John 9 | Blinded by Light
Notes
Transcript
We are continuing in our series through the book of John today.
And today we will be picking back up again in John 9
Lets jump right in
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?”
Can I ask you a question today, how often are you taking your sin and using as the means your results in life?
How often are you looking at your past sins, and looking at your life today and judging the basis of where you are on where you used to be?
And don’t misunderstand your sin absolutely will lead you to destruction in life.
Please don’t ever think if you are child of God today that he will not chastise you for living in sin
EX: People ask me Zach why is my life such a mess, why I am so miserable all the time, why don’t I have success in anything, why do all my relationships fail?
It’s like a prisoner sitting in a jail cell asking “why can’t I go sleep at home tonight? Why can’t I go to the movies tonight” BECAUSE YOU BROKE THE LAW AND WHEN YOU BREAK THE LAW YOU GET PUNISHED
Its the people who are addicted to lying
Its the people who are having sex outside of marriage
Its the people who are watching pornography
Its the people who are getting drunk and high
Its the people who are trying to cheat and scam everyone they know
Its the people who are obsessed with negativity
THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WONDER WHY THEIR LIFE IS A MESS - OPEN YOUR EYES
WHEN YOU BREAK THE LAW - YOU GET PUNISHED
GOD CHASTISES HIS CHILDREN
22 His own iniquities entrap the wicked man,
And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
If you are going to sin, you will face punishment for it.
You may ask, well I know all kinds of people who live in sin all the time and their lives are great.
How many of those are children of God?
Because the Bible is clear - God punishes the sinner, but he chastises his children
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus
9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
The wicked, the unbeliever, they live in sin, and God allows them to live in their sin.
GOD DOESN’T CHASTISE OTHER PEOPLE’S KIDS
And those who who serve their father satan, as we saw Jesus accuse the Pharisees a few weeks ago, will live in their sin, sometimes in physical success, sometimes in failure - BUT ONE DAY THEY WILL BE PUNISHED, WETHER IN THIS LIFE OR THE NEXT
While the children of God will be chastised
So if you call yourself a believer but you continue to live in sin and you have no conviction, and no punishment comes as a result, DON’T THINK YOUR FATHER LET YOU OFF THE HOOK, INSTEAD QUESTION WHO YOU FATHER REALLY IS, BECAUSE IT ISN’T GOD
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But here is the predicament
We know that sin results in difficulties in life, but that doesn’t mean all difficulties in life are a result of sin.
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
Jesus clearly says, this man’s position is not because of sin.
And this was the disciples error, they assumed that all horrible situations are a result of personal sin
AND IT COULD HAVE BEEN, but we shouldn’t assume that it is
Because the minute we do that we are playing God
We are attributing acts to God that he never claimed
But you want to know where you can place the blame every single time, for every bad situation you come to, and it is accurate everytime?
Not your sins, but sin in general
You see God put us in a perfect world, no blindness, no pain, no suffering, no death, and we chose to bring all those things into our world
So when that loved one died - DON’T SAY IT’S BECAUSE OF THIS SIN, SAY IT IS BECAUSE OF SIN
When you get a hard diagnosis - DON’T SAY ITS BECAUSE OF THIS SIN, SAY IT IS BECAUSE OF SIN
AND YOU KNOW WHAT THIS WILL DO - IT WILL CAUSE YOU TO LIVE A LIFE THAT ISN’T SO FOCUSED ON TRYING TO CONNECT THE DOTS BETWEEN EVERY ACTION AND RESULT, BUT RATHER YOU WILL JUST START TO HATE SIN
When tragedy strikes - DON’T SAY WHY - SAY I HATE SIN
Every time something bad happens in your life - look at it and say I HATE SIN - BECAUSE SIN IS THE REASON THIS EXISTS
AND IF THIS IS YOUR OUTLOOK IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOUR OWN PERSONAL SPECIFIC SIN IS THE REASON OR NOT BECAUSE IF YOU HATE SIN YOU WON’T REPEAT IT - THE END IS THE SAME
But even in light of this, the sin we caused, God steps into the midst of our sin and brings grace and mercy
He tells the disciples this man’s blindness isn’t because of a specific sin, but even so, God has stepped into this situation, initially caused by sin itself, and he intends to show himself through it
And Jesus once again makes a claim to deity
He says this happened to this man so the works of God could be seen, and I work the works of God
4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
And then Jesus makes the claim
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
So Jesus is only the light of the world while he is in it?
Like once Jesus leaves he is no longer the light of the world?
Well notice another claim that Jesus makes in Matthew
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.
