...was blind but now I see

And then the next day, so it was like Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, another guy out of the blue asked me, an atheist said, George, what are you going to talk about on Sunday?

And I said, well, I'm still trying to figure out a little bit about it, but it's a little bit about, you know, suffering and whether sin causes our suffering.

And he said, my, and then I'm going to leave out the swear words and all that he said, but my bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep.

He said, that's like one of the deepest, that is the deepest question that human beings ask.

Why does, why do bad things happen to good people?

And we had a bit of a conversation about it.

So let's look at the text.

It's John 9.

All three of those types of issues sort of end up, I'm not going to really talk very much about how Jesus can be God, but all three of those things are in this text.

So why don't we just turn and look?

It's John chapter 9 and see sort of what happens in the Bible text in light of these questions and the questions that you yourselves have as well.

John 9 · chapter mention

John chapter 9.

John 9 · chapter mention

And it begins like this.

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

Now, just sort of pause there for a second.

And I didn't know this before I prepared this sermon, but there's a very interesting thing happening at the original language level.

And it's this very few first few words.

John very skillfully does two things.

First, he just says some period of time is now passed from what happened in John 8 to what's happening now.

Just some undisclosed period of time.

Might have been a day.

Might have been a week.

Might have been two weeks.

He doesn't tell us.

Just some time passes.

The other thing he does is in the original language, he uses the same words, a similar word, important word, as in the previous verse.

So he connects the two stories.

And he says, basically, I want you to listen in because what I'm talking about right here is actually connected to what Jesus just talked about,

whether it was a week earlier or a month earlier or two weeks earlier, but it's directly connected.

And in the earlier story, in John chapter 8, what launches the story is when Jesus makes the claim,

John 8 · chapter mention

I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

And that statement of Jesus that I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

That sort of is what happens in John 8.

And now Jesus, John is saying, this next story, even though it happens a bit later, that listen in, because it's really interesting,

Jesus is going to take this idea and sort of do some really interesting things with it.

And that's how John writes it, very simply.

And I didn't pick up on it in English because it's something that's in the original language.

So read verse 1 again.

As Jesus 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?

Now just sort of pause there for a second.

He's just asked the big question, hasn't he?

I mean, I have had times in my life, in fact, I've even had times just within the last week

where I wonder, I catch myself, or actually I didn't catch myself at first,

but I found myself drifting into asking, like, are some of these things that are happening to me,

is that because I've sinned?

In fact, it's a very, very human problem for Christians and non-Christians

wondering if what's going on in their life is because they've done some particular sin

or some pattern of sin in their lives.

In fact, for many of you, or maybe not many of you, maybe some of you this morning,

you're really struggling with that.

There's some really, really hard things, some maybe dark things,

some unpleasant things that you're going through,

and your life is filled with this sense of doom that somehow or another

you've done something that makes the unhappiness and the trouble that you're going through

that you somehow or another deserve it.

And you're not quite sure what to do about something like that,

but it can be a very, very...

Some of you this morning, you came here reluctantly

because that really describes your inner life.

You put on the Christian smile and welcome people,

but the smile is on the outside and the inside.

There's a type of suffering and a type of darkness that you're struggling with.

So this is a real question.

They say, Rabbi, in verse 2,

who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind.

So how does Jesus answer?

How does he answer?

He answers in a very, very interesting way.

He says in verse 3,

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.

And then listen to this.

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

I am the light of the world.

So he repeats this thing that was in John chapter 8.

John 8 · chapter mention

He makes the claim the second time in a very different context.

I am the light of the world.

It's a very, very, very big, very, very grandiose claim.

Now, I'm going to return to this,

circle back around to these opening verses,

because in a sense,

everything that's going to happen after this

helps to put in context what Jesus has just said.

But it's really important for you to note here

that Jesus doesn't say that suffering never follows from sin.

I mean, that would be foolish, wouldn't it?

I mean, the person who drinks too much,

gets behind the wheel of the car,

and then goes off the road and crashes

and becomes very disabled.

We can see there's a very direct connection there

between a particular sin of drunkenness

and the second sin of getting behind the wheel of a car

and the suffering that they happened.

