“Jesus’ Encounter with a Blind Man”
Introduction:
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see
I believe that a person can suffer from blindness and still have 20/20 vision. I believe that person can see thing around them very well and still be blind. The blindness I am talking about is not physical blindness, but spiritual blindness. I believe that I am speaking to a crowd of people who either have been blinded before and now can see, or people who are still spiritually blind. The greatest desire of a person that is blind is the restoration of their sight.
I think of what beauty they are missing because they cannot see. They miss seeing the beautiful mountains; they miss the sunrises and sunsets. They miss the rivers, lakes and oceans. They miss the smiling faces of people made is God’s image. I believe that if I was blind I would want more than anything in the world to be able to see.
In Jesus’ life here on Earth here recognized that there were a lot of blind people in the world. By that he did not mean physical blindness, but spiritual. He called the Pharisees blind guides, and spoke about spiritual blindness numerous times.
One of my favorite stories in the Bible is the story of Jesus with the Blind man. It is clear that this man was suffering from blindness, and the restoration that Jesus brought to him was physical and spiritual.
I picture the blind man sitting at the temple begging for money and food. The temple was a common place for beggars to assemble since they could not work. This man probably was at the temple day in and day out. He probably heard the voice of Jesus regularly and knew that he was a great teacher and prophet sent from God. He would have recognized immediately that Jesus was near him by the familiar sound of his voice. Although this man could not see Jesus, he could see that there was something special about this man who was standing before him. In this man’s presence Jesus did something very unique. Jesus spit on the ground and made some mud and then rubbed it on this blind man’s eyes. I don’t know about you, but if someone came to me and put some mud in my eyes that was made with spit it would not be a pretty sight. Along with that Jesus brought him a command. He told him to go and to wash in the Pool of Siloam and he would be able to see. He would have gone out from the temple and gone south to that pool where Jesus told him to wash.
Jesus during this encounter was teaching us all how to receive our sight from the way in which a real blind man received his sight. I do not think Jesus’ lesson was on physical blindness, but on spiritual from which we all suffer and need to be healed. There is a way for you to see. I hope that we all want out eyes opened and to be able to see in a different way.
Text: John 9:1-15
How to receive your sight…
I. Obedience
When Jesus told the blind man that his sight could be restored it depended on his obedience to what Jesus told him. Jesus gave specific instructions on how the man can receive back his sight. Since the man obeyed he was able to see.
There is a similar story in II Kings 5 of a man named Naaman. Naaman was an army general in times of the prophet Elisha. He came down with leprosy, which would have destroyed his flesh. Naaman was sent to the great prophet to be healed, and Elisha told him what he must do if he wanted to be restored. He told him to go and wash seven times in the Jordan River. Naaman did not understand why he had to wash in the Jordan. He wanted to get around the command of the prophet. He thought that washing in two other rivers in Damascus would be alright, but those rivers would not heal him because the command of the Lord was specific and it was to wash in the Jordan. There was nothing more special about the Jordan, there were no magical waters there, but it was what the Lord commanded. When Naaman washed seven times in the river he was healed. Six times washing was close, but he was not healed after seven.
When the Lord gives a specific command he expects us to obey it if we want the rewards of that command. Close is not close enough when obeying the Lord.
Joshua was told to march his armies around the city of Jericho one time each day for six days, then on the seventh day to march seven times around Jericho. After they obeyed the Lord the walls fell down and the city was conquered. Why didn’t the walls fall down after their sixth time around the city? They were close, weren’t they? God gave a specific command and in order to receive the reward they had to fully obey, close is not close enough.
It seems that many people today feel that close is sloe enough for the Lord. They feel like they can dictate to themselves which commands of scripture they can obey in order to be saved. Usually people say that they believe in God, and they have confessed him as Lord and Christ, but will not be baptized. They usually say they could not see God punishing them eternally because they did not obey one command of scripture. Close is not close enough. If the Bible says in order to be forgiven of your sins, you must believe, confess, repent and be baptized then the Bible means it. If you leave any one out you have missed what God had commanded.
