SEEING THINGS CLEARLY

Introduction

-On November 30, 1991 fierce winds from a freakish dust storm triggered a massive freeway pileup along Interstate 5 near Coalinga, California. At least 14 people died and dozens more were injured as topsoil whipped by 50 mile-per-hour winds reduced visibility to zero. The massive accident left a three-mile trail of twisted and burning vehicles, some stacked on top of one another 100 yards off the side of the freeway. What happened was that, even though people were unable to see their way, the motorists kept driving ahead blindly ultimately toward disaster.

-This incident reminds me of how most of the world is getting around spiritually—Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that:

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.

-So, people are trying to make their way through this world, but they have zero visibility to what is truly going on around them, and are unable to confront life situations from a place of truth

-Without a born-again experience in Jesus Christ where the old has become new, one’s worldview is tainted, and people are easily led astray

~I guess you could picture it like this—everyone is born spiritually blind, and the devil comes along to take the blind person by the hand and lead them down the path toward their destruction, all the while promising that everything is going to be just fine. But what Jesus does is not merely take someone by the hand to lead them, but He gives them sight, so they can clearly see what is going on around them and then willingly make choices that follow Jesus down the right path and see things from a biblical/heavenly perspective.

-Yet, sometimes, even Christians willingly put blinders on themselves so that they do not approach life from biblical perspectives but live and make choices and tackle life’s issues from a fleshly, worldly perspective.

-But when we truly seek Christ and the Kingdom of God first, we may not receive all the answers we want for what is going on in our lives, but at least we are able to see things clear enough to have faith that the things that are going on have some sort of eternal significance that we may not fully understand, but we can still trust Christ

-In the passage that we are looking at today Jesus performs a miracle of giving sight to a blind man, but it has greater significance in that it is a teaching point and a metaphor that Christ gives spiritual clarity to those who would believe in Him and obey Him.

~So, my prayer is that in the points I make today, and then by extension every area of our lives, we allow Christ to give us spiritual clarity so we see things clearly from His heavenly perspective, looking not only at the here and now, but also into the eternal future.

John 9:1–12 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.” 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. 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.”

-Just briefly, there are three areas that we can see more clearly. First, the passage talks about:

I) Seeing our suffering clearly

-Jesus and His disciples were wandering around Jerusalem after having escaped from a mob of Jews who wanted to kill Him. They see a blind beggar and instead of having compassion on the man, the disciples turn this into a theological treatise.

~They ask who sinned for him to be born blind—him or his parents (which to me raises another question, how could a baby sin before birth)

-But, at the heart of their question, is the age-old question about why is there evil in the world? Why do good people suffer? Why is there so much seemingly senseless suffering?

~This is the same question asked ever since the Fall of mankind

-Now, the way they worded the question shows a common misconception for their day and age, it was also the misconception that Job’s friends had as recorded in the book of Job (and some might have that misconception today):

~If someone is suffering, it had to be their own doing—those who are good and righteous are blessed, and those who do evil will suffer

-Now, there are several problems with that concept, not the least of which is that everybody knows that this is not the way reality works. We know evil people who seem to live healthy, wealthy lives; and we know good, righteous people who have suffered physically and financially and emotionally. Even King David lamented in several psalms, asking why the wicked prosper.

-And Jesus tells them that neither the sin of parent or person is the cause of what is going on.

~Now, Jesus was not denying that sin has consequences and that oftentimes sin has built in suffering that comes with it—but it is not always the case that sin is the reason why someone is experiencing something

-So then, why was this young man suffering blindness since birth? If it isn’t sin, why did this evil befall him?

-The answer Jesus gives is a hard pill to swallow, but it gives us the biblical/heavenly/eternal perspective that we’ve been talking about—according to Jesus in v. 3 this man was born blind so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

-And that answer might make our head spin because we know that God is good and not the author of evil, yet God is sovereignly in control of everything and so at minimum He allows suffering and evil to play out

~And, according to Jesus, it is so that God can display His work in some way on the earth

-We may not like that answer, and it doesn’t necessarily answer the why question, but we wrestle with this because our minds and perspectives are so limited

-We see this concept elsewhere, like when God said in Exodus 4:11

Then the LORD said to [Moses], "Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

-So, it is true, God providentially creates some situations in people’s lives and providentially allows some situations in people’s lives—and for some reason we think that God has to answer for Himself why He allowed something to happen

~God does not owe anybody an explanation for anything—He is God and He can do what He wants

-But what God does is tell us to trust Him because He knows the reason for something even when we don’t—and He gives that great promise to those who are believers:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Rom. 8:28 ESV)

-So, for believers at least, God does and allows what He does for our good and His glory—we may not ever figure out on this earth how that works out, and there is no promise of answers in eternity, but we trust God will work that out

-And for the unbeliever, what God does and allows is for their repentance—Jesus hinted at this in another teaching moment with His disciples in Luke 13:

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

2 And he answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?

3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.

4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?

