At this point in the gospel of John, some of you are maybe feeling a little confused. John is not a very easy book.
Jesus' words seem complicated-- they are "from above," as he is from above, and we struggle to climb up, and view things from above, and understand them from above.
If this is you, my hope is that you'll find today's passage, John 9, ridiculously helpful. You'll walk away understanding the gospel of John. It will pretty much all make sense.
Our story today, at the surface level, is about a man born blind, who Jesus healed of his blindness. But at a higher level, our story is not just about physical blindness. The story is also about spiritual sight. How is it, that people come to understand who Jesus really is? How is it that people come to give a full, mature allegiance to Jesus?
Our story is built in seven different scenes, kind of like a play.
In the first scene, Jesus heals a man born blind. But the focus of our story isn't really on physical sight. It's on spiritual sight-- who can see Jesus clearly, for who he actually is? And who is actually blind?
---------------------------------------------------
Note: the structure, and some of the language, that follows is adapted in part from a sermon by Ed Neufeld that I can no longer find online (their church's website was updated, and it hasn't been relisted). He seemingly built his sermon, in part, on Brendan Byrne's commentary on John).
------------------------------------------------------
Scene 1: Jesus heals a man born blind (9:1-7)
Verses 1-2:
(1) And, going away, he saw a man blind from birth,
(2) and they asked him-- his disciples-- saying,
"Rabbi, who sinned?
This man, or his parents?"
The disciples assumed that if there was a tragedy like this, blindness, then it was God's judgment on someone because of sin. No one should have to be blind. But if a person is born blind, it's hard to figure out who sinned.
Can unborn babies commit sins so vile they deserve to be blinded? Probably not, right? So it must be the parents then. But this too seems unfair. Children shouldn't be punished for their children's sin. And Ezekiel 18 specifically rejects the idea, that God will punish people anymore for their parents' sins. The soul who sins, is the soul who will die. No longer do parents eat sour grapes, and set their children's teeth on edge (Ezekiel 18:1-2). So, just as an aside, any time you hear people talking about "generational sin," you can safely ignore them. "The soul who sins, is the soul he dies."
So where does that leave us? Where does that leave the disciples? They know there is no good reason for why someone would be blind from birth. And so they ask the logical question here.
In verse 3, we find Jesus' answer. Now, this can be understood in two very different ways, depending on how we punctuate it. It's a little tricky, because originally, in Greek, there are no commas or periods. That's something we add, to help us make sense of it.
So option one goes like this (make this part of the handout):
(3) He answered-- Jesus--
"Neither this man sinned, nor his parents, (comma)
but in order that they would be revealed-- the works of God in/through him." (period)
We must work the works of the One Sending me, while day, it is."
According to this option, the man was blind from birth so that God's works would be revealed through him. What you are about to see, is a sign of God's power. And this man was born blind, so that this could happen. God did this for his own glory. English translations all seem to take this option, although some soften it in one way or another.
Option two goes like this (h/t Charles Talbert, who gets it right I think):
(3) He answered-- Jesus--
"Neither this man sinned, nor his parents. (Period.)
But in order that they would be revealed-- the works of God in/through him, (Comma) we must work the works of the One Sending me, while day, it is."
With option two, the purpose clause is fronted, pointing forward, to make that the focus. With option two, Jesus is trying to redirect his disciples' attention, and help them focus on what matters. It doesn't matter, really, why the man is blind. The question should be, what are we going to do about it.
And notice, how Jesus puts this. Who works the works of God? Jesus says, "we" do. Jesus is calling his disciples to join him here, in doing the works of God. The works of God-- the healings, and signs, and wonders-- are not just something Jesus does. They are something the disciples also do. And so, what we see here, is a commissioning-- an invitation, to join Jesus in doing God's works.
So, when you see someone suffering, what are you going to do about it? You can ask questions about where God is in that suffering. You can act like you are helpless. You can cry out about the injustice of the world, and have your "faith" threatened with doubts about whether or not God is good, and powerful.
Or you can man up, find your faith, and understand your calling. You can join Jesus, in doing the works of God.
Let's reread now, and go through verse 7:
(3) He answered-- Jesus--
"Neither this man sinned, nor his parents. (Period.)
But in order that they would be revealed-- the works of God in/through him--, we must work the works of the One Sending me, while day, it is."
