spiritual blindness

SPIRITUAL LIGHT AND DARKNESS – John 9:35-41

John 9:35-41 sermon, spiritual darkness, spiritual light, spiritual sight, Uncategorized

INTRODUCTION:

There are certain living phenomena that can be seen almost anywhere in the world.  They are called lichens and they can be found on rocks, tree trunks, and a variety of other places where they cling and grow in size.  There are many varieties of lichens, having different shapes and colors.  Lichens are not technically plants.  They are composed of a fungus and algae that live together in harmony.  This is not meant to be a biology lesson, but there is something about lichens and their use that relates to the passage of Scripture we are now studying:  John 9:35-41.  From the 16th century to the present day, lichens have been used in scientific experiments to test the pH levels in liquids.  The test is called a litmus test.  A blue dye and a pink dye were extracted from certain lichens.  A particular variety of paper called “litmus paper” was infused with this pink dye or blue dye.  The paper now had the ability to change color under certain conditions, demonstrating whether the solution into which it was dipped was acidic, alkaline, or neutral.

Over a period of time, the term “Litmus test” began to take on a new meaning.  People started using that term to make a judgment about whether or not someone or something was acceptable.  The “litmus test” came to mean the single, most important, and deciding factor that provided the right answer or led to the right decision.  That’s where we are as we study John 9:35-41.  Jesus is about to give a “litmus test” that will clearly define the difference between spiritual blindness and spiritual sight.

I.  THE QUESTIONS (verse 35-36)

Verse 35 contains these words:  “Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ”  When Jesus learned that the man whom He healed of his blindness had been escorted out of the temple, He went looking for him.  This healed man had been publicly interrogated and then publicly thrown out of the temple area.  The news of those events must have spread quickly throughout the city of Jerusalem.  People everywhere in the city were talking about the healing of the blind man, and the inability of the Pharisees to refute his arguments or deny his testimony.

Jesus kept searching for this man until He found him.  He took the initiative to seek and find this man.  The blind man didn’t ask Jesus for this miracle of sight, and I’m sure he wasn’t expecting Jesus to make a search for him and find him.  Now comes the “litmus test”.  Jesus asked the man, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”  He’s asking him to make a choice – a commitment.  There’s no doubt that this man recognized the voice of Jesus.  How could he forget the voice of the One who put mud on his eyes and said, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.”?  When Jesus used the title “Son of Man”, this healed man knew who Jesus was talking about.  The words of the prophet Daniel came to his mind.  In Daniel 7:13, the prophet Daniel was having dreams and visions from God and he said, “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like the Son of Man was coming.”  and Daniel describes Him as a King who has everlasting dominion and authority.  As he looked at Jesus, this man knew that He was referring to the Messiah, the Son of God, and he responds, in John 9:36, by saying, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”  He wants to believe, and he is ready to believe, but he’s not yet sure who Jesus is referring to.  The word, “Lord” can also be translated as “sir” and, in this case, that would be the proper translation since this man does not yet know who Jesus is.

II.  THE MAN’S RESPONSE (verses 37-38)

In verse 37, when he hears, from Jesus’ lips, the words, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you”, his response is immediate and appropriate.  Verse 38 reads, “And he said, ‘Lord, I believe.’  And he worshiped Him.”  At that moment, this formerly blind man passed the test.  His spiritual eyes were opened and he immediately acknowledged that Jesus Christ was the Messiah by believing in Him and worshiping Him.  This time when he calls Jesus “Lord”, he’s addressing Jesus as his Messiah, the King of kings and Lord of lords.  As he said those words, he assumed a position of worship,  prostrating himself at the feet of Jesus and Jesus accepted his worship.  Jesus did not forbid people to worship Him while He was on this earth.  He always accepted worship as an appropriate response to Himself.

President Franklin Roosevelt was a regular church-goer.  It is said that on one gloomy Sunday morning during World War 2, he walked three miles in order to attend worship.  One of his neighbors, noticing this, said to him:  “I can worship in the fields or anywhere else.”  “Yes”, replied Mr. Roosevelt, “but no one will ever suspect you of it.”

This man whom Jesus healed wasn’t concerned about what others thought of him or said about him.  Without hesitation, he fell to his knees in the presence of all of them and worshiped his Lord.  What a contrast to the Scribes and Pharisees!  When Jesus revealed His deity to them, they picked up stones to stone Him!

III.  JUDGMENT (verses 39-41)

While this man is prostrate at his feet, Jesus looks at those standing around Him and says these words in verse 39:  “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”  The word “judgment” is not used here in the sense of condemnation.  Jesus came for judgment in the sense that He was the dividing line.  He was the one who would separate one group from the other.  He was the “litmus test”, defining and separating spiritual light from spiritual darkness.  Those who admitted their spiritual blindness would be given spiritual insight from Jesus, and those who were convinced that they already had spiritual understanding would continue in their spiritual blindness, pronouncing judgment upon themselves.  Someone has said, “There is no one so blind as he who refuses to see!”  Jesus was encouraging the first group of people and warning the second group.