But Jesus makes the more general comment

that as a general rule,

what does not happen is that there's sin,

and then there's a particular type of suffering

that comes with it.

By saying this, he denies karma.

By saying this, he says that, in a sense,

Buddhism and Hinduism are wrong.

He also says that Islam is wrong,

because in Islam, there is this idea

of this overwhelming fate,

that God has predetermined the course of your life.

And so if things happen to you,

it's all part of God's direct plan.

And nobody can ever make any claim against God

or ask him what he's doing.

There's nothing like the book of Job in the Koran.

And what Jesus is saying here is,

Jesus is saying these whole ways of thinking are wrong,

that what's going on in sin

and whatever is going on with suffering,

the way we're going to try to understand this

is what's going on is that the works of God

might be displayed in that person's life.

But it's not going to be very obvious at first

what that means until we read the rest of the story.

But before we do that,

you know, if you think about it for a second,

anybody can make a claim like that, can't they?

I mean, this is one of the hardest things I have

to try to communicate to people

when I talk about the Christian faith

with those in coffee shops,

is that, you know,

a Christian believes that this is true.

But anybody can make a claim like that.

I mean, you know, Gary could say,

I'm the light of the world.

Dana could say, I'm the light of the world.

You know, George could say, I'm the light of the world.

Well, I don't know, sunshine, you know,

maybe your friends think you're a ray of sunshine,

you know, but that's a pretty big claim.

And like,

and so what's going to happen here

is that Jesus is going to vindicate his claim.

And I mean, he's going to really vindicate his claim

by the end of the story,

but he's going to vindicate his claim.

How?

In a very, very dramatic way,

by doing something that human beings cannot do.

Let's see.

How does it go?

Verse six.

Having said these things, right?

So having said,

I am the light of the world.

I'm the light of the world.

Having said this,

what does he do?

He spits on the ground

and made mud with the saliva.

Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud

and said to him,

go and wash in the pool of Siloam,

which means scent.

So he went and washed and came back seen.

And by the way,

nobody's ever thought that this is,

Jesus believes that somehow spitting in mud

will cure a person who's been born blind.

That's a whole other topic of conversation

to why he might have done that.

But he does this partially just to show

that he can do a miracle in different ways.

He doesn't have to do it all the same time.

And so he does this particular thing.

And the neighbors, in verse eight,

and those who had seen the man

who before as a beggar,

sorry, verse eight,

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?

Some said it is he.

Others said nobody is like him.

And he kept saying,

I am the man.

It's me.

I'm the guy who was there,

you know, that you all saw.

So they said to him,

then how were your eyes opened?

And he answered,

the man called Jesus made mud

and anointed my eyes and said to me,

go to Siloam and wash.

So I went and washed and received my sight.

And they said to him,

where is he?

He said, I do not know.

Now, if you think about this,

this man is a,

it's a very remarkable thing.

It's in fact,

I can't even begin to imagine

what it's like for this man

because he has never seen.

That means he has never seen light.

He, if you were to say to him,

it's bright outside,

there would be no place in his brain

to understand what that means.

He's never seen a color.

Like he doesn't even have a memory of color

or a memory.

In a sense,

he can't even long for color

because all he's ever known

is darkness,

the dark,

his entire life.

So he has no memory,

no longing,

no yearning.

And on one level,

he doesn't even really know

what he's missing on one level.

And so in a very powerful way

and in a very particular way,

Jesus is saying he is the light of the world

and he does a remarkable miracle

to actually bring light

and sight

and openness to this man

who once only knew darkness

and now he knows light.

And,

yeah,

I'll take a minute.

This miracle actually

is a really significant miracle

in another way

because it helps us to understand

a little bit

about how most miracles work.

I mean,

in a sense that

this is a miracle

and it works because

God has the power

and he just does it,

right?

And Jesus doesn't pray

that the man would receive his sight.

He just does it.

He just,

he just,

he just does it.

And in all miracles,

in most miracles,

you see this combination

of things that goes on.

On one hand,

what,

and by the way,

medicine can't disprove miracles

and the more we know about medicine,

all it would do is

it would just increase the wow.

Wow.

