John chapter 9 verses 1 to 12. As he went along he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?
Neither this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.
Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva and put it on the man's eyes.
Go, he told him, washing the pool of Siloam, this word means sent.
So the man went and washed and came home seeing.
His neighbours and those who had formerly seen him begging asked,
Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?
Some claimed that he was.
Others said, No, he only looks like him.
But he himself insisted, I am the man.
How then were your eyes opened, they asked.
He replied, The man they called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes.
He told me to go to Siloam and wash.
So I went and washed and then I could see.
Where is this man, they asked him.
I don't know, he said.
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.
Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath.
Therefore, the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.
He put mud on my eyes, the man replied.
And I washed and now I see.
Some of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.
But others asked, How can a sinner perform such signs?
So they were divided.
Then they turned again to the blind man.
What had you to say about him?
It was your eyes he opened.
The man replied, He is a prophet.
They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received the sight until they sent for the man's parents.
Is this your son?
They asked.
Is this the one you say was born blind?
How is it that he can now see?
We know he is our son, the parents answered.
And we know he was born blind.
But how he can see or who opened his eyes, we don't know.
Ask him.
He is of age.
He will speak for himself.
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders,
who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.
That was why his parents said, He is of age.
Ask him.
The second time they summoned the man who had been blind.
Give glory to God by telling the truth, they said.
We know this man is a sinner.
He replied, Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know.
One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see.
Then they asked him, What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?
He answered, I've told you already and you do not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples too?
Then they hurled insults at him and said, You are this fellow's disciple.
We are disciples of Moses.
We know that God spoke to Moses.
But as for this fellow, we don't even know where he is coming from.
The man answered, Now that is remarkable.
You don't know where he comes from.
Yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners.
He listens to the godly person who does his will.
Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.
To this they replied, You were steeped in sin at birth.
How dare you lecture us.
And they threw him out.
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out.
And when he found him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man?
Who is he, sir?
The man asked.
Tell me so that I may believe in him.
Jesus said, You have now seen him.
In fact, he is the one speaking with you.
Then the man said, Lord, I believe.
And he worshipped him.
Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see, and those who see will become blind.
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, What, are we blind too?
Jesus said, If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin.
But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
Shall we just pray?
Lord, we come before you now.
We thank you for the means to meet together in an online way.
And despite the fact that we are distanced physically, we can still gather together around your word, which unites us.
We thank you for the people who make it possible for these sermons to go ahead and for the skills that you give them.
And we thank you for these words, that your son came so that the blind might see.
Lord, would you open our eyes to what you are saying to us today?
We ask that Alistair's sermon will speak to us all, that your words through him will teach us, encourage us, and point us to Christ in whom salvation is found.
We ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.
Good morning, everyone.
My name is Alistair, and I have the privilege of being the assistant pastor here at Brunsfield.
And it is my joy this morning to open up John chapter 9 to us.
But let me just start with a little bit of an observation.
I'm sure some of us have really enjoyed the good weather that we've been having during this time of lockdown,
particularly in the months of April and May.
The sun has been shining, the shorts and the t-shirt have been on,
and maybe you even enjoyed a walk in the park, or you enjoyed soaking up the sun in the garden.
But my wife Sabina and I have found something quite interesting about the sun during this lockdown period.
So during our normal Scottish weather of overcast clouds and grey-tinted skies,
we can look out our windows and see clearly the wind blowing the trees to and fro.
We can look down and see our neighbours running to get out of the rain.
But during the sunny days of lockdown,
we've realised that our windows aren't actually as clean as we thought they were.
The sun has revealed that our windows are full of dirt and dust.
Now without the light revealing this dirt, we would be none the wiser.
But when the light shines on the windows, it reveals the extent of dirt that's there.
The sun reveals things.
But at the same time, the sun can be blinding.
For example, you can be driving down the motorway, going 70 miles per hour,
and suddenly that one cloud moves out the way, shooting that sunbeam directly at your eyes.