So who is the light of the world?
Well picture it like this.
This world is in darkness, and Jesus is the light, he is the lantern, but while he is in the world he carries the lantern.
He is teaching, he is guiding, he is proclaiming the message of the gospel, and everyone else doing the same is just proclaiming him.
But one day he would leave the world, so what happens to the lantern?
HE DOESN’T JUST SET IT DOWN, HE HANDS IT OFF TO THE BELEIVERS
And he says now you are carrying the light, not they they have now become the light, but now the light shines through them
AND LISTEN CHRSITIAN, JESUS ISN’T ON EARTH ANYMORE
SO TODAY YOU HAVE A JOB, YOU HAVE BEEN HANDED THE LANTERN AND IT IS YOUR JOB TO CARRY IT INTO THE WORLD
WHAT A RESPONSIBILITY WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN THAT THE SAME LIGHT JESUS BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD IS NOW OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CARRY
CAN I ASK YOU TODAY - ARE YOU CARRYING IT WELL?
Do you dim it a little when you want to be in the dark?
Do you put it up in the closet when you don’t want people to see it?
YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN THE JOB BY CHRIST HIMSELF TO CARRY THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL, THE LIGHT INTO A DARK WORLD - ARE YOU DOING IT OR IS THE LIGHT OF CHRIST IN YOUR LIFE SOMETHING YOU ONLY SHOW WHEN IT BENEFITS YOU?
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You see there is hope in the message of the gospel. There is light in the darkness, and Jesus shows it firsthand.
6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
Now I want to make a connection here that I have never seen made before and I could not find a single reference to this connection havign been made before, so take it with a grain of salt but I think it is interesting
It appears that Jesus is still in the same crowd, the same setting, as he was just in with the adulterous woman
If you remember the Pharisees bring a woman supposedly caught in adultery to Jesus and Jesus writes in the dirt, ignoring the accusation.
We discussed how according to OT prophecy it appears that he was writing the names of the Pharisees into the dirt
Whatever he was actually writing, it was accusatory, because the Pharisees left as he continued to write
So potentially within the same day or maybe even the same hour, Jesus has just used the dirt to bring accusation and judgement
THEN THE DISCIPLES ASK JESUS WHAT THIS MANS JUDGEMENT IS, WHAT SIN DID HE COMMIT TO MAKE HIM BLIND
And Jesus bends down into the same dirt, and makes clay, and puts the clay on the man’s eyes, then notice what he tells him
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.
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.”
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.”
With the same dirt Jesus just accused the Pharisees, he is now healing.
With the same dirt that God formed man from,
and the same dirt that he put that man on to live in perfection
the same dirt mankind sinned on and brought things like blindness into the world
its that same dirt that Jesus puts on the man’s eyes to heal him from his blindness
Can I just stop for a minute to reflect
WHAT MAKES THE GOD OF ALL CREATION DESCEND FROM HIS THRONE IN HEAVEN TO THE DIRT HE CREATED, TO VISIT THE PEOPLE MADE FROM THAT DIRT, WHO DISOBEYED HIM AND TURNED THE WORLD ON THAT DIRT INTO SIN AND WICKEDNESS, TO COME IN THE FORM OF MAN MADE FROM THAT DIRT, AND NOW LOWER HIMSELF TO GET DOWN INTO THAT DIRT AND HEAL THE ONES WHO CHOSE THE VERY THING THEY NOW NEED HEALED FROM
HE WAS LIGHT, AND HE CHOSE TO COME TO THE DARKNESS AND SAVE US FROM THE DARKNESS THAT WE WALKED INTO
Because he loves us
IT’S NOT BY ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE, BUT BECAUSE HE LOVES US
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
And as you would expect after this mankind to be grateful and loving to him, instead notice how they respond
12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?”
He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
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.
We looked a few weeks ago at the great amount of confusion that surrounded the ministry of Jesus, and it definitely is still present.
17 They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
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.”
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.”
I want to stop for a minute so you can see the detrimental statement that was just made here
GIVE GOD THE GLORY, WE KNOW THIS MAN IS A SINNER
You know what these Pharisees sound like here, religious terrorist
They have this man who has just been healed and they are calling out to this man - SAY GOD DID IT, SAY GOD DID IT
And the man responds...
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.”