Some of the Pharisees who were close enough to hear those words spoken by Jesus, decide to ask Him a question.  They phrase their question in such a way as to let Jesus know what answer they expect Him to give them.  Here is their question in verse 40:  “We are not blind too, are we?”  They were expecting Jesus to give them the answer “No”.  After all, they were very religious people.  No one would dare to accuse them of errors concerning spiritual matters!  I think they are trying to “twist His arm”, so to speak — to make Jesus say something that He really doesn’t want to say.  Have you ever tried to do that to someone else?  Were you successful?

These Pharisees are living in a state of denial.  They have chosen to forget all the other times when Jesus made them face the facts about their sinful actions and exposed them to the truth of God’s Word.  They preferred to close their eyes and pretend that it didn’t happen.  That form of denial in the face of the obvious still takes place in our world today.

A race-car driver by the name of Scott Goodyear had these words to say about race-car drivers who have been killed in crashes at the Indianapolis 500.  “You don’t go look at where it happened.  You don’t watch films of it on television.  You don’t deal with it.  You pretend it never happened.”  Through the years, a driver has never been pronounced dead at the racetrack.  If you were to visit the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Racing Museum, located inside the 2.5-mile oval, you would find that it has no memorial to the 40 drivers who have lost their lives here.  Nowhere is there even a mention.”  [The total number is now 42]

The Pharisees, in verse 40, are waiting for Jesus to exonerate them so that the discussion can be closed, covered up, and not mentioned again.  However, the response they receive from Jesus is not what they expected to hear and not what they wanted to hear.  In verse 41, Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.”  What does He mean by that statement?  Jesus is saying, here in verse 41, that if the Pharisees would admit to their ignorance of the truth and were willing to confess that ignorance and seek instruction from Him, they would be forgiven and set free from their sin.  People are not condemned for what they cannot do or cannot understand.  However, if these Pharisees are so proud and confident in their own wisdom that they shut their eyes to the truth, their sin will remain unpardoned, and they will be to blame.  In a spiritual sense, there is a big difference between the one who is blind and knows it and the one who simply shuts his eyes.  Only the person who realizes his own blindness can learn to see.  Only the one who realizes his own sin can be forgiven.

CONCLUSION:

There are times when an illustration doesn’t completely fit the topic of conversation or the passage of scripture that is being studied.  In this case, there is a sense in which the “litmus test”, used in my opening illustration, doesn’t fit the topic of spiritual sight, and doesn’t completely align with the words of Jesus in verse 35, where He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”   A litmus test shows one of three results after being dipped into a liquid:  “alkaline”, “acidic”, or “neutral”.  However, when it comes to belief in Jesus Christ, there is no neutral ground.  You are either making a decision for Christ or you’re making a decision against Christ.  Evangelist Billy Graham said, “If you make no decision for Christ, you’re making a decision against Christ.”  There’s no sitting on the fence, and God doesn’t honor good intentions.

Which side of the fence are you on at this moment?  If you’re unsure, wouldn’t this be a good time to make sure?  How you respond to Jesus Christ is the greatest decision in your life.  It will determine the quality of your life on this earth as well as your eternal destiny.  The Bible says that there are only two eternal destinations – heaven and hell, and each of us is going to one or the other.  Please make the right decision and see what a difference it makes to be a true child of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

Fellow Christians, it is our privilege and responsibility to lead others out of the darkness of sin and into His marvelous light.  I hope we are ready, willing, and able to be Christ’s ambassadors to the world around us.  That is what He has called us to be.  2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.  We implore you, on Christ’s behalf:  Be reconciled to God.”

CONSTRUCTION SITE:  COMPLETED

HERE’S MUD IN YOUR EYES! — John 9:6-12

Uncategorized

INTRODUCTION:

There’s a feeling of excitement and suspense in the air – like that of a little child waiting for his parents’ permission to blow out the candles and open the presents on his birthday.  Here in John chapter 9, the main event is about to happen.  This blind man is anxiously waiting to hear this Rabbi’s words spoken directly to him.  So far, neither of them has said a word to each other.  The suspense is growing.  “When is this Rabbi going to say the words and perform the miracle that brings sight to my eyes?”

I.  MUD PIES FOR THE EYES (verse 6)

What he hears isn’t a voice but some movement.  This Rabbi is now seated on the ground in front of him, close enough for this blind man to reach out and touch Him.  Can you imagine the thoughts that must be going through this man’s mind?  “Is He going to ask me a question?”  “Is He going to tell me what He is about to do?”  This beggar still hasn’t heard a word from the Rabbi, but he continues to wait in silence.  Then he hears some unusual sounds.  Verse 6 tells us, “He [Jesus] spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle”.  These were not the sounds that this beggar expected to hear.  It’s been one surprise after another.  He has to exercise faith, believing that all that’s been happening, that all the sounds he is hearing are for his benefit.  We may all agree with the words, “Don’t you love pleasant surprises?”, but most of us don’t like to wait very long for those surprises to happen, do we?