Night is coming,
when no one can work.
While in the world, I am, the light I am of the world.
(6) These things saying, he spat on the ground,
and he made clay from the saliva,
and he anointed the clay on his eyes,
and he said to him,
"Go. Wash in the pool of Siloam,
which is translated "Sent."
(7) Then, he left,
and he washed,
and he came (back) seeing.
When Jesus says that he is the light of the world, that's supposed to remind us of the last two weeks, in chapter 6. Let's reread John 8:12:
(8:12) Then, again to them he spoke-- Jesus-- saying,
"I am the light of the world.
The one following me will absolutely never walk in the darkness,
but he will have the light of life."
And here, back in John 9, Jesus proves that he can give, what he claims to give. The man born blind, who walked his whole life in darkness, can now see. Jesus gave him light.
SCENE 2:
With this, we come to scene 2. Jesus has left the scene. Now, we find ourselves hearing a conversation between the man born blind, and his neighbors.
Verses 8-11 set our flannel board for us-- everyone has lots of imperfect verb things to say (on the function of imperfect verbs, see my sermon on John 4):
(8) Then, his neighbors and the ones seeing/observing him-- the one earlier (seeing him), that a beggar he was,-- were saying,
"This man is the one sitting and begging, right?"
(9) Others were saying,
"This man, it is."
Others were saying,
"No,
but like him, he is.
That one was saying that I am [he].
(10) Then, they were saying to him,
"How were your eyes opened?"
When Jesus healed the man born blind, he also did something else at the same time. He created divisions among the man's neighbors. They are uncertain, disagreeing, about what happened. Some think that this man was the one who had been the blind beggar. Some do not. Some just aren't sure, and leave it as a question-- although they think he's probably healed. And the man born blind? He knows the truth. He tells it how it is.
So how were his eyes opened, if that's what happened?
Verse 11:
That one answered,
"The man, the one being called Jesus-- clay, he made,
and he anointed my eyes,
and he said to me,
"Go to Siloam,
and wash."
Then, departing and washing, I received sight."
(12) And they said to him,
"Where is that one?"
He says,
"I don't know."
The most remarkable thing about the man born blind, is the way he consistently tells the truth. He says what he knows, and he says what he doesn't know. Throughout the gospel of John, lots of people have said they "know" the truth about Jesus. Nicodemus, speaking on behalf of the Judeans, "knew" that Jesus was a teacher sent from God (John 3:2). Later, the Judeans think they "knew" who Jesus' father and mother were (John 6:42). They "know" where he is from (John 7:27).
Throughout these verses, the man born blind tells the truth, including when he doesn't know the answer.
First, he insisted that he was the man who used to be the blind beggar. Second, when they asked how he could now see, he told them exactly what happened. Third, when they asked where Jesus was, he said he didn't know.
This is exactly what makes this man a hero in John's gospel. He says what he knows, and when doesn't know, he says that he doesn't know. This method of sticking to the truth will be how he comes to spiritual sight (h/t throughout here, Ed Neufeld).
One last thing from these verses--notice how he describes Jesus. Jesus is a "man."
SCENE 3:
This brings us to scene 3: The man born blind and the Pharisees (John 9:13-17)
(13) They lead him toward the Pharisees-- the one formerly blind.
(14) Now, it was the Sabbath,
on the day the clay, Jesus made,
and he opened his eyes.
(15) Then, again they were asking him-- also the Pharisees-- how he received sight.
Now, he said to them,
"Clay he placed upon my eyes,
and I washed,
and I see."
(16) Then, they were saying, some from the Pharisees,
"This one isn't from God-- the man--
because the Sabbath he doesn't keep.
Others were saying,
"How can a man-- a sinner-- such signs do?,"
and a division, there was among them.
(17) Then, they say to the blind man again,
"What do you say about him,
because he opened your eyes?"
Now, he said that,
"A prophet, he is."
Doctors and healers in Israel were not supposed to heal on the Sabbath. It was supposed to be a day of rest for them. So all of the people who knew the man born blind decide they should bring him to the Pharisees to see what they thought about the healing.
On one level, this maybe seems reasonable. The Pharisees are the logical people to ask, from a human perspective. They are the experts in the Mosaic law. But we know, from last week, that the Pharisees walk in darkness. They've refused to come to Jesus. They call Jesus demonized, and a Samaritan. And Jesus calls them offspring of Satan. So when we hear this, we don't expect it to go well.