This must have gone on.

And I guess,

I don't know if Jeremiah is here today

and maybe he'd be able to tell us

about different ways

that a person might never

have been able to see

and maybe he's missing

an optic nerve,

maybe there's something

actually physically missing

in the eye.

You know,

we don't know what it is.

But what would have happened

is that Jesus would have had to do

an act of creation

within the man.

Maybe there is an optic nerve

which was never there from birth

and Jesus would have created

an optic nerve

where no optic nerve

existed before.

He creates something

out of nothing

within the man.

But you see,

that's exactly what God does

at the beginning,

isn't it?

The beginning of the gospel,

how does it begin?

You know,

in fact,

I quoted this to the guy

trying to understand miracles

and who Jesus was.

I said,

you know,

the gospel begins,

in the beginning was the word

and the word was with God

and the word was God.

He was with God

in the beginning.

All things were made

through him

and without him

nothing was made

that was made.

In him was life

and the life

was the light of men.

And so what,

God makes everything

out of nothing

and Jesus,

who is God,

the son of God,

he makes something

within the man

that wasn't there.

And also,

Jesus would have had to

maybe have removed

something that was there.

Maybe there was something

that was blocking,

something that was clouding.

And so at the same miracle

where Jesus just wills

something to be there

that wasn't there before,

he wills things

that shouldn't be there

that were stopping the sight

just to be gone.

He removes them.

God can bring things

into existence

and he can take things

out of existence

because he is God.

And the third thing

that goes on in the miracle

is that there's inner healing.

Because even in ancient times

they knew

that if a person started to,

if a person's eyes were open,

you have to learn how to see.

Somebody really unhappy, eh?

You have to learn how to see.

It's not just something

that just your eyes are there

and all of a sudden

you can see.

You have to learn.

So it's a very interesting thing.

It shows that the miracle of Jesus,

there's an act of creation,

there's an act of removal,

and there's an inner healing

in the mind

so that the mind,

as soon as the eyes are open,

he's able to see.

For the first time in his life,

he sees red

and blue

and brown

and green.

and the warmth

that he always experienced

at certain times of the day,

he now realizes

is from the sun.

And, I mean,

I'm smiling when I can say this,

but can you imagine

the way his face would change

to all of a sudden

see color

and see faces,

see people?

people?

And so the people

don't believe at first

that it's the same guy.

I mean,

who can heal a man born blind?

And his face even looks

a little bit different.

It really is the same guy.

So some of us might say,

okay, George,

well, that's very easy,

you know,

but people back then

were gullible.

So here's a bit of a timeout.

People back then

were gullible.

We're not,

right?

Like,

we don't have anybody

bothered by conspiracy theories

or anything like that.

We're,

we just effortlessly believe

that a few people

can tweak things

in Facebook

and we, like,

automadons,

like we're robots,

we just vote one way?

Really?

Come on.

Who's gullible?

Like, okay,

you know what?

Being gullible

is a human problem

that's existed

in every age.

Right?

It's existed

in every age.

It's not that we're not gullible

and they were.

And so one of the things

which is so interesting

in this text

is that this text,

12 times in the text,

remember,

this is an ancient biography

of Jesus,

12 times in the text

it's emphasized

that the man had been blind.

And what we see

is an investigation

into

whether or not

he actually had been blind.

And the investigation

is carried out

by skeptics.

It's carried out

by those

in the position

of the elite

who are skeptical.

carry out

an investigation.

And John records it.

Look at what happens

in verse 13.

So the crowd,

they bring to the Pharisees

the man

who had formerly

been blind.

So what they do

is they bring,

you know,

they say to themselves,

I don't know,

we're just all simple people.

You know,

we're just business people.

We're just people

who sweep

and stuff like that.

We're going to bring

this guy

to the educated people,

the people

who understand,

they've learned,

they know how to read,

they know how to write,

they've studied,

and they're in positions

of power and authority.

And if you really want

to know something,

you go to them.

And they know the scriptures

and they know the way

the world works

and they just know

and understand things.

Let's bring this guy

to them.

So that's what happens

in verse 13.

They brought to the Pharisees

the man who had formerly

been blind.

