[0:00] So this is a story as you know of the blind man who was brought to sea.
[0:13] And I would like us to look at it through the lens of Isaiah chapter 9 where the king comes, one whose name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
[0:30] And I think that this man who was born blind, who came to see, who came to Christ, who came to worship, who's been in heaven for the last 2,000 years, is somebody who would well be able to agree with Isaiah that's exactly what Jesus came to mean to me.
[0:53] He's a most Wonderful Counselor. No one like him. He's the mighty God. He changed my life. He's the everlasting Father.
[1:05] No one cares for me like he does. And he's the Prince of Peace. He brought wholeness and shalom to me in a way that has lasted.
[1:18] So let's look very briefly at the whole chapter under these four headings. Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
[1:31] Every Christian knows Jesus, the King, in these ways. First of all, as a Wonderful Counselor, I mean, their situation is obvious, isn't it?
[1:47] As Jesus was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. He's the one who saw him first. Then the disciples asked him a theological question. They saw the man born blind, but all of a sudden they went into theology.
[2:02] Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? In other words, whose fault is it that that man's blind? And you know, sometimes theology can be really good in its proper place.
[2:17] But sometimes theological questions can keep you from focusing on what is there in your face. And Jesus deals with these disciples.
[2:30] He says, it's not about this man that sinned or his parents. It's that the works of God might be displayed in him. In other words, here's the Wonderful Counselor.
[2:42] He knows when to talk theology. He knows when to begin the blame game and think, who sinned? Whose sin was responsible for this man to be blind?
[2:53] But this Wonderful Counselor, this King who always knows what to say, he's not going to allow distraction. There's a time to focus on sin and there's a time not to focus on sin and why it happened, but to deal with what has arisen from it.
[3:14] And that's what this Wonderful Counselor does. And that's why instead of talking about sin, he talks about God. Now, that's what a good king does.
[3:27] A good king doesn't just talk about what is wrong, he talks about the God under whom he reigns. He's always devoted to the work and the glory of God.
[3:40] See, I love the way he puts it. Not that this man sinned or his parents. Now, you could question that and say, no, no, no, let's go back into Genesis 3. Let's explore this.
[3:53] But then he goes on, he says, it's that the works of God might be displayed. God has a purpose. For this man at this moment being blind, God has a purpose for it.
[4:05] And as king, under his reign, that's what I want to explore. And notice also what he says in verse 4, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.
[4:18] Night is coming when no one can work. See, there's the Wonderful Counselor. He talks about opportunities. He doesn't say, we'll have this chance tomorrow.
[4:29] We can deal with this another day. He says, today. Today is the day that really matters. Right now it's daytime.
[4:43] Night comes and we won't be able to do work. That's the metaphor here. But we must work the works of him who sent me. I'm a sent king. I'm sent by my father and I have work to do now.
[4:57] And the work is not to discuss how sin came into the world or why this man is blind. It's to ensure that the glory of God will be seen in this man's life.
[5:13] Now that's the kind of king you really want to be associated with. He's the one who says, I am the light of the world. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
[5:28] He knows who he is under God and he doesn't want to miss a day, miss an opportunity. He doesn't want to be distracted.
[5:39] He knows exactly how to steer this situation such that he will bring glory to God as the light of the world.
[5:51] I can well imagine these disciples being totally taken aback and saying, well, that's certainly not what we expected to hear.
[6:03] We might have expected some very good theological discussion rising out of this. But today, he surprised us. Today, he began talking, not about the man as such, but this man being an opportunity for God's glory to be seen.
[6:24] It's daytime. We won't have this day forever. A wonderful counselor always knows what to say and what not to say.
[6:38] Wonderful counselor. You know, there were lots of kings in the Old Testament. There were lots of kings over Israel and not all of them instructed the people of God rightly.
[6:51] Not all of them gave the teaching that they should have done. They were meant to be shepherding the people of God, but they often led the people away from God.
[7:02] But you see what this king does? He brings the people back to God to talk about God. God having sent him. God's day. God's light.
