Once Was Blind

John 9

INTRO

Every person in this room today falls into one of two categories, and the strange thing is, the harder category to be in is the one that initially feels safer.

There's the man who knows he can't see. And there's the man who's absolutely certain he can.

John 9 is going to introduce you to both of them. One is a beggar, born blind, who has never seen a sunrise, his mother's face, or the color blue. The other is in a room full of religious experts — men who have memorized the Torah, who can quote Moses from memory, who have never missed a Sabbath in their lives. By the end of this chapter, one of them can see clearly for the first time. The other is more blind than he’s ever been — and doesn't even know it.

Here's what makes this text so unsettling: the ones who end up blind aren't the immoral, the irreligious, the obviously lost. They're the ones who were sure they already had it all figured out.

That should stop us. Because none of us walked in here this morning thinking, "I hope I'm not spiritually blind." We assume we see. That's what makes spiritual blindness so dangerous — it never announces itself. Nobody wakes up and thinks, "Today I will believe a lie and call it truth."

So before we go any further, here's the question this chapter is going to ask you, whether you're ready for it or not: What if the thing standing between you and Jesus isn't information you're missing, but sight you think you already have?

Turn with me to John chapter 9. This is the story of a man who was born blind, healed by a stranger, and abandoned by everyone he knew — while the people who claimed to see God most clearly missed Him standing right in front of them.

There are four movements here, and I want to walk through them as if we're right there in the story — because in a sense, we are.

Thesis: John 9 is not ultimately a story about a blind man's eyes. It's a story about who could actually see all along — and it forces every one of us to ask the same question the Pharisees refused to ask: am I the one who's blind?

PRAYER

Ask God to open eyes before opening mouths — that the sermon would do in the room what Jesus did on the road.

MESSAGE

John 9:1–5 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.”

The problem of evil / v.3 — "Neither this man nor his parents sinned":

Jesus directly overturns the disciples' assumption (and the era's default theology) that suffering is always the direct fruit of personal sin.

V7 = Luke 13:1-5 — the Galileans and the tower of Siloam; Jesus says the same thing there: tragedy is not a scorecard of relative sinfulness.

Job 1-2, 42 — a man suffers for reasons entirely hidden from him, for a purpose entirely about God's glory, not his guilt.

God's sovereignty and goodness: This is where you can gently touch: the man's blindness existed for decades so that on one particular day, it could become the stage for God's glory (v.3, "that the works of God might be displayed in him"). His suffering was never wasted or arbitrary — it was aimed.

Illustration: A stained-glass window looks like scraps of broken, dark glass from outside the church. It's only from inside, with the light behind it, that you see the picture it was always forming. Suffering often looks senseless from where the sufferer stands — meaning shows up later, from another angle, in another light.

1. Recognize your inherent spiritual blindness.

The man's physical condition is the visual parable of everyone's spiritual condition. He didn't lose his sight — he never had it. That's the human story, not the exception.

You do not merely need better eyesight; you need a new sight altogether.

Ephesians 2:1–3 “1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

2 Corinthians 4:4 “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.”

Romans 3:10–12 “10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.””

John 3:3 “3 Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

Jesus initiates. The man isn't in the temple courts pleading for a miracle — Jesus "saw a man blind from birth" (v.1) and "passed by." Grace finds him first.

Romans 5:8 “8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Not while we were seeking Him.

Luke 19:10 “10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.””

the seeking starts with Jesus, not us.

Recognize your inherent spiritual blindness.

So that's the diagnosis, and it's not a pleasant one.

You weren't born with dim vision that just needs a little correction.

You were born without sight.

That's not an insult — it's the only accurate starting point, because you cannot be cured of a condition you won't admit you have.

But John doesn't leave us in the diagnosis. Jesus doesn't just walk past this man, name his condition, and move on. He does something about it. And what He does next is going to offend everyone who thinks salvation should look more impressive than it does.

Look at verse 6.

John 9:6–7 ESV

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.

Simple, Obedient Faith

Jesus' command sounds almost absurd: mud made from spit and dirt, spread on the eyes, then "go wash in the pool of Siloam."

The man doesn't argue theology. He doesn't ask for an explanation. He goes and washes.

Not effort, not religious performance, not moral improvement — simple, obedient trust in Christ's command.