The man born blind was told to go and was in the pool of Siloam in order to receive his sight. There was a specific command, and he obeyed it and was rewarded with the promise because he did.
We were all at one time spiritually blind and they way in which we can see is by being obedient to the commands that the scripture give us. The Bible says that in order to receive your sight you must:
1) Believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him
2) Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and Christ
3) Repent of your sins, which is a change for the better
4) Be Baptized in water for the forgiveness of sins and gift of the Holy Spirit
After that then you are able to see. Those that are spiritually blind won’t be able to physically see heaven.
John 9:7
After the blind man washed he could see, after we wash spiritually we too can see and our blindness is healed.
II. Change
When the blind man received his sight he was a changed man. He changed so much that people did not recognize him.
John 9:8-9; 18
The Pharisees were so convinced this was not the same man that they went and got his parents to see if they could identify him.
The reason that they did not recognize him was because of the great changes that too place in his life.
When I first became a Christian everybody was appalled that I had changed so dramatically. Although I looked myself on the outside people could hardly recognize me because of the change in the way in which I lived.
When Saul of Tarsus the great persecutor of the church and Pharisee was converted, people stood appalled saying, “this man is now preaching the faith that he once tried to destroy”. People did not recognize Saul because of the great changes that took place in his life. He went from being a persecutor to a preacher.
When we come to Jesus there has to be great changes in our lives, so much that people may not be able to recognize who we are or that they are appalled at the changes in our lives. It seems that many people when they become Christians never change at all, they want the rewards of being a Christian but don’t want to sacrifice things in the world. They don’t want to sacrifice the jokes that they tell and laugh at, they don’t want to sacrifice the people they hang around or the language that they use, they don’t want to sacrifice the things that watch and listen to. When we become Christians we should change and those things of the world should not appeal to us any longer.
The question I want you to consider is, “have you changed your lifestyle?” If you have not changed it is time to let the gospel change your life and the way you live.
Perhaps today you are spiritually blind and want to see. If you do want to see then you must obey the gospel and change your life. Perhaps there is something you need to change in your life today. There is always something that we can change in our lives and should be asking ourselves regularly, “What can we do to be more like Christ?”
When the blind man encountered Jesus he was a changed man, so much so that people could not recognize him. He was not only changed physically, but he was changed spiritually. Not only was he blind physically, but he was blind spiritually. He was healed physically and spiritually. He was impacted by Jesus and changed by the powers that come from Him. He was so impacted that he immediately believed when Jesus told him that he was the Son of God.
Are you blind today? Do you want to see? If you do then you must change your life and surrender it to Jesus.
Colossians 3:1-4
Since we are Christians and have obeyed the Lord we must keep our minds on things above and not on things below. We must be changed because we are in Christ.
Colossians 3:5-10
At one time all of us lived in sin and apart from Jesus Christ, but now that we are in Christ we are different. Why would you want to live in the way in which you used to? Why would you want to participate willingly in the things that sent Jesus to the cross? If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation the old has gone and the new has come. We are truly different if we are in Christ. Have you actually given up the sins that used to be so prevalent in your life? If not repent and change how you are living.
Colossians 3:12-17
I hope that your life is changed now that you are in Christ. If it is not changed then it is never too late to change, give up those sins that you used to commit and change how you live.
III. Worship
John 9:35-38
The response of the blind man after he was made to see physically and spiritually was to worship Jesus. It was almost an automatic and immediate response.
When people come in contact with Jesus and realize that he is the Lord and Savior of the World they want to worship him.
Within humans I believe is a natural desire to worship. Every culture has had something that they worshipped. The Egyptians worshipped the Nile River alone with many other gods. The Indians worshipped all sorts of animals. The Greeks and the Romans has all sorts of mythological gods. The Muslims have Allah, the Buddhists have Buddha, and the Hindus have many gods. Within humans is a natural god given desire to worship.
