Lord, I Believe

All right, well, this morning we come to the finale of this story in John that we've been

looking at over the past couple weeks.

We heard of how Jesus healed a man who was born blind, and it was an amazing sign that

Jesus is indeed the light of the world, the one who enables us to see, the revealer of

truth.

And we heard about the various reactions of people to this miracle.

Some of those who knew him when he was blind and was a beggar were astounded.

Others simply couldn't believe that this was the same guy.

And then last Sunday we heard how they finally took this man who had been blind to the Pharisees,

and we heard their reaction to all this.

We're in John chapter 9.

John 9 · chapter mention

They were divided.

Some of them were trying to make a case that Jesus can't be from God because he made mud

to heal this man's eyes.

He made mud on the Sabbath, and that's work.

Others thought differently.

Why would God work this great sign through Jesus if Jesus was not a righteous man, if

he was sinning even in the act of doing it?

And the Pharisees questioned the man's parents, and then they questioned the man himself again

and again and again.

They were just looking for some way to invalidate this miracle or to discredit Jesus.

And we heard last Sunday how finally the man had enough, and he let the Pharisees know

what he was really thinking.

And then we heard how the Pharisees let him have it and kicked him out of the synagogue.

Well, let's hear the rest of the story this morning from John chapter 9, verse 35.

John 9:35

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.

So Jesus actually goes and finds this man, and when he finds him, he asks him this question,

Do you believe in the Son of Man?

And I think to really appreciate this question, we kind of have to put ourselves back there

in the story.

This man is a Jewish man living in a Jewish place.

And so this question probably hit him differently than it hits us.

He probably already has some ideas, some things that he's heard about what the Son of Man was.

Not only that, but Jesus probably knew what this man already understood of the Son of Man.

Either he knew it how he knew all sorts of things about people, or he knew it simply by talking to him

before he came to ask this question.

And we don't know exactly what the man understood,

but he probably understood the Son of Man at the very least to refer to the Messiah.

Most people back then and there had some conception of who the Messiah would be,

or at least what he would be like when he came.

We saw that with the woman at the well in John chapter 4.

John 4 · chapter mention

Maybe this man even knew of the words of the prophet Daniel, spoken hundreds of years before.

Daniel chapter 7, verse 13 and 14.

Daniel 7:13

In that passage, Daniel describes a vision that he received from God.

He says,

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man,

coming with the clouds of heaven.

He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.

He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power.

All nations and peoples of every language worshipped him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away.

And his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

What an amazing vision that was.

I don't know whether the man was thinking of this particular passage,

but probably at the least he thought that the Son of Man was the Messiah.

God's promised, chosen king.

The great one that many in Israel had been longing for to finally come.

So Jesus says to him,

Do you believe in the Son of Man?

And Jesus probably isn't asking him if he believes in the idea of the Son of Man.

This is not like the question that we often hear directed to children.

You know, do you believe in Santa Claus?

Or do you believe in the tooth fairy?

Jesus doesn't mean it like that.

He's not saying,

Do you believe that the Son of Man is real?

Of course he's real.

Jesus has already referred to himself many times as the Son of Man.

Probably what Jesus means is something more like,

Do you have faith in the Son of Man?

Do you trust the Son of Man?

And the man says in response,

Who is he, sir?

Tell me, so that I may believe in him.

So this man already believes that there is a Son of Man,

there is a special one, a Messiah,

and, judging by his answer, that he's already come.

He probably believes that the one who opened his eyes is that one,

the Son of Man, the Messiah.

No doubt he's probably learned a few things about Jesus secondhand

through his interrogation by the Pharisees.

But let's remember that in this man's last encounter with Jesus,

he was blind.

And so at this point,

he is probably not even certain about just who he's talking to.

And so he asked Jesus,

Well, who is the Son of Man?

Tell me, so that I may believe in him.

It's like he's saying,

Well, if you're talking to Jesus,

he doesn't know his name,

if you're talking about who I think you're talking about,

the one who opened my eyes,

I'm ready to put my faith in him.

