?
[23:54] What's that? You're now no longer blind. That guy. Okay, that's great. Where's the guy that healed you? There's no humanity here. There's no celebration. There's no amazement from the crowd.
[24:09] I want to encourage us that God is at work all around us. That he is a God who works miracles. It is the daytime, as Jesus said, and he encourages us to be about the work of God that he might be glorified.
[24:25] Let us ask in prayer with faith and believe in his miraculous power in this church, in our lives, in our friendships, in our families and beyond. But then we have a third truly blind group, and it's the Pharisees.
[24:40] The whole next section is dominated by the Pharisees. And we see in this in verse 13 that they, the neighbors, or the Jews there, they brought to the Pharisees, the man had been formerly blind. Now it was the same day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes to the Pharisees. Again, asked him how he had received his sight.
[25:01] Again, the Pharisees and I understand celebrating this either. Okay, what happened? How in the world could you possibly not be blind? Completely skipping over, you're not blind. And you have been from birth for the first time in your entire life.
[25:15] You're seeing trees, you're seeing human faces, you're seeing buildings, you're seeing the human faces, you're seeing buildings, you're seeing every single thing. Completely skipping over that.
[25:25] Okay, whatever. That's great. Where's the guy had you get healed? Do you see it? And this is what I love, verse 15. So the Pharisees again asked him how he received his sight and he said to them, he put mud on my eyes and I washed and I see. Love this formerly blind man. Okay, verse 16.
[25:47] Some of the Pharisees said this man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. But others said, how can a man who is a sinner do such signs? So there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes? And he said, he is a prophet.
[26:10] So far this formerly blind man is batting a thousand. He is just hitting every ball that's crossed on the plate. I love this. But then you see in verse 18, there's an unrest of the Pharisees and what has happened.
[26:26] Because the implications of a prophet or a person coming and divinely healing blindness into sight fulfills many prophecies that the Messiah would come and heal and do great miracles.
[26:42] So here's what happens in verse 18. 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?
[26:59] Let's get the parents to verify that this guy was actually blind. But then it says in verse 20, his parents answered, we know that this is our son that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him, he is of age.
[27:15] He's an adult. The implication here. He will speak for himself. Verse 22. And I want you to sense the fear and dominance of the Pharisees over these people.
[27:27] The way they ruled was domineering. Look at this verse. His parents said these things because they feared the Jews. The Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, he's of age. Ask him, we don't want to be excommunicated. We don't want to be in this mess.
[27:49] So go back to him. He's an adult. So then verse 24. So for the second time, they called the man who had been blind and said to him, give glory to God.
[28:01] Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. This is possibly the most disturbing statement that the Pharisees utter in John.
[28:22] The Pharisees were spiritually blind. They too had no category for fragility. And I can't think of anything less. Look at the irony of this. I can't think of anything less God glorifying than calling Jesus the Savior of the world a sinner.
[28:45] They are attempting to make a theological point by saying, listen, dude, you must give God glory now.
[28:56] And the implication is you're going to do that by failing to address this person as a divine, miraculous healer. There's no way this guy could be the Messiah or the one that could heal because he's a sinner. So give glory to God and reject this.
[29:28] And this is what I love. Verse 25. And he answered, whether he's a sinner, I do not know. Only thing I do know that though I was blind, now I see. It is enough for this man that this guy saw me compassionately and addressed my infirmity. That's what I know. I couldn't see and now I see.
[29:54] But here's what's so fascinating if you may be thinking, well, man, why doesn't he stand up for Jesus more? Why doesn't he just proclaim as the Savior, as the Messiah? Because we're going to get to that later in the story. He hasn't even been, he hasn't met Christ for spiritual blindness.
[30:09] His physical blindness has been healed, but Jesus is going to address his spiritual blindness at the end of this passage. But what I love is that he looks at the Pharisees who just basically threatened him with the statement of, you need to give glory to God. That man could not have done this.
