John Ch9v1-41 - Can You See?

1,075.

Again, you're all very welcome this morning.

And as we gather, we open up God's Word and we hear it explained and preached.

And we look forward to Johnny coming in a moment to preach from the Word to our hearts and to our souls.

And we're going to be looking this morning, continuing our series in the Gospel of John.

We're going to be looking at chapter 9.

So we're going to read verses 1 to 12.

And then we're going to jump down and read 35 to 41.

So John chapter 9, verses 1 to 12 and then 35 to 41.

John 9:1–12

John chapter 9.

John 9 · chapter mention

As he went along, 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?

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 spat on the ground.

He made some mud with the saliva.

And he put it on the man's eyes.

Go, he told him.

Wash in the pool of Siloam.

This word means sent.

So the man went and he washed.

He came home seen.

His neighbors, no one who had formerly seen him begging, asked,

Isn't this the 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.

Now then, now how then were your eyes open, they asked.

He replied, the man they called Jesus.

He made some mud and he put it on my eyes.

He told me, 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.

Verse 35.

Jesus heard that they had thrown him, that's the blind man who had been healed, 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 they asked, what?

Are we blind too?

Well, Jesus said, if you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin.

But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

Good morning.

Good morning.

Nice to see you.

Thank you, Ralph, for leading and thanks to the music team as well.

And we do appreciate you so much.

So thank you for helping us this morning and for all who do week by week.

Let's keep our Bibles open.

We're going to look at John 9 together.

Let's pray.

Father God, by the power of your spirit,

open our eyes

that we may see wonderful truths and treasures in your word.

May we see Jesus clearly

in all his beauty and wonder.

And may we be satisfied

in him alone.

Help us, we pray.

Amen.

Well, when I've been abroad in more tropical climates,

something startling happens at night.

It may have been your experience too.

When you turn on the light,

the whole room moves.

Great moths come out and they fly towards the light.

And those dirty cockroaches,

they scurry into the darkness.

You see, light is not neutral.

It either attracts or it repels.

Look at verse 5.

See what Jesus says?

While I am in the world,

I am the light of the world.

Jesus is saying,

I've come to shine my light.

I have come to be the light in the darkness.

And Jesus is not neutral.

As his light shines,

we're either attracted to him

or we are repelled by him.

Let's see how this is true.

First, we're going to look at the shining of the light.

Shining the light.

In our text,

John records for us an extraordinary miracle.

A blind man receives his sight.

But you'll know through our studies

that in John's gospel,

the miracles are called signs.

So the miracle,

or the sign,

points beyond itself to something else.

In this case,

and here's a summary,

Jesus gives a blind man physical sight

to show us that he has come to give us

spiritual sight.

He gives a blind man physical sight.

That's the miracle.

The sign is pointing to the fact

that Jesus has come to give us

spiritual sight.

Look at verse 1.

As he went along,

he saw a blind man from birth.

His disciples asked him,

Teacher,

who sinned?

This man?

Or his parents?

That he was born blind?

To them,

there was only one logical conclusion.

Either his parents had done something

terribly wrong in their life,

and God is punishing them

for some sin in their life,

and their son is born blind.

Or,

maybe God knew that

as the man grew older,

he would do some terrible things

in his life,

and so,

he was punished with blindness

before he was even born.

Those are their thinkings.

What is it, Jesus?

It must be one or the other.

Who sinned?

Now, many people think like that.

If everything I do is going well,

then I must have done something good.

God is blessing me.

But if I'm suffering in some way,

I must have done something wrong.

God is punishing me.

Now, it's a common thought.

We can think like that.

But it's a terrible thought,

because it's not true.

Look at Jesus' response,

verse 3.

Neither this man

nor his parents

sinned.

Yes,

in a sense,

all the struggle

and all the suffering

in the world

is a result of the fall.

But we cannot draw

a direct line

from our suffering

to a particular sin

and say,

that was it.

No, Jesus says,

neither this man

nor his parents

sinned.

But this happened.

The man's blindness happened

so that the works of God

might be displayed

in him.

And what were the works

that were going to be displayed

through this blind man?

Well,

through the healing

of the blind man,

Jesus was going to shine

his light

to show his power

and to show

our spiritual condition.

So let's look

at this miracle

in a little bit

more detail.

First,

born blind.

Look at verse 1 again.

As Jesus went along,

he saw a man

blind

from birth.

So he never,

ever

had experienced sight.

Imagine,

he never got to see

his family.

He could smell

a flower,

but he never was able

to admire its beauty.

He could feel

the sunshine

beating down on him,

but he was never able

to gaze

at a sunset.