[7:14] God's world. God's purpose. That's what the king does. If you want to be a good parent to your children, that's what you must do as well. You must talk about God.
[7:26] God's purpose. God's character. God's plan. God's day. God's opportunities. That's what the wonderful counselor does.
[7:37] He gives the right kind of counsel. You should do that as a parent Christian. You should do that as a Christian, as a teacher. You should do that as an elder. You should do that as a minister.
[7:49] You should do that in whatever sphere God has placed you. seek to be a wonderful counselor under the most wonderful counselor of all.
[8:03] The second thing here, of course, is the mighty God. Mighty God. See this man. He experienced this huge transformation from being blind to receiving his sight.
[8:20] It didn't happen quick though, did it? it was something that happened rather gradual when he first of all heard Jesus alongside him I doubt he recognized him as the mighty God he probably didn't recognize him as the one who had immense power to change his life the first thing he says about this Jesus is I heard him speak I heard him speak because that's what it would have been like isn't it Jesus said to him go wash in the pool of Siloam and when he's told to tell the story of how he was changed he said he told me and I went and I came back seeing he told me all I had was the word of this person all I had was his word do you think the word of Jesus sounded authoritative did it sound mighty it was the word of a human being it was God the Son in human form but remember what others have said about Jesus he spoke like no other man spoke and that reflected not only his content but the sense of authority with which he spoke on behalf of God himself so he's here speaking as the light of the world and he says to this man go wash in the pool of Siloam and he comes back seeing so this person he just heard him speak giving commands he obeyed these commands and then he comes back and his eyes are opened it's interesting
[10:22] Jesus says go wash in the pool of Siloam he went and washed and came back seeing Jesus wasn't there when the man received his sight Jesus wasn't at the pool of Siloam the man had to be taken there and he went there Jesus wasn't with him all he had was the command of Jesus and yet he's able to say he opened my eyes even though he wasn't there with him he says he opened my eyes how he commanded me to do it having put mud on my eyes go and wash and I did exactly what he said and I came back seeing he did it even though he wasn't there beside me it was his authoritative word but if you were to ask him earlier on in the day tell me a little bit more about this person whose word you obeyed well he would say he's a prophet in verse 17 what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes he is a prophet in other words he's somebody sent with a message from God and that makes perfect sense you see he's come to speak and that's all the man has known about Jesus he's not seen his face yet all he knows is the voice of Jesus so he speaks of them as a prophet perhaps a bit like
[12:03] Elijah or Elisha a prophet who was able to do miracles but as the day goes on he sees him not just as a prophet he then sees him as he says as a worshipper of God so in 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 so this man who healed me whose word I heard whose command I obeyed I know he is sent by God with a word as a prophet and I also know that he worships God himself and I also know that God listens to him now isn't that interesting isn't that interesting so here's the blind man and you're saying to him tell me what you know about Jesus he's a prophet he's been sent by God he worships God and God listens to him what do you mean
[13:12] God listens to him well it's obvious the man says he must have asked God to make me see he must have asked God to take away my blindness 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 so you see his picture of Jesus has built up throughout that day only one day but boy hasn't he grown in his understanding of Christology of who Jesus is he's a man he's a prophet he's a worshipper of God he's somebody who intercedes with God and prays to God he's somebody who is from God beautiful but it doesn't stop there this man who has become a wonderful theologian in a short time what do the people do the leaders in verse 34 you were born in utter sin would you teach us and they cast him out of the synagogue cast him out of the place where the leaders gathered
[14:34] Jesus finds him Jesus heard that they had cast him out and found him and said do you believe in the son of man he answered who is he sir that I may believe in him he says you've seen him ah that's you and it is he who is speaking to you and immediately he doesn't need a course of Christology at ETS immediately he says I believe Lord I believe that you are the son of man of course in that first century son of man was another way of speaking about a king who would rule over the suffering saints of the most high who would come to meet their needs as king came from the ancient of days came to bring healing under his reign
[15:35] I am the son of man Lord he said I believe and he worshipped him so you you find him there worshipping Jesus by the end of the day the beginning of the day he's obeying him but now he's actively bowing down before him seeing him as well as hearing him his life has been changed now who made it happen who brought him to hear and then who brought him to see and then who opened his mind so that he would worship who changed his will so that he would bow down it's the mighty