And it takes you a second to pull down the sun flap or put on your sunglasses.
The sun can both reveal and it can blind.
Now we all know this.
It's not any rocket science.
But it's very relevant for the passage that we're looking at this morning in John chapter 9.
Because in this passage, Jesus is reiterating the truth about himself that he mentioned in John 8 verse 12.
Where Jesus said this,
And Jesus says the same thing in our passage for this morning in verse 5.
I am the light of the world.
This seems like a small detail in quite a long passage.
So why am I drawing attention to it now?
Well, because the identity of Jesus as the light of the world is fundamental to our understanding of this passage.
This chapter tells us when the light shines,
some people are made to see,
whilst others are blinded.
The light is the same,
but the reactions to it,
the effects of that light are very different.
Just as the sun can both reveal and blind,
so too does Jesus,
the light of the world,
when shone into the darkness,
reveal the truth to some
and blind others.
Jesus says that himself in John chapter 9 verse 39.
For judgment I have come into this world,
so that the blind will see,
and those who see will become blind.
So we're going to see in this passage
how the blind receive sight,
and how the seeing are made blind.
We're going to be jumping in and out of the passage this morning,
so it would be great if you have your Bible open in front of you
to follow along.
So the first thing we see in this passage
is the blind receive sight.
The blind receive sight.
In verse 1,
we see that Jesus is walking along,
and he sees a man who's been blind from birth.
And Jesus' disciples ask in verse 2,
Rabbi, who sinned?
This man?
Or his parents that he was born blind?
The disciples assume,
like many people did at that time,
that sin and suffering are connected.
And that is a right assumption to make to an extent.
The Bible says that our bodies,
our world,
and everything in it has been stained,
and broken by sin.
So in general terms,
sin and suffering are connected.
But when we move from the general principle
of suffering and sin,
and apply that same truth
to individuals,
and to very specific
and bad situations,
and say that they result from a specific sin,
we're going beyond what the Bible teaches.
In many cases,
we don't know why we suffer.
And God's intention
is hidden from us.
But we cannot,
and we should not,
conclude that every suffering
is a result of a specific sin.
That is a dangerous road to take.
And it can hurt many people.
And it is simply not what the Bible says.
In most cases,
suffering is not the result of a specific sin.
Sometimes we might not even know
the reason for our sufferings.
There is no point on us speculating.
That's true in the case of this blind man.
His blindness was not a result of sin.
But Jesus tells us the purpose
behind this man's blindness in verse 3.
Jesus says,
Neither this man nor his parents sinned,
but this happened so that
the works of God might be displayed in him.
The purpose of this man's blindness
was so that the works of God
may be seen and revealed.
That's what Jesus has come to do.
To reveal the works of God.
That is what he says in verses 4 and 5.
Jesus has come into the world,
and whilst he is still with them,
with his disciples,
this light must be shown to the entire world.
Jesus sees this man who is physically blind,
and through an amazing miracle in verse 6,
he puts mud and spit on his eyes,
sends him to a pool to wash,
and he is healed.
What a wonderful miracle.
This blind man can suddenly see
for the first time in his life.
His whole life has been completely changed.
He was a beggar.
He had no possibility to work.
Bound to a life on the street,
asking for money,
depending on other people.
No hope of getting better
until Jesus comes
and turns his life upside down.
Imagine for a second that walk home.
Imagine his joy,
being able to see for the very first time.
He can look up and see the sun,
which up until now has only warmed his face.
He can see the birds flying,
the trees swaying in the breeze.
He can see his parents' face
for the first time.
Suddenly, the world takes on a whole new light
because his eyes have been opened
and he can see.
He would have been skipping home with joy.
So that's the physical side of it.
But there is also a spiritual revealing of sight
that happens to this man.
As we journey through the passage,
he understands more and more of who Jesus is.
And then we see another miracle.
Not only has this man received his sight,
but at the very end of the passage,
in verse 38,
we see that he receives spiritual sight.