He was blind

from birth.

Darkness.

But yet,

born blind

and given sight.

Jump down

to verse 6.

After saying this,

after this discussion

with his disciples,

Jesus spat

on the ground,

made some mud

with the saliva

and put it

on the man's eyes.

Now,

what a strange

thing to do.

We know from

John chapter 5

John 5 · chapter mention

that Jesus

could have simply

just spoken a word

and healed him

straight away,

just as he did.

Do you remember

to the man

who couldn't walk

by the pool?

He just said to him,

pick up your mat

and walk.

Well,

why didn't he say

the exact same thing

to the blind man?

Your eyes are open,

you can see.

But no,

Jesus,

look at what it says

there in verse 6,

he made mud.

He spits

on the ground

and then he makes

a paste

of mud

and then he takes it

and he presses it

into the man's eyes.

Why would he do that?

Well,

I think it's like creation,

isn't it?

Just as God

formed and

shaped

the world

and just as God

in the very beginning

of creation

spoke light

into the darkness,

so Jesus

spits

and he makes mud

and he forms

and shapes

that mud

and he

pastes it

into the man's eyes

and he speaks

light into the darkness,

verse 7.

Go,

he told him.

Wash

in the pool of Siloam.

So the man

went,

washed

and he came

home seeing.

You see,

through the sign,

through this miracle,

Jesus is shining

a light

on our

condition.

This man

didn't lose

his sight

or become

blind over time.

He never had sight.

He was born blind

and in the same way

we have been

born blind

to who Jesus

is

and our need

of him.

And the only way

we're ever going

to see

who Jesus

is,

is if he does

a creation

work

in our life.

He must

create

sight.

He must

give sight

where there

never was

any sight.

And just as

the blind man

couldn't give

himself

sight,

so we can

never make

ourselves

see our

need of Jesus.

Jesus must

do a miracle,

a new

creation

work

in our

life.

So Jesus

does a sign

shining his

light

on our

true

condition.

So how do we

respond

to this

shining light?

second,

remaining in

darkness.

This poor

man,

instead of

being able

to enjoy

this new

sight and

go to

different places

and explore

and look,

this poor

man is

thrown into

like a

courtroom.

He's having

to defend

and prove

that he

does have

sight.

it seems

that no

one wants

to believe

what happened

to him.

Look at

verse 8.

His neighbours

and those

who had

formerly

seen him

begging

asked,

isn't this

the man

who used

to sit

and beg?

Some

claimed,

yes,

that's the

man.

Others

said,

no,

no,

it isn't.

You've

got it

all wrong.

He only

looks like

him.

But he

himself

insisted,

I am

the man.

Hello,

everyone.

Have you

ever thought

of asking

me?

Well,

how did

you get

to see?

Well,

the man

they called

Jesus,

he made

mud and

he put

it on

my eyes

and I

went and

washed

and I

could see.

Why don't

you believe

me?

Well,

if the

neighbours

weren't bad

enough,

next up

were the

Pharisees.

Verse 15.

Therefore,

the Pharisees

also asked

him how

he had

received

his sight.

Well,

he put

mud on

my eyes

and I

washed

and now

I can

see.

But they're

not convinced.

Verse 18.

They still

did not

believe that

he had

been blind

and that

he had

received

his sight

until they

sent for

the man's

parents.

So the

parents are

called in.

Is this

your son?

They asked.

Is this

the one

who you

say was

born blind?

How is it

now that

he can

see?

I mean,

don't be so

ridiculous.

Blind

and now

seeing.

We know

he is our

son,

the parents

answered.

And we

know he

was born

blind,

but how

he can

see now

or who

opened

his eyes,

we don't

know.

Ask him.

Now why

is it

that they

are having

such a

hard time

believing

what's

happened?

Well you

see,

if the

miracle is

true,

if what

the man

was saying

was true,

that means

Jesus is

God and

the Pharisees

would have

to accept

that and

believe in

Jesus.

But rather

than believe

the truth

about Jesus,

they now

turned to

try to

discredit

Jesus.

Verse 24.

A 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.

sinner.

In other

words,

just stop

all your

lies and

just say

Jesus is

a sinner.

He replied

whether he

is a sinner

or not,

I don't

know.

But 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

and you

will not

listen.

Do you

want to

become his

disciples too?

Skip down

to verse

32.

Nobody,

this is the

man speaking

again,

nobody has

ever heard

of opening

the eyes

of a man

born blind.

If this

man were

not from

God,

he could

do

nothing.

In other

words,

I can

now see,

so this

man must

be from

God.

To this

they replied,

you were

steeped in

sin at

birth,

how dare

you lecture

us?