Now, when the Pharisees hear this man's story, they respond like the neighbors. There is uncertainty among them. There is division. If Jesus healed the blind man on the Sabbath, there's only two possible choices. (Like a coin flip). Either Jesus is a law-breaking sinner, not from God. Or, he is sent by God. Those who focus more on the Mosaic law think Jesus is a sinner, and those who focus more on the sign think.... what exactly? Notice that this group KNOWS sinners can't do signs like this. But they aren't at a point where they can suggest out loud the possibility that God sent him.
The division among the Pharisees is bad enough they decide to ask the man born blind what he thought. The Pharisees, themselves, need a second opinion.
And what does the man born blind call Jesus here? A "prophet." In scene 2, the man called Jesus a "man." Now, he's decided that Jesus must be from God, and so he must be a prophet. His spiritual sight has grown. He made the same step the Samaritan woman made-- and he's coming closer to Jesus. How has this happened?
He has not been near Jesus since he was healed. But all of this talk about Jesus has forced the man born blind to reflect on what the sign reveals about Jesus. There's only 2 choices, after all. This isn't very complicated. The bottom line for him, is that the only way Jesus could've healed him is if God sent him. So Jesus must be a prophet.
SCENE 4: The Pharisees and the Parents (9:18-23)
(18) Then, the Judeans didn't believe concerning him that he was blind,
and he saw
until they summoned his parents-- of the one who received sight--,
(19) and they asked them, saying,
This man, is he your son,
whom you say that,
"blind he was born"?
Let's go back to the coin flip thing. If the blind man was really healed, there's only 2 options for the Pharisees: Jesus is either a sinner, or Jesus is sent by God. If Jesus is a sinner, it's impossible to explain how he can heal blind people. If Jesus is sent by God, it's impossible to explain why God is okay with him breaking the Sabbath.
So what the Pharisees do is try to figure out a solution to this dilemma. In verse 18, we find that key word again: "believe." Or, better, "trust." The Pharisees here refuse to trust in the sign--refuse to trust Jesus. They refuse to see that there is a sign at all. What they should've asked in verse 19 was, "Is this your son who was born blind?" But instead, they ask, "is this the one you say was born blind?" Perhaps the whole thing is a scam, and the man could always see. Perhaps there is a third option, after all.
Now, notice this: Even before the parents speak, the Pharisees are openly skeptical. They are hardening in their unbelief, and this hardening isn't going to change regardless of what anyone says or does. And this is how people move toward total spiritual blindness.
Verses 20-23:
(20) Then, they answered-- his parents--
and they said,
"We know that this man is our son,
and that blind he was born.
Now, how he now sees, we don't know,
or who opened his eyes, we don't know.
Him, ask.
Maturity, he has.
He for himself will speak.
(22) These things they said-- his parents--
because they were fearing the Judeans.
For already they had decided-- the Judeans--
that if anyone, him, confessed as Christ/Messiah, expelled from the synagogue, he would be.
(23) For this reason his parents said that,
"Maturity, he has.
Him, ask."
When it comes to their son, the parents admit to what they know and what they don't know. They KNOW he is their son; they KNOW he was born blind. However, they won't say what they know about Jesus. They DON'T know how he can see; they DON'T know who opened his eyes. When they say this, it's a very obvious, very bad, lie. They know who opened Jesus' eyes. But they won't confess the truth.
And so AJ tells us, in verses 22-23, what the truth is. The truth is that they did know what happened, but they were scared. They were unwilling to pay the price that comes with openly confessing Jesus as Messiah.
As a parent, I'd like to think that if my kids were threatened or bullied, I would stand up for them. That I would take whatever evil was coming their way, and absorb it for them. It's easy to say that. But his parents are scared. And their fear is keeping them from moving to spiritual sight.
This idea of fearing the Judeans is one of the minor themes in the gospel of John. Let's cheat ahead to John 12:42-43:
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God.
The parents react in the same way to persecution as many of the leaders who believed Jesus was Messiah. If you keep your head down, and your mouth shut, you get to stay within the synagogue and Judaism. All of us have to decide what's important to us: do we want God to praise us for telling people the truth about Jesus, or do we want people to praise us?
