Jesus Came To Open Our Eyes Series

He Came To Open Our Eyes

The Coming Of Christ What Jesus Came To Do – week 4

FOR – the last several few weeks we’ve been talking about what Jesus came to do. FRIENDS – 2000 years ago, God the Son – left all the glories of heaven, put on human flesh – and walked this earth… I love how the Message Bible words John 1:14;

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” John 1:14 (Msg)

2,000 years ago Jesus Christ moved into the neighborhood and our neighborhood has never been the same since… BECAUSE - when Jesus moved in He came to do some really awesome things… THINGS – (like we have seen the last 2 weeks) that should fire us up… like that…

• Jesus came to give us the greatest gift of all time, the gift of himself. The gift of His life, death and resurrection.

• And He came to set us free… to set us free from the desert, and from the things that hold us back and cause us to live a life that is less than we are. AND – we receive this freedom by embracing 3 words; new, leave and trust.

AND – this morning I want us to talk about how Jesus came to open up our eyes… CHECKOUT – these words that the prophet Isaiah wrote concerning Jesus, words he wrote nearly 700 years before Jesus moved into the neighborhood…

“God, the LORD, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath and life to everyone in all the world. And it is he who says, "I, the LORD, have called you (He’s talking about Jesus and His ministry on earth) to demonstrate my righteousness. I will guard and support you, for I have given you to my people as the personal confirmation of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide all nations to me. You will open the eyes of the blind and free the captives from prison. You will release those who sit in dark dungeons.” - Isaiah 42:5-7

Isaiah spoke of the days when Jesus would walk this earth and God said to Jesus… AND – in John chapter 9, we see Jesus doing just this (turn there, we’ll read the whole chapter – I’m reading from the message Bible)

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. 2His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?" 3Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no such cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do. 4We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. 5For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world's Light." 6He said this and then spit in the dust, made a clay paste with the saliva, rubbed the paste on the blind man's eyes, 7and said, "Go, wash at the Pool of Siloam" (Siloam means "Sent"). The man went and washed--and saw. 8Soon the town was buzzing. His relatives and those who year after year had seen him as a blind man begging were saying, "Why, isn't this the man we knew, who sat here and begged?" 9Others said, "It's him all right!" But others objected, "It's not the same man at all. It just looks like him." He said, "It's me, the very one." 10They said, "How did your eyes get opened?" 11"A man named Jesus made a paste and rubbed it on my eyes and told me, "Go to Siloam and wash.' I did what he said. When I washed, I saw."

THINK – about it…. ALL - of his life, since birth, this man couldn’t see. All of his life he lived in darkness. TRY – to imagine that. He had never seen a sunrise or a sunset… He had never seen blue sky or clear running waters… He had never seen leaves blowing in the wind, rain falling from the sky or the colors of a rainbow (in fact he had no concept of colors at all). He had never seen little children, laughing or playing… He had never seen people gathered to worship God… He had never seen the faces of those he loved… He had never even looked at his own fingers or hands… IMAGINE – a life of darkness… IMAGINE – never seeing anything…

AND THEN - Jesus Christ (who was generous inside and out – who was true from start to finish) – moves into his neighborhood – AND helps this man not only see physically but more importantly to see spiritually.