Are you blind?
Notes
Transcript
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.
What does our passage say about Jesus?
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The first truth of Jesus in our passage is Jesus is compassionate. Jesus hears that the religious leaders cast the man born blind out of the temple.
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.)
34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
I did not really think about how big of a deal it was for Jewish people to get kicked out of the synagogue. You were cut off from the
In summary, being expelled from the synagogue in the 1st century was a severe punishment, socially isolating the individual and marking them as an outsider within the Jewish community. ~ Copilot
Another important consequence I read was you lost your exemption to emperor worship. This was a huge deal.
What else does our passage say about Jesus?
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.
Jesus is the “Son of Man”
13 “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
Jesus is the Messiah! Are you picking up on John’s message? Jesus is the Messiah!
What does the passage say about mankind?
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?”
Do you see the shift Jesus is making? We have been talking about a man born physically blind, but Jesus is shifting to spiritual truth. We, by nature, are born spiritually blind!
1 Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.
2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Do you see the spiritual battle at hand?
4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Satan is actively at work blinding the lost, and what is God doing?
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at Romans 2 and see what is at stake in this battle.
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 He will render to each one according to his works:
7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
What hope do we have from this passage?
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.”
There is a battle raging this morning. The enemy wants to blind us to truth! But if we seek Jesus, what is His promise? If we come to Him, He will give us sight. Look at 2 Thessalonians with me chapter 2
9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,
12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
We must seek Jesus and not man.