At least this beggar has not had to wait in complete silence.  There are sounds being made.  As he listens to the spitting and the movement of dirt, he must have come to the conclusion that Jesus was making mud.  Does that sound repulsive to you?  Would it have any significance to the blind man?  Possibly.  Human spittle was considered to have healing properties.  His parents or a doctor might have applied some sort of a poultice to his eyes when he was a child, but not one made from mud.  Dirt was considered to be harmful to the eyes.  Once again, this is going to be a unique miracle.  Jesus used His spittle on two other occasions in the Bible: the healing of a different blind man in Mark 8:22-26 and the healing of a deaf man who couldn’t speak well (Mark 7:33-37). However, there was no dirt added in those cases.

Are you wondering why Jesus is going through all this effort to heal the man?  He could easily have said “be opened” or “receive your sight”.  It would have saved a lot of time, effort, and mess, and He’s done that sort of thing before in previous miracles.  That’s true, but Jesus has a reason for everything He does.  Here are a few possibilities.  He may be attracting the attention of people nearby and giving them time to come closer and watch what He is doing.  It is also the Sabbath day, and Jesus may once again be making it very clear to them that He is the Lord of the Sabbath by violating “their Sabbath laws” concerning work.  These are all possibilities but I think there is an overriding reason.  The Lord Jesus can heal a person any way He chooses because He is God.  He is not limited to certain “magic” words or formulas, and He wants to make that obvious to His onlookers.  So far, each of His miracles has been performed in a unique way.

II.  PACKED UP AND SENT ON HIS WAY (verse 6b-7)

Meanwhile, this blind man’s sense of hearing is now on overload, having taken in every sound that has been made.  Now his sense of touch is going to be activated.  Verse 6 says, “and [Jesus] made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes.”  He feels a gob of warm, sticky mud being smeared over each of his eyes and pressed into place by the fingers of Jesus, and he hears Jesus’ words spoken to him for the first time.  “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.”  The word Siloam means “Sent”, so Jesus is sending him to the pool named “sent”.  That pool is almost half a mile away from the temple.  Why is Jesus sending him on a journey when he could have washed his face in the temple area where there were several cisterns and pools?  There are a number of possibilities and all of them might be intended.  For one, this was probably a lesson in obedience.  The story is similar to the account of Naaman the leper and Elisha the prophet (2 Kings 5:9-14).  In both cases, a washing was required, the healer did not accompany the needy person to the water, and the healing took place after the person obeyed.

A second potential reason was to draw a following.  There were a number of people who watched Jesus put the clay on this man’s eyes and decided to follow him.  Meanwhile, the mud was drying.  Others along the route recognized this blind man, saw the mud on his eyes, and decided to join the crowd out of curiosity.  The road to the pool of Siloam had now become a parade route and the blind man was the leader of the band.  Another potential reason for the mud was its irritation.  Have you ever gotten dirt in your eyes?  How did it feel?  Awful isn’t a strong enough word, is it?  What did you do about it?  You hurried to find water to splash on your eyes until the irritation went away, didn’t you.    I believe that this blind man was setting a quick pace, not only because of excitement but also because of the irritation.

Probably the most important reason for Jesus’ command was to give Himself time to leave the area and put Himself out of the picture for a while.  Verse 7 describes this blind man’s act of obedience and the result:  “And so he went away and washed, and came back seeing.”  That’s a brief and concise statement!  Do you think he made the return trip in less time?  I should say so!  He probably ran the whole distance, not only because he could now see where he was going but also because of his exuberance to meet the Rabbi who healed him and to see his parents for the first time.

III.  SEEING ISN’T BELIEVING (verses 8-12)

When he arrived in town, this formerly blind man didn’t receive the joyous welcome he expected to receive.  He didn’t see happy faces.  He didn’t hear words of congratulation from his neighbors.  He didn’t see or hear them praising God for the miracle of his sight.  He didn’t hear words of apology from those who falsely accused him and his parents for his blindness.  Instead of welcoming him with joy and thanksgiving to God, he finds them arguing about his true identity.  Verses 8 and 9 say, “The neighbors, therefore, and those who previously saw him as a beggar were saying, ‘Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?’  Some were saying, ‘This is he,’ and others were saying, ‘No, but he is like him.’  He kept saying, ‘I am the one.’ ”  Do you see the irony in this conversation?  Here is a man who has never seen himself before, telling these neighbors who have seen him almost every day of his life, that he is the one they are looking at!  He has to keep saying it over and over again:  “I am the one! . . .  I am the one!” in answer to responses such as:  “You’re an imposter” and “You just look like him.”