Now it was a Sabbath day

when Jesus made the mud

and opened his eyes.

Uh-oh.

Right?

Once again,

Jesus isn't breaking

the Sabbath.

He's breaking

one of the regulations

that was humanly invented.

Okay?

That's what's going on.

Anyway,

the same humans

who invented it

are a bit pissed off

that he's gone ahead

and done something

he shouldn't have done

according to them.

Verse 15.

So the Pharisees again

asked him

how he had received

his sight.

And the man

who had been blind,

the he,

said to them,

he put mud on my eyes

and I washed

and I see.

So some of the Pharisees

said,

this man is not from God.

He does not keep the Sabbath.

But others said,

how can a man

who is a sinner

do such signs?

And 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 the man said,

he's a prophet.

Now,

they all just go,

okay,

well,

I guess he did it.

No,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no,

they're skeptics.

They're just as much

a skeptic

as the next

real skeptic

that you meet.

And so

they said,

verse 18,

the Jewish leaders

did not believe

that he had been blind

and had received his sight.

Why?

Well,

because,

you know what,

back then there were

con men and con women

and there's con men

and con women today.

I mean,

there are,

right?

There's all sorts

of crazy people.

People who make

all sorts of claims.

People who claim

that they were,

you know,

UFOs captured them

and they spent time

and there's all sorts

of crazy people,

right?

Back then and now.

So they're not going

to just take a big claim

like this at face value.

So,

verse 18,

the Jews did not believe

that he had been blind

and 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?

Two questions.

His parents answered,

we know that this is our son

and 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,

he will speak for himself.

His parents said these things

because they feared

the Jewish leaders

for the Jewish leaders

had already agreed

that if anyone should confess

this to be Christ,

he was to be put out

of the synagogue.

Therefore,

his parents said,

he is of age,

ask him.

Now,

just sort of pause here

for a second.

This is so contemporary,

isn't it?

This is just so contemporary.

I mean,

the fact of the matter is

is that we always deal

with groups

that are completely

and utterly closed.

I mean,

some of you have probably

been in situations,

maybe you're in the civil service

and you have to prepare

a report

and maybe,

you know,

the deputy minister

or whatever,

somebody like two or three

or four levels above you,

they're telling you

how everything is going great,

everything's going rosy,

and all the other people

who are just underneath

that top dog,

you know,

when she's saying

all these things,

you know,

they don't want

to rock the boat

and you're down

like four levels

below that person

and what she's saying

and you don't want

to put up your hand

and say,

well,

actually,

the program delivery

sucks

and nothing's working

and no,

it's very hard

to do that

when there's groupthink,

isn't it?

I mean,

and it could just be,

you know,

the,

I mean,

I don't know,

you know,

it's just the governor general

of the,

not at the,

who is it,

who just reported

that all of the spending things

of the Ontario government

were way wrong.

You know,

I'm sure,

I'm sure there must have been

a couple of people in there

who knew,

but it's really hard

when all the people in power

are saying one thing

and you know

you're not going to be liked,

it's going to ruin your career,

you're going to be in trouble

if you actually try

to speak the truth.

It's a very human problem.

That's what's going on right here.

In fact,

I wish now

that the first fellow

who asked me

my question about these things,

he had,

he had been formerly

behind the Iron Curtain

and escaped

from the Iron Curtain

and it would have been

a real way

to relate to him

and say,

listen,

you know,

they're dealing right there

with the same things

that you dealt with

when you live behind

the Iron Curtain

and you're allowed

to speak the truth

because it just gets

the powers mad

and that's what's going on here.

There's this,

they're afraid

to speak the truth.

It's a very,

very contemporary issue.

And so,

how is it now?

They've done an investigation.

They know that he was born blind.

And by the way,

this was probably

a very,

very public figure

because there's only

a certain number

of entrances

into a place.

He would have been there

all of the time.

He would have been there

for years

and he would have been

a well-known fellow.

This is a guy,

there's lots of people

who know that he used

to be born blind.

His parents said

he was born blind.

Now he's seen.

So verse 24,

what do they do?

What do they do?

What do the educated,

the elite,

the people in power,

what do they do?