There is such a simplicity to the revelation of this man
Jesus didn’t give him the gospel
IN FACT REMEMBER - HE WAS BLIND AND HE HAD TO GO WASH SOMEWHERE ELSE TO BE HEALED, HE COULDNT EVEN SEE JESUS
He didn’t know anything about him
But you know what he did see - THE EVIDENCE
HE BELIEVED WHAT WAS PROVIDED TO HIM
And you see here is the drastic difference between the blind man and the Pharisees
Both of them were in darkness, BUT AS THE BLIND MAN WAS SHOWN A LITTLE LIGHT HE WENT TOWARD IT, AND THE PHARISEES WENT AGAINST IT
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.
THIS MAN DOESN’T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS, HE HASN’T SEEN HIM, HE HASN’T HEARD HIS CLAIMS, HE KNOWS NOTHING BUT HERE HE IS SCHOOLING THE PHARISEES WHO KNOW 10X WHAT HE KNOWS WHO HAVE PERSONALLY SEEN AND HEARD JESUS TIME AND TIME AGAIN
It’s almost as if true faith doesn’t take as much proof as we think.
You see there is a difference in faith, and recognition.
If you say I know Jesus died on a cross, and I know he rose again, and I know he is the son of God, that’s recognition.
Satan recognizes all of those things
And that is a great start - but it doesn’t result in salvation
The Pharisees didn’t even recognize the claims of Christ
The blind man is now beginning to recognize based on the evidence of his healing
But there is one more step needed
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?”
Jesus finds the man - who has believed in everything he has been provided, which was very little, and Jesus comes to bring the rest
And notice he doesn’t ask about him being healed
He doesn’t asks if he believes that he was the one that healed him
He says...
Do you believe IN the son of God?
And the man still just doesn’t know, it is all still too unclear
36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
I LOVE THIS
He doesn’t keep questioning - he says where is he SO I CAN BELEIVE
THIS IS THE KIND OF FAITH WE NEED
He logically puts it together
This man healed me, something nobody else could do, and he claims to be of God, so this isn’t evil - that’s enough for me! I WILL BELIEVE IN THIS MAN
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.
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
Everyone starts off blind, and Jesus is clear what he came to do
For those who are blind, and they know it - he came to bring light
For those who are blind, but think they can see - he came to show them they are blind
These two groups of people ARE BOTH BLIND, except only one knows it
This is the point of this whole story
You see this is interesting - you can completely removed the fact that the man was physically blind, and the picture is still there
This man was spiritually blind, just like the Pharisees
The difference was he knew he was spiritually blind, while the Pharisees thought they could see
And this is personified in the picture of the man actually being blind and the Pharisees being able to see but it didn’t matter spiritually
And Jesus says… I HAVE COME TO HELP THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE, TO SEE, AND FOR THOSE WHO THINK THEY CAN SEE TO BE MADE BLIND
Why would Jesus want to make people blind?
Again not physically
You see the best thing for the person being blinded by light is to close their eyes
If a person is looking into the sun and their eyes are burning they don’t NEED MORE LIGHT - THEY NEED THEIR EYES CLOSED TO WHAT IS HURTING THEM
THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPEL HELPS THOSE WHO KNOW THEY ARE BLIND TO SEE, BUT IT PLUNGES THOSE WHO ARE BLINDED BY LIES INTO DARKNESS
Where know they can see the true light of christ clearly
Let me ask you something
If two are standing outside and one closes his eyes and the other shines a flashlight into their face - WHICH ONE CAN SEE - NEITHER!
They are both blind - and the gospel opens the eyes of the one and shuts off the flashlight of the other
So why does this matter to you, well its simple, when you hear the message of the gospel today, does it open your eyes to the light, or does it darken what you thought was the light?
The Pharisees questioned this...
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
You see the more dangerous position is the one who thinks they can see
Why? Because at least a blind man knows he can’t see, and I don’t know any blind people that wouldn’t desire to see
But those who think they are in the light - they have all they need, or so they think
Jesus tells them - maybe you should try being a little more blind
They thought the man was blind because of a specific sin, they even said...
34 “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?”
They look at the blind man and tell him he is born in sin but now Jesus is saying maybe you should be a little more like him
And that is the same challenge I would like to bring to you today.
Maybe you need to try to be a little more blind to what you think is the light
Maybe that religious reliance
Maybe that money
Maybe that job
Maybe that relationship
Looks like the light that brings you to satisfaction but in reality all it is is a flashlight in your face
Maybe today you need to decide, i need to turn the brightness down on what i think is the light, so that I can see the real light
You don’t know what you don’t know
And those who are looking into the flashlight don’t know they are are being blinded
So today take a moment to revaluate what your light is
and if it is anything other than faith in Christ, than listen to the message of the gospel today that turns off the lights so you can see the one true light of the world.
