Seeing Beyond Surface

Big Idea: To see people through God’s eyes is to recognize that anyone can bring glory to God.

Challenge: Will we see beyond Surface. Will we see as Jesus saw? Will we See (Be Sensitive to Eternal Environment) when we see?

To create an awareness to see people beyond what appears on the surface.

Introduction:

Heard a story about a guy who was waiting for the bus at the bus stand and another guy passed him and saw him and asked him “Hey are you sad?” to which the man responds, “Yes, I am sad!” and he says, “Hey don’t be sad, God loves you.” Do you believe in God?

He says, Yes I believe in God

He replies, “oh yeah me too”

Are you a Christian, a Hindu, a muslim

I’m a christian

Oh yeah me too!

Are you a protestant are you catholic

I’m a protestant

Oh wow me too

Are you a baptist, are you an adventist, are you pentecostal

I’m an adventist

Oh yeah me too

Are you a west coast adventist are you an east coast adventist are you midwest adventist.

I’m a midwest Adventist

Oh wow! me too!

Are you a midwest Mid-America union adventist or are you a midwest Lake Union conference Adventist.

I’m a Midwest Lake Union Conference Adventist

Oh wow! me too.

Are you a midwest Lake Union conference, Michigan conference Adventist, Indiana Conference, Illinois, or Wisconsin Conference Adventist

Oh wow! Me too.

Are you a Lake Union, Wisconsin Conference Adventist conservative. Or are you a Lake Union, Wisconsin Conference Adventist liberal

Jesus saw the blind man

Point 1: Have a Heart Felt Compassion

In the passage, in john 9, we find Jesus passing by. We find Him passing by because he is getting away from the Pharisees who were about to stone Him. They wanted to stone Him because He had equated Himself with God by saying before Abraham was, I AM!

But the reason was deeper than that. It was because they were not ready to accept a Messiah from Galilee. They were not ready or maybe I should say impressed with who Jesus was.

They had expectations that were not met in Jesus. But Jesus had said that “No one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.”

In other words, if you knew the Father, you would know that I am sent by the Father. You see in reading John 7,8 we can find that it was not that the Pharisees couldn’t believe in Jesus. He gave them enough signs and words for them to believe but the issue was that they didn’t want to believe in Him. And so in John 9 John captures a story of a blind man, a man born blind, becoming a follower, a disciple of Jesus but those who could see couldn’t see past their pride.

And over and over again Jesus is trying to point them to Him. Giving them explanations and witnessing of Himself as the Messiah through words and works but they have become stone hearted. Not wanting to accept no matter what.

and in passing by he sees a blind man. As he’s looking at the blind man, the disciples think it’s appropriate to ask a theological question. As Jesus is looking at the blind man with compassion, the disciples are looking at the blind man with curiosity.

Jesus, the Bible says, in correcting their theology. corrects their legalistic idea of being cursed because of a personal sin or a generational sin. (Exodus 20:5)

Are our confrontations with people out of compassion, compassion for what God has done for them and for us, or are they out of condemnable theology.

Most of the times, when we talk, we are reflecting what we believe in. The disciples, almost even until at the end of Jesus’ ministry, were still legalists. They blamed the blind man or his parents for his condition. But look at what Jesus sees and says.

Verse 4

Jesus, in correcting their theology says, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

In other words, Jesus equates his condition to be something that is to glorify God rather than solve theological disputes.

How many times, I wonder, do we get into theological disputes, wanting to resolve them first before moving into the real issue, which is showing compassion.

The disciples operated out of curiosity, Jesus operated out of compassion.

and in His compassion, Jesus shows his ability to heal the blind man. He shows the works that Jesus came to do. He revealed the character of God through the miracle.

Illustration: A man notices a homeless individual on the street and is curious about how they ended up in that situation. He stops and asks about their story, discovering struggles with mental health and loss. Moved by compassion, he not only listens but connects them with resources, buys them a meal, and follows up. Application: Curiosity asks, “What’s their story?” but compassion goes further and asks, “What can I do to help them in their story?”

Faith in the impossible/Faith in the unheard of

To see beyond surface, we need faith. Faith in the unheard of

In seeing beyond surface, the blind man acquired the faith to go and wash at the pool of Siloam.

The receiving of sight had been unheard of before. In the Old Testament in fact, there is not a single miracle where a blind receives his sight.

But there are prophecies that spoke of the Messiah as the one who would give sight to the blind.

So in this sign, not only is Jesus performing a sign or a miracle but giving the Pharisees and others evidence of His Messiahship.

But here’s the thing, had not the blind man seen beyond surface, quite literally in his case, he would have received no healing. Because he had to trust the words of Jesus and go to the pool of Siloam to wash.

Story of the blind man going to the water to be healed (showing faith) connecting with it was never heard of a blind man being born blind finding sight.

Illustration:

Faith is like a muscle—it gets stronger when it’s used. A person starting to work out doesn’t lift heavy weights right away. They start small, and over time, as they push through resistance, their muscles grow. Similarly, faith develops when we exercise it through prayer, obedience, and trusting God in small and big situations.

Application:

Acquiring faith requires action and persistence. The more we trust God, the more our faith grows.

Seeking Light

Unlike the pharisees, the neighbors, and the parents, the blind man sought light and grew in his faith and saw beyond surface.

He sought the Truth. And stood up for it in the face of persecution and that’s where He was able to meet with Jesus and believe in Him.

That’s where He Saw beyond surface.

Lexham Geographic Commentary on the Gospels Textual and Archaeological Evidence of the Pool of Siloam

Jewish ritual that took place at the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) involved filling a golden vessel with water “from the Shiloah” (m. Sukkah 4:9 [Neusner]), carrying it up to the altar, and pouring it out in worship.