And they

threw him

out.

Why is

there such

hostility?

And why

is there

such

unbelief?

well,

it seems

that these

Pharisees

are blinded

by pride.

You see,

to acknowledge

what Jesus

has done

and all

that he's

been saying

means,

well,

we must

believe that

he's God.

And if

Jesus is

God,

then I

must submit

my life to

him,

I must

turn and

trust him.

But pride

gets in the

way.

our pride

says,

I don't

need

Jesus.

I can

live my

own way.

Isn't

that how

often we

can be?

Jesus is

saying,

come to

me,

see who

I am.

I am

God,

I have

come to

bring life

in all

its

fullness.

Believe

me,

walk with

me.

But

pride,

pride says,

no,

I want

to do

it my

way.

I've

got my

own way

of living.

I have

my own

truth.

You see,

as Jesus

turns the

light on,

as Jesus

comes in

as the

light into

the world,

they remain

in darkness.

They're

repelled

by Jesus.

When

confronted

with who

he is,

they scurry

away deeper

into the

darkness.

But there's

another

response.

Not just

those who

remain in

darkness,

but those

who are

attracted

to Jesus.

You see,

while the

Pharisees

hide from

the light,

the former

blind man

is attracted

to the

light.

And it

seems all

the questioning

that he's

been facing

has caused

him to

question

himself.

Who is

this person?

And he's

being drawn

towards him

gradually.

Look at the

progression of

the man.

Let's go

back to

verse 11.

The

neighbours

have asked,

who opened

your eyes?

Verse 11,

the man

they call

Jesus.

Jesus.

He doesn't

know who

Jesus is.

He's just

that man,

that person

that is

called

Jesus.

That's all

he knows

him as.

But look

what happens

later on.

Verse 17,

the Pharisees

turned again

to the

blind man.

What have

you to say

about him?

It was

your eyes

he opened.

The man

replied,

he is

a prophet.

So he's

no longer

just that

man called

Jesus.

He's

thought about

it and

come to

the conclusion

that he's

something bigger,

he's more

important.

He must

be a

prophet.

Verse 31,

again as

he speaks

back to

the Pharisees,

we know

that God

does not

listen to

sinners.

God

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.

He's

come to

the clear

conclusion

that this

man,

Jesus,

is a

prophet

and he

is not

a sinner.

He must

be

God.

God.

You see,

the more

light that

this man

receives,

the closer

he is drawn

towards the

light.

The more

he understands

of Jesus,

the more

he is ready

to believe

in Jesus.

Verse 35,

Jesus had

heard that

they had

thrown him

out.

And when

Jesus found

him, he

said,

do you

believe in

the son

of man?

Jesus is

referring to

himself here

as the one

with absolute

power and

supreme authority.

Do you

believe in

the son

of man?

Now, the

man's answer

is remarkable.

Verse 36,

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.

And the

man said,

Lord,

I believe.

And he

worshipped

him.

Yes, he

sees Jesus

physically for

the first

time.

But more

than that,

this former

blind man

has come

to see his

need of

Jesus and

he believes

in him.

He

worships.

Literally,

he bows

down in

honour,

and

submission

as he

sees the

greatness

and the

glory of

who Jesus

is.

How did

this happen?

How did

this change

come about

in this

man's

life?

Well,

the man

was enabled

to see.

Look at

verse 35.

Jesus

found

him.

Jesus

went

searching

him out.

The

light of

Jesus

had shone

into the

darkness

of his

life.

And as

he responded

to the

light,

and as

the light

got brighter,

not only

was his

physical

eyes

opened,

but something

greater,

his

spiritual

eyes have

been opened.

He's come

to see

his need

of Jesus.

You see,

that's what

Jesus does.

He gives

sight

where there

was no

sight.

So what

does that

all mean

for us?

Well,

Jesus

summarizes

his message

like this.

Look at

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.

It's

very simple

what Jesus

is saying.

I've

summarized it

like this,

you can see it

on the screen.

First,

there are

those who

know they

are blind,

and therefore

will see.

Those who

know that

they are

born spiritually

blind,

and that

without Jesus

they're lost,

they will be

given sight.

Jesus will

open up our

eyes and

enable us to

believe and

to worship

him.

But

second,

there are

those who

think they

can see,

but they're

actually blind.

Those who

think they're

enlightened,

and have the

knowledge,

and know

and think

that their

way is

right.

Jesus

says they

will become

blind.

Jesus

will shine

his light,

but they

will remain

in darkness.

verse 40,

some

Pharisees

who were

with him

heard him

say this

and asked,

what are

we blind

to?