2. Rely on the One who alone can rectify your condition.

Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Illustration: 2 Kings 5:10-14 — Naaman the leper is told by Elisha to dip seven times in the Jordan. He's insulted — it's too simple, too undignified for a general. His servants talk sense into him: "If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it?" He obeys the simple instruction and is healed.

Same pattern: God's cure often looks embarrassingly, offensively simple to proud people.

This scene is amazing! imagine if you were this person… Imagine if you had been born

3. Report to others that which He has done for you.

John 9:8–12 ESV

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.”

The healed man's neighbors can't even agree it's him.

The healed man never stops testifying, even under pressure, even at personal cost.

John 9:13–17 ESV

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.”

The Pharisees investigate — and immediately fixate on one detail: it happened on the Sabbath (v.14, 16).

They cared more about the law than the heart of God behind the law.

They had Religion not Relationship

John 9:18–23 ESV

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.”)

The parents know the truth but hedge: "He is of age; ask him" (v.21, 23) — because "they feared the Jews," who had already agreed that confessing Jesus as Christ meant being put out of the synagogue (v.22).

Proverbs 29:25 “25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.”

Luke 9:26 “26 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

Where do we do the same ??

NOTE: The mans Boldness and Zeal !!

John 9:24–34 ESV

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.

The man born blind has nothing to lose and every reason to be honest about things.

He gets bolder with every round of interrogation — by verse 27 he's practically mocking them: "Do you also want to become his disciples?"

1 John 1:3 “3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.”

By verse 33, he's out-arguing the religious experts: "If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." He is thrown out of the synagogue (v.34) for telling the truth.

4. Rejoice that He will never cast you out.

John 9:35–41 ESV

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.

the Pharisees' confidence in their own sight is precisely what condemns them. "If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains."

Illustration: A man who insists he doesn't need glasses will never ask for an eye exam. The most dangerous blindness isn't the kind you know you have — it's the kind you're certain you don't.

The Pharisees weren't blind because they lacked information about God; they were blind because they were sure they already had all of it they needed.

Quote: "There are none so blind as those who refuse to see."

Note the beautiful structure: Jesus sought him out Before he could see (v.1), and Jesus seeks him out again after he is cast out for confessing Christ (v.35 — "Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him...").

The man's understanding of Jesus has been growing in stages the whole chapter: "the man called Jesus" (v.11) → "a prophet" (v.17) → "from God" (v.33) → and now, face to face, "Lord, I believe" — and he worships Him (v.38).

This is the pattern of faith: partial light, growing light, then full sight and worship.

Every human authority in this chapter casts the man out. Jesus is the only one who comes looking for him afterward.

John 6:37 “37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

CLOSE

Bring it back to the opening question: everyone in the room is either the man on the roadside or a Pharisee in the crowd — either aware of your blindness and ready to be found, or certain you already see.

I once was lost but now I’m found was blind but now I see !!

Group Questions:

Before you trusted Christ, in what ways did you assume you could "see" spiritually just fine? Looking back, what was actually invisible to you?

The disciples wanted to link the man's blindness to someone's sin. Where are you tempted to explain suffering (yours or others') with a tidy formula instead of trusting God's purposes?

The healed man didn't argue theology with Jesus — he just obeyed. Where in your life are you overthinking obedience instead of simply doing what Christ has already made clear?

Naaman almost missed his healing because the instructions felt too simple and undignified. What's one area where pride is keeping you from a "simple" step of obedience?

The man's story got him interrogated, doubted, and eventually kicked out of the synagogue — and he kept telling the truth anyway. What makes it hard for you to talk about what Jesus has done in your life?

The man's parents knew the truth but stayed quiet out of fear (v. 22-23). Where have you played it safe like the parents instead of bold like their son?

The healed man got bolder with every round of pressure. What would it look like for your confidence in Christ to grow under pushback rather than shrink?

Every human authority in this chapter cast the man out, but Jesus went and found him. When have you felt abandoned for following Christ — and how have you seen Him pursue you in that moment?

The Pharisees' certainty that they already saw is exactly what left them condemned (v. 41). Is there an area of your life where you're too confident you've already got it figured out to actually hear from God

The man's understanding of Jesus grew in stages — "the man called Jesus," then "a prophet," then "from God," then "Lord." Where are you in that progression right now, and what's one step deeper you sense God calling you to take?