Scene 5: Again, the man born blind and the Pharisees (9:24-34)
(24) Then, they called the man a second time-- who was blind --
and they said to him,
"Give glory to God.
We know
that this man, a sinner, he is."
In scene 3, verse 16, the Pharisees were divided about Jesus, about whether or not he was a sinner. Now they are not divided. They have moved toward spiritual blindness. "We know this man Jesus is a sinner." That's a bold line. And they pressure the man to agree. They tell him, "Give glory to God."
This expression, "give glory to God," is an idiom that basically means, "Tell the truth." We find it in Joshua 7:19-21:
19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
20 Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: 21 When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,[c] two hundred shekels[d] of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels,[e] I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
Coming from the Pharisees' mouths, the expression "give glory to God by telling the truth" is super ironic. The Pharisees aren't committed to the truth. They aren't committed to giving glory to God by acknowledging what He's done through Jesus. The only one here who might give glory to God by telling the truth is the man born blind. And how can he do that? By being honest about who Jesus is and what he did for him.
Verse 25:
(25) Then, he answered--that man--
"If a sinner, he is, I don't know.
One thing I know:
that blind, being, now I see.
The man born blind is not a theologian. He doesn't know for sure if Jesus is a sinner or not, and he says that. But he knows he was blind, and now he sees, and he says that to them again. He is confident in the truth that he was blind, and now he can see. He knows what he knows, and he knows what he doesn't know.
Verse 26-29:
(26) Then, they said to him,
"What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?"
(27) He answered them,
"I told you already,
and you didn't hear.
Why again do you want to hear?
You don't also want, his disciples, to become, right?"
(28) They reviled/abused him,
and they said,
"You, a disciple, you are of that one.
Now, we, of Moses, we are disciples.
(29) We know
that to Moses He has spoken-- God.
Now, this one, we don't know from where he is."
Throughout this chapter, the Pharisees have refused to accept the truth, and in fact all they've done is move farther and farther from the truth. But all they've accomplished, is look stupid. And with these words, we've reached peak stupidity. So the man born blind turns sarcastic toward them-- do you also want to become his disciples? Here, the man moves another step closer to spiritual sight, and toward a mature faith in Jesus. He's moved from believing Jesus is a man, to believing he's a prophet, to being someone who follows Jesus as his disciple.
In verses 28-29, we continue to see that the Pharisees' main hang-up with Jesus is that he is rejecting and replacing the Mosaic law and the old covenant. They claim to be Moses' disciples, but that does nothing for them anymore.
And then, in verse 29, the Pharisees officially reject the significance of this sign. The whole point of these signs is to force people to make a decision about whether or not to accept Jesus as sent by God, and then, to give their allegiance to him. Here, they flatly deny all of it: they don't know where Jesus is from. Jesus is doing ridiculous, crazy miracles--and they don't know where he's from.
Verses 30-33:
(30) The man answered,
and he said to them,
"This is remarkable/amazing:
that you don't know from where he is,
and he opened my eyes.
(31) We know that, sinners, God doesn't hear,
but if someone/anyone, God-fearing/devout, he is, and His will he does, this one He hears.
(32) From time immemorial it hasn't been heard
that someone opened the eyes of one born blind.
(33) Unless this man was from God, he wouldn't be able to do anything."
This is a great speech. The man born blind totally kills it here. And he has the courage to go after the feared leaders. He starts off, we know, you and I all know, that God does not listen to sinners. They themselves were using this logic in verse 16. We know that God doesn't listen to sinners. And so, what has happened, can only have one explanation: Jesus is from God.
In verse 25, the man born blind did not know if Jesus was a sinner or not. But by this simple method: always saying what he knows to be true and when he does not know he says he doesn't know, his spiritual sight has jumped again. Now he knows that Jesus isn't a sinner. It's not possible, because he was born blind and Jesus healed him, and God doesn't listen to sinners (h/t Neufeld, again).
Verse 34:
(34) They answered,
and they said to him,
"In sin you were born completely,
and you teach us?,"
and they threw/expelled him outside.
The story began with a question: who sinned? the blind man, or his parents? Here, the Pharisees answer this original question by saying the man born blind was steeped in birth. What this means was that everyone was a sinner-- the man born blind, and his parents. It's not either/or. It's both.