Well, let's look.

So for the second time

they called the man

who had been born blind

and said to him,

give glory to God,

we know that this man

is a sinner.

Isn't that wonderful?

Isn't that exactly

what powerful people do

when the truth

is inconvenient?

Like,

I don't know

what's going on,

but we know

this can't be the truth.

So,

give glory to God

is like calling him

to make a solemn oath.

Like,

if you go into court

and you have to

declare the truth,

the whole truth

and nothing but the truth

or however they word it.

So they basically say,

listen,

we're going to make you

take an oath

and by the way,

before you take the oath,

we already know

what the answer

is supposed to be.

So give us the answer

we're expecting you

to give us.

So how does the man respond?

Verse 25,

he answers,

whether he,

isn't this,

this is one of the greatest lines

I think in the Gospels

and it's in the hymn

Amazing Grace

as well.

He answered,

whether he is a sinner,

I do not know.

One thing I do know

that though I was blind,

now I see.

The inconvenient truth.

One thing I know

that though I was blind,

now I see.

They said to him,

what did he do to you?

How did he open your eyes?

He answered them,

I've told you already

and you would not listen.

Why do you want to hear it again?

Do you want to become

his disciples?

Remember,

this guy had been a beggar

for 25 years.

He knew how to take guff.

He knew how to give guff,

right?

Like,

you know,

they're not pushover

street people,

right?

They know how to give it back.

Like,

they've gotten it

from lots of people.

So,

he's being cheeky now.

Oh,

you want to be his disciple,

eh?

And,

verse 28,

and they reviled him.

So,

you can see

they really are interested

in the truth.

They reviled him.

You are his disciple,

but we are disciples of Moses.

We know that God

has spoken to Moses,

but as for this man,

we do not know

where he comes from.

The blind man

who now sees,

answered,

why?

This is an amazing thing.

You do not know

where he comes from,

and yet he opened my eyes.

We know that God

does not listen to sinners,

but if anyone is a worshiper

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.

Like,

this is the most remarkable miracle

in the history of the world.

He's not making any comment

about whether or not

a surgeon could do it now.

That's science.

He's talking about a miracle.

This is the most,

this is an unbelievably remarkable,

this is just a spectacular miracle.

He continues,

if this man were not from God,

he could do nothing.

Isn't that true?

He could do nothing.

They answered him,

you were born in utter sin,

and would you teach us?

And they cast him out.

Kicked him out of the synagogue.

They expelled him.

And,

you know,

this is,

how does he,

how does he respond

to all of this?

I've lost my spot

in my notes.

Actually,

yeah,

this is,

this whole story

actually is going to shed

a little bit of light

into something that happens

at the end of the Gospels

and takes place

in the book of Acts.

See,

there's a really,

I mean,

one of the undeniable

historical facts

about how the Christian faith began.

I mean,

other than maybe

a few Marxists

who live under a rock,

like,

other than a few Marxists

living under a rock,

everybody knows

that Jesus existed,

everybody knows he dies,

even the most hardened skeptics

do not doubt

that he died

by crucifixion.

And,

and yet,

within a short time

after his death,

literally,

and I mean literally

in the old-fashioned sense

of literally

to mean literally,

like literally,

tens of thousands

of people

come to believe

that he had risen

from the dead

in the very city

where the crucifixion happened.

That's an undeniable

historical fact.

It's not as if,

you know,

in most other religions,

there's,

in most other religious movements,

I, you know,

I say,

by the way,

guys,

I'm the light of the world,

you know,

believe in me,

and I suck one of you

into believing it,

and they go,

whoa, okay,

give me all your money,

by the way,

because we have to live on it.

And then, you know,

I suck in a couple of others,

and there's this slow growth.

Now, this is like a spectacular,

this is like from zero

to,

in fact,

what happens in the book of Acts

in chapter two,

the disciples proclaim

that the tomb is empty

because Jesus has risen

from the dead.

He is the one

that the scriptures

had predicted would come

that God had promised,

and the,

is it not just me,

it's going in and out,

right?

A little bit?

Okay.