I'm ready to put my trust in him.

I'm ready to become one of his followers.

You remember, that's what the Pharisees had said to this man.

They accused him of being one of this man's followers.

And probably he was thinking after that,

Well, yes, he opened my eyes.

I want to become one of his followers.

So who is he?

Do you know him?

Jesus says to him,

You have now seen him.

He is the one speaking with you.

Now, I don't know why Jesus refers to himself in the third person like this.

It's kind of climactic.

But he does.

And he's basically saying,

Where is you before?

You hadn't seen him.

Right now, you have.

He's the one speaking with you right now.

I am the Son of Man.

I am the one who opened your eyes.

Verse 38.

Then the man said,

Lord, I believe.

And he worshipped him.

I wish I could just hear what was going on in this man's thoughts in this moment.

Maybe he already suspected that this guy was the one who had opened his eyes.

Maybe he thought he recognized his voice a little bit.

But maybe wasn't certain.

But as soon as Jesus tells him,

I am the one.

I am the Son of Man.

This man knows that he is the Messiah.

He says,

Lord,

I believe.

And he hits the deck.

The word translated worshipped here

is literally,

he fell to the ground before him.

There's some debate over whether he was worshipping Jesus

as though Jesus was God,

divine,

or whether he fell down before him

bowing in deep reverence

as though Jesus is

that great king

of God's choosing,

the Messiah.

And it's kind of a tricky decision

because

whenever that word

translated worshipped here

is used with reference to God,

it means worshipped.

And whenever it's used of earthly men,

it means to bow reverently before them

or to pay homage

to them.

And in this case,

Jesus is both God

and man.

But the man who was blind

probably does not yet understand

the full extent

of who Jesus is,

that he is,

in fact,

God

here in front of him

in human flesh.

So he falls down

on the ground before him

and he confesses,

my Lord,

my King,

not just any king,

but God's king,

as he told the Pharisees.

I know that this man

came from God.

Look at what he did.

Verse 39,

Jesus said,

for judgment

I have come into this world

so that the blind will see

and those who see

will become blind.

Now,

I don't know about you,

but I have to admit

that this is not

what I expected Jesus

to say next.

I mean,

this is kind of a

joyful moment.

Here's Jesus

with this man

on the ground

before him.

This man has come

to realize the truth

and confess,

yes,

you are the Lord.

You are my Messiah.

And then Jesus says,

for judgment

I have come into this world

so that those

who are blind

will see.

and those who see

will become blind.

If we just take a part

of what Jesus says here,

I mean,

it kind of makes sense

and it's joyful.

I have come into this world

so that the blind

will see.

That's good news.

That's exactly

what Jesus did.

He gave this blind man

sight,

the ability to see.

But then we keep

listening to Jesus

and he says,

in the same breath,

I have also come

so that those

who see

will become blind.

What's going on here?

And for judgment

I have come into this world.

Why does Jesus say that?

Well,

as we'll see in a minute,

there were also

some Pharisees

standing nearby

watching all of this.

and by now

it should be

hopefully clear

that Jesus

is no longer

talking simply

about physical sight

and physical blindness.

He has a point

to make

that's deeper

than that.

For judgment

I have come

into this world

so that the blind

will see

and those who see

will become blind.

That's what's just

happened in this moment

for the man.

It wasn't earlier,

I mean earlier

he was blind

and he came to see

physically

but what just happened

for him now

is that he was blind

spiritually

and came to see

the truth

about Jesus.

And we know

Jesus is speaking

figuratively.

Did Jesus

just come into the world

to give

physical sight?

to the physical blind?

Physically blind?

Well if we've been

listening to Jesus

over the past months

we know that

that falls way short

of what Jesus

has been saying.

He has come

to give life

eternal life

so that people

would not perish

so that they would not

face

the just

wrath of God

and be condemned

but instead

have life.

Another way

to bring this out

is just simply

to ask

what's the greater

miracle here?