So the Pharisees, who started off kind of, sort of, with some spiritual sight, sort of open to Jesus, have moved here to complete blindness. Who are the sinners in this story? Jesus is. The blind man is. His parents are. The Jewish leaders think all these people are living under God's disapproval, and they are not. And so they throw him out of the synagogue.
Scene 6: The man born blind and Jesus (9:35-39)
(Read 35-36)
(35) He heard-- Jesus--
that they had thrown him outside,
and finding him , he said,
"Do you give allegiance to the Son of Man?"
(36) That one answered,
and he said,
"And who is it, Lord/master/sir,
that I may give allegiance to him?"
Jesus, in kindness, seeks out the man born blind after he's been thrown out of the synagogue. He is the good shepherd, finding his sheep. And then he asks the man, "Do you give your allegiance to the son of Man?"
And the man born blind isn't sure. He's open to doing this, but he doesn't know who Jesus is talking about. He knows what he knows, and knows what he doesn't know. But he is open to learning, and so he says to Jesus, "Tell me so I may trust in him."
Verses 37-38:
(37) He said to him-- Jesus--
And/also you have seen him,
and the one speaking with you, that one, he is.
(38) Now, he said,
"I believe/give allegiance, Lord/Master/Sir,"
and he worshipped him,
"Worship" is a God act. People don't worship each other. People worship gods. Judeans would say they worship the one true God.
Here, the man born blind worships Jesus. His spiritual sight has increased so far that he has some sense that Jesus is not just a man, not just a prophet, or a healer, but God himself. So when Jesus says, "you have now seen him," we need to think about what exactly Jesus means. On one level, this is the first time the blind man has actually physically seen Jesus. But I'm not sure that's really what Jesus means. What Jesus means is that the blind man now has spiritual sight--he understands who Jesus is. And if we really understand who Jesus is, our immediate response should be that of the man born blind: we give him our allegiance, and we worship Jesus.
(Read verse 39)
(39) and he said-- Jesus--
"For judgment I into this world have come,
in order that the ones not seeing would see,
and the ones seeing, blind, would become."
This verse is a little confusing, and part of my ongoing confusion in the book. Jesus did not himself come to judge the world, but to save it. However, that doesn't mean there's no judgment involved in Jesus' ministry. Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into the world."
I think the way to understand this verse is to look back first to John 3:19-21.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. 3:19-21
So Jesus is the light. And some people, like the man born blind, live by the truth, accept the truth, and come to Jesus. Others, like the Pharisees, hate the light because it exposes their wickedness, and so they turn back to the darkness. The end result is that people basically place themselves into two groups based on how they respond to Jesus. You either come to the light, or return to the darkness.
From here, we can then turn to John 12:44-50.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” 12:47-50
So people basically place themselves in one of two camps--the light, or the darkness--based on how they respond to Jesus. And how they respond will be the basis for God's final judgment. Those who reject Jesus and choose not to give allegiance to him will be condemned. Those who accept and obey Jesus' words receive eternal life.
Let's pick back up again, starting at verse 39:
(39) and he said-- Jesus--
"For judgment I into this world have come,
in order that the ones not seeing would see,
and the ones seeing, blind, would become."
(40) Some from the Pharisees heard these things-- the ones with him being--
and they said to him,
"Not also we, blind, we are, right?"
The Pharisees realize Jesus is talking about them and ask, "What, are we blind too?" The obvious answer would have been, "yes, you are blind." But Jesus was kinder than that, and showed them a way out.
Verse 41:
(41) He said to them-- Jesus--
"If blind, you were, you wouldn't have sin.
Now, [because] you say now that 'we see,' your sin abides."
This is a little confusing. Basically, Jesus says, "You claim you can see. You think you know the truth about God, about me, and about what we are doing. All of this wouldn't be sin, and wouldn't lead to judgment, except that you aren't open to seeing something new, and allowing for the possibility that God works through me."
The one main sin they are committing, is refusing to give their allegiance to Jesus. And this refusal, has made them more and more blind, and pushed them farther and farther into darkness.
When we think about the blind man, at the start of the story there were a lot of things he didn't know. The leaders had a bit of that at the start, they were unsure about Jesus, but then they get rid of that uncertainty. When Jesus says, "now that you claim you see," what he means is that they need to start over and go back to the beginning of the story where they weren't sure what they were seeing. Go back to the place where they were more honest, and didn't know what to think of him. Know what you know, and know what you don't know. But be open to the truth.
