I AM...The Light of the World
Notes
Transcript
Doxology:
This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!
Biblical Reference: John 9:1-5
We are continuing our journey through the “I AM” statements of Christ. So far, we have looked at the fact that Jesus is the Door, Jesus is the Bread of Life, and Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life.
Today, we are going to be looking at the “I AM” statement, “I AM The Light of the World.”
1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Context
Context
Jesus, in Chapter 8 of John, was confronted with a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. We discussed that a few weeks ago so I don’t want to spend too much time there today, but after settling that matter, He has quite a lengthy discussion with the Pharisees concerning the validity of His claims.
He finally makes the statement that He was indeed God in the flesh and they tried to kill Him.
As He did every time they sought to kill Him, He escaped and was headed away from them. It was while Jesus was headed away from those men, that he stumbles upon a blind man setting by the way. The text does not tell us fully of their meeting, but we do know that there was something about that man that just caught Jesus’ attention.
Whatever it was, it was noticeable enough that it caught His disciples attention too:
We pick up in John 9:1
Content
Content
The Compassion of Our Father
The Compassion of Our Father
1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
Now, it is important to note here that there was a common belief during that day. The belief was very simple. If someone had some type of physical infirmity, either the individual themselves or their parents had sinned, causing this infirmity to come upon them.
Because of this thought process, the disciples naturally ask Jesus:
2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
Jesus wastes no time in answering them:
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
Jesus makes clear that his blindness was not because of some grievance against God, but rather that the glory of God might be made known.
Last week, we saw that Lazarus’ death was so that God might be glorified and this week we see that this man’s blindness was so that God might be glorified.
When physically tough times come upon us, instead of asking, “God what did I do to deserve this?”, we should be asking, “God, in what way can I bring glory to You through this?”
We also need to take note of God’s timing in this situation. He says in vs. 4:
4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
God orchestrates things in our lives at particular times and seasons. This happens because there is a whole lot more going on in the world than just our lives, our circumstances, our situations, our problems, our burdens, and our needs. God uses all us to be a light and an example to others and uses them to be a light and example unto us. For this reason, he allows certain things to take place at certain times, so that our lives might coincide with the lives of others at particular moments and so that He might get the glory in that.
He said this man’s blindness was allowed so that He might be glorified. He then goes on to say that He must work the works of God who sent Him, while it is day; for the night was coming when no one could work.
The day represents his presence and the night represents that time in which He would depart from this world to go be with the Father.
In other words, He says, “My time here is limited. This man and I were destined to cross paths so that I could heal him and let myself be known. Let me get to it, because my days are numbered and there are many more things to accomplish between now and then.”
He ends by saying:
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
I have come to bring light into darkness. I have come to bring order to chaos. I have come to set paths straight and make the truth of God known to a lost and dying world.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Jesus spits on the ground, made clay from the saliva, anointed the eyes of this blind man, and then told him to go wash his face in the Pool of Siloam.
The man does as he was told and:
7 And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
The salvation of the Lord is available to us. We must simply be willing to believe His word.
This man could have responded with unbelief. He could have said, “What is this supposed to do? It is not the time of the angel’s miracle right now. No blind man from birth has ever been healed, I doubt it is going to change with me.....”
No, this man did what Jesus told him to do and his blindness was gone. This man received the greatest of miracles. For the first time in his life, he was able to see color, shapes, shades, texture, depth, brightness. All this man had ever known was darkness.
Like this man, we are all born into darkness. Every person is. We know nothing of the beauty of God’s Kingdom. Once we believe in Him, a whole new host of realities swarm our souls. We are able to see the true importance and value of things in life. We are able to see the true meaning of life. We are able to see the creation of God with a whole new perspective. We are able to see our relationships with others from a whole new light.
The darkness we once dwelt in is lifted and amazement sets in as we begin to explore to the depth of God’s creative power and design. It is an astonishing moment.