[30:24] He looks them in the face and he says, here's what I know. I was blind and now I see. Love us. And they said to him, verse 26, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?
[30:37] How many times has the man recounted all of this? Three times already. So he says to them, I love the holy feistiness here. I have told you already and you would not listen.
[30:48] Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? Love that. And they reviled him saying, you are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
[31:05] Yes. That man is not king. That man is not Messiah. That man is not worth following. We don't follow him. I think that's apparent. If God has spoken to Moses, but it's for this man, we do not know where he comes from. The man answered, why, this is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from. And yet he opened my eyes. You can see the testament here of this man that I have never seen in my life. But now I have physical sight and that man did it. There's got to be something about him.
[31:39] And he says it right here. Verse 31, we know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. And they answered him, you were born in utter sin and you would teach us. And they cast him out. And I want to see the final point of spiritual blindness for the Pharisees. Look at verse 34 again. Here's what they say. This is their evaluation. This is their final decision. This is their verdict on the situation. After all that has been said, you were born in utter sin.
[32:18] The heart is revealed. They make a connection between sinful living and his blindness.
[32:32] You are blind because of sin in your life or maybe your parents. No category for fragility. We must learn from the disciples and the Pharisees not to make assumptions about sinful living when we see brokenness. Now it is very clear in God's word that sin, fallenness, our poor decisions lead to consequences. It's very clear that we can abuse our bodies with drugs or substances, that we can abuse our relationships with mistrust or or deceit, that we can harm others and harm ourselves with poor decision making. And there are consequences to living simply. There's no question.
[33:19] But it is also true that because of the brokenness of the world, we can experience great pain that is not necessarily our individual fault. We all participate in the fallenness of the world.
[33:34] We have a problem that it starts in the heart to not know God because of our darkened hearts, to go against him, to rebel against him. But we also feel the weight of the brokenness of the world, which is why at the end of the book of the Bible in Revelation, when all things are made new and God gathers his people unto himself to be with him forever, the Bible says this, that he will wipe away every tear. Speaking to that fragility, it's all gone. There's no more brokenness. It's the promise we have at the end of this amazing book. But for the Pharisees, there is no fragility. There's only cause and effect. I played basketball at Seattle Pacific University. And this concept of fallenness and fragility and the healthy balance between them, it didn't really set in with me until about four or five years ago when I learned it from one of my professors and really kind of took it to heart.
[34:33] But I want to share just an unfortunate circumstance in which I look back on my former self and say, I failed. I played basketball at SPU for three years. And while I was on that team, I saw a way of different guys go through and spent most of the time with the same group. But man, about 13 to 14 players on that team, I was one of 13 to 14. And throughout those three years, me and only one other player were professing Christians that went to church regularly, studied his word, loved him, and professed Jesus. And I can say that because I had no category of fragility in my life, I look back and I regret the way I witnessed. Because I looked at these worldly people, and yes, they were without Christ, they were worldly in many senses. But I looked at the worldliness of my teammates. And here's what I did. I said this, they're all living sinfully.
[35:34] And therefore, when bad things happen to them, clearly that's because they're living sinfully, which may be true in some areas. But I applied it to all. And I was very fair and sayable.
[35:47] And so here's what happened. I pushed people away in the name of not becoming like the world. I made judgments about them. And then sure enough, things would happen in the lives of these teammates, like a grandparent died to one of my member, another one, he lost his car, someone stole his car. I remember another situation in which one of the players, his girlfriend broke up with him and he was devastated and he just needed people to love on him and encourage him because he was thinking about proposing. And all these situations, I rented all those things as, well, it's probably because you're living sinfully that all those happened. And I wasn't there for them. I wasn't there to speak into their lives and relate with them and encourage them. This is not the way the world's meant to be. These things are not, this is not how it was designed to be.
