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John 9
“I Once was Blind but Now I See”
Charles R. Biggs
Introduction
Pitch black darkness all of his life. He had never seen his mother or
father. He had never seen his
friends. As a child he would have
been provoked and teased without him even seeing it.
Dark, dark, dark…Always night,
always shut off from seeing what is around him. He can feel the heat and warmth of the
sun, but he had never seen anything around him lit up by the sun.
He was blind from birth…no means to support
himself. He was a constant
embarrassment and weak reminder to the community of their failure to help
the hurting and the weak. A poor,
blind beggar, a weak, blind vessel Jesus
uses to reveal a greater darkness, a greater problem of the community. The problem of blindness in the heart.
Light all of their lives under the Law and the
Prophets. They had many times
learned from their mother and father the truth of the Old Testament and the
hope of Messiah they so desperately anticipated! Light, light, great light all of their
lives! They had walked with friends
to the synagogue and graduated eventually into being the great and
respected teachers of their community.
They were in the light of God’s Word literally
since their birth. They were
supported through the means of being God’s teachers of the Word. They were respected by the community. Yet they were desperately blind both to
the beggar and his needs, as well as to the very Light of the World
himself. The very One they were
taught concerning, the very Messiah Who they taught the people about, was
standing right before them and all they could see was a satanic trickster,
a fake, a breaker of God’s Sabbath Law, and One Who needed to be
silenced and put to death.
Pitch black darkness all of their lives because of
sin…Yet Jesus comes to give sight to those who walk in darkness! He is the Light of the World!
I.
Jesus
the Light of the World (8:12; 9:1-5)
John 9:1-5
John 9:1 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."
o
Blind from birth (v.1)
o
Misunderstanding of sin (v. 2)- Like Job’s friends who thought that physical
sickness and illness must be caused by the sin of the parents or the
person. Physical problems such as
blindness are truly caused by sin in an ultimate sense because of the fall
of man in Genesis 3, but Jesus was to reveal and shed light on the
greater effect sin has had on man: spiritual
blindness.
o
Our physical sicknesses and spiritual blindnesses are not merely the fault of our parents or
ourselves, but it is the fault ultimately of “Father Adam” our
covenant representative who sinned and rebelled against the Lord God in the
garden!
o
Jesus’ Miracles were SIGN-ificant (v. 3)- His works or miracles were not to impress, they were
to SIGN-ify something! What?
That the New Creation was dawning with his appearance. Jesus was undoing the deeds of darkness
done by the Prince of Darkness. He
was there to bear testimony that the Kingdom of God had
come! He had come to work so that
men might believe because in him was Life and that Life was the Light of
men (John 1:4).
II.
Jesus
the Light Who Shines in the Darkness (9:6-34)
John 9:6-12:
6 Having
said these things, he spat 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."
o
Jesus the Creator (vv.
6-12)- Jesus restores sight as well as life. As God in Genesis 2:7 reaches down into
the mud and breathes life into Adam who is made in his image, so Jesus
reaches down into the mud to restore the sight of this blind beggar made in
God’s image, who is blind ultimately because of Adam’s
sin.
o
Object Lesson of the Kingdom of God (vv.
6-12) – Jesus shows that the Kingdom of God has
come in his restoration of that which was lost in the fall. The blind man is healed so that all who
could truly see, would know and understand that
Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
o
The Deceiver and the Master of Illusions (Gen.
3:1-7)- Satan in the Garden of Eden tempted Adam
and Eve with fruit which would “open their eyes” and
“give them sight”. They
should have already known that they indeed had sight. The only
sight that mattered was the sight God gave in the revelation of His Word to
them. All other so-called
“sight” would in actuality be “blindness”, and thus
it would lead to shame.
Genesis 3:1-7 Now the
serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God
had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not
eat of any tree in the garden'?"
2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of
the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, 'You
shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden,
neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" 4 But the serpent said to the
woman, "You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that
the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that
the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate,
and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were
opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves
together and made themselves loincloths.
o
Satan always offers “sight” to those
who are spiritually blinded. Think
of all of the New Age Movements and how they all claim to have
“spiritual insight”, “sight”, or think that God has
revealed himself to them in some kind of dream or near-death vision of
light. Satan is the
master-counterfeiter and he can even counterfeit the light of God- - and
yet it is really darkness. This
“sight” Satan offers is shameful and leads to death because it
prevents others from seeing the truth of Jesus Christ!
