WILLING TO SEE
John 9:1-41
S: Belief
Th: Spiritual blindness
Pr: WE MUST FACE THE DARKNESS IN ORDER TO SEE.
?: Inductive
KW: Phases
TS: In the study of the man born blind found in John 9:1-41, we will find seven phases that will aid us in understanding spiritual blindness.
The _____ phase is…
I. RATIONALE (1-5)
II. RESTORATION (6-7)
III. RESEARCH – PART 1 (8-12)
IV. RESEARCH – PART 2 (13-17)
V. RESEARCH – PART 3 (18-23)
VI. RESEARCH – PART 4 (24-34)
VII. REVELATION (35-41)
Version: ESV
RMBC 08 Jun 03 AM
INTRODUCTION:
ILL Notebook: Light (banana)
Two men were riding on a train for the first time. They brought bananas for lunch. Just as one of them bit into his banana, the train entered a tunnel.
First man: Did you take a bite of your banana?
Second man: No.
First man: Well, don’t. I did and I went blind!
1. Have you ever struggled to see?
Some of you have may have experienced temporary blindness.
And speaking from experience, I can tell you that it is frightening.
One time, when I was recovering from a concussion, I regained consciousness, but not my sight.
And what a process it is…to go from darkness, to shadows, to light, to shapes…
In today’s study, we are going to discuss people that had trouble seeing.
But these people who were struggling, it was not an issue of physical sight.
Rather, it was a spiritual one.
They were not able to see the One that claimed to be the Light of the world.
You see…
2. When Jesus established Himself as the light of the world, He did so with evidence.
The purpose of the gospel of John is so that we will believe in Jesus.
John, as the author, repeatedly makes this clear to us.
And he presents to us evidence that we are to consider and examine.
One aspect of this evidence was the miracles.
Whether it was changing water into wine, walking on water or feeding over 5,000 people, each miracle pointed to the supernatural and heavenly origin of Jesus.
Miracles were his credentials.
And when they are given proper consideration, they point the examiner to the deity of Jesus.
Today’s study brings more evidence.
It is a story about a man that is born blind who really gets to see.
So…
3. In the study of the man born blind found in John 9:1-41, we will find seven phases that will aid us in understanding spiritual blindness.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first phase is RATIONALE (1-5).
[1] As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. [2] And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” [3] Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. [4] We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. [5] As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
It is interesting to note that the disciples do the same thing many of us do when we are confronted with a disabled person.
We ignore them.
And though Jesus has deliberately seen him, they, instead, want to enter into an abstract discussion.
What they communicate to Jesus is the popular premise of the day.
The man was born blind because of sin.
But whose sin?
The lesson we find here is that sin is not the issue.
Instead the issue is…
We are to do good while there is opportunity.
In a sense, the blindness is a blessing.
I know that doesn’t make sense on the surface.
And to the blind man, it initially does not make any sense at all.
Nevertheless, this blindness was an opportunity for the demonstration of the power of God.
It was a demonstration that was both physical and spiritual.
But before that happens, Jesus wants us to understand that He has a mission to fulfill.
His mission is to do the works of the Father, to do what the Father wants.
And in the process, to do so, He must be the light to the world.
He will love God and love others into the kingdom.
He will do good as long as there is time.
II. The second phase is RESTORATION (6-7).
[6] Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud [7] and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
We find here that…
The touch of Jesus is effective.
One thing that we find in the gospels is that the Lord varies His methods when it comes to healing.
The application is obvious.
People have the tendency to focus on the method in which the healing takes place and miss the message entirely.
So Jesus never does it the same way twice so that the larger message won’t be missed.
What is interesting is that Jesus makes the mud, gives the instructions and disappears.
So, the man is alone.
He does what Jesus says.
He goes to the pool of Siloam.
He washes.
And He sees.
Can you imagine what this was like?
He begins to see light.
He sees his own reflection in the pool.
He sees other people.
And he knows the touch of Jesus on his life is effective.
He sees.
III. The third phase is RESEARCH – PART 1 (8-12).
[8] The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” [9] Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” [10] So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” [11] He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” [12] They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
When God brings change in people, there is an identity issue.
The whole neighborhood is in an uproar.
For whatever reason, they don’t seem to believe it.
Is this the same guy?
It can’t be.
It is impossible.
What is ironic is that the neighbors should have been rejoicing.
But for whatever reason, they are determined to have an explanation.
People just don’t change.
They are getting all the ducks in a row.
So right now, this is not making sense.
So this brings us to…
IV. The fourth phase is RESEARCH – PART 2 (13-17).
[13] They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. [14] Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. [15] So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” [16] Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. [17] So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
Now the neighborhood brings the man to the Pharisees.
After all, this is so big that there has to be some kind official word on it.
So the former blind man gives the report again.
But instead of focusing on the wonder of the healing, they are focused when it occurred.
Since Jesus mixed mud and anointed the eyes, and did this on the Sabbath, according to the tradition of the Pharisees, this was work.
So, they condemn Him as a sinner.
You see…
Identity is also an issue for Jesus.
These leaders have a problem.
They don’t agree about who Jesus is.
There is a division among themselves.
They are in a deadlock.
So they ask the former blind man about what he thinks.
Are they ever stuck or what?