The identity of Jesus is revealed to him
and he worships.
Well, this isn't a light bulb, isolated moment
where he suddenly sees Jesus
and falls on his face in adoration.
He comes to the conclusion of who Jesus is
by miraculously receiving his sight
and by coming up against severe opposition.
So in verse 7,
the man washes at the well and is healed.
He goes home
and his neighbors are confused
because they've only ever known him
as the blind man.
And so they ask in verse 10,
how then were your eyes opened?
He responds,
the man they called Jesus
made me,
made some mud and put it on my eyes.
He told me to go to Siloam
and wash.
So I went and washed
and then I could see.
Currently,
he sees Jesus as a man.
But as we travel through this chapter,
this blind man
is met with opposition
from religious leaders
and he's growing in his understanding
of who Jesus is.
In verse 11,
he calls Jesus a man.
In verse 17,
he says that Jesus is a prophet,
a spokesperson
sent from God
to deliver his message
and to do his works.
And then,
in verse 33,
he says that Jesus is from God.
This man's eyes
are being opened wider.
He's beginning to see more clearly.
And it comes to a conclusion
in verses 35 to 38.
In verse 35,
Jesus goes out
searching for this man.
Now,
do you see
the amazing grace,
the abounding love
and compassion
that Jesus has
for this man?
This man has just been
kicked out
from the Jewish community,
excommunicated
from the religious establishment
that he's known
his whole life.
And Jesus seeks him out
in his pain,
in his confusion
and finds him.
Jesus has compassion
for the whole person.
He brought physical healing.
But Jesus
is also interested
in this man's
spiritual state
before God.
For this man
to truly
receive his sight,
he must believe
in Jesus
and follow him.
Jesus,
full of compassion,
searches for
and finds this man.
And asks him
in verse 35,
do you believe
in the son of man?
A name that
speaks of Jesus'
identity as God
and his identity
as the one
who will judge
the world.
The blind man,
having never seen
Jesus up until
this point,
asks,
well,
who is this
son of man?
And Jesus says
in verse 38,
you have now
seen him.
In fact,
he is the one
speaking with you.
This man has received
his physical sight,
but now
he understands
who Jesus is.
He grasps
what exactly
has happened
to him
and who it is
that stands
before him.
And he receives
spiritual sight.
upon realizing
who Jesus is,
this man cannot
help but have
the right response
to Jesus.
He responds
in adoration,
confesses Jesus
as Lord
and worships him.
If you're a Christian
this morning,
this should be
our response
every single time
we ponder the person
of Jesus Christ,
who displays
the wonderful
works of God
to the world.
We should worship
him in adoration.
Maybe you're familiar
with this passage.
Maybe you've read it
a hundred times.
Maybe you've become
numb
to the wondrous
works of God
that Jesus displays.
Well,
I'd encourage you
to look at this passage
and to look at Jesus
afresh
and marvel
at his wonderful
works.
Rejoice in the fact
that you too
have
received
spiritual sight.
That the
wonderful works
of God
have been revealed
to you.
We see who Jesus
truly is.
Rejoice that we've
been brought out
of the darkness
and into the light.
We worship
a Savior
who is
compassionate
and who
pursues
people
and who
calls us
to be lights
in the world.
Therefore,
we too
should pursue
people with
compassion.
Help
practically
where we can
in situations,
but we should
always be willing
and ready
to share
the good news
of Jesus
so that they
too
can receive
spiritual sight.
That they
can recognize
Jesus
and respond
to him
in worship.
Friends,
that is the
right response
to Jesus.
The journey
that this blind
man has been
on is the
same journey
that many
of us
have been
on through
already in
life.
we heard
about Jesus
maybe from
an early
age,
maybe as
an adult,
and we
read stories
of what
he did
and what
he taught,
and maybe
we thought
that he
was a good
guy,
a good
moral teacher.