[16:37] God the mighty God strode into his life life on that beautiful day the mighty God finds us in our blindness and he can bring us back seeing hearing understanding worshipping transformed could you tell your story as a Christian without thinking of the might of God in Jesus see the truth is all of us who are Christians we've experienced the might of God in Jesus and if are any of us here today who aren't Christians I wonder if you are tempted somehow to deal with God without Jesus as if somehow you're expecting
[17:42] God to change you and you don't need Jesus as if you can just deal directly with him yourself you can't you just can't do it just like this man needed the mud and then the washing and the seeing and he needed Jesus to open his eyes this is also a parable of what we need as well only he can open the eyes only he he is from God for that very reason strange statement in verse 32 never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind you read that and you think is there anywhere else in scripture where somebody born blind was brought to see you find people who are made blind you will find people who have their eyes opened but not people who are born blind and brought to see this is the creator in action if you feel that you you're at the end of your tether and you can't really come to
[19:07] God and you feel you're so lost and so blind and so so far away ask him and you know this you might find the most amazing response when God's might begins to work in your life through Jesus mighty God the third thing here obviously you hardly have to mention it is the everlasting father see kings in Israel they were meant to be fathers caring for their children caring for the people they were not meant to rule over them and abuse them and use them for their own ends they weren't meant to build up their own power base at the expense of all the people over whom they ruled no they were meant to be fathers who would care for their people and God says to Isaiah at a time when people especially the poor in Isaiah's day their faces were being ground into the dust by the rich
[20:19] God says to Isaiah I'm telling you one day a king will come you'll be very different from the kind of kings you know he will be an everlasting father to the people that's what Jesus is he cares like a father so we all tend to think of God the father God the son and we know that God the father has a father's heart but you know you only know that God the father has a father's heart because you see that in God the son he who has seen me has seen the father Jesus is is a father he cares like a father for his children in John chapter 10 he won't use the word father for that he'll use the word shepherd but that's the same notion it's this idea that he actually cares for his people
[21:26] Jesus is the one who was passing by here and notice the man born blind he's the one who noticed him first he's the one who helps him not the blind man doesn't speak not to begin with the blind man doesn't knock on Jesus's door and say could you make me to see there have been other people in the stories of the gospel that did that but not this man he says nothing nothing at all he has no expectations he's just born blind every day is going to be the same he's not going to see that day and who's going to see and take note of him he's just going to be passed by but no when the king arrives this man is noticed by the king he sees him he helps him before he's asked he helps him to see physically and then he helps him to see spiritually and why does he do that he does it because he he actually cares
[22:44] I don't want you ever to forget that Jesus the king cares he's not just an item of theology he's not just a person you respect he actually cares he has a heart the heart of a father that aches and loves and bears can often bear so much pain so when he sent him to get his eyes opened he did it because he cared when he found him when he had been cast out of the synagogue and exposed himself to him at another level and said I'm the son of man why did he do that why did he find him it's because he cared because he wanted to bring this man to just to understand him more you might say if you were being a little bit suspicious you would say if he cared why did he leave him from the beginning of the day till the end of the day why did he leave him to go through these trials with the leaders and the
[24:15] Pharisees and unsupportive parents why did he leave them throughout that day surely that's evidence that he doesn't care no you know there are times when you and I might be tempted to think in the same way that that God is just leaving these gaps in our lives and he doesn't care he's interested in others you don't gain that impression from the text at all in fact you gain the impression that though Jesus wasn't physically near him when he got his sight back though he wasn't near him when he was being tried and questioned though he wasn't near him when he was thrust out of the synagogue he knew because verse 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out it's as if he never really stopped caring
