WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060 And if you would now take your Bibles and open 00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:13.359 up to John chapter 9. John chapter 9 and we're 00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:18.600 going to look at all of the verses within that 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:23.440 chapter today as we continue in our sermon series 00:00:23.440 --> 00:00:28.399 through some of the miracles of Jesus. And so 00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:30.739 I ask you now, as you have those Bibles open 00:00:30.739 --> 00:00:34.460 to John 9, that you would pay close attention, 00:00:34.899 --> 00:00:42.140 because this is God's Word. As he passed by, 00:00:43.240 --> 00:00:47.460 he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples 00:00:47.460 --> 00:00:53.500 asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:57.969 parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, 00:00:58.570 --> 00:01:00.929 it was not that this man sinned or his parents, 00:01:01.950 --> 00:01:04.829 but that the works of God might be displayed 00:01:04.829 --> 00:01:08.829 in him. We must work the works of him who sent 00:01:08.829 --> 00:01:13.769 me while it is day. Night is coming when no one 00:01:13.769 --> 00:01:17.950 can work. As long as I am in the world, I am 00:01:17.950 --> 00:01:21.010 the light of the world. Having said these things, 00:01:21.090 --> 00:01:24.909 he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. 00:01:25.480 --> 00:01:28.180 Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:32.480 and said to him, go wash in the pool of Siloam, 00:01:32.680 --> 00:01:36.980 which means scent. So he went, and he washed, 00:01:37.219 --> 00:01:41.019 and he came back seeing. The neighbors and those 00:01:41.019 --> 00:01:43.500 who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, 00:01:44.299 --> 00:01:47.019 is this not the man who used to sit and beg? 00:01:47.719 --> 00:01:51.879 Some said, it is he. Others said, no, but he 00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:55.409 is like him. He kept saying, I am the man. So 00:01:55.409 --> 00:01:59.170 they said to him, then how were your eyes opened? 00:01:59.650 --> 00:02:02.909 And he answered, the man called Jesus made mud 00:02:02.909 --> 00:02:07.430 and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:11.849 and wash. So I went and washed and received my 00:02:11.849 --> 00:02:14.689 sight. They said to him, where is he? And he 00:02:14.689 --> 00:02:19.330 said, I do not know. They brought to the Pharisees 00:02:19.330 --> 00:02:22.229 the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was 00:02:22.229 --> 00:02:24.789 a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened 00:02:24.789 --> 00:02:28.150 the eyes, his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked 00:02:28.150 --> 00:02:30.729 him how he had received his sight. And he said 00:02:30.729 --> 00:02:34.289 to them, he put mud on my eyes and I watched 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:37.289 and I see. Some of the Pharisees said, this man 00:02:37.289 --> 00:02:40.750 is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. 00:02:41.409 --> 00:02:43.990 But others said, how can a man who is a sinner 00:02:43.990 --> 00:02:47.349 do such signs? And there was a division among 00:02:47.349 --> 00:02:51.349 them. So they said again to the blind man, What 00:02:51.349 --> 00:02:54.270 do you say about him? Since he has opened your 00:02:54.270 --> 00:02:59.169 eyes, and he said he is a prophet The Jews did 00:02:59.169 --> 00:03:01.810 not believe that he had been blind and had received 00:03:01.810 --> 00:03:04.550 his sight Until they called the parents of the 00:03:04.550 --> 00:03:07.030 man who had received his sight and asked them 00:03:07.030 --> 00:03:10.590 is this your son? Who you say was born blind 00:03:10.590 --> 00:03:13.150 how then does he now see and his parents answered 00:03:13.150 --> 00:03:16.969 we know that this is our son and That he was 00:03:16.969 --> 00:03:21.449 born blind but how he now sees we do not know 00:03:21.449 --> 00:03:25.569 nor do we know who opened his eyes ask him he 00:03:25.569 --> 00:03:28.990 is of age he will speak for himself his parents 00:03:28.990 --> 00:03:31.590 said these things because they feared the Jews 00:03:31.590 --> 00:03:34.590 for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone 00:03:34.590 --> 00:03:38.129 should confess Jesus to be Christ he was to be 00:03:38.129 --> 00:03:40.909 put out of the synagogue therefore his parents 00:03:40.909 --> 00:03:46.060 said he is of age ask him So for the second time 00:03:46.060 --> 00:03:48.180 they called the man who had been blind and said 00:03:48.180 --> 00:03:51.599 to him give glory to God We know that this man 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:55.020 is a sinner. He answered whether he is a sinner 00:03:55.020 --> 00:03:59.240 I do not know one thing I do know that though 00:03:59.240 --> 00:04:03.599 I was blind Now I see they said to him. What 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:06.300 did he do to you? How did he open your eyes and 00:04:06.300 --> 00:04:08.819 he answered them? I have told you already and 00:04:08.819 --> 00:04:11.219 you would not listen. Why do you want to hear 00:04:11.219 --> 00:04:14.810 it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? 