Parable of the Good Shepherd

Jesus heals a blind man John 9

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. 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. 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.

If we hold fast to our earthly views we will reject the move of God when it happens. If we are content in how right we are, we are blind. If we can live in and acknowledge our need for the Savior then we can see. The woman by the well was aware of the differences between how samaritans worshiped, and how the Jews worshiped, and she thought the importance was based on the setting. City vs Mountain. Jesus said “soon none of that will matter, What will matter is that you worship in the Spirit and in truth.

The truth is whatever God thinks. We can get lost in believing the facts as we see them and calling them the truth.

An important question we want to hold before us is this “Does my heavenly Daddy see it that way?” Have you even sinned and felt unworthy of God’s love?

Could you produce a whole litanny of objections from your life, from your failures, from your unbelief? There are entire schools of thought that would teach “Mankind is totally depraved, and it’s actually important that we recognize that, because it makes God even GREATER that He would love rotten old me.” This can be based on facts, but it does not pass the test of the question “Does my Heavenly Daddy see it that way?” He loves you with an everlasting love. He sees you clothed in Christ. He gave everything for you because he loves you so much. He has a spirit of Adoption for you to come into His family. He has a calling and a great purpose for you to live in and enjoy. He is Glorified in YOUR life. He is your Hope. As far as the east is from the west, that’s how far he has removed our transgressions from us. Look to Him. He is beaming with love for you. Beam with love right back at Him.

You are forgiven, redeemed and set free. Your past is covered. His life is your life. His faith is at work in you. He is making you to look like Him. He is leading you. You DO know His voice, and He is the good shepherd.

If you need to come to the front and express something from your heart to Him, come now and let it out. If you need to come receive prayer and release some of those failures and past hurts to him, come now. If you know that this is all real, but your heart needs another touch to help move it in the right direction come now.