How Faith Grows

John 9:13-41

What will you do with Jesus?

One of the remarkable things about the Gospel of John is that John is always showing us people encountering Jesus. And every time someone encounters Jesus, a question is placed before them: What will you do with Jesus?

Will you come to the light, or will you reject him? Will you tell others about him? Will listen, follow, and believe?

The 9th chapter of John is about a man who was born blind. As the story begins, Jesus finds the man, heals him, and gives him sight. But as we come to the rest of the story, John wants us to see something even greater than physical healing.

He wants us to see genuine spiritual transformation.

The greatest miracle in John 9 is not simply that a blind man receives his sight, but that a man who had never seen Jesus comes to know him personally, to confess him boldly, and to worship him wholeheartedly.

In this passage we are watching faith grow.

The background

On the surface, this passage is about the Pharisees’ examination of the man who had been healed. They are investigating what happened. They want answers. they question the man, his parents, and then the man again.

They are not neutral investigators. They don’t want the truth about Jesus; but are looking for a reason to reject him. They have already decided that Jesus cannot be from God because he healed the man on the sabbath.

But while the Pharisees are examining the man, John invites us to see something else: we are watching a man whose physical eyes have been opened begin to see with the eyes of faith as well.

Faith does not begin with seeing everything clearly. Faith grows as Christ reveals himself and teaches us to see.

How Faith Grows

Faith Begins with What Christ Has Done (13-17)

The Pharisees bring the man before them and ask him what happened. His answer is simple: Jesus made mud and healed my eyes.

He can’t explain how it happened. He doesn’t understand everything about Jesus. But he knows one things: Jesus had changed his life.

This is where faith begins. Faith begins with the work Christ before it begins with our understanding of Christ.

Remember where this man started. He was born blind. He had no ability to fix his condition. He was dependent upon the mercy of those around him.

And Jesus came to him. Jesus initiated his healing. The man did not find Jesus, Jesus found him.

That is always the beginning of our salvation. Before we seek God, He seeks us. Before we understand Christ, Christ acts in grace toward us.

Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…”

Notice what is said after he was healed: he was so different he wasn’t recognized by his neighbors.

They know him, but they don’t recognize him. Why? Because Christ has changed him.

When Christ saves you, He changes you. You are no longer what you were. The old life begins to look unfamiliar because Christ has done something new.

At this point, the man does not know much about Jesus, but he knows what Jesus has done. And that is where faith begins. Not with knowing everything, not with having all the answers - but with trusting the One who has saved you.

Faith Grows Through Difficult Questions (18-34)

The man’s faith does not stay where it began. It grows. And interestingly, as if often the case, it grows most through opposition.

The Pharisees continue to question him. They refuse to believe that Jesus healed him. They even call in his parents to testify.

But the more they challenge him, the more clearly he sees. Watch the progression of his understanding:

At first he simply says: The man called Jesus made mud and healed me.

Then he says: “He is a prophet.” His understanding is growing. Jesus is not merely a man who did something kind, he must be from God.

Later, when the Pharisees demand that Jesus is a sinner, the man reasons with them: “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” He’s had more time to think about what happened. He is reflecting on what Christ has done and what that reveals about who Christ is.

Notice the irony. The Pharisees are trying to expose Jesus as a fraud. But instead, they are helping this formerly blind man to see more clearly. Every question forces his to think more deeply. Every accusation forces him to stand more firmly.

That is often how God works in our lives. Sometimes the opposition we face becomes the very thing God uses to strengthen our faith.

A faith that has never been tested is a faith that has never been strengthened.

Faith Confesses Even When It Costs Dearly (24-34)

But growing faith is not merely a matter of understanding more. Growing faith also means standing with Christ when it becomes costly.

The Pharisees continue pressing him. They demand that he give glory to God by testifying that Jesus is a sinner.

The man refuses. He will not deny what Christ has done. And the cost is very real.

His parents are afraid to defend him because they know the Pharisees have already decided that anyone who confesses Jesus as the Christ will be put out of the synagogue - excommunicated.

This would mean being treated like a Gentile, cut off from the support of the community.

The very people who should have stood with him remain silent.

Then the Pharisees revile him. They insult him, hurl slanderous accusations against him. And they cast him out of the synagogue.

Sometimes seeing Christ clearly means losing the approval of others. The man born blind is losing everything because he refuses to deny what he knows.

The Pharisees claim to be the people who know God, but they reject the One God has sent. The blind man is rejected by them, but he is moving closer to Jesus.

Faith Comes to See Christ Clearly (35-41)

Now we come to the climax of the story. The man has been cast out. He has lost his place in the synagogue. He’s been distanced from his family. But then we read, “Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him…”

Do not miss that. Jesus came to him again. The same Jesus who found him in his blindness finds him in his rejection. The Pharisees cast him out, but Jesus comes to him.

Jesus says, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

Jesus is pressing the man’s faith. He doesn’t ask if he acknowledges that Jesus healed him, or if he thinks Jesus is a prophet. He is bringing the man to the fullest revelation of who He is.

The title Son of Man goes back to the book of Daniel. Daniel 7 recounts the vision of one “like a son of man” coming with the clouds of heaven. He is given dominion, glory, and an everlasting kingdom.

All peoples, nations, and languages are called to serve him. This is not a title for another ruler of men, but for the promised Messiah - the anointed one who comes from God and receives the eternal kingdom.

Jesus asks, “Do you believe in the promise of God?”The man says, “Who is he, that I may believe?” Jesus says, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you…”

The man who had never seen anything before has now been brought face-to-face with the Son of Man.

“Lord, I Believe.” And he worships him.

That is where faith is meant to lead us. Faith is not simply knowing facts about Jesus, or receiving blessings from Jesus, but seeing Jesus for who he is and worshipping him. All theology ultimately brings us to doxology.

Checking your Vision

The question of the text echoes still today, “What will you do with Jesus?”

Be encouraged.

Salvation does not require mature faith. The man did Not begin with a complete understanding of Jesus. He began with a simple confession: “I was blind but now I see.” And Christ patiently grew his faith.

If you are a believer who struggles because you do not know enough, remember this: Christ does not wait until the blind can see before he saves them. He opens our eyes and then teaches us to see.

Ask yourself: Is your faith growing?

Do you see Christ more clearly today that you did before? Do you trust him more deeply? Do you love him more and more each day? Is there a growing hunger for worship before Him?

Faith that is alive is a faith that is growing.

Are you willing to confess Christ even with it comes at great cost and opposition?

The man would not turn on the one who turned to him. Even though he lost the approval of man, he gained Christ.

How will you respond when Christ reveals himself to you?

The blind man sees Jesus and worships. The Pharisees see Jesus and reject him.

Everyone in the chapter encounters Christ. The difference is not whether Christ reveals himself, but whether you respond in faith.

When Christ reveals himself through His Word, will you humble yourself, receive his grace, and worship him?

May God give us the faith of the man born blind - a faith that begins with grace, grows through trials, confesses Christ at great cost, and finally falls before Him in worship.