What's the greater

healing here?

Is it that the man

who is physically blind

can now see

with his physical eyes

and now in some sense

has a new life?

Or is it that the man

who was

spiritually lost

and walking

in darkness

has now come

to see

and believe

the truth

that gives him

eternal life?

We should celebrate

that this man

received one of the

greatest miracles

ever done.

Sight after having

lived his entire

life blind

but I hope

that our celebration

of that

pales

in comparison

to what just

happened to this man

now.

he has just

received something

far greater

something far

more

wonderful

the ability

to see

spiritually

and it's made

all the difference

in his life

and in his

eternity.

I wonder

do we have

more excitement

over someone

being miraculously

healed

than over

someone

coming to

repent

and believe

in Jesus

and be

saved?

Which is the

greater miracle?

Which part of

this story

should move

us

more deeply?

The part

where the man

says

I can see

at the

pool of

Siloam

or this

part here

where he

says

Lord

I believe

and hits

the ground

in front

of Jesus.

Jesus

came not

simply to

alleviate

physical

suffering

and cure

bodily

ailments

he came

primarily

to open

the eyes

of people

who are

spiritually

blind

and

spiritually

lost

in darkness.

Jesus

came to

make this

moment

that's

just

happened

for this

man

as he

says

Lord

I believe

he came

to make

that same

moment

happen

not just

for him

but for

many

for you

for me

and for

some in

our community

here in

Davidson

who right

now are

walking in

spiritual

darkness

is that

the miracle

that you're

asking God

for

these days

let's

consider

now the

other half

of Jesus

statement

verse 39

for judgment

I have

come into

this world

so that

the blind

will see

and

those who

see

will become

blind

it's difficult

to know

just what

Jesus means

here when

he says

for judgment

he doesn't

mean punishment

because that

doesn't make

sense

for punishment

I have

come into

this world

so that

the blind

will see

well that

doesn't make

sense

and he's

not talking

about the

final judgment

I mean we

know from

the rest

of the story

we know

from other

passages

this isn't

the final

judgment

that's coming

so what

does he

mean

well my

best guess

if I had to

take a guess

at it I

would say

that a part

of judgment

involves

separating

separating

truth

from lies

separating

the sheep

from the

goats

those who

are true

from the

imposters

we make

judgments

about things

all the time

and when we

do it

involves

separation

we approve

this news

article as

representing

the truth

and not

this one

separation

and here

we see a

similar kind

of thing

there's an

element of

separation

everyone is

being exposed

to Jesus

to his

teaching

to his

miracles

and yet

by God's

sovereign

purpose

and plan

this

exposure

is having

a different

result

for different

people

it's the

separating

or the

dividing

of people

and as

Jesus

ministry

does this

some

like this

man

who are

spiritually

blind

are coming

to see

and believe

and know

the truth

but others

are having

a different

result

others

who are

seeing

all that

Jesus

is doing

hearing

all that

he's saying

are becoming

spiritually

blind

they're becoming

more lost

more guilty

of sin

because they're

choosing to

reject

and turn

away

from the

light

of Jesus

I think

what Jesus

says here

is very

similar

to what

he said

to his

disciples

when he

explained

why he

spoke to

the crowds

in parables

maybe you

remember

that

what Jesus

said

Matthew

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

chapter

13

this is

in the

midst of

the parable

of the

sower

they asked

him about

why he

speaks

in parables

and he

said

this is

why I

speak

to them

in parables

though

seeing

they do

not

see

he's

quoting

Isaiah

here

though

hearing

they do

not

hear

or

understand

in them

is fulfilled

