Eyes on the Prize
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Transcript
Welcome
Welcome
Intro
Intro
Read
Read
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.” 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.
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.
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.
Teach
Teach
Blessing (1-7)
Blessing (1-7)
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.” 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.
The man was born blind though it was nobody’s fault directly, instead it was the result of sin in total. (Genesis 3)
The purpose of blindness or darkness in this mans life was about to come to fruition in the Light of the world.
12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Jesus set himself up for this perfect moment of teaching by preaching this verse a few days earlier.
The contrast of darkness and light itself has been around since the beginning, (Literally)
Genesis 1 is tells of the first distinction between light and dark.
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
He has done this so that we might become the light of the world, reflecting the light of Jesus.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Jesus tells us exactly what it means to shine light—to do good deeds in His name. When we do good works that reflect who Jesus is, God gets glory!
This all comes full circle when you realize that in verse 7 of John 9, Jesus sends this man to the Pool of Siloam which means “Sent”. God send Jesus as the light, Jesus heals the blind man, the blind man turn in to a light.
Bitterness (29-34)
Bitterness (29-34)
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.
A person’s speech, actions, and mannerisms reveal some things about that person. An accent can place a person from a certain part of the country. A person’s clothes may reveal that person’s college or vocation. The Pharisees said they didn’t know where Jesus was from (though they did know He was from Galilee; see John 7:52); they wanted to belittle Him, as if He wasn’t important enough to spend the effort to get to know Him. But the healed man claimed they should be able to tell that Jesus is from God because of what He had done.
It wasn’t the mud or the pool of Siloam that opened his eyes—it was Jesus, and if Jesus did that, it was because God did it through Him. He reasoned that healing comes from God, so Jesus must be from God. How ironic that this unlearned blind man had to teach the Pharisees on good theology!
Sometimes we get so messed up about the way that God has blessed someone else, that we doubt it was his work in the first place.
Or, we experience God in a powerful way, but we write it off as luck or fate.
Jesus is real and so are his miracles
31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
There is no room for bitterness or pride in the family of God. We all have grace. We all have Hope. We all have Love. We all have Jesus.
Just because moves in someone else’s life doesn’t mean you get to be jealous or condescending. You don’t know how long someone has been hurting, praying, or lonely.
Jesus does the works of God because Jesus is from God (John 5:36), and if this is true, then Jesus’ works show us what God cares about.
Battle (35-41)
Battle (35-41)
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.
Our faith is a process and it’s not always easy, sometimes it’s a battle.
The Pharisees responded to the formerly blind man’s testimony by throwing him out of the synagogue (John 9:34), so Jesus sought him out. Now that he was cut off from all spiritual connection to his family and people, what would he do? Would he blame the Man who had healed him? No. In fact, upon learning that the Man was the Son of Man, the promised Messiah, he responded with faith and worship. This was the work of God in his heart.
This man went from describing Jesus as a mere man (v. 11)
to calling Him a prophet (v. 17)
to saying that Jesus must be from God (v. 33).
But his confession here was something altogether different—he called Jesus “Lord” and worshiped Him as Lord (v. 38).
The man who could not see anything earlier in the day now saw Jesus and saw Him for who He is. He didn’t just receive physical sight; this man received spiritual sight. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, he confessed with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and worshiped Him
Respond
Respond
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
God knew that hearing about Jesus was powerful, but