But as
his light
is revealed,
as we see
his miracles,
we hear more
about his
teaching,
we must
conclude
that he
is sent
from God.
Some
confess
Jesus
as a
prophet,
but if
we stop
there,
we have
completely
missed the
mark.
Because
once we
hear about
how Jesus
died
on the
cross to
make
forgiveness
of sins
possible,
and how
he rose
triumphant
from the
grave,
and that
he is now
seated at
the right
hand of
God the
Father,
we cannot
come to
any other
conclusion
than Jesus
is Lord,
and we
must humble
ourselves and
worship him.
Have your
eyes been
opened this
morning,
or are you
still blind
to the
identity of
Jesus?
If you're
not a
Christian this
morning,
I would
urge you to
investigate
this.
look into
this
eyewitness
account of
the life
of Jesus
and wrestle
with what
is really
happening
here.
Jesus is
not just
a good
guy.
He is
not a
moral
teacher.
Jesus is
the light
of the
world,
who can
open the
eyes of
the blind
both
physically
and
spiritually.
the blind
receive
sight.
Have you
received that
sight this
morning?
Jesus is
the light
of the
world,
who opens
the eyes
of the
blind.
And the
second thing
we see in
this passage
is that
those who
are seeing
are blinded.
The seeing
are blinded.
the man is
taken to
the Pharisees
in verse
13 and
it is here
that we
realize the
extent of
spiritual
blindness
that is
found among
the religious
elite of
this day.
To be
spiritually
blind means
to be
oblivious to
the things
of God.
It means
that someone
can be
presented with
the works
of God,
can be
told about
the identity
of Jesus
and can
have the
good news
explained to
them and
yet they
continue to
reject God.
That is
the spiritual
blindness of
the religious
leaders here.
The Pharisees
hear in
verse 15
how this
man was
blind but
now he
sees because
Jesus put
mud on
his eyes.
But instead
of rejoicing
at the
wonderful work
that God
has done,
they conclude
in verse
16 that
Jesus is
not from
God because
this miracle
happened on
a Sabbath.
They even
dare to
call Jesus
a sinner.
He is
the only
perfect one,
the sinless
son of
God but
they refuse
to admit
that.
They are
blind.
The Pharisees
in this
next little
section
question the
man and
his parents
and they
conclude
that this
blind man
is a liar
contrary to
all the
evidence
and they
conclude that
Jesus is
a sinner.
They are
given all
the evidence
they need
to see that
this miracle
is authentic.
They have
the neighbor's
testimony,
the testimony
of the blind
man that he
was born
blind and
now he
sees
and they
hear from
this man's
parents and
still they
refuse to
acknowledge what
is before
their very
eyes.
Why?
Because
although they
see they
are spiritually
blind.
Adam and in
their denial of
the facts the
religious leaders
turn back to
the man in
verse 24 and
say give glory
to God by
telling the
truth.
we know
this man is
a sinner.
The irony of
that verse is
beyond measure.
They are
urging this
man to
glorify God
by calling
God's son a
sinner.
They are not
telling the
man to give
glory to God
by thanking
God for this
healing.
They are
saying tell
the truth
before God.
But they
don't want the
truth.
They want
to hear
what they
have already
concluded in
their minds.
And just as a
side note,
if you're not a
Christian and
you're tuning
into this,
have you
reflected on
why it is
you believe
what you do?
If you don't
believe the
gospel, do you
know exactly
what it is
that you're
rejecting?
Can you say
with a good
conscience that
you have
earnestly looked
at all the
evidence?
And you
don't believe
it?
Or are you
rejecting something
that you
haven't properly
wrestled with
yet?
And this
blind man
who now
sees,
realizes that
these supposed
men of God
aren't willing
to recognize
the truth that
is very clearly
before them.
And he ends
this meeting
with a conclusion
in verse 33.
If this man
referring to
Jesus were
not from
God, he
could do
nothing.
And this
sends the
Pharisees into
a rage.
And they
throw him out
of the
community.