And the Bible says

that 3,000 men

are baptized that day,

and what that means for,

I don't know why

they just said men,

that means it might have been

10,000 or 12,000 people,

and then like a week later,

there's another 2,000 added to it.

That means there's like

maybe 10,000 people.

That means like within

like a month and a half,

there's like 20,000 Christians

in Jerusalem

who all believe

that Jesus rose from the dead.

So on one hand,

this miracle helps to put

a little bit of light on that,

that on one hand,

I mean the man comes to believe

as we're going to see

in a moment, right?

But then some people

just refuse to believe.

The problem isn't evidence,

it's just an absolute,

complete, utter,

willful refusal to believe.

And that goes on

in all of our lives.

But look how it happens

with this man.

Verse 35,

Jesus heard that they

had cast him out,

and having found him,

he said,

do you believe in the son of man?

And the son of man

is from Daniel.

It's sort of a figure

that it's hard for Jewish people

to read that text

because it basically sounds

like Daniel's describing God.

And he's called the son of man.

It's in the book of Daniel.

And the man 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 is speaking to you.

And he said,

Lord, I believe.

And he worshipped him.

Just so you know,

that word worshipped

is the exact same word

that's used in John 4

when the woman at the well

says to Jesus,

are we supposed to go

to worship God

in this mountain

or in Jerusalem?

Same word.

It means worship

as God.

And verse 39,

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

heard these things

and said to him,

and by the way,

when I say these next words

in the original language,

it's scornful.

It's not like,

good grief.

Are you talking about me?

It's like,

who are you?

Who are you?

You ignorant hick.

Who are you,

you ignorant hick,

to call me blind?

Like, how dare you?

You're hardly smart.

I mean,

you don't have the education.

You don't have the smarts.

You don't have the connections.

You don't have the family.

How dare you?

That's how we're to hear,

are we also blind?

It's scorn.

It's a sneer.

It's a put down.

Jesus said to them,

if you were blind,

you would have no guilt.

But now that you say,

we see,

your guilt remains.

So what's going on here?

Just to sort of wrap this,

what's going on here in this story?

It's a wonderful story,

isn't it?

And, you know,

the most important thing

I can do to you

is help you to hear the story

because the words of the Bible

will do its own work in you

if you just hear the story.

But here's the first thing.

If you could put it up,

Andrew,

what Jesus is saying

is that every human being

is blind from birth.

Jonathan,

you are blind from birth.

Daniel and Christine,

you are blind from birth.

Don,

you are blind from birth.

George,

I was born blind.

Every human being

is blind from birth.

You know,

it's a very,

very wonderful thing.

If this starts to grip us,

if this was the only thing,

by the way,

it would just be

unbelievably depressing.

Obviously,

this story says

a whole lot more.

But it's a very,

very,

very wonderful thing,

you know.

how is it

that we could possibly

share the gospel

with somebody

who has maybe

an ideology

or politics

that we just abhor,

a lifestyle

that we think

is completely wrong?

Well,

if this grips us,

there's a real power.

You know what?

Because that person,

you know,

that we just think

is so wrong

or so evil,

you know what?

Me and him

or me and her,

we're the same.

we were both born blind.

We're both born blind.

This text isn't saying

that Christians

were born seen

and that other people

are born blind.

This is saying

every human being

is born blind.

It's a very,

very powerful equalizer.

I mean,

I have to confess

that I have fear

about trying to share

the gospel

with some people

and I,

in fact,

just a couple of months ago

the Lord convicted me

that why was it

in a coffee shop

that I,

I'm just going to be

really honest with you.

Why is it

in a coffee shop

I invited three people

to consider coming

to one of my Easter services

but the fellow,

the gay fellow

who was in a partnered relationship

I didn't invite him.

And it,

and it,

and the Lord convicted me

of sin.

Like,

why did I do that?

Why did I have

that sin of omission?

You know,

the fact of the matter is

is that every human being

is born blind.

And,

and here's the second thing,

the hard part for us

is that,

well,

why doesn't Jesus

just heal our blindness?

Like,

why does it,

he's up in heaven,

why doesn't just heal,

heal your blindness,

heal your blindness?

