011 [503] Jn.9.1-41 None So Blind As He Who Will Not See
Notes
Transcript
The captain of the Titanic refused to believe the ship was in trouble until water was ankle deep in the mail room. Only then was it apparent the multi-layered hull had been pierced and the unsinkable ship was going to sink. Ships that could have arrived before the Titanic went down were not summoned until it was too late.
None So Blind As He Who Will Not See
None So Blind As He Who Will Not See
Date: 20-06-10 503 Echuca
Intro
Intro
The captain of the Titanic refused to believe the ship was in trouble until water was ankle deep in the mail room. Only then was it apparent the multi-layered hull had been pierced and the unsinkable ship was going to sink. Ships that could have arrived before the great ocean liner went down were not summoned until it was too late.
- The confidence in that ship made people blind to reality
- They refused to believe that such a sophisticated & well designed ship could actually sink
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- Many years ago, I had opportunities to share my faith with a carpenter who said that he had an open mind on the subject of Jesus
- Trouble was that whenever we discussed Jesus, he did nothing but raise every objection possible
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- There’s more in play here than meets the eye
- An open mind may be open in principle, but that is not the thing you need open – the heart needs to be open
- What I mean is, that the heart needs to identify that it has bias’ & presuppositions & be willing & ready to accept what is true
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- If a person says to himself, “I don’t want to believe”, then all that person will do, will be to look for ways to confirm their unbelief
- They will raise nothing but objections, because the heart is closed off from belief
- Then the saying is true: “A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still”
—19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
19 “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.
- The evil deeds vary for people, but none is more evil than shutting out of your life the God who created you
- The evil deeds vary for people, but none is more evil than shutting out of your life, the God who created you
- It doesn’t matter how good a life you live → if God is shut out, then according to the Lord, something very evil is happening
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- There are none so blind as he who will not see
- This passage today is testimony to the truth of that saying
- Here we see a blind man & beggar who was willing to believe & the Pharisees (the Religious leaders of Israel) who stubbornly refused to believe
- In spite of the evidence of the blind man who could now see
- In spite of the evidence of the crowd who knew him
- In spite of the evidence from his parents
- In spite of the trustworthy rebuke from the man who could now see
- They chose to close the heart & remain in spiritual blindness
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- We start in this passage with a man that is sitting outside the temple begging for a handout
- He’s blind & cannot support himself & the best place to find grace from people is at the temple, of course. People are more likely to be generous at that location
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- But removing spiritual blindness can only come when a person is willing to have that blindness removed
1. Spiritual Blindness Uses False Evidence
1. Spiritual Blindness Uses False Evidence
—16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.”
16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.
- God intended the Sabbath to be a day of rest for Israel
- God intended the Sabbath to be a day of rest for Israel
- Jesus had said, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath"
- The Pharisees went to the extreme – they permitted next to nothing to be done on the Sabbath
- According to the Jewish Talmud you broke the Sabbath if you:
* looked in a mirror as you may spot a grey hair & be tempted to pluck it out
* you broke the Sabbath if you were to take a bath since you might splash water on the floor and wash it
- These things were labelled work & you were not to work on the Sabbath
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- We just bought a fridge & the manufactures have a setting built into the fridge for the Jewish people, so that on the Sabbath, the settings cannot be changed
- To change the settings would be labelled as work
- Jesus cut through all this nonsense & healed the blind man on the Sabbath day
- So these religious leaders put 2 & 2 together & came up with 5
“This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.”
- The spiritually blind Pharisees were resting on false assuptions about the Sabbath day law
- By ignoring what God said, they carried on in their blindness
2. Spiritual Blindness looks for Ways to Reject Jesus
2. Spiritual Blindness looks for Ways to Reject Jesus
- The man who had been blind testified in front of them of what exactly had happened
- The proof was right there in front of them – staring them in the face
- Some said, “He is not from God”, but others questioned: “how can a sinner do such an incredible miracle”?
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- Let’s investigate further they say...