Are you

talking about

us?

Jesus said,

if you

were blind,

you would

not be

guilty of

sin.

But now

that you

claim you

can see,

your guilt

remains.

you see,

he's saying,

look,

if you

knew how

spiritually

blind you

are,

if you

were able

to accept

your

lostness,

you would

come to

me.

But if you

insist on

going it

alone,

you will

live and

remain in

your guilt

and in

your shame,

and you

will face

judgment.

You see,

Jesus has

come to

shine his

light into

the darkness

of this

world.

Let's just

bring it

together,

just three

things to

close with.

If we

welcome the

light that

Jesus is

shining in

our life,

three things.

First,

you will

see your

sin,

in a

new

light.

You will

see how

utterly

blind and

lost you

are.

It's not

a little

glimpse of

light that

gives you

a little

way of

finding your

way out.

No,

you are

utterly

blind and

in desperate

need for

Jesus.

Like the

man in

this account,

you will

say,

I am

blind.

I need

sight.

And when

you do,

the light

of Jesus

will shine

his beauty

and his

magnificence

towards us.

He will

become more

attractive to

you.

And you

will run

to him

and you

will receive

from him

forgiveness

for all

your sin.

You will

become closer

to him

and your

relationship

to him

will deepen

and you

will become

more like

him.

You will

see your

sin in a

new light.

You will

see how

desperately

you need

Jesus.

But second,

you will

see yourself

in a new

light.

Go back

to chapter

8,

verse 12.

12.

You will

begin to

see yourself

in a new

light.

Chapter 8,

verse 12.

when Jesus

spoke again

to the

people,

he said,

I am

the light

of the

world.

Whoever

follows me

will never

walk in

darkness,

but will

have the

light

of life.

Jesus

is the

one who

satisfies

and fulfills.

He is the

one who

gives us

all that we

need.

He takes

us out

of darkness

and puts

us on a

path of

light that

is only

right and

best and

good for

us.

You will

see yourself

in a new

way.

And third,

you will

see your

suffering in

a new

light.

Just go

back with

me to

chapter 9

and verse

3.

You will

see your

suffering in

a new

light.

You see,

this man,

this blind

man was

suffering.

He was

blind for

years.

And I'm

sure the

question arose

in his

mind many,

many times.

Why?

Why this

suffering?

Why am I

having to

live with

this?

suffering?

And I

know that

some of

you here

today are

going through

your own

struggles and

facing your

own suffering.

And the

question comes

to mind,

why?

Why is this

happening to

me?

What's it

all for?

well, in

some ways,

there are

no answers.

There's a

mystery to

our

suffering.

We don't

always understand

why God

allows and

permits these

things to

happen in

our life.

But look at

verse 3,

because I

think there

is a

beginning of

an answer.

Look what he

says.

Jesus says,

neither this

man nor

his parents

sinned.

But this

happened.

This

suffering

happened so

that the

works of

God might

be displayed

in him.

Do you

believe and

trust that

God has his

plans and

purposes for

your life?

And that

he is

working

something

good in

and through

you that

you never

thought

possible

before.

If you

find that

hard to

work through,

think of

Jesus on

the cross,

the truly

innocent

man who

suffered,

who was

crucified,

who was

put to

death,

who suffered

hell.

Why did

this happen?

Why did

that suffering

happen?

so that

the works

of God

might be

displayed

through

Christ,

that people

might come

to salvation.

Now I

think that

helps us

and enables

us to

see our

suffering in

a new

light.

That God

would work

his power

in you.

maybe it's

a work

in you

that he

does so

that you

are drawn

closer and

deeper in

relationship

with him.

Maybe it's

so that you

can testify

to the

faithfulness and

goodness of

God in

the midst

of your

heartache.

Maybe it's

that you

receive comfort

in your

suffering so

that you can

comfort others

and in

time to be

able to

disciple and

help other

people who

are going

through their

suffering.

You see,

when the

light of

Jesus shines

into our

life, it

transforms us

completely.

We see our

sin in a new

light.

We see our

self in a new

light.

And we see our

sufferings in a

new light.

The light is

shining.

Are we being

attracted to the

light?

Or am I

hiding,

remaining in

darkness?

Let's just

take a moment

in the

quietness to

reflect on

that.

Let's just be

quiet before

the Lord.

Father God, thank you.

Thank you for sending Jesus the light of the world.

We pray that we would not reject that light,

but that we would be drawn closer and closer to the Lord,

the one who forgives us of all our sin,

the one who sets us on a new path, a life of light,

and the one who will help us and work good in and through our suffering for your glory.

Amen.