[36:39] Let me tell you about someone. I miss those opportunities. Because I lacked a perspective of fragility. I don't want that for us. I want what Jesus offers. To be look at this story and we see Jesus and we see him seeing the fragility of people, specifically this blind man. And as he looks at this blind man, he says this incredible statement that he is a fragility, the blindness of this man has a place in God's story, divinely orchestrated, sovereignly appointed, that this man would be used to glorify God mightily. That in our fragility, in your fragility, whatever it may be, that God has a plan and a purpose for it.
[37:31] The second perspective is the formerly blind man. We see in this entire chapter, this incredible faith and this incredible perspective that he has on life now that this man has healed his physical blindness. The man has two big problems, fragility, the blindness of sight, but he also has another problem, the fallenness, the blindness of the heart. But here's what I love about Jesus. He remedies both of these things. And the story starts out with him remedying that fragility, that blindness of eye, physical, literal blindness. Jesus sees him and makes not a judgment, but instead has compassion and loves this man. But then secondly, here's what we see.
[38:20] Verse 35, Jesus heard that they cast him out. And having found him, he said, do you believe in the Son of man? Now he's addressing that fallenness.
[38:33] Do you believe in the Son of man? He answered, and who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? He's seeking, he's longing. Verse 37, Jesus said to him, you have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. And he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped him. Mankind's greatest need is to be absolved of sin and redeemed from our fallen state back into right relationship with God.
[39:08] And the savior of the world, through the means, in this case, through the means of addressing that fragile condition, showing compassion on this man to open his physical eyes, so that he has this interaction in which his heart eyes are open. Jesus addresses his greatest need here by pointing to himself as the Messiah and the one by whom restoration of relationship with God can be fully achieved. This is what I love about this man. Look at his story throughout this text.
[39:47] In verse 7, he's healed by Jesus. Verses 8 to 34, he's an apologist for Jesus. Verse 35 to 38a, he's a believer in Jesus. And then finally 38b, he's a worshiper of Jesus. Incredible.
[40:13] That Jesus would show compassion on this person, pull them up out of their physical despair. And then at the end of the story, he lets him go into the temple and be an apologist for him, which is remarkable. And then at the end of the story, he catches him on the back end and says, I'm the Messiah, believe in me. This is the third perspective, the eyes of compassion, which is Jesus Christ. The same eyes that looked upon this blind man in this story, in verse 1, are the same eyes that looked upon and saw his unformed substance, like Psalm 139 says, that Jesus is the very creator of the very man that he heals. And that before this man even was born with blindness, we know from Psalm 139 that the eyes of God saw him before he was even formed.
[41:10] That the plans of God went so far beyond anything that his guy could have seen, figuratively or literally, that before he was even a thought, before he even existed, God had a plan that I'm going to make this man who remains nameless in the Scriptures, and I'm going to put him in a place where he is literally blind, that when my son comes on to the earth, he is going to touch this man, heal this man, and through him will be displayed my glory to all generations. The billions and billions of Christians and even people who have read this story since it was first written. They see the story and with clear opened eyes glorify God, and I hope that's what we're doing this morning. Jesus has a category for fragility. He sees the man and doesn't assume, but instead compassionately loves, and he takes that which is broken and transforms it into something of God's glory for the good of the man. Infirmities and conditions of weakness are often not anyone's fault, but they are always an opportunity for God to display his glory. I want to read a quick passage from 1 Corinthians chapter 12. You can turn that with me.
[42:42] 2 Corinthians 12, excuse me. 2 Corinthians 12, we see the apostle Paul, and he writes some words that are very timely here. I believe Paul understood this concept that the Lord will use the fragility of our human weakness for his glory and our good. Let's start in verse 7, 2 Corinthians 12, verse 7. So to keep me from becoming conceited because the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being conceited.
[43:21] A physical, fragile condition. Verse 8, three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. Verse 9, but He said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Listen to this. Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Whatever physical weakness you may have here this morning, I want to encourage you that it is for the works of God to be displayed in your life and in the world.