- They ask the, formerly, blind man’s opinion
- He responds, “He’s a prophet” - no questioning, no doubting – he can now see, what else could he make of Jesus
- Prophets were understood to be from God & that God was with them
- “I can see” - of course He’s from God
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- But these spiritually blind Pharisees didn't like his answer & called for his parents
- Not being satisfied with their answer, they again call back in the man & cross examined him again
Q. But were they seeking the truth? Hardly!
- They say to him, “Give glory to God, we know that this man is a sinner”
- Well it seems that they have made up their minds well before they even started to investigate the miracle
3. The Spiritually Blind Will Not Listen to Truth
3. The Spiritually Blind Will Not Listen to Truth
—18 The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight
18 The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight,
- The man gives testimony to receiving sight, but in the Pharisees’ mind, there must be another explanation
- The man gives testimony to receiving sight, but in the Pharisees’ mind, there must be another explanation
- “Bring in the parents & we’ll get to the bottom of this”
v.19 they questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”
- They had asked this same question again & again
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- The parents respond: “We know that’s our son – it’s him alright and we know he was born blind”
- But the parents were in a dilemma
- In v.22 the Jews had already determined that if anyone confessed Jesus to be the Christ, then he would be put out of the Synagogue
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- You need to realise that this was not a simple matter of, say, being banned from a church
- To be banned from the Synagogue meant that you were socially, an outcast
- You were not given work, you were not given any help of any kind
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- In this situation, they buckled under this pressure & passed the buck
- So in v. 23, the parents say, “he is of age, ask him”
- They would have known that only God could give him his sight
- But they were afraid & took the road of least resistance
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- Now the Pharisees have got all the facts together, all the evidence
- v.24 They say, "Give glory to God, WE KNOW this man, Jesus, is a sinner".
- They have all the evidence, done their research – what's the conclusion? “WE KNOW” this man is a sinner
- That is a very bias’ kind of research, don’t you think!
- They have all the witnesses, the man's parents & the blind man who can see!
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- But they started with the premise, "we hate Jesus" now looking at the evidence, we conclude "Jesus couldn’t have done it”
- That is wilful spiritual blindness
—25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
- They say, “we know, this Jesus is a sinner”; he says “but I know that I was blind but now I see” & “we know that God does not listen to sinners”
- They say, “we know, this Jesus is a sinner”; he says “but I know that I was blind but now I see” & “we know that God does not listen to sinners”
- So if Jesus was not from God, He could do nothing
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- Well this man has really backed them into a corner – where do they go to from here?
- There are a number of ways to handle a person you strongly disagree with & this is what happens when a person is backed into a corner
- It has been suggested that there are 4 levels of conflict
1. The intellectual level (meet mind to mind – may agree to disagree)
2. Emotional level (the emotions kick in & you get hot under the collar)
3. Abuse level (where the attack moves away from the argument to the person – gets personal) → happens when you begin to lose the argument
- This level is where name calling & insults begin (character assassination time)
4. Physical abuse level (this is the lowest level of the rung)
- Sometimes you see this in parliamentary debates where politicians lose the plot & run across the floor & attack the opposition
- The Pharisees didn't know how to handle this guy & they lost themselves to the lower levels of conflict
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- Here in v.28 it says that they reviled him → it means to slander & abuse
- In v.34 they hit the bottom of the rung – the 4th level of conflict - & have him physically removed from their presence
- It’s hard to know whether they literally threw him out into the street, OR if it refers to expulsion from the synagogue – it may even be both!
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- After they threw him out, Jesus came to Him
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
—39 Jesus said to the man, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
- A person can only have spiritual sight when he or she believe’s that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God & that He is the Saviour of the world
- A person can only have spiritual sight when he or she is willing to open their heart up to God
- A blind beggar came to not only see physically, but spiritually as well for he believed in Jesus as the Christ of God
believe’s that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God & that He is the Saviour of the world
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- A blind beggar could see, whereas the religious leaders of Israel couldn’t
Amazing grace! how sweet the sound! That saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; Was blind, but now I see.
- There are none so blind as he who will not see
- The response of the man was this: “Lord I believe” and he worshipped Him
Q. What about you? Can you see who He is?