I Am Come For Judgment

John 9:39-41

I Am Come For Judgment

Woodlawn Missionary Baptist Church

July 24, 2005

Introduction

Have you ever heard the story about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson going on a camping trip? After a good meal, they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend.

“Watson, look up and tell me what you see.”

Watson replied, “I see millions and millions of stars.”

“What does that tell you?”

Watson pondered for a minute. “Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why, what does it tell you?”

Holmes said, “Watson you idiot, someone has stolen our tent!”(borrowed from Don Jaques in a sermon titled, “Who Is This Jesus?”)

Sometimes we are blind to what is right in front of our faces aren’t we? I remember as a kid hearing my dad say, “Kevin, if it had been a snake it’d have bit you.” I can’t imagine what it would be like to be blind. To not be able to see the face of my wife or kids; to be unable to read the books that I enjoy so much; to not be able to drive a car or to see the wonders of God’s creation. I can’t imagine not knowing the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, or the simple pleasure of watching a favorite television program. I can’t imagine living life completely in the dark, but there are so many who do.

However, for all the people in the world who live in a physical state of darkness, there are millions more who have something much worse than physical blindness. I’m talking about spiritual blindness: not knowing where your life is going; not knowing if you’re right with God; not knowing if you’re going to go to heaven when you die, and perhaps even worse is being so blind as not to care.

Remember that we are examining seven statements that Jesus made concerning the purpose of His coming. Although each statement is quite different in its wording, each really only gives us a different angle from which to view Christ’s work of redemption on Calvary. Each is like a photograph, taken from various angles. Jesus said that He came to fulfill the law; not destroy it. He said that He came to call sinners to repentance; that He came to bring a sword, and that He came to seek and to save sinners. It is amazing how the people who were following Him and those who were opposing Him all had so many deeply held misconceptions about who and what He was! Yet Jesus wanted them to understand perfectly what His coming was really all about.

God created you for a personal relationship with Him. He created you to enjoy fellowship with Him, but your sin stands in the way. Jesus came to do something about your sin, and so He says in John 9:39,

“For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We wee; therefore your sin remaineth.”

Why did Jesus come, and what does this have to do with redemption? What does any of it have to do with you, and what does God want you to do with it? I believe the answer to that question is really very simple. It will not be necessary to give you three points and a poem, for there is really only one response.

Seeing You Must Chose Sight

There is no question that Jesus wants those who are blind to see. In fact He said, “I am come into this world, that they which see not might see.” It must have broken Jesus’ heart to see the blindness of the people. Over and over He would make statements about the lost like, “seeing see not…” On one occasion after feeding the five thousand, the disciples were being particularly slow in learning something Jesus was trying to teach them, so He said to them as believers, “Having eyes, see ye not?”

In John 9, you may remember that Jesus and the disciples had been traveling along when they encountered a man who was blind from birth. Jesus healed that man of his physical blindness, but since it was on the Sabbath the Pharisees demanded to know who had done this thing and sinned against God. How could Jesus profess to be a man of God when He insisted on being so sinful and rebellious? Was He a prophet or not? After hearing all of this for a while, the man who had been healed said to them, “I don’t know if he’s a prophet or not; but I do know this: I was blind this morning, and now I can see!”