I Once Was Blind

John 9:1-7; 35-38

John 9 (ESV)

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.” 6 Having said these things, he spit 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.

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.

6th of the signs in the Gospel of John that point to Jesus being the Messiah

-Tied to John 8 - Feast of the Tabernacles

There are a lot of questions in this passage (9:1-41)

15 by my count.

We are going to look a the first question, the last question, and then the answer to all the questions.

Jesus is the light which cures our spiritual blindness and brings light to our life.

A question about sin, suffering, and darkness (2)

2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

“Whose at fault for the suffering?” Ever ask the question?

Let me summarize that question - it usually comes through simply as “Why?”

Why do I have cancer?

Why did I lose my job?

Why is she like this to me?

What did I do wrong?

Is God punishing me?

Notice the assumption of the disciples. In their minds it is either the blind man who sinned or his parents. Surely his blindness was a consequence of someone’s sin.

They were asking Jesus as their rabbi. Other rabbis said it was possible to sin while still in the womb.

The Gospel according to John (a. The Sign (9:1–12))

(e.g. when a pregnant woman worships in a pagan temple her unborn fetus was regarded as participating in the pagan rite, Canticles Rabbah 1, 6, § 3).

They only understood God as a judge.

This is how many of us view God - as only a judge

Who does Jesus say sins? Neither the man nor his parents:

3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

We know from Scripture that sin is the source of all suffering (Gen 3); however Jesus flips the idea that all suffering is the direct consequence of someone’s sin.

We also know that suffering can be the consequence of personal sin (Miriam’s rebellion in Numbers 12)

We also know that suffering is not always the consequences of personal sin.

but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive, 2014–2015 The Man Born Blind

What it’s saying is you may never see it. You may never understand it. It’s mysterious why you might be suffering. You may never see it. It’s not necessarily the result of something you’ve done wrong, but even though you may not know what the purposes are, God is at work. God is working in this.

I don’t know why you are experiencing suffering in your life - maybe as a consequence to your sin, maybe it’s so God might be glorified through you, but I DO KNOW it is a result of sin, and I DO KNOW who can deal with all sin - Jesus, the Light of the World.

A Question About Spiritual Blindness (40)

9 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.

“Uggh, I was so blind” - What made the difference? We have an experience, an encounter, a realization that takes us deeper than mere knowledge

Pharisees had plenty of knowledge of God yet they were blind since they were missing Jesus who IS God right in front of them.

Spiritual blindness is more sinister than physical blindness for a few reasons:

when you are physically blind you know it.

When you are spiritually blind you may not know it and actually claim your not blind (40)

Scary thought: You can walk in out of church and still be spiritually blind.

You can sit in the pews and still be spiritually blind

You can grow up in a Christian home, believe Jesus is God and still be spiritually blind.

You may have had many church encounters, but have you ever had an encounter with Christ?

When you didn’t simply KNOW about sin in your life but realized that you are a sinner?

When you didn’t simply KNOW about God’s grace, but realized how desperately you need it?

Acts 9:1–8 (ESV)

1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

Paul lost his physical sight but for the first time, he gained spiritual sight through his encounter with Jesus.

He spent the next three days thinking about how he had been focused on being a moral person, a religious person, and now realizing how sinful he was

how the trajectory of his life had been about him and not about Jesus,

How this encounter with Jesus will change everything.

(If your encounter with Jesus hasn’t changed everything, did it really mean anything?)

Physical blindness may not be the result of God’s judgment

Spiritual blindness always results in God’s judgment.

Can you imagine the change of life for this man?

ILLUST - videos when someone who is colorblind receives colorblind correction glasses.

Light helps you see reality.

Having spiritual sight is not only about having eternal life (although it certainly includes it!)

ILLUST - When you get new glasses you realize all that you never saw.

Light helps you navigate this life.

ILLUST - Ever try to walk through one of your kids’ rooms in the dark? I’m not scared of the dark except when it is in one of the kids’ rooms. Ever step on that Lego?

Peace

Jesus, the Light of the World (5)

6 Having said these things, he spit 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.

Jesus is the one who changed everything. Jesus is the light that exposes spiritual blindness and gives light to those in darkness.

Jesus reaches out to people in darkness.

The blind man was minding his own business (probably begging) when someone else pointed him out and Jesus stepped in.

The Gospel according to John a. The Sign (9:1–12)

9:6. The words Having said this tightly tie v. 6 to vv. 4–5. Jesus has just declared that he is the light of the world (v. 5); he now proceeds to illustrate the point by giving light to the man born blind. He is thereby obeying the one who sent him (v. 4), while many around him are shutting out the light.

The Gospel according to John a. The Sign (9:1–12)

because the use of spittle in the surrounding pagan culture was so often associated with magical practices,4 it appears that rabbis more commonly condemned the use of saliva

Was it Jesus changing methods?

Was it Jesus recreating?

Jesus makes sense of the darkness in your life.

Regardless of the question of WHY this problem / suffering is in your life, the reality of WHO Jesus is, changes everything!!

What if the blind man demanded to know WHY he was blind before he obeyed and trusted Jesus? He might still be walking around in darkness.

*What if you were to stop demanding to know WHY Jesus allowed the darkness into your life and started trusting Him / obeying Him?

Responses to Jesus the Light

How did people respond when they encountered Jesus?

Curiosity (10) - Neighbors

John 9:8–10 (ESV) — 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?”

They’ve seen a changed life and they are curious

Judgment (16) - Pharisees

John 9:16 (ESV) — 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.

Avoidance (21-22) - Parents

John 9:22–23 (ESV) — 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.”

Jesus was confusing.

Because of the fear of man, they didn’t care to find out who Jesus really was.

Spiritual Blindess (40) - Pharisees

John 9:40 (ESV) — 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”

They were blind to their blindness

Trust, Belief, Worship (7, 38) - former blind man

Started with trust.

John 9:7 (ESV) — 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

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.

“You’re looking at him!”

Conclusion

ILLUST - Amazing Grace

John was born into a home with a loving Christian mother. His father was a sea captain, and once while his father was at sea, his mother passed away. Now under the care of his father and a stepmother, John soon followed in his father’s footsteps and took to the sea at the age of eleven.

However, John didn’t much like the Royal Navy, and it didn’t much like him. John eventually deserted the Navy, was flogged, and discharged.

He then looked for a place where he could “sin freely” as he put it, and soon found himself on the western coast of Africa working for a slave trader. However, this life didn’t work out well for John as he found himself mistreated by the slave trader himself and, after a year, left the island to find another ship to sail.

In 1748, John found a ship and a storm off the coast of Ireland. The storm was quite severe and had already swept some men overboard. John had previously read Thomas a Kempis’ book, The Imitation of Christ, and now in the storm, realized his great need for Christ.

With his hands literally fastened to the ship’s wheel, he cried out, “Lord, have mercy.” John would later mark March 21 as the day he saw the light of Christ.

This experience would be what would later have John Newton pen one of the most famous hymns of all time, Amazing Grace, in which he writes:

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.

It’s clear that John Newton had this passage in mind:

When the Pharisees question the former blind man a second time they question how the miracle happened because they believe Jesus is a sinner. I love his response:

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.”

Do you see how no questions or pressure - even in the face of being kicked out of the Temple, the former blind man had an unshakable faith.

Fill in the blanks:

I once was blind. . .

And I still am.

But now I see.

But things are starting to come into focus.

How often do I walk around like a blind man? (How silly would that look in the light?)

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.” 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.” 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.” 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.