2 Corinthians 4:1-6 Therefore,
having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced
disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper
with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend
ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our gospel is
veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case 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. 5 For what we
proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your
servants for Jesus' sake. 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.
John
9:13-34:
13 They
brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day
when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again
asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put
mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." 16 Some of the Pharisees said,
"This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But
others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And
there was a division among them. 17
So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him,
since he has opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a
prophet." 18 The
Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight,
until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19
and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How then does he now see?" 20
His parents answered, "We know that this is our son and that he
was born blind. 21 But
how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask
him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." 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.) 23 Therefore
his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." 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.
o
“But the darkness has not comprehended
it” (John 1:5; 3:19)
John 1:5 The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has
not overcome it.
John 3:18-21 18 Whoever believes in [Jesus]
is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment:
the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness
rather than the light because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who does
wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his
deeds should be exposed. 21
But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly
seen that his deeds have been carried out in God."
o
The Pharisees who were
teachers of the light, could not seek Jesus, the Light of the World and
Messiah, because in reality they were blind.
o The
Pharisees judge Jesus and the blind beggar.
Think about yourself! When
you became a Christian some in family situations, friends, and often times
as we walk as children of the light, those close to us judge us - -they
interrogate! They come with their
doubting smirks on their face, teasing us that “we have seen the
light”! But they cannot see the
hope of Jesus that we see!
o Think
about this illustration: Imagine yourself on a pitch dark road at 2AM in the morning. Suddenly, a great tractor trailer with
his headlights on bright drives up to where you are on the road. You face the burning bright lights face
on. They blind you! Yet if you were to turn around, with your
back to the lights, you would be able to see much around you. You would not be blinded, but you would
have sight!
o Many
are like this illustration. When we
tell of them of the grace and love of Jesus, the light of our joy and
countenance overwhelm their sin-sick, dark lives. They are blinded by the light! They do not understand (as the Pharisees
do not understand), that if they truly want to see, they must submit to the
Lord Christ, turn from sin, and because of their union with him, they are
enabled to see all things so clearly!
III.
Jesus
the Light Who Gives Sight and Salvation (9:35-41)
John 9:35-41:
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.
o
Jesus asked: “Do you believe in the Son of
Man?”- The blind beggar says to him: “Lord, I
believe”. The Pharisees
who had lived literally in the light of God’s truth all of their
lives say: “Are we also blind?”, meaning only physically
blind, and Jesus directs his criticism to their greater problem: “If
you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We
see,’ your guilt remains.”
o
The man was born both physically, as well as
spiritually blind from birth. The
Pharisees were born physically with sight, but were spiritually blind from
birth. We are all born
spiritually blind and need the light to shine in our hearts so that we
might see the glorious truth of the gospel and have the “eyes of our
hearts” enlightened.
o
Jesus does a “Satanic-Reversal”. He restores true sight that was lost in Eden, and
allows those who think they can see to continue still in their
blindness. God comes through the
gospel of Christ Jesus and comes into the deep and dark corridors and
caverns of our cold hearts to warm them and to say to them: “Let their be light” (2 Cor.
4:6) and “Arise, Shine for the Light has come (Isa.
60:1-2).
Conclusion
Do you believe that Jesus is
the Son of Man? Can you say that you
“once were blind, but now you see”? Are you blind and so receive sight
through Christ? Or, can you see and
so reject Christ in your blindness.
If you can see because of the gospel penetrating your heart, then
live as children of light!
As Christ’s people, we
are the light of the world! We shine
in the darkness wherever we have been placed in this world. We are called by God to live as children
of the light (Eph. 5:6-16). But
how? The Apostle Paul teaches us in
Ephesians 5:6-16:
Ephesians 5:6-16 6 Let no one deceive you with
empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the
sons of disobedience. 7
Therefore do not associate with them; 8 for at one time you
were darkness, but now you are light in the
Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is
found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is
pleasing to the Lord.
11 Take
no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead
expose them. 12 For it is
shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is
exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that
becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, "Awake, O sleeper, and
arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." 15 Look carefully then how you
walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16
making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.
CRB
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