Well,

I really,

I have to confess

that sort of,

that question

struck me this week,

especially as I'm trying

to figure out

how John 9

fits in with the rest

of the book

that why it goes on

to the death of Jesus

on the cross

and his resurrection.

And then,

believe it or not,

I got,

I got help from the movie

The Guardians of the Galaxy

Volume 2.

I'm not making that up.

I really was.

I was praying to the Lord.

Why is it?

Why is it,

Lord,

like you don't just heal?

And,

you know,

one of the things about prayer,

I'm a real slow learner.

Some of you folks

are really good at prayer.

So pray that I learn

how to pray better.

But one of the things

I try to slowly learn

is that when you ask

a prayer of God,

often he puts a thought

in your mind right away

and often it's the answer.

I don't like the answer.

I keep thinking

for something else.

So I've been praying

about this for several days.

Nothing's coming to my mind.

All of a sudden,

Volume 2,

The Guardians of the Galaxy

comes in.

And what comes into my mind

is how Drax defeats

the monster

towards the beginning

of the movie.

And if you've seen the movie,

it's a silly movie.

But there's this big monster

and all of the

Guardians of the Galaxy

are fighting the monster.

And it's very, very funny.

The little cute Groot

is dancing to some music

while all these,

they're all being thrown

all over the place.

And finally,

the only way

that the monster is killed

is Drax,

with his swords,

gets eaten.

And he kills the monster

from the inside.

And that's the second point

you would put it up.

But some things

can only be defeated

from within.

You know,

it's especially true

if love and truth matter,

isn't it?

I mean,

what's one of the things

that makes us feel

that we are loved

is when somebody

has this bit of a sense,

you can tell

that they know

what it's like

to be within.

Like love

works from within.

Like you can see

one teacher

maybe with a kid

who's crying

and all they do,

they don't really love the kid,

so they just tell the kid,

shut up,

smarten up,

you know,

and if the strap

was still allowed,

you know they'd give

the strap to that kid

right then.

But other teachers,

they know there's something

going on in the kid

and they love the kid

and they want to know

what's going on

within the kid

and they ask the question

and they come and put

their arm around them

because,

you know,

if love matters,

often in love,

it has to be dealt with

from within.

Same with truth,

isn't it?

Real truth

doesn't coerce.

Real truth

doesn't coerce.

Real truth

is allowed

to work within.

And to God,

love and truth

really matter.

He really does love you

and he loves me.

And so some things

can only be defeated

from within.

And that's why

if you could put up

the next slide,

Andrew,

that on the cross,

death and darkness

devoured

the light of the world

to their doom.

that's what happens

in John 19.

In John 19,

it is the light

of the world

who's hanging

on the cross.

The light

of the world

is hanging

on the cross

and sin

devours

him

in a sense.

Darkness

devours

him.

death

devours

him.

But you know

what's just so interesting?

This is why

the resurrection

is so important.

It isn't that

death and darkness

devour

Jesus

and then

it's like

they go,

oh,

he doesn't taste

very good.

Vomit

him out.

That would still

leave death

and darkness

raining,

wouldn't it?

they don't

vomit

Jesus

out.

They are

doomed

when they

swallow

him

and devour

him

and they're

defeated

in his

resurrection.

The light

of the world

conquers

darkness

and the light

of the world

conquers

dark

and light

is essential

to life.

And in the same

way for you

and me,

I,

like you,

was born blind.

And you know

what?

If we are honest,

every single

human being

is a little bit

a walking

darkness

and every human

being in some

way is a,

not in every

human being,

in the most

literal sense

is a walking

death.

It's the one

thing we know

that will happen

to us that's

inescapable

is our death.

And Jesus,

the light of the

world,

has to enter

in.

And burst

asunder

the darkness

and death.

He has to

enter in

to defeat

it from

within,

to deal

with our

darkness

and to deal

with our

death.

If you could

put up the

final thing,

the light

of the world

enters in,

my eyes

are opened,

sight is

given,

and the light

shines within

where darkness

used to rain.

The light

of the world

enters in,

my eyes

are opened,

sight is

given,

and the light

shines within

where darkness

used to rain.