When we think about how to apply John 9, John very deliberately holds up the man born blind as an example for us to follow. All of us have different levels of spiritual sight, and that's ok, for now. What God wants us to do is continue coming to the light, to Jesus. We need to be truthful about what we know about Jesus--honest with ourselves, and honest to others.
Hopefully, eventually, you will come to know the truth. Jesus is the Messiah, sent by God. And since that is the truth, we need to respond with allegiance and obedience. The man born blind is a perfect example of this. He responded exactly right--he trusted and obeyed Jesus, and it cost him everything. But by coming to the light, to Jesus, he came to God, who gives eternal life. Contrast this with his parents, who knew the same truth the man born blind did--and yet they chose people's praise over God's.
The other thing this story makes me think about is evangelism. 3 things, specifically.
First, the Pharisees told the man born blind to give glory to God by telling the truth. When we tell others about Jesus, we give glory to God. Maybe if we thought about evangelism this way, we'd be more motivated to tell people about Jesus. Every time we speak the truth about Jesus, we glorify God.
Second, we tend to think of evangelism as an all-or-nothing thing--people either accept or don't--but this story reminds us that spiritual sight is often a process. People are drawn to the light--they see the truthfulness of the gospel and of Christ--but this can be a process. Sometimes when we continue speaking the truth, over time, people will slowly come to faith. So when you share the good news, and people don't immediately pray the sinner's prayer and get baptized, don't get discouraged. And if you find yourself meeting resistance at a certain point, don't feel like you have to push them, in that one moment, to make a final decision. What you should be looking for, and seeking, is progress. Use discernment to see people becoming more open to the truth. For me, honestly, one of the most obvious ways I see this, is when people stop swearing around me. I've never asked for that. I'm not offended by it. I don't expect people who aren't Jesus' disciples to use pure speech. But I've seen that happen in multiple people, as they've come closer to Jesus.
Third, notice how this entire process started. How did the man born blind, receive spiritual sight?
It didn't happen through friendship evangelism. It happened through a sign-- through a miraculous healing.
When people see God's power at work in us, and through us, that forces them to make a decision about who Jesus is. When you command healing in Jesus' name, and their bodies suddenly heal-- scratched corneas, sprained ankles, cracked ribs, bad headaches-- people find themselves confronted with God, and God's power. You are doing the works of God, that God gave you to do. And there is no logical, earthly, human explanation for what they just experienced.
Now, signs and wonders are no guarantee that people will give their allegiance to Jesus. And they aren't enough, by themselves. You still need the words. They need to hear the good news, that matches what they've seen of the good news. But what signs and wonders do, is open the door. They often start people on the journey of faith toward Jesus.
The way that we are evangelizing, as a church, isn't working. Whatever we are doing, isn't nearly enough. And we need to be honest about that. Most of this city has not come to Jesus. They are not in church. They're lost, living in darkness. Friendship evangelism isn't doing enough. Big, expensive outreaches aren't doing enough. Nothing is really working. Most people are making no progress. They are coming no closer to Jesus.
What this city needs, are demonstrations of God's power. It needs us to do the works of God, while it is still day.
I'd like to close today by reading from Romans 15, where Paul talks about his own approach to evangelism (NRSV, for no reason):
14 I myself feel confident about you, my brothers and sisters,[b] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. 15 Nevertheless on some points I have written to you rather boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast of my work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished[c] through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed, 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by(/through) the power of the Spirit of God,[d] so that from Jerusalem and as far around as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the good news[e] of Christ.
The "full" proclamation about Jesus, is a proclamation of word and deed. It's a message of power, done through the power of the Holy Spirit, done as Jesus works through you.
If we resist this, and resist the Holy Spirit in this, the most likely outcome is that we will never accomplish much of anything. And I'm tired of this happening.
Translation:
(1) And, going away, he saw a man blind from birth,
(2) and they asked him-- his disciples-- saying,
"Rabbi, who sinned?
This man, or his parents?"
(3) He answered-- Jesus--
"Neither this man sinned, nor his parents. (Period.)
But in order that they would be revealed-- the works of God in/through him, (Comma) we must work the works of the One Sending me, while day, it is."
Night is coming,
when no one can work.
While in the world, I am, the light I am of the world.