[44:00] And that we as Christians with the perspective with opened eyes get to see God and trust Him with all things, even the really hard things like physical conditions or consequences of the fall affects that affect all of us. We get to trust God with those things and as Paul says, we get to glory or rejoice or boast in those weaknesses. Now by way of quick application for us, I just want to encourage us in the home. Spouses, when we feel hurt by our other spouse or when we inflict our spouse with hurt. Children with health problems, health conditions, extended families that we feel hurt by.
[45:01] All these situations, we need to recognize that Jesus is Lord over all of it. And that when we sin and we give in to sin through our fallenness, that we repent of it and we come back to the Lord and we look for that reconciliation in our homes. But also when we experience hurt, that we remember the Lord as the Redeemer of it all. In the church, choose compassion before judgment. Listen instead of congregating when you see something that looks broken. Look for opportunity to come alongside your brother and sister. Choose to celebrate with one another when we see God's miraculous works happening.
[45:42] Encourage one another through the fragility of life. Help shape one another's perspective as God will work His good through whatever we are suffering in. And in the world, I want to remind us of verse 1 of chapter 9, which possibly gives us the greatest application for our witness in the world, which is this. It says that Jesus passed by and he saw. That we would pass by our coworkers, the people we live in proximity to, the people at the stores, the people that we interact with regularly, and we would see them and not make the mistake I did of refusing to see people in their human condition because all we're convinced of is that they maybe deserve what's happening to them. Listen, hear, love, and work, the works of Him who sent Jesus, the one who will be glorified in all things. And in closing, I just want to encourage you with a quick story. There's a lady named Fanny Crosby that lived in the 1800s. Some of you may know who this is. If you don't, I want to share quickly. She was a woman who had got an eye infection at six weeks but left her blind for her entire life, not like she can see a little bit completely blind.
[47:02] And she wrote many sims and memorized many books of the Bible via Braille. And she wrote one hymn called Blessed Assurance. Blind from birth is Fanny Crosby. Here's what she wrote. Perfect submission, perfect delight, visions of rapture now burst on my sight. She knows something, doesn't she?
[47:32] That one day my blindness will be wiped away. Jesus will wipe those tears and I will see majestically. And she used to say this a lot to people who would come up to her and people would often ask her, what's it like being blind? Or people would even more pointedly ask her, oh, it's so sad that you're blind, you can't see all of the incredible things in the world. And here's how she would respond every time when she heard this. I have a greater privilege than you, brother or sister. In that, do you realize?
[48:09] She says all the time, the first face I will ever see will be the face of Jesus. That is a perspective that sees through the pain, sees through the fragility into the glorious redemption of Jesus Christ, the one who loves us, cares for us and will wipe away every tear. Brothers and sisters, will we be encouraged that in whatever life situation you find yourself in, either caused by your own sin or the sin of others, that we would be able to see the blood of Jesus Christ and the redemption of his work on the cross as the solution and as the great hope that we continue to live for. He will be glorified in his works.
[48:57] Lord, thank you for this morning that we get to be encouraged. Lord, just by your compassion that you see this man born blind and you cast not judgment, but Lord, instead you see him and you meet his needs divinely.
[49:14] Lord, I thank you that for every person here who has repented of sin and believed in you and your gospel, Lord, that you have also met us. You have met our needs. The brokenness of relationship, the depravity of the heart.
[49:31] You have met our needs, Lord, through your atoning sacrifice. And God, I pray for any person here who may be feeling discouraged in life about the fragility of their human condition or something that has happened to them, Lord.
[49:45] Would you lift them up? Lord, would you use us to lift them up and encouraging words with right perspective to see that you are working in our midst, even and especially in the hard things, Lord.
[50:01] We love you and we trust you for all things. Thank you for your incredible word, which is a testament to your love and your grace. Amen.