Even though he came back seeing, I bet it took him longer to return than it did it for him to go in blindness.
Before, He knew nothing of how certain people or buildings looked like. He knew nothing of color and texture. He knew nothing of what clothes looked like. He knew nothing of the brightness of the sun and the need for shade. Though he knew sounds, he now had to put faces to voices. Though he knew to turn left and right after so many steps, he now was able to see certain landmarks and physical objects to help direct his path. His eyes were opened to see a whole new world in front of him, though absolutely nothing had changed at all except....except for himself.
God’s grace is amazing. His grace covers our sin. His forgiveness and mercy allows us to be justified before a Holy, Righteous God. Once the chains of death have been lifted, a whole new world awaits our exploration. It is a world that has always existed right in front of us, but we were unable to see because of the restrictions laid upon us.
We see the Compassion of Our Father
The Conflict of Our Faithfulness
The Conflict of Our Faithfulness
This man returns from the Pool, after some time I believe. When he gets back to where he left, Jesus is no longer there. He look for Him, but Jesus and His disciples are gone.
Instantly, those who had known him before, those who had always known him as the blind man, those who had always referred to him as the blind man, they instantly see that he is different. He is no longer blind, but now he sees.
8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”
9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.”
This is man is absolutely ecstatic! He is overwhelmed with joy that he is able to see. These other people cannot believe their eyes. They are confused. How can this be? How is this possible?
10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”
12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”
It is astounding how much this man does not know about Jesus....
Can I just stop here for a second and say, you do not have to be a scholar to be saved. You do not have to be able to quote Scripture to be saved. You do not have to be a religious person to be saved. There is one and only one, prerequisite to salvation, and that is “You must believe!”
You simply have to believe in Jesus. That’s it. He can save anyone from anything as long as they believe in Him.
Because of the magnitude of what has just happened, those who have witnessed this miracle feel the need to take this now-seeing man to the religious leaders.
This is where the story takes a turn for the worse.
Once he arrives before the Pharisees, they begin to drill him on the events of this miracle.
Even though a man stands before them as a testimony to the greatest miracle this world had ever seen up to this point, they are critiquing the possibilities of it actually happening.
The religious leaders were actually divided over the issue.
16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
Instead of being amazed at such an amazing miracle, they are more worried about the fact that it was performed on the Sabbath Day.
Have you ever seen people like this? A small child gets saved, and someone says, “I just don’t know that someone can truly be saved that young. Can they truly be saved at the age of 5,6, or 7 years old?”
“There is no way they truly got saved. He has just been wrapped up in sin for far too long. He has went through the motions before and claimed to be saved, and it didn’t change a thing. You just wait, within a month he will be right back to doing the same old thing again.”
Listen, God can do anything!!! Simply be amazed that a young person of that age had the courage to admit their sin before God, admit that they were lost, and be willing to pray to our Heavenly Father. Be happy that a person wrapped up in sin came forward and prayed to God. Let God be the judge of whether they truly got saved or not, and if they didn’t, God will have to deal with that in His own time and His own way, just like he did this time. Judging the spiritual condition of another person is not in our God-given authority. That is God’s job, so let God be God and let us be happy!
This man didn’t have a lot to say to the Pharisees, at least not enough to satisfy them, so they continue in their disbelief by calling in his parents. Maybe this whole thing is a hoax. Maybe this man wasn’t really born blind.
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.
19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
21 but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.”
22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Even though his parents verify that he was indeed their son and that he was indeed born blind, they still were not satisfied with the outcome of this situation. They had been after Jesus for a while now, and now He has gone and performed a miracle like no other. Because of their hatred for Jesus, they refuse to be happy or excited for this man who has experienced a life-changing event. In fact, they even take their frustration out on him.
24 So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.”
25 He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples.
29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
30 The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!
31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.
32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.
33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.
