The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

"The Good, The Bad & The Ugly"

John 9:1-41

Introduction

• Our church has a mission statement, which states that "We are committed to be a Great Commission, holiness, evangelistic, compassionate, loving and inclusive congregation!"

• This is powerful Mission Statement! This is why this church will continue to be blessed. Ever since I got here I’ve always felt accepted and received with warm hearts. Everyone has been friendly and patient with me was I’ve struggle through some physical difficulties.

• The mission of this church is very intentional, very specific and we always should keep our minds and hearts focused on this mission if we are to be apart of this body. As a result, we need to ask ourselves, how can we or more specifically how can I be apart of this church and fulfill the mission of this congregation as we serve God together.

Jesus: The Light (9:1-7a)

91 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" 3 "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."(Key Center & Paragraph Point) 6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

Exegesis:

• The Bad: People who were born with physical ailments where blamed on sin that the parents committed either directly or indirectly. As a result, the deaf, blind and mentally challenged and all who had some form of deformity were considered rejects because they were associated with sin or a result of evil in the world. They were considered the lowest of the low in society. So here we have "the bad" in the eyes of the world: The Blind Man. But Jesus declared that this man’s blindness was not a result of sin but that God’s Glory can be revealed. It’s interesting to note that Jesus never disowned the idea that sin can cause illness, deformities and handicaps, but merely stated that this particular situation was not caused by sin.

• The Good Jesus: Jesus does not see the stigma of sin and evil, He sees compassion and an opportunity to reveal himself with the "rejected of society.

• Jesus Reveals Himself V. 5, Jesus declares that He is the light of the World. This is a remarkable declaration. Because in the Old Testament it is clearly stated that only God the Father is light of all creation. In fact, Micah went so far as to boldly say that the Father is light and connotated that the light of the Father will provide divine protection from the enemy when he stated, "Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light" (7:8). Isaiah also declared that Yahweh is light when he said, "The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory" (Isa 60:19). The Psalmist declares that the Father is the true light of the world for salvation. "The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid" (Ps 27:1)? In fact, light itself was used in a wide range of positive metaphors and identified as an essential aspect and symbol of the manifestation of God’s presence and blessing (e. g. Ps. 44:3. According to the Old Testament, "light" was the direct representation of the Word of God (Job 24:13; Ps. 43:3; 119:105; Prov. 6:23; Isa. 2:5). From the book of Daniel light is understanding and wisdom (5:11, 14). Metaphorically light represents life itself all throughout the Old Testament (Job 3:9, 16, 20; 18:5-6, 18; Ps. 49:19; 56:13; Prov. 13:19). In contrast to light, darkness represented evil and calamity (Esth. 18:16; Job 30:26; Ps. 112:4; Isa. 9:2; Lam. 3:12; Amos 5:18, 20). For Israel, light stood for the actualized presence and power and life of the Father. So here’s Jesus, claiming to have the very attribute of God the father and then demonstrating that attribute with what He does to the blind man’s healing.

• Jesus Invests Into the "Bad of Society": The day Jesus healed the blind man was on the Sabbath. There are three things that we see significant about this situation in relationship to the Sabbath. First, Jesus made mud on the Sabbath. Second, He picked mud up on the Sabbath. He ordered the blind man to travel and wash on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were so religious that their religion became a type of tag I caught you game. But the stakes is life and death, being declared "holy and unholy" or who’s holier then everyone else in the eyes of eachother. This thinking produced many strict and picky do’s and don’t throughout the years. By the time Jesus Came Pharisees believed that if you spit on the ground the saliva moved dirt. As a result, if one spits on the ground on the Sabbath you moved dirt on the Sabbath and therefore were guilty of working on the Sabbath, a sin punishable by Jewish scourging or and many times death. Traveling on the Sabbath was also considered work. Washing was considered working also, so to take a bath on the Sabbath was strictly prohibited. So in the eyes of the religious Pharisees Jesus not only broke the Sabbath but encouraged and led astray someone else to break the Sabbath.