I do believe that when people come to the realization that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God their immediate desire is to worship him.
When Thomas felt the holes in Jesus’ hands and side, he fell down and worshipped him and cried, “My Lord and my God”. Peter’s desire at the Transfiguration was to build an altar and worship Jesus. The woman at the well wanted to know about true worship, and Jesus told her that true worshippers worship in spirit and in truth. When people learn the truth about Jesus they have a strong desire to worship. That is why when the blind man heard Jesus say that he was the Son of God that he fell down and worshipped him.
How did you respond when you first heard that Jesus was the Savior of the World? Did you respond in obedience? Did you have an immediate desire to worship Jesus?
I do not understand how everyone wants to claim eternal life and to claim the forgiveness of sins that Jesus offers, but yet they do not want to worship him.
If you have been forgiven of your sins and have accepted Jesus as Lord, where else would you rather be Sunday morning then publicly worshipping Jesus the Savior? Why is it that so many people find other things important besides worship on Sunday morning? As far as I can see that is an automatic expression of our faith and when a person would rather be somewhere else than worshipping Jesus it shows that a person’s faith is shallow.
Jack and Freda sent me this email, called “No Excuse Sunday”, I think it is something that Oak Grove should implement.
To make it possible for everyone to attend church next Sunday, we are
going to have a special "No Excuse Sunday".
Cots will be placed in the foyer for those who say, "Sunday is my only
day to sleep in."
There will be a special section with lounge chairs who feel that our pews
are too hard.
Eye drops will be available for those with tired eyes from watching T.V.
late Saturday night.
We will have steel helmets for those who say " The roof would cave in if
I ever came to church."
Blankets will be furnished for those who think the church is too cold,and
fans for those who say it is too hot.
Score cards will be available for those who wish to list the hypocrites
present.
Relatives and friends will be in attendance for those who can’t go to
church and cook dinner, too.
We will distribute "Stamp Out Stewardship" buttons for those who feel
that church is always asking for money.
One section will be devoted to trees and grass for those who like to seek
God in nature.
Doctors and nurses will be in attendance for those who plan to be sick on
Sunday.
The sanctuary will be decorated with both Christmas poinsettias and
Easter lilies for those who never have seen the church without them.
We will provide hearing aids for those who can’t hear the preacher and
cotton for those who say he is too loud.
The truth of the matter is that worship is more than coming together and singing a few songs once a week. Worship is a daily lifestyle. Worship is not just bowing down and claiming something or someone is God, worship is living daily that belief with conviction.
Romans 12:1
Do you live a life of worship? If you have been healed of your blindness you should want to worship Jesus the healer.
Conclusion:
John 9:39-41
Perhaps there is someone here who is blind spiritually and wants to be able to see. When you get your spiritual vision hopefully you will see the world in a whole new way. Hopefully you want your vision restored and want to be able to see.
I wonder how this blind man lived after he saw Jesus? I wonder what happened to him after Jesus left Jerusalem. I would imagine that he stayed in Jerusalem for a while. I would bet that he was in Jerusalem when Jesus came into the city a week before his death. Perhaps he was one of the people laying palm leaves down as Jesus entered the city. I believe that he was in Jerusalem when Jesus was whipped and crucified. The Blind Man may have seen the rise Christ.
I believe that the Blind man was in Jerusalem for a while after Jesus rose from the dead. I have no doubt that the Blind man was in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. All the Jews from around the world would have traveled to Jerusalem to be there for that special Jewish holiday. I bet he heard Peter preach about Jesus and the forgiveness of sins. When Peter told the people to Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins, I bet he was one of the 3,000 to come and to be baptized. The man probably has his sight back for about a year since he encountered Jesus, I picture him coming up out of the water and saying, “I see, I see”. Shortly after his physical sight was restored, his spiritual sight was restored. Do you too want to be able to see?
Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found
Was blind, but now I see