Total blindness from birth is a very rare condition.  He was probably the only person in that city who had been born completely blind. There should have been no question and no argument concerning his identity.  This formerly blind man is coming to the realization that there is another form of blindness that has afflicted many people in his neighborhood.  It’s called “spiritual blindness” and he has yet to see the worst cases of it!

Finally, they stop arguing among themselves and demand an explanation from Him saying, “How then were your eyes opened?”  Since they couldn’t refute his identity, they decide to set up their own court of law on the spot and demand that he give testimony about the details of this “miracle”.  I think they are hoping to find some holes in his argument.  Oh, the lengths to which some people will go in order to justify their own beliefs in the face of what is obviously true!

The man cooperates and gives them a clear and concise answer to their question.  In verse 11 he replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes.  He told me to go to Siloam and wash.  So I went and washed, and then I could see.”  It was as simple as that.  There were no holes in his argument.

Did you know that we can find no stories about blind people who received their sight in the Old Testament Scriptures?  However, we do find many prophecies about the blind receiving their sight.  Let’s take a look at some of them.  The prophet Isaiah prophesies in Isaiah 29:18, saying, “And on that day the deaf shall hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.”  Later, in chapter 35 and verse 5, Isaiah gives that prophecy again when he says, “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.”  Once again, in Isaiah 42:6-7, the prophet Isaiah speaks on God’s behalf saying, “I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

All of those prophecies are pointing ahead to the Messiah.  There were no such miracles of blind eyes being opened until 700 years later when Jesus began His public ministry.  Only He is the light of the world.  This miracle was obvious proof that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.  The people knew those scriptures, and they knew that they were referring to the Messiah, yet they refused to believe what their eyes had seen.  Spiritual blindness prevailed.

The man’s neighbors couldn’t argue with the man’s testimony, so in verse 12 they change the focus of their conversation to the miracle-worker by saying, “Where is He?”  I think they mean, “Why didn’t you bring Him along with you so that we could compare His story to yours.”  I like the attitude of this healed man.  He’s not backing down one inch.  He knows what happened to him and he’s not going to let his neighbors intimidate him.  His answer is:  “I don’t know.”  End of conversation.  They have nothing more to say but they aren’t ready to give up yet.  In the next passage of Scripture, they are going to be escorting him to the Pharisees where another conversation will ensue.  This man’s full experience of the joy of his healing and the gift of sight is being postponed once again.

CONCLUSION:

What did you learn from this miracle and from the conversation that followed?  If we look at this miracle and what followed in John 9:6-12, we can’t help but admire the patience of this man both before the miracle and after receiving his sight.  It’s easy to leave this passage of Scripture with our focus on the blind man and how well he demonstrated patience with Jesus and with his neighbors.  He certainly sets us an example, but we miss the bigger picture.  Let’s look at it from God’s point of view.  Who knows, after all the verbal abuse this man has received all his life, he may have been very angry and bitter inside.  The Lord Jesus may have arranged this miracle and the events that followed in order to teach him patience, trust in God, and a commitment to the truth of his healing in spite of opposition.  We don’t know for sure in this case. but how many times has God used circumstances and people to deal with wrong attitudes in our own lives and encourage us to live for Him?  God, in His providence, might be teaching this man how to stand for the truth and defend the One who healed him, even though he has never seen Him and has not yet been told His true identity.

In our study of this passage of Scripture, as we look at the words, actions, and attitudes of the apostles, this blind man, and his neighbors, I have three questions to ask myself and you:  “What do I really believe inside?”  Why do I believe it?” How do I demonstrate it (or try to hide it)?”   Belief is meant to be a learning and growing experience, drawing closer to the Light of the world [Jesus Christ] through a growing understanding of Him in His Word, and a commitment to following Him in obedience.  The neighbors of the formerly blind man demonstrated their lack of belief and unwillingness to believe what they had seen and heard in spite of the evidence.  The unbelief and the intimidation are going to get worse as we study the next passage of Scripture.

Are your spiritual eyes open to the truth concerning the Person and work of Jesus Christ or have you chosen to close them?  It’s your choice, but keep in mind that choosing spiritual blindness in this life leads to eternal darkness in the next life (Matthew 22:13; Jude 10-13).  God is calling you to come out of your present spiritual darkness and into His marvelous light (I Peter 2:9).  Turn to the Light – the Lord Jesus Christ, and live in obedience to the Light for the rest of your days in this life.  You’ll enjoy the light of God’s presence for eternity.

CONSTRUCTION SITE: COMPLETED

Welcome to this construction site.  You are welcome to do some “sight-seeing” while you’re in the neighborhood.