John 9:24-34 Sermon
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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.
Introduction
Introduction
After getting this far into John chapter 9, we have to ask ourselves the question: who really is blind here?
Starting in verse one we see Jesus passing by a man who was blind from birth.
Then the disciples would ask Jesus a question.
2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
And the answer Jesus gave was that it was neither.
The purpose of the man being born blind was so that the works of God might be displayed in him ().
Afterwards, Jesus spat on the ground and made mud with His saliva and applied it to the blind man’s eyes.
He told him to go to the pool of Siloam (which meant sent) and the blind man came back seeing.
What follows is a series of questions and criticism.
In verse 8, we see that there were neighbors and those who had seen the blind man as a beggar questioning whether he was actually the one they knew as being blind his whole life.
In verse 13, we see them bringing the man to the pharisees.
Jesus did this miracle on the Sabbath and so as usual it caused the religious leaders to call Jesus a man who was not from God and a sinner. They believed He broke the Sabbath.
In verse 18, they refused to believe that he had been blind. So they would call for his parents to confirm that he was born blind.
They confirm, in verse 20, that he was in fact their son and because they were afraid of being put out of the synagogue (which meant that they would be banished from fellowship), they wanted them to go to their son instead so that he could answer for himself.
Question: Who really is blind here in John chapter 9?
The ones who were truly blind were the religious who refused to believe Jesus to be the Christ.
A refusal to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as:
the word that was with God in the beginning
the true light of the world
the Lamb of God
the temple in whom the fullness of God dwelt
the Son given to the world
the living water
the healer
the manna from heaven (the bread that came down from heaven)
the One sent by the Father
The I AM
A rejection of these things that were said about Jesus and from Jesus proved that one was still in need of saving.
as the I AM
as the light of the world and so on...
proves that one is still in need of saving because of their rejection.
Jesus is the light of the world. And those who are in darkness are those who refuse to see Jesus as who He said He was.
Jesus left no room for compromise on this.
Either He is who He said He was or He was a liar and a lunatic.
Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath and they would reject anything Jesus did for this man, who was born blind from birth.
After showing clearly that they did not believe the first time the man was brought to them, they would call the man a second time which would prove again their unbelief.
Why a second time? It is more proof of who really is blind.
In the second interaction we will see three things which will be our three points.
1. Glory Rejected (v.24-25)
1. Glory Rejected (v.24-25)
2. Unbelief Exposed (26-29)
2. Unbelief Exposed (26-29)
3. The Cost of Belief (30-34)
3. The Cost of Belief (30-34)
1. Glory rejected (v.24-25)
1. Glory rejected (v.24-25)
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.”
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.”
Question: What does giving God glory mean?
The word glory comes from the word “doxa.” Which is used predominantly in the New Testament to mean: splendor, brightness, amazing might and honor.
splendor, brightness, amazing might and honor.
It meant to acknowledge someone’s greatness and to give praise to them.
One of the terms found in the Septuagint speaks of glory as a beautiful ornament.
Giving glory means to praise someone as worthy of being acknowledged as amazing and deserving of honor.
The religious leaders in our text thought the opposite of Christ.
Instead of acknowledging Jesus as worthy of praise and deserving of honor, they refused to believe who He was and they would call Jesus a sinner.
They charged the man who was healed from being blind to give glory to God. And yet refused to give glory to God.
All because of their blindness to who Jesus was.
Question: Who truly was blind here?
It is sad to see that even with the man and his parents there, they continued to call Jesus a sinner.
The miracle done for the man who was healed left him with no doubts as to what happened.
Read Verse 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.”
Read Verse 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.”
The man had not yet come to the understanding of who Jesus was.
But what he did know at the time was that he was healed.
The evidence of his healing was meant to point to Jesus as the Messiah.
But the religious leaders only refused to believe.
Miracles are never an end to themselves.
Miracles are never an end to themselves.
The purpose of any miracle is always to give God the glory
Remember what Jesus said in verse 3 of ,
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
The purpose of every miracle in redemptive history was to give God the glory.
But there has been a pattern. Usually when miracles happened it would expose something.
A miracle (according to the Lexham Bible Dictionary) was an event that defied common expectations of behavior and was attributed to a superhuman agent; an occurrence that demonstrates God’s involvement in the course of human affairs.
After being delivered from Egypt, the Israelites would grumble and complain
Ronald D. Roberts, “Miracle,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
They would continue to complain even after God providing bread from heaven
After Jesus feeding over 5000 people would doubt and complain
Here in our text it is no exception. We see the very same thing.
Either glory comes from those who’s eyes have been opened when God does a miracle or grumbling and complaining comes from those who are blind without seeing Christ as all satisfying and enough.
Modern day example:
Modern day example:
Someone comes to saving faith, yet we find ourselves complaining about the church.
Question: Who really is blind here?
Unbelief, especially after God doing something like He did in our text, shows how evil and dull we are without Him.
Which proves the point in John that belief in miracles cannot save.
The issue of an unbelieving heart requires a heart transplant. This is what the New Covenant is about.
They should have believed, but they couldn’t. Their refusal to believe exposed what their condition was before God.
Paul actually spoke of this in .
