Choice
John 9
Today we have a very familiar story, but I want to come at it from a different angle.
Let’s cruise through the story.
Jesus is walking through the streets of Jerusalem, in the middle of a large crowd. He did this because he was hiding. If you look at the end of chapter 8, you will see that he has just escaped… by the skin of his teeth… from an angry crowd of Pharisees who had bent over and turned around to find rocks with which to stone him… TO KILL HIM.
I believe Jesus’ disciples took advantage of their turned backs, to drag Jesus into the crowd, and get him safely away.
I can imagine Peter causing a distraction by reaching out and punching the guy next to him and starting a big melee… giving the other disciples cover and an opportunity to get Jesus far away.
Now, surely several blocks away, and safely lost in the crowd, Jesus is walking along with his disciples… I don’t know if Peter has caught up yet… when they see a blind beggar.
The disciples take the opportunity to get their minds off the angry mob, so they try to involve Jesus in a theological debate.
Looking at the blind man, they asked, “Jesus, whose sin caused this man to be blind, his or his parent’s?”
Jesus shocks them when he says, “Neither.”
They don’t understand. For them, all sickness and suffering is the result of someone’s sin. They need to be able to blame someone, just so they can maintain their belief system.
Jesus continued, “This man is sick so that his healing could bring glory to God. No one had to sin, God caused it”
Then Jesus squatted, and spit in the dirt. Taking the spit and the dirt Jesus made a little bit of mud and put the mud on the blind man’s eyes.
You or I would have resisted someone putting spit-mud on us. The blind man did not see it coming.
((( ILL: Like me when Mama wanted to spit-wash me)))
Then Jesus gave the blind man specific order to go to the pool of Siloam and wash the mud off.
Why? Faith! Jesus wanted the man to demonstrate faith, his healing would be dependent on that faith.
If he disobeyed, choosing a closer pool… no faith… no healing
Sort of reminds me of Namaan in OT
Because he obeyed, which took effort… which took faith… HEALED
He went toward the pool and Jesus went the other way.
Jesus’ trouble was over… he had escaped. The blind man’s trouble—what he thought was his trouble--- blindness… was over…
But his troubles were just beginning
He spent the better part of the day being drug from inquisition to inquisition asked questions he could not answer
See Jesus challenged their nice, neat little belief system that they had tied up in a bow… he was doing things and saying things that did not fit… it was messing up the wrapping.
ILL: Have you ever seen ants if you disturb their anthill? They go scurrying in a hundred directions to put the hill back together.
These Jews were religious ants scurrying to re-establish the order to their religion because Jesus came along and kicked the hill apart.
In their scamper, they needed to do two things…
1. Discredit Jesus
2. Affirm their religion
So they did what any lawyer would do in court… they attempted to discredit the evidence or the witness
First the evidence --- a man blind from birth given sight
They denied it was even the same blind man who was a beggar
They tried to convince the jury this man only LOOKED LIKE the same man.
But the man said, “Yep, I’m the man.”
That course failed, they had the man give his testimony hoping they would find some grounds to contest him.
So they told the man to tell them in his own words what had happened.
He said, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
I love it, did you hear that last sentence.
This line is so typical of a new Christian…
They have not been a Christian long, they have not seen that much yet, they don’t know any theology… but they just tell what has happened to them. That is what witnessing is—telling what you KNOW.
Listen to this man’s testimony…
I went I washed I saw
This is every Christian’s witness
I went I went to Jesus, in my sin, in faith
I washed I was washed in the blood, my sins were forgiven
I saw Now my eyes are opened, God has given me the light of understanding, The Spirit is in me
I wonder if Jesus was standing in the crowd still, hiding, but watching?
If he was I can just see him when the man says, “I went, I washed and I saw… Jesus gives a fist pump. He might even have turned to Peter and given him a high five.
If he did, he was probably thinking, “You could take a lesson from him, Peter”
I told you, Jesus kicked their anthill apart, they are desperate. Their desperation caused them to turn on each other. They get into a fight.
Some say, “That does it… that is all the proof we need. This man cannot be from God because he broke the Sabbath law that prohibits healing on the Sabbath. CASE CLOSED!! Do we even need to vote?
They were so happy, their nice little theological world had been restored to normalcy… the threat was gone.
But then, it falls apart again. Some of the Pharisees say, “Not so quick! There is still a little matter of the miracle. You say he can’t be from God because he broke the Sabbath. However, He can’t be NOT from God because he did do a miracle.”
And the hill is kicked down again and the fight is on.
Finally, in desperation they turn to the formerly blind man and say, “What do you say about the man?”
To which the man says, “I don’t know what he is, but he is AT LEAST a prophet, how else could he do what he did?”
So the Pharisees, realizing they were getting nowhere with the man, brought in new witnesses… the parents.
When the parents come in they are hit with a barrage of questions, not allowing them to think or to get their feet under them… these questions are intended to confuse and intimidate them.
Is this REALLY your son?
Was he REALLY born blind, or did he see for a time?
How is it he can see now?
The parents are intimidated. They are afraid. They can see this is much bigger than a blind man healed. This is serious enough to warrant the big boys. There could be recriminations and consequences. They quickly adopt the “Less said the better” attitude. They answer in short plain answers that say only what is necessary.
Yes, he is our son
Yes, he was born blind
We don’t know how he can see
So the lawyers are back to square one… the former blind man
“Your honor, the prosecution would like to recall the man”
This time, they are determined not to have egg on their face so they pull out their biggest stick to intimidate him
We already know this man is a sinner, now just admit this man is a fraud.
Listen to what the man says… Jesus is fist pumping, high fiving and jumping over pews…
“Well, I’m not a religious uppity-up like you guys, I don’t have any theological degrees after my name, I’m just a peon, a nothing, but I know this… Yesterday I was a blind man begging for coins and today I can see as well as any of you.”
Oh I wish I had time to look at the man’s answers here, he goes from being intimidated by the Pharisees to making fun of them.
But finally he says, “You say he’s a sinner. Well. God does not listen to sinners or work through them. Yet never has there been a miracle like this, a man born blind made to see. If this Jesus were not from God, by your own words, he could not do this.”
Having no response, they threw the man out.
Now, this is where the sermon starts… Jesus came to the man.
That is the first step of the gospel… God coming to man, God leaving his throne in heaven, taking on flesh, and coming to sinful man
And when God comes to us he offers us a choice… the same choice that every man must face… and make …
DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE SON OF MAN
That was how Jesus referred to himself. The phrase is used 81 times in the four gospels and only by Jesus about Jesus.
Jesus took the phrase from Daniel 7 which says, “13 “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. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Jesus was asking this man if he believed in Jesus as messiah and Lord.
See here is a great truth… it is not enough to believe that Jesus exists, or that he lived long ago, or that he was a good man, or even a great man
Look at the progression in this man’s mind about who Jesus was
v. 11 man
v. 15 miracle worker
v. 17 prophet, holy man
The bible says, 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Jesus was giving this man an opportunity to be saved.
Then this man did what every person must do to be saved… he confessed Jesus as Lord and said, “I believe.”
Other verses tell us that we must believe we are a sinner, that we have personally sinned and broken God’s law
Other verses tell us we must know our sin separates us from God
Other verses tell us we must confess our sins and ask God to forgive us
This man did not have these verses, but we have enough evidence in his words to know that he was confessing and repenting.
Isn’t it great? Jesus was not willing to let this man go half way… believe Jesus was a good man
He came to give him the chance to go all the way.
Today God is here and he is offering you that same chance.
DO YOU BELIEVE IN THE SON OF MAN?
Come and confess your sins and accept Him as Savior and Lord.