The light of
the world has
been presented
to them.
And they are
being blinded.
As Jesus
says, this is
why he came
in verse 39.
For judgment
I have come
into the
world so
that the
blind will
see and
those who
see will
become blind.
And some
Pharisees hear
this.
And they ask
a very important
and very
telling question
in verse 40.
are we
blind too?
Jesus
responds, if
you were
blind, you
would not be
guilty of
sin.
But now
that you
claim to
see, your
guilt remains.
Jesus is
saying that
they've had
God's law.
They should
be aware of
their sin and
their need for
forgiveness.
But they
reject the
light because
they don't think
they need it.
They think
that their
religious deeds
will make them
right with
God.
They think
that they are
good enough.
They are the
very definition
of self-righteousness.
They think
that their
windows are
squeaky clean
when the sun
shines in on
them.
But it
isn't.
The
scriptures make
it abundantly
clear that man
cannot be
made right
with God
apart from
Jesus Christ.
The gospel,
the good news
of Jesus,
the light of
the world is
shining on
these men
and they're
being blinded.
The sun is
shining right at
them and they
just don't get
it.
They refuse the
light of the
world and they
want to stay in
their spiritual
darkness.
Friends, this is
what happens when
the good news of
Jesus is held
out to a
watching world.
Some turn in
belief and
rightly worship
God,
recognizing their
sin and utter
dependence on
Jesus for
forgiveness whilst
others are
blinded,
mistakenly
thinking that
they are good
enough to be
in God's
good books
and they
refuse to
acknowledge the
truth that
Jesus is
Lord.
Let me be
clear this
morning.
We can never
do enough
or be good
enough to be
made right with
God by
ourselves.
It is solely
through Jesus
Christ that
people find
forgiveness and
are made right
with God.
God.
This is
important for
Christians to
know because
our job is to
spread the good
news of Jesus
in the world and
leave the responses
to God.
He knows who
his people are.
He knows who
will respond to
him and who
will reject
him.
And as
Christians,
our response
always should
be to have
the same
reaction now
as we did
when we first
became Christians.
to bow down
in adoration
and out
worship
of Jesus
for who he
is, the
light of
the world.
Christians are
called to be
lights in
this dark
world and
share the
forgiveness that
Jesus offers
to those who
walk in
darkness.
And if
you're not a
Christian this
morning, the
Bible says
that you're
spiritually blind,
the message
of Jesus,
the light of
the world
reveals that
reality in
your life.
The light
reveals the
problem, but
the light is
the solution
to that very
problem.
Because it
was Jesus
himself who
went to the
cross, bearing
the full wrath
and judgment
of God
so that
sinners, so
that spiritually
blind people
like you and
me can receive
sight.
And Jesus
rose from the
dead proving
that to be
true.
It is only by
confessing our
sin to Jesus
and crying out
to him for
forgiveness
that we receive
spiritual sight.
how will you
respond to
this light of
the world?
Will you
recognize Jesus
as Lord and
worship him?
Or will you
refuse and
continue to
walk in
darkness?
Think back to
the sun and
the power that
it has to both
reveal and to
blind.
Well, my
prayer is this
morning.
as the good
news of Jesus
has been read,
has been
proclaimed, as
the identity of
Jesus, as the
light of the
world, has been
made known, that
you would have
your eyes opened
and that you
would run to
him for
forgiveness and
worship him.
Let's pray
together.
Father, we
thank you that
you sent your
son, the light
of the world
that reveals
the reality of
our lives.
Father, forgive
us for the
times that we've
thought that we
can be made
right with you by
ourselves, that we
are good enough.
Lord, we confess
that we are not.
But we thank you
that you have
revealed the
truth and that
you sent your
son to die on a
cross, meaning
that we can now be
made right with you,
that we can be
forgiven and receive
spiritual sight.
Father, give us
boldness to
proclaim the
gospel and trust
you with the
results.
We ask this in
Jesus' name.
Amen.