It Took a Miracle:
TO REVEAL THE LIGHT 08/24/97a BBC
John 9:1-41
Throughout his Gospel John used the symbolism of blindness to reveal man’s greatest need: Salavation. John used not only the contrasting symbols of Blindness and Sight to reveal man’s condition apart from Christ and united with Christ, but he also used the symbols of Darkness and Light, and Night and Day to illustrate the same thought. Each are found in the passage this morning.
Jesus Christ was always concerned about man’s physical needs, but even more concerned about man’s spiritual needs.
I. JESUS CHRIST REVEALS HIMSELF AS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (9:1-7)
A. Only Jesus can give light to the Physically Blind
Blindness is simply the inability to see. In the physical sense, blindness is the inability of your eye to create a visible image of an object and relay that image to the brain. Physical blindness is a terrible malady. To be robbed of the opportunity to see the face of a precious loved one, or not have the opportunity to witness the softness of a sunrise or the magnificance of a painted sunset; or to never be able to view the way of a mother hen with her chicks must be a terrible thing. To be born blind would only compound the tragedy as one would never have the images stored within the files of their mind. Yet many face this delimma each and every day.
Yet, as tragic as physical blindness must seem, Spiritual blindness is even more devasting with eternal effects.
B. Only Jesus can give light to the Spiritually Blind
As stated earlier, blindness is the inability to see. But in a spiritual sense blindness is the inability to see(or to understand) the things of God.
Spiritual Blindness inhibits one from nderstanding....
1) the Person of God
His Eternality (He never has had a beginning or an ending)
His Power (to create the universe from nothing)
His Holiness
His Sovereignty
His Love
2) the Position of Man
In relationship with the Creation
In relationship with Others
In relationship with God
3) the Plan of Salvation
But one may ask, “How does one become spiritually blind?”
Since football season is right around the corner let me try to explain it this way. I once heard a story about a young football player who finally was going to be able to start his first game at offensive tackle. Even with all the excitement surrounding his first starting assignment deep inside he was scared to death. He was nervous about carrying out his blocking assignments, but what even compounded his nervousness was that he was to play across the line from the biggest, baddest defensive lineman in the conference. Well game day finally came and nervously he ran onto to the field. The very first play his fears became reality when that big bad monster came across the line of scrimmage and hit him like he had never been hit before. When he came to his senses he jumped up and began running to the bench screaming “I’m blind, I’m blind. Somebody help me, I’m blind.” About that time his coach caught him, grabbed him by the face mask of his helmet and said “Son, you’re not blind. He just hit you so hard that he turned your helmet around.”
His vision had beehindered by the covering of the back of a helmet and until his coach removed that covering by turning his helmet around he was in a sense blind.
Sin does the same thing to use in a spiritual way. Every person is born a sinner and sin places a covering over our spiritual eyes so that we cannot understand anything spiritually. Jesus, and Jesus alone can remove that cloak of sin from our eyes and until He does we all remain spiritually blind.
II. PEOPLE RESPOND DIFFERENTLY TO THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
A. Some Receive the Light
the Blind Man Received the Light
Some of the Pharisees Received the Light
B. Some Reject the Light
(John 1:4-5) 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
People reject the Light due to...
Indecisiveness (9:8-13)
they want someone else to make their decisions
Legalism (9:14-18)
Fear (9:19-23)
fear man more than they fear God
fear changes in their lifestyle
Closed-Mindedness (9:24-27)
they have made up their mind and nothing is going to change it
Prejudice (9:28)
God can only work through their class of people
Self-righteousness (9:34)
I don’t need the light because I can already see
III. MAN WILL BE JUDGED ACCORDING TO HIS RESPONSE TO THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD (9:39-41)