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Because of their blindness and hardness of heart they would reject the glory of God that stood right in front of them.
Friends, don’t be “hatin” on them. This is us apart from the mercy of God.
What this exposed is what is in all of us prior to saving faith. Which is unbelief.
Unbelief is what was exposed here.
We see this in our text in verses 26-29.
2. Unbelief Exposed (26-29)
2. Unbelief Exposed (26-29)
26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
Notice two questions in verse 26.
what did he do to you
how did he open your eyes
How did he open your eyes.
Second, How did he open your eyes.
These questions came from the undeniable fact that before them stood a man who was claiming to be blind from birth, neighbors and others brought him to them and then they asked his parents if indeed he truly was their son.
John Calvin in his commentary said:
Though they search on all sides to obtain grounds of slander, the Lord defeats their attempts, in a remarkable manner, by the unshaken firmness of the blind man; for not only does he persist in his opinion, but he freely and severely reproaches them, that after having abundantly ascertained and known the truth, they endeavour to bury it by their continual inquiries.
Though they search on all sides to obtain grounds of slander, the Lord defeats their attempts, in a remarkable manner, by the unshaken firmness of the blind man; for not only does he persist in his opinion, but he freely and severely reproaches them, that after having abundantly ascertained and known the truth, they endeavour to bury it by their continual inquiries.
Their continual inquiry wasn’t curiosity. It was out of a hatred for Christ that they continued to ask the questions.
Notice that the blind man answers but not with the details of what Jesus told him to do. Which was to go to the pool and wash, his response reveals a sense of frustration with their continual doubts.
Read verse 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?”
Read verse 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?”
John MacArthur pointed out that this was said out of sarcasm. I agree with him.
They asked, “what did he do to you” and “how did he open your eyes?”
But these questions only exposed their unbelief. They were not asked genuinely so that they could know.
Instead of believing what the Scriptures said about him, they held to their hatred of him. Which revealed that they truly were not of Abraham.
They were blind. They were without faith.
They told the man to give glory to God. Which was really telling the man not to give glory to Christ.
Question: What was going on in them that they just could not believe even with the man and his parents in front of them?
Jesus had already addressed this in .
shows us what Jesus was responding to.
18 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.
He continued in ,
how did he open your eyes
39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 I do not receive glory from people. 42 But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. 43 I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
In telling the man to give glory to God, they were themselves not giving glory to God. Because in not giving glory to the Son they were not giving glory to the Father.
23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.
John the writer left no room for another way and option.
To deny the Son is to the deny the Father who sent Him.
This captures for us who really is blind.
They were so blind that they could not even see that they weren’t even believing Moses.
Read Verse 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
Read Verse 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
Read Verse 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
Read Verse 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
They were not disciples of Moses.
If they were they would believe in Christ in whom Moses wrote about.
They told the man that he was a disciple of Jesus which was meant to offend and belittle him. When really that would be honorable and what we should want because Jesus is the promised Prophet that Moses wrote about.
Note:
The parents were afraid of being associated with Christ because:
41 Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.
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.)
But because of what Christ did for this man, he was without reservation.
It didn’t matter to him what they would do, he just knew what Christ had done for him.
There is a great lesson here.
Question: Do we know what Christ has done for us?
Have we forgotten what great of a salvation we have been given?
This question is essential. Especially because of how antichrist our culture has become.
It is going to take being convinced to the point of knowing Him and believing in Him that will fend off the amount of skepticism and doubt that the culture is pushing on us.
Because of what Christ has done with this man, the works of God through Him would be displayed.
Which was not that he would see with his eyes, but it was so that he would believe in Him.
Question: Who really is blind?
It is those who do not believe in Jesus Christ!
Our belief that should be out being convinced, does come with a cost.
Either we do what the parents did, which was fear man or we do what the man did when healed. Which was believe. Without reservation and shame.
His belief in Christ came at a cost.
3. The Cost of Belief (30-34)
3. The Cost of Belief (30-34)
30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
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.
John
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.
18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.
29 The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
Proverbs
There was an understanding that God did not listen favorably to the wicked. To those who were sinners.
Jesus was called a sinner by them. They accused Him of being one who God would not listen to.
But the man who was healed could not refuse what God had done in healing him.
This man was convinced that Jesus was from God.
Read Verse 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.
Read Verse 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.
Again, this man was fully convinced that God listened to this man!
32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.
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.”
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.
34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
His parents were afraid of this. But what made this man’s testimony of what Christ had done was that he was fully convinced that Jesus was from God.
And the price for that testament was being cast out.
Question: Who was blind here in our text?
It wasn’t the man who was cast out.
He would worship Christ later in recognition to who He is.
The blind here are those who looked religious and those who thought themselves of God.
39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
May God open our eyes to see Him as glorious and true. So that our profession of faith would be fierce and with no compromise.
We are to follow Christ even to the point of being cast out.
27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.
It is because God has opened our eyes to who He is that we can be unashamed. Giving glory to Christ as praise worthy and true is our banner and foundation.
The blind do not see Jesus as worthy and true. But to those of us who have been healed from a life of blindness to that truth, to us it is the power of God!
We have been convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, the light of the world who is gracious and merciful to those of us who were lost and in need of salvation!
Close in prayer.