(6) These things saying, he spat on the ground,
and he made clay from the saliva,
and he anointed the clay on his eyes,
and he said to him,
"Go. Wash in the pool of Siloam,
which is translated "Sent."
(7) Then, he left,
and he washed,
and he came (back) seeing.
(8) Then, his neighbors and the ones seeing/observing him-- the one earlier (seeing him), that a beggar he was,-- were saying,
"This man is the one sitting and begging, right?"
(9) Others were saying,
"This man, it is."
Others were saying,
"No,
but like him, he is.
That one was saying that I am [he].
(10) Then, they were saying to him,
"How were your eyes opened?"
That one answered,
"The man, the one being called Jesus-- clay, he made,
and he anointed my eyes,
and he said to me,
"Go to Siloam,
and wash."
Then, departing and washing, I received sight."
(12) And they said to him,
"Where is that one?"
He says,
"I don't know."
(13) They lead him toward the Pharisees-- the one formerly blind.
(14) Now, it was the Sabbath,
on the day the clay, Jesus made,
and he opened his eyes.
(15) Then, again they were asking him-- also the Pharisees-- how he received sight.
Now, he said to them,
"Clay he placed upon my eyes,
and I washed,
and I see."
(16) Then, they were saying, some from the Pharisees,
"This one isn't from God-- the man--
because the Sabbath he doesn't keep.
Others were saying,
"How can a man-- a sinner-- such signs do?,"
and a division, there was among them.
(17) Then, they say to the blind man again,
"What do you say about him,
because he opened your eyes?"
Now, he said that,
"A prophet, he is."
(18) Then, the Judeans didn't believe concerning him that he was blind,
and he saw
until they summoned his parents-- of the one who received sight--,
(19) and they asked them, saying,
This man, is he your son,
whom you say that,
"blind he was born"?
(20) Then, they answered-- his parents--
and they said,
"We know that this man is our son,
and that blind he was born.
Now, how he now sees, we don't know,
or who opened his eyes, we don't know.
Him, ask.
Maturity, he has.
He for himself will speak.
(22) These things they said-- his parents--
because they were fearing the Judeans.
For already they had decided-- the Judeans--
that if anyone, him, confessed as Christ/Messiah, expelled from the synagogue, he would be.
(23) For this reason his parents said that,
"Maturity, he has.
Him, ask."
(24) Then, they called the man a second time-- who was blind --
and they said to him,
"Give glory to God.
We know
that this man, a sinner, he is."
(25) Then, he answered--that man--
"If a sinner, he is, I don't know.
One thing I know:
that blind, being, now I see.
(26) Then, they said to him,
"What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?"
(27) He answered them,
"I told you already,
and you didn't hear.
Why again do you want to hear?
You don't also want, his disciples, to become, right?"
(28) They reviled/abused him,
and they said,
"You, a disciple, you are of that one.
Now, we, of Moses, we are disciples.
(29) We know
that to Moses He has spoken-- God.
Now, this one, we don't know from where he is."
(30) The man answered,
and he said to them,
"This is remarkable/amazing:
that you don't know from where he is,
and he opened my eyes.
(31) We know that, sinners, God doesn't hear,
but if someone/anyone, God-fearing/devout, he is, and His will he does, this one He hears.
(32) From time immemorial it hasn't been heard
that someone opened the eyes of one born blind.
(33) Unless this man was from God, he wouldn't be able to do anything."
(34) They answered,
and they said to him,
"In sin you were born completely,
and you teach us?,"
and they threw/expelled him outside.
(35) He heard-- Jesus--
that they had thrown him outside,
and finding him , he said,
"Do you give allegiance to the Son of Man?"
(36) That one answered,
and he said,
"And who is it, Lord/master/sir,
that I may give allegiance to him?"
(37) He said to him-- Jesus--
And/also you have seen him,
and the one speaking with you, that one, he is.
(38) Now, he said,
"I believe/give allegiance, Lord/Master/Sir,"
and he worshipped him,
(39) and he said-- Jesus--
"For judgment I into this world have come,
in order that the ones not seeing would see,
and the ones seeing, blind, would become."
(40) Some from the Pharisees heard these things-- the ones with him being--
and they said to him,
"Not also we, blind, we are, right?"
(41) He said to them-- Jesus--
"If blind, you were, you wouldn't have sin.
Now, [because] you say now that 'we see,' your sin abides."
