"And the Blind Will See" -- "That We May Believe"

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. 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.

— Thank you God for your word… Please be seated

First and most importantly… Our memory verse for the day. Find it if you will John 9:5

John 9:5 ESV

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

— Say it with me...

— If you are an a highlighter, underliner… This is the verse.

— If you only remember one this today...

So… why was this story told here and now?

— Of course the story is not dated, and since it is apart of the Gospel of John, The Spiritual Gospel, it’s dropped in here for a “spiritual reason.”

— Of course it happened, it was part of the over arching reason that God sent His son… To seek and save the lost, to transform lost lives.

— This story is full of the messiahship of Christ… He knew He was Messiah, we looking back at 2000+ years of our own history, We know He is Messiah… But those he was sent to, The Jews… remained blind… most blind to this day.

JESUS IS OUR PAST, JESUS IS OUR PRESENT AND JESUS IS THE ONLY FUTURE!!

— Let’s get to our passage

— Vs. 1-7

John 9:1–7 ESV

— Jesus displayed His compassion on the man,

— His also displayed his power by healing the man

— But this just one example of the ability of this God-man, Jesus to turn upside down the laws of physics, the laws of science and the Law itself

— We have seen it… These miracles demonstrate Jesus divinity, power and compassion.

Here are five, but there are many, many more

1. Turning Water into Wine

2. Healing the Blind Man

3. Feeding the Multitudes

4. Calming the Storm

5. Raising Lazarus from the Dead

— These miracles, this Jesus, our brother, our Savior, came to the world… To Save the World, To Save us!

Main Point #1 - Jesus has the power to heal and transform lives, then, now and until he takes the world home

— This demonstration of His power has two purposes

— To change the path of the lives immediately affected

— To show the world His power to transform, this blind man physically and to transform this man and all mankind towards Himself.

— Yes, he will take this world home, to those who believed in him... heaven.

— To those who didn’t believe, to those who didn’t have faith to hell.

Application #1 - We can trust in Jesus' power to bring healing and transformation in our lives physically and spiritually.

— We can approach Him with our needs and have Faith in His ability to bring about change.

— Jesus displays His compassion and power by healing a man born blind.

— Jesus' miraculous healing serves as a sign of His power and glory.

— The man's physical healing symbolizes the spiritual transformation that Jesus offers.

Main Point #2 -The opposition and rejection faced by those who follow Jesus is real!

— If you have lived more than a day and half, our message, the message of Jesus, the message of Transformation is more than often rejected by the world.

— Listen to the rejection in this scripture John 9.8-12

John 9:8–12 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?” 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.”

— The religious leaders question and doubt the legitimacy of the man's healing.

— We’d be jumping out or our skin with excitement, we’d be praising God, all of over town, in the parks in the streets.

— I CAN SEE!! I CAN SEE!! I CAN SEE!!

— I hope when we see miracles around us, we act exactly like that. Don’t let that the opportunity to PRAISE GOD… long and loud pass you by.

— The religious leaders reject the man and cast him out of the synagogue.

— They call him a fraud, they call him an imposter, according to Law how could he be healed in the Sabbath… The short answer, Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath!

Application #2 - Following Jesus may not always be easy, and we may encounter opposition or rejection from others.

— It’s easy to be a Christian… at church, at your Christian school, among your Christian friends, around all of the people that know you are a Christian.

— How about when you are in the public space, in the meeting space like the Apostle Paul in Rome.

— Here is his reaction to the people he saw

Romans 1:21–22 ESV

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

— Paul goes on to win Rome for Christ...

— It wasn’t in his lifetime, happening in Rome in the 3rd century

— But all of us have a “Rome”

— Is it among your “unbelieving” friends that have flat out rejected Christ. THANK GOD YOU HAVE UNBELIEVING FRIENDS!!!

— Is it those who are quick to point out a flaw, a misstep, an error while missing the log in their own eye.

— HERE we can identify with Christ...I think that is the Cross we bear. The burden we feel, the rejection, the pain…

— BUT NOT THE DEATH, THE FINAL DEATH BECAUSE HE IS OURS! AND HE DIED FOR US AND BEAT DEATH!!

Main Point # 3 - Jesus' Identity as the Son of God and the Light of the World will always offend the hard hearted

— Of course the hard hearted here are the Pharisee’s

— Of course the opposition was not going to shift away from Jesus.

— The Pharisee’s where accumulating a file, Jesus did this, Jesus did that, AND he did this on the Sabbath

John 9:13–18 ESV

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

— Jesus reveals Himself as the Son of God, as the Messiah, able to heal the blind… willing to heal the blind on the Sabbath.

Jesus ultimately and ALWAYS picked people over policy, over prophecy and over the power of the Pharisees’.

— He broke every “rule” to become the one, the only one who could TRANSFORM the world and everyone in it.

— Our part is easy… His yoke is easy, our opposition is waiting like a Lion to pounce, But His yoke remains… gentle guiding and directing

Application #3 - We are called to recognize Jesus as the Son of God... and the Light of the World.

— Just as the man's eyes were opened to physical sight, we should seek to have our spiritual eyes opened to the truth of who Jesus is.

— This understanding, Of the purpose of Christ, The Yoke of Christ, The death, burial and resurrection of Christ, should lead us to worship and follow Him wholeheartedly… NOW AND FOREVER!!

As we close today...

— Our memory verse… Let’s say it again

John 9:5 ESV

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

— God did not want us to get bogged down on like the Pharisee’s

— He wanted to straighten their path… align it with His bigger purpose.

— Their hardened hearts did not allow them to see past the law to grace and mercy that was delivered on the cross.

— He was the light of the world! He is the light of the world!

— Let’s PRAY!!!

Joe!

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