the prophecy

of Isaiah

you will

be ever

hearing

but never

understanding

you will

be ever

seeing

but never

perceiving

and we

might wonder

well how

can you

be ever

seeing

and never

seeing

never

getting

it

how can

you be

continuously

hearing

what Jesus

is saying

and not

understanding

it

how is

that

possible

Jesus

tells us

the answer

still quoting

Isaiah

in the next

verse

he says

for this

people's

heart

has become

calloused

they hardly

hear with

their ears

and they

have closed

their eyes

there it

is

they have

closed

their eyes

there is

a voluntary

decision

made on

the part

of the

people

that are

seeing

to close

their

eyes

Jesus

still

quoting

Isaiah

says

otherwise

they

might

see

with

their

eyes

and

hear

with

their

ears

and

understand

with

their

hearts

and

turn

and I

would

heal

them

Jesus

had a

distinct

purpose

in using

parables

in fact

I think

what he's

telling us

here is

that his

whole

ministry

has a

distinct

purpose

these

Pharisees

have just

seen

what

Jesus

did

in

healing

this

blind

man

and they

can't

deny

it

they

brought

his

parents

in

yes

he

is

our

son

yes

he

was

born

blind

how

does

he

see

we

don't

know

Jesus

did

it

is

what

the

man

said

and yet

even

with

this

sign

clearly

in

front

of

them

they

are

seeing

it

they're

choosing

to

close

their

eyes

I'm

not

going

to

accept

the

truth

that

this

points

to

the

seeing

are

becoming

blind

this

is

what's

happening

with

the

Pharisees

right

now

I'm

reminded

of one

of

Jesus

favorite

passages

to

bring

up

in

discussion

with

the

Pharisees

you

probably

know

this

one

first

Peter

it's

mentioned

there

the

stone

the

builders

rejected

has

become

the

corner

stone

said

Jesus

it's

also

a

stone

that

causes

some

to

stumble

said

Isaiah

some

trip

over

it

they

refuse

to

acknowledge

Jesus

as

the

Messiah

they

reject

him

but

the

very

same

Jesus

is

also

the

corner

stone

the

one

on

whom

God

has

chosen

to

build

his

house

his

people

and

again

we

see

that

idea

of

separation

people

having

an

opposite

reaction

and

response

to

Jesus

and

his

ministry

and

this

is all

happening

in

accordance

with

the

ultimate

plan

of

God

for

judgment

for

the

purpose

of

judgment

I

have

come

into

this

world

says

Jesus

so

that

in

order

that

these

outcomes

would

happen

now

it's

not

because

God

desires

in

his

heart

that

some

would

be

lost

that

some

would

become

blind

in

his

heart

of

hearts

God

does

not

desire

that

as

we

heard

back

in

Matthew

I

want

them

to

turn

and

I

would

heal

them

if

they

did

they

close

their

eyes

no

this

happens

according

to

the

plan

of

God

because

God

desires

that

people

should

be

separated

and

sifted

out

as

they

should

be

Jesus

is

like

the

sieve

of

God

that

has

been

sent

to

separate

and

sift

out

the

people

he

is

the

stone

put

before

them

that

will

reveal

one

or

the

other

outcome

he

is

the

light

shining

in

the

darkness

that

they

will

either

come

into

the

light

or

they

will

close

their

eyes

and

turn

away

from

the

light

no

I

don't

want

that

in

other

words

I

think

what

Jesus

is

really

saying

here

is

that

at

the

end

of

the

story

when

he

the

son

of

man

is

revealed

in

glory

how

people

responded

to

Jesus

when

they

had

the

opportunity

that

will

be

the

basis

for

separating

them

out

in

the

final

judgment

the

separation

is

beginning

even

now

as

Jesus

is

here

giving

his

words

now

we

might

wonder

why

does

it

have

to

be

this

way

truthfully

God

has

many

purposes

in

all

that

he

does

and

all

of

them

good

all

of

them

right

all

of

them

just

lots

of

them

are

beyond

our

understanding

one

of

the

things

he

spoke

through

Paul

is

that

part

of

the

reason