You know,

first of all,

one of the things

about the gospel

which is so

wonderful is the

already not yet,

and that we need

to understand

all the time

with the gospel.

On one hand,

this is exactly

literally true.

When you invite

Jesus into your life,

the light of the

world comes within.

And that's a

possession now,

the light of the

world,

that's uncreated

light,

eternal light

now comes and

lives within you.

And that,

it will never

leave.

How can you

remove uncreated

light?

How can you

remove eternal

light?

And in a sense,

when we die,

all that will

happen is that

that promise of

that eternal

life and light

and uncreated

light that's within

us,

it just,

it carries us

through the

valley of the

shadow of death

into a brighter

future,

the new heaven

and the new

earth.

But that's the

already,

but on the other

hand,

there's the not

yet,

isn't there,

where we still

have to have

God's will

because he

respects us

and loves us.

There's time

when I have to

let the light

of the world

to shine

within the

different things

of my shame

and my confusion

and my darkness

and my suffering

where I really am.

And it's that

already,

not yet.

But there's two

other things,

which I know

it's already

41 minutes,

but just very

briefly,

if you could

go back

and look at

those early

verses,

they're very

precious.

Chapter 9,

verses 3 and

following,

it was that

Jesus says,

it was not

this man's sin

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.

And one of

the things

which is so

powerful about

this is that

Jesus says

here,

this person,

don't think in

terms of whether

this man's

sin or his

parents.

You know what

happens when we

think in those

terms?

It creates

pride and

inaction,

doesn't it?

Like if I

think,

oh, look at

that poor street

person,

or look at that

person who's

suffering,

just imagine the

terrible things

they've done in

their lives to

lead them to

that,

and look at

me.

Like I'm

healthy.

Like I have a

house.

I have a

beautiful wife.

I have kids.

Like just think

how good I am.

And like they

deserve what

happened to

them.

That's what

happens when

you get caught

up with fate

and karma.

It just,

it furthers

pride.

It creates

hardness of

heart.

It creates

distance from

human beings.

But what does

Jesus say?

Don't think in

terms of sin.

What should

you think of?

Think of how

the glory of

God and

the works

of God

can work

in them.

What is

that saying

to me?

Walk

towards the

person.

Walk

towards the

person.

Walk

towards them

to bring

a comforting

arm,

to sit

with them

in their

suffering,

to deal

with them

and to

bring some

relief.

That's

why we,

that's,

that's why,

that's why

you have

people who

go to

Angola

and that's

why you

have people

who work

amongst the

poor and

that's why

you have

people who

work,

we walk

towards them.

The gospel,

one of the

implications of

the gospel is

you walk

towards the

person,

you walk

towards the

suffering.

And then the

final thing,

the works,

what is it,

we must work,

but the works

of God might be

displayed in him.

It means that it

is possible that

there is meaning

in suffering

and that God

can redeem

our suffering.

that's what it

means.

Sickness

and failure

and death

can have

meaning.

That even

if you are

very old,

your life does

not have to

be a waste.

You do not

have to listen

to how the

world puts

you in your

place and

calls you and

labels you

failure.

And your

life never

passed.

That no matter

what point in

time that you

have given

your life to

Jesus and

the light

comes into

the world,

that that

light can

begin to

redeem your

suffering and

give meaning

to your life

and that God

can use you

with your

messy past

and your

messy present

to bring

him glory.

To bring

him glory.

as the

light of

the world

shines within

you and

shines through

you.

You are

not a

failure

when you

put your

faith and

trust in

Jesus.

He can

and will

redeem

even the

darkest

things about

you and

turn them

to great

glory.

glory.

There was

a same

sex attracted

man in

a church

that I

had a

long talk

with a

couple of

years ago

and he

was saying

to me that

he couldn't

understand how

it is that

he could be

called to be a

Christian.

This was in

another city.

I wasn't able to

have a follow-up

with him although

I gave him a

recommendation for

a church.

I never knew

what happened

to him.

And I said

to him,

you know,

I don't know

how God is

going to

exactly redeem

what goes on

in you but I

know he

will.

And you

know,

I said,

men like me

who are

heterosexual,

we have

sexual problems

and life

isn't just a