They have already made the case that God doesn’t listen to sinners.
You see, they have taught people well.
Note the following Scriptures:
Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
Proverbs 15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
So, the former blind man easily concludes that God obviously listened to Jesus.
It is blatantly clear.
Moses, Elijah, and Elisha performed many miracles.
They were men of God who did wonderful things by the power of God.
So it is only logical to have the same conclusion.
He is a prophet.
Obviously, this was not a conclusion the Jewish leaders were satisfied with, so now we come to…
V. The fifth phase is RESEARCH – PART 3 (18-23).
[18] The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight [19] and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” [20] His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. [21] But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” [22] (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) [23] Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Here we learn that…
When you are being intimidated, it is easy to “pass the buck.”
The Jewish leaders now turn to the parents, who are clearly frightened by their questioning.
They testify to the truth about the blindness, but they are beating around the bush.
They fear excommunication.
They do not want to be expelled from the community life that centered at the temple and they believe the leaders will do it.
This is a sad time for them.
They should be rejoicing over their son’s healing.
But there is no joy.
There is no excitement.
Instead they are left to dissociate themselves from their own son.
All because the Jewish leaders will not face the truth.
So, now we come to…
VI. The sixth phase is RESEARCH – PART 4 (24-34).
[24] So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” [25] He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” [26] They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” [27] He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” [28] And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. [29] We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” [30] The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. [31] We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. [32] Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. [33] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” [34] They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
When you know the truth, don’t get talked out of it.
When you know the truth, speak about it openly.
This is exactly what the son does.
And we discover that he is made of sturdier stuff than his parents.
He answers them boldly, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
He could now see and nothing could change that.
You have to admire his boldness.
He fearlessly stood his ground, and then adds a touch of sarcasm.
Do you want to believe too?
The former blind man does not give in to the pressure.
He will not distort the story.
He will not deny what has happened.
And as a result, he shows the Pharisees how foolish their thinking was.
The simple-hearted believer knows more spiritual truth than the educated theologians
Nevertheless, as far as the Jewish leaders were concerned, the verdict is in.
They believe Jesus committed a crime, but there is a problem.
They can’t pin it down.
But they do what they can!
They cast the son out of the temple.
He is excommunicated.
Now, we come to…
VII. The seventh phase is REVELATION (35-41).
[35] Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” [36] He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” [37] Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” [38] He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. [39] Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” [40] Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” [41] Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”
The former blind man has not been out of the mind of the Savior.
The Jews may have cast him out, but Jesus takes him in.
The Jews cast him out of the temple, but the Lord of the temple found him and proves what Jesus will say in the very near future, “My sheep hear my voice.”
This man is both willing and ready to believe.
And when he is faced with the full truth about who Jesus was, he not only does he trust, he worships Him.
But the lessons are not over for us at this point.
For we must learn that…
We can be blind to the truth when we don’t face our pride.
Some of the Pharisees were concerned that Jesus was referring to them as blind.
Jesus lets them know that if you claim to see, then you are guilty.
And they did know what was going on.
Jesus had performed many miracles and yet they ignored the evidence to make the right decision.
Their pride was keeping them from the truth.
ILL Notebook: Disbelief (Aristotle)
For centuries people believed that Aristotle was right when he said that the heavier an object, the faster it would fall to earth. Aristotle was regarded as the greatest thinker of all time, and surely he would not be wrong. Anyone, of course, could have taken two objects, one heavy and one light, and dropped them from a great height to see whether or not the heavier object landed first. But no one did until nearly 2,000 years after Aristotle’s death.
In 1589, Galileo summoned learned professors to the base of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Then he went to the top and pushed off a ten-pound and a one-pound weight. Both landed at the same instant. The power of belief was so strong, however, that the professors denied their eyesight. They continued to say Aristotle was right.
It is amazing how one can look truth in the face and still deny it.
There is an old proverb that says, “There is none so blind as he who will not see.”
APPLICATION:
But there is a way to see the truth.
It is this…
WE MUST FACE THE DARKNESS IN ORDER TO SEE.
Interestingly, the text demonstrates to us that the blind sinner receives the truth and sees.
And it shows us that when you know you are blind, you are the kind to whom Jesus can give sight.
When you can recognize your own darkness, it is then Jesus can be light.
When you know how deeply infected you are with sin, it is then you realize the need of a Savior.
The trouble is that we too easily allow evil to spread unrestricted in our souls.
And as a result, our minds get made up.
We reject the truth and become even blinder spiritually.
We must recognize that each of us has blind spots.
We are susceptible to not seeing what God is doing.
So we must avoid becoming an authority to ourselves.
When we believe the truth to be whatever we think and say the truth is, it is then the darkness has overtaken us.
Charles Spurgeon once said…
“It is not our littleness that hinders Christ; but our bigness. It is not our weakness that hinders Christ; it is our strength. It is not our darkness that hinders Christ; it is our supposed light that holds back his hand.”
Are you willing to see?
Do you want to be open to the truth?
Then recognize that which keeps us from seeing.
It is the darkness of our own hearts.
For when we get that right, then God can do His work in us, and we will know the truth.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Face the darkness…face the darkness in your life so that you know your real need – a Savior; and when you discover this, you will know a Savior that loves you, desires you and will always perfectly work for your good.
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