he

sent

Jesus

in

this

way

to

save

us

in

this

way

is

to

humble

the

proud

to

shame

the

arrogant

those

who

are

wise

in

their

own

eyes

to

take

away

all

opportunity

for

human

boasting

basically

to put

us

all

in

our

rightful

place

as

creatures

before

him

our

creator

that's

at least

one

purpose

so

this

is

the

moment

of

decision

to

those

who

humble

themselves

now

before

Jesus

admit

that

yes

I

am

blind

I

can't

see

I

am

in

need

I

am

lost

I

have

sinned

against

you

God

will

you

forgive

me

I

believe

in

you

Lord

those

who

do

will

be

saved

but

those

who

refuse

to

humble

themselves

those

who

persist

in

pride

those

who

say

no

I

can

see

just

fine

I

am

not

lost

I

don't

need

you

Jesus

they

will

perish

justly

because

they

did

see

and

yet

closed

their

eyes

verse

40

some

Pharisees

who

were

with

him

heard

him

say

this

and

asked

what

are

we

blind

too

a

rhetorical

question

you

can

just

hear

the

tone

of

mockery

in

it

like

are

we

blind

too

no

I

don't

think

so

and

Jesus

responds

with

this

he

says

if

you

were

blind

you

would

not

be

guilty

of

sin

but

now

that

you

claim

you

can

see

your

guilt

remains

it's

a loaded

response

this is

one of

those

noodle

busters

you

kind

of

just

got

to

sit

and

think

over

this

and

meditate

on

it

for

a

while

in

the

same

breath

Jesus

says

no

you're

not

blind

and

so

you

are

guilty

of

sin

and

he

says

yes

you

are

blind

and

so

you

are

guilty

of

sin

I

know

that

sounds

like

a

contradiction

but

it's

there

Jesus

is

speaking

at

a

different

level

probably

in

riddle

or

kind

of

like

a

mini

parable

here

let's

unpack

it

briefly

if

you

were

blind

in the

original

language

based

on

the

grammar

here

we

can

know

the

way

that

this

if

then

statement

works

we

know

that

it's

if

you

were

blind

and

you're

not

you

would

not

be

guilty

of

sin

what

does

Jesus

mean

by

this

I

think

what

he

means

is

if

you

were

truly

blind

if

you

were

truly

ignorant

of

what's

going

on

here

the

reality

of

who

I

am

then

you

would

not

be

guilty

of

sin

but

you're

not

you

do

know

what's

going

on

here

you

have

seen

clearly

enough

to

be

responsible

for

your

actions

and

with

what

you've

seen

and

what

you

are

doing

you

are

guilty

you

don't

want

to

hear

the

truth

I'm

speaking

in fact

you're

trying

to

do

away

with

me

you've

seen

enough

to be

responsible

for

what

you've

seen

and

how

you've

responded

to

what

you've

seen

makes

you

guilty

of

sin

because

they

refuse

to

accept

the

only

way

to

be

forgiven

which

is

to

come

humbly

to

Jesus

there

are

many

ways

that

this

passage

touches

real

life

I

mentioned

some

of

them

already

but

I

want

to end

this

morning

simply

by

encouraging

you

to

put

yourself

in

the

story

imagine

that

Jesus

comes

and

finds

you

and

says

to

you

do

you

believe

in

the

son

of

man

what's

your

answer

to

him

this

man

said

I

believe

and

he

bowed

before

him

on

the

ground

do

you

believe

that

Jesus

is

the

son

of

man

like

that

the

Messiah

like

that

the

one

who

someday

will

bust

through

the

clouds

in

glory

and

come

to

reign

over

this

never

ending

kingdom

that

God

has

promised

what's

your

answer

to

Jesus

do

you

have

faith

in

the

son

of

man

this

matters

everything

coming

to

the

place

that

this

man

came

to

on

his

face

on

the

ground

before

Jesus

and

saying

I

believe

is

the

only

way

to

have

eternal

life

it's

the

only

way

to

have

your

guilt

taken

away

I

also

want

to

encourage

you

to

imagine

for

a

moment

that

you're

one

of

the

Pharisees

I

know

that's

not

something

we

naturally

want

to

do

but

I

think

we

can

learn

from

them

too

the