5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

-One’s own suffering or the tragedy and suffering of others ought to remind people of their own mortality and cause them to seek God. That does not mean that all suffering ceases after repentance, but repentance is a right and biblical response to suffering

-The bottom line is that through Jesus Christ we can see suffering and trouble and tribulation a little more clearly—God may be allowing some things to happen in our lives because He is going to show Himself powerful and mighty through my suffering and get the glory for it

-And we are reminded by Paul in Romans 8:18:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (Rom. 8:18 ESV)

-We may not fully understand it because again we are reminded in Isaiah:

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa. 55:8-9 ESV)

-But we can see our troubles and sufferings (that are not a consequence of our sin) more clearly as something that God will ultimately use for our good and His glory in an eternal sense

II) Seeing our present circumstances clearly

-In v. 4 Jesus says:

4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. (Jn. 9:4 ESV)

-Jesus is proclaiming that His time for earthly ministry is limited, and so while He has some time left He is going to go about doing the work of the Father, displaying the mighty works of God and proclaiming the Kingdom of Heaven.

-This is a forewarning that there would come a time when the night would come, that is, He is predicting His own death—His atonement for sin and resurrection would change eternity, but it would be the end of earthly ministry. Therefore, at this moment He would fulfill the ministry that the Father laid out for Him.

-This is a reminder to us that our present circumstance as humans on this earth is that our time on earth is short, so as much of it as possible ought to be used in the work and ministry of God

~James in his epistle reminds us:

What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (Jas. 4:14 ESV)

~Not that this ought to depress us, but it ought to motivate us to use our short time on earth wisely

-Too often we forget how temporary things are in this earth, and so we invest time and money and effort and resources investing in worldly affairs that will soon have no meaning for us, when instead our circumstances should cause us to invest in eternity

-Even Jesus Himself said in Matthew 6:19-20:

19 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,

20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

-And so, Jesus again puts things into perspective for us: it is time for the church of Jesus Christ to wake up from its spiritual slumber and get to the work that impacts eternity, because we will either die or Christ will return

~So, Paul exhorts us in Romans 13:11:

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. (Rom. 13:11 ESV)

-While it is still day, we are awake, alert, and working—again Paul exhorts us in 1 Thess 5:5-6:

5 For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.

6 So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.

-Even Christ warns us in Revelation 16:15:

15 ("Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!")

-Time is not on our side. Spiritual darkness encroaches all around. Our time is short. When we allow Christ to open our eyes we see clearly enough that we waste too much time on that which is temporary when we need to concentrate on the permanent / the eternal.

-One of my favorite channels is Food Network (go figure). And one of my favorite shows is Chopped that is a competition of three rounds. In each round the chefs are given a basket of mystery ingredients that they have to turn into something delicious in a small amount of time given. And one of the biggest problems that the contestants run into is not using their time wisely. They get down to the last minutes or seconds and they aren’t able to finish what they wanted to finish because they weren’t aware of the circumstances that they were in.

-My prayer is that as Christ noticed that the day is short and night is coming, we see clearly enough that our days are short as well, so let us use what we have to the glory of God.

III) Seeing Jesus clearly

-In v. 5 Jesus said:

5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (Jn. 9:5 ESV), after which Jesus performed the miracle of giving sight

-This is a reassertion of something that Jesus had said earlier in His interchange with the Jews in John 8:12:

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 is through whom you are able to see and understand everything else—it is through Jesus that everything comes into focus and into the right perspective

-Every morning, the first thing I do is put on my glasses so I can get around and then find my contact lenses to put in. If I do not put on my glasses and/or put in my contacts, the world is a very fuzzy place. Everything is blurry and hard to make out. It’s difficult for me to know what something is or says without my glasses and contacts, even if it is literally right in front of my face.

-Our view of the world, our way of seeing things, is blurry at best, and darkened at worst, without Jesus giving us clarity. Without the light of Christ shining in our lives, our outlooks are skewed, our path unsure, our lives unfocused.

-Only through Jesus Christ can the reality of life actually make sense to us and we are able to not only find the path that is God-honoring in this life, but we are able to find the narrow gate and path that leads to eternal life. Without the light of Christ, everything is darkness.

Conclusion

-So, my question to you is how clearly are you seeing—not physically, but spiritually. How clear is the origin and meaning of life? How clear is your purpose for being? Life’s biggest questions only make sense in light of Christ.

-Maybe you have realized that you have walked in darkness your entire life. The world has been a haze, and something else is leading down a path that you don’t want to go down.

~Jesus Christ is the light of the world. He died on the cross to give you spiritual sight and spiritual life. If you would believe in Him and receive Him as Lord and Savior, the scales will fall from your spiritual eyes and you will see truth for the first time. But without Jesus, the Light of the World, you will always walk in darkness….

-But maybe you are a Christian and you need Jesus to shed some light on present sufferings or present circumstances—come to the altar and ask Christ to enlighten you. And even if you don’t get the answers you seek, trust that He will turn everything in your life into something for your good and His glory.