Some people are going to tell you that choosing to follow Jesus is the easiest thing you could ever do. To some degree they are right, but I want to be sure that you fully understand the decision that is before you.
To become a Christian means that you have come to a point in your life that you are willing to believe in Jesus Christ, not just as a man, but as the Son of God. It means that you are willing to believe not only in Him, but also in everything that He said. It means that you believe He came from the Father, He lived a perfect life, He died a sinners death that He did not deserve, He rose from the grave three days later because death had no power over Him, and that He ascended to the Father to make intercession for you and I. It means that you believe He has all authority in Heaven and on Earth. It means that you are willing to submit yourself to Him as Lord over your life and that His Word will be the only source of authority that determines how you live your life from this point forward. It means you are crucifying your flesh and the desires of it. It means you are turning your back to this world so that you might faithfully follow Him, regardless of the cost.
I want you to fully understand this, because there is a cost of becoming a Christian. It is a great cost. To faithfully follow Christ means that you WILL HAVE TO give up certain things in this life. You will have to let certain people go. You will have to make fleshly sacrifices so that you might follow Christ faithfully.
This means you may have a spouse who is not on board and really gives you a hard time. This means that you may have to change jobs. This means you may have to be honest with your husband or wife about some things that have been going on behind closed doors so that the relationship can move forward in complete honesty.
This means your kids may not like you for making them come to Church or not letting them go to certain houses or events anymore.
This means that certain ways you spend your pass-time and certain places you go to do so, may have to change.
This means how you have structured your home financially may have to change as you begin to put God’s house and people first in your life.
This means the quality of your life may look very different moving forward as you relinquish control of it to God.
This means that you may have to willingly put yourself in very uncomfortable situations to follow the calling of god upon your life. He may call you to serve in ways that you feel completely inadequate to do.
So yes, it is easy to do. It is as easy as making a decision and stating your allegiance to the God of creation. It is a thought and words.
But....it does come at a great fleshly loss. Those who have claimed to be saved but have not had to make these sacrifices we speak of, have probably never come to Christ at all, though they would swear that they had.
To be a true follower of Christ, means that the old man is crucified and all things become new.
This means you give up the old life and start a new one that is completely focused on shining the light of God unto a lost and dying world. But if I am going to be completely honest with you today, it is a decision that many people are unable to come too. They are to wrapped up in the things of the world to let those things go, but it is necessary to become a Christian.
Look at what happened to this man:
34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.
They cast him out. This means that he was excommunicated from the church. In one day, this man received the greatest blessing of his life as well as the greatest burden. He was saved from sin, received his sight, and kicked out of the church all in one day.
He was not only kicked out of the synagogue, he was restricted from all access to the temple forever. He was not allowed to take any animals for sacrifices. He was not allowed to participate in any of the major feasts. He was removed from the blessings of any prayers that these religious men might pray over him. He was considered banished from the people. If anyone was found helping him in any way, they would face the same fate he did.
22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Though he was their child, they now had to choose between their religion and their relationship with their son. Why? Because they were too wrapped up in worldly things.
The Choice of Our Future
The Choice of Our Future
Can you imagine? This man has just lost everything and doesn’t even know why. This man named Jesus gave him his sight, but it cost him his life. The worst part is, he was blind when the conversation took place, so he doesn’t even know what Jesus looks like if he were to try and find him and begin to understand exactly what just happened.
Praise be to God, Jesus knowing this, finds him instead.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
This man was no scholar, but he also was no dummy. He knew what that meant. He knew the Son of God referred to the Prophesied Messiah. He knew what Jesus was asking.
Even though he has lots of questions, he shows his willingness to believe by saying:
36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
Commitment
Commitment
Do you believe that Jesus is truly, “The Light of the World?”
Are you ready to put this world aside and make Him #1 in your life? If so, a whole new world awaits. It is a beautiful world. It is a world begging to be explored by someone like you.
Are you ready to commit? Are you ready to say what this man said: “Lord, I believe!”