[25:21] I don't know what else Jesus was doing that day but I absolutely sure of this he never stopped caring for that man and Jesus is timing as a father is perfect he finds him after he has allowed the man's faith to grow and then brings it to grow even further you might go through your times of testing and trial and being mocked by others and you think where's God in all of this God has his eye upon you as king his father Jesus cares for you as king when other shepherds will let you down this one will not but he will allow you to have these seasons in which you are left to grow under his care and then he just comes just when he felt to be the most friendless person in the universe
[26:41] Jesus finds him and just feeds him by giving him even more of himself see Jesus is not just the king who is like a father he is the everlasting father and that means that he is always father always father in times of confusion times of immaturity times of loneliness times of exile times when the fox comes they are in extremity bearing their pain bearing their guilt bearing their sin he is always there caring he is the everlasting father you and I might take two weeks off in summer from our work he doesn't he never takes a break from bearing you carrying you helping you loving you never takes a break he is the everlasting father in the midst of all of that and then finally the prince of peace so the king is the wonderful counselor mighty god everlasting father and in this man's life the prince of peace peace is a wonderful thing peace you've heard you've nothing missing everything's just in its right place life doesn't often feel like that you remember
[28:41] Simeon that old believer in Luke chapter two once he saw Jesus as a baby just as a baby he was able to say God's promises are coming to fulfillment and he says everything's in place you can now Lord dismiss me in peace I am ready to die everything's in place dismiss me in peace the king has arrived dismiss me in peace isn't that wonderful imagine being ready to go through the valley of the shadow of death and know everything is in its place it's all right using right in that special way it's all just right it's all peace it's all whole see that's the great thing about the everlasting father he's able to bring that sense of peace not only before death but in death he's the only one who could actually be the prince of peace care for his people as they suffer but also as they die now you might say ah well surely if there's death there's no peace well death is an enemy that is absolutely true but listen this king can bring peace even in that horrible valley of the shadow of death he can bring the believer through it and say it's all right it's all actually right not out of place not out of joint it's not gone wrong we're still on that journey peace and wholeness in the presence of
[31:04] God we see this man who was born blind now he's able to see I think on this day when he gets his physical sight he's able to say ah that's what my eyes were for but then when he sees Christ and he comes to know him and obey him and love him and worship him I think he's then able to say ah that's what my life is for it's for him and that's the most wonderful sense of peace when you actually come into a relationship with Jesus the one sent by God and you know it's all right peace I leave with you my peace
[32:08] I give to you not as the world gives do I give to you let not your hearts be troubled neither let them be afraid Jesus said that before the cross before the cross it's a strange thing that when he was on the cross he would cry out my God my God why have you forsaken when he faced the fox when he faced the enemies when he faced the Romans trying to bring pain the Jews trying to bring pain when he faced Satan trying to destroy him from the inside out when he faced the father who was bringing all of our sin upon him and his guilt and allowing his son to bear that punishment when all of that was happened and Jesus cries out why even then
[33:12] Psalm 22 tells us that Jesus says that you are holy you are holy he's the only man who ever cried out from hell in worship of a holy God this is right peace came out of it because he bore all the trouble for us what a wonderful king who would ever want a life without this king who would ever want a death without this king without such wonderful counsel without him as a mighty God such an everlasting father and this prince that's always designed to make things just just right let's pray our heavenly father we bow before you and we bow before your son whom you sent and we wish to thank you for sending him and we want to thank you for the beauty of his kingship the beauty of his passion we understand why the psalmist in psalm 45 had to write the way he did about the king and his garments and his character and we know that just like the man who came to see in john 9 we feel we have a story to tell and it is a story about you and what you are to us in and through jesus lord continue to walk before us continue to deal with us help us to hear your voice help us to live under your command help us to serve you help us lord to be sensitive to you your fatherly care and help us to know lord that peace is what you have come to bring the god of peace will shortly crush satan under our feet lord watch over us gather us together in the afternoon that we may continue to worship you we ask it in jesus amen let's sing now from psalm 122 psalm 122 the whole psalm page 169 to the lord's house they were calling and with joy i went with them now at last our feet are standing in your gates jerusalem the whole of psalm 122 to god's please i did i i i i i i i i i i i how i i i i in