00:04:15.409 --> 00:04:18.670 And they reviled him saying, You are his disciple, 00:04:19.009 --> 00:04:22.629 but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God 00:04:22.629 --> 00:04:26.009 has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we 00:04:26.009 --> 00:04:29.089 do not know where he comes from. The man answered, 00:04:29.149 --> 00:04:31.910 Why, this is an amazing thing. You do not know 00:04:31.910 --> 00:04:34.430 where he comes from. And yet he opened my eyes. 00:04:34.670 --> 00:04:37.689 We know that God does not listen to sinners. 00:04:37.829 --> 00:04:40.269 But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does 00:04:40.269 --> 00:04:44.129 his will, God listens to him. Never since the 00:04:44.129 --> 00:04:46.990 world began has it been heard that anyone opened 00:04:46.990 --> 00:04:50.629 the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were 00:04:50.629 --> 00:04:54.069 not from God he could do nothing. They answered 00:04:54.069 --> 00:04:57.769 him, you were born in utter sin and would you 00:04:57.769 --> 00:05:02.230 teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard 00:05:02.230 --> 00:05:04.089 that they had cast him out and having found him 00:05:04.089 --> 00:05:07.870 he said, do you believe in the Son of Man? He 00:05:07.870 --> 00:05:11.379 answered, and who is he sir? that I may believe 00:05:11.379 --> 00:05:14.779 in him. Jesus said to him, you have seen him 00:05:14.779 --> 00:05:18.459 and it is he who is speaking to you. He said, 00:05:18.500 --> 00:05:22.180 Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. Jesus 00:05:22.180 --> 00:05:25.399 said, for judgment I came into this world that 00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.759 those who do not see may see and those who see 00:05:28.759 --> 00:05:31.660 may become blind. Some of the Pharisees near 00:05:31.660 --> 00:05:34.220 him heard these things and said to him, are we 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:38.720 also blind? Jesus said to them, if you are blind, 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:42.959 You would have no guilt, but now that you say 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:48.519 we see your guilt remains This is God's holy 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:54.120 word. Let's pray Father we praise you and we 00:05:54.120 --> 00:05:57.240 thank you for this word And I ask that you would 00:05:57.240 --> 00:06:01.600 open up our ears Open up our eyes and open up 00:06:01.600 --> 00:06:05.459 our hearts to see Jesus this we pray in his name 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:14.920 Amen Some 2 ,000 years or so, give or take a 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:20.079 few years, before this man, before this man was 00:06:20.079 --> 00:06:23.339 born blind, there was another man who suffered 00:06:23.339 --> 00:06:28.180 terribly and also was accused of bringing affliction 00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:31.560 on himself. The man I'm thinking of lost his 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:35.959 family. He lost his servants. He lost his wealth. 00:06:36.540 --> 00:06:41.509 He lost his status. And he lost his health. The 00:06:41.509 --> 00:06:43.350 man I'm thinking of, you may be thinking of, 00:06:43.470 --> 00:06:47.829 is Job. The book of Job is called a theodicy. 00:06:48.610 --> 00:06:51.709 And that's a big fancy term. But what it means 00:06:51.709 --> 00:06:55.790 is the times when we try to make sense out of 00:06:55.790 --> 00:06:59.230 pain and suffering and evil in this world that 00:06:59.230 --> 00:07:02.670 is governed by God, we try to make sense of why 00:07:02.670 --> 00:07:05.550 do these tragedies happen? Why is there evil 00:07:05.550 --> 00:07:10.509 in the world? Another shooting happens, and we 00:07:10.509 --> 00:07:14.509 say, why, Lord? Persecution happens to Christians 00:07:14.509 --> 00:07:18.889 in Nigeria, and we say, how long, oh Lord? A 00:07:18.889 --> 00:07:22.629 child dies, and we say, Lord, we don't get it. 00:07:23.110 --> 00:07:27.550 Why do these things have to be this way? In those 00:07:27.550 --> 00:07:31.189 ways, we're just like the psalmist in Psalm 13, 00:07:31.470 --> 00:07:35.350 verse 1, who says, how long, oh Lord, will you 00:07:35.350 --> 00:07:39.000 forget me? How long will you hide your face from 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:42.600 me? No doubt you've asked these questions, too. 00:07:42.600 --> 00:07:44.579 You've tried to figure out why do these things 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:51.319 happen. Job's case is especially tragic, just 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:54.699 like this man in John 9. It's tragic because 00:07:54.699 --> 00:07:58.420 he undergoes so much suffering, and what do his 00:07:58.420 --> 00:08:01.980 friends say about him? They say, you did this 00:08:01.980 --> 00:08:07.189 to yourself. Listen to this. From Job chapter 00:08:07.189 --> 00:08:16.370 4 verse 8 one of Job's so -called friends Eliphaz 00:08:16.370 --> 00:08:22.949 says this as I have seen Those who plow iniquity 00:08:22.949 --> 00:08:27.230 and sow trouble reap the same In other words 00:08:27.230 --> 00:08:31.189 you reap what you sow You did this to yourself 00:08:31.189 --> 00:08:35.090 this kind of theodicy This kind of understanding 00:08:35.090 --> 00:08:38.269 pain and suffering and evil by attributing it 00:08:38.269 --> 00:08:42.649 all to a person's sin. This is very troubling. 00:08:43.429 --> 00:08:48.009 This is what Job's friends did to him. And Jesus' 00:08:48.210 --> 00:08:50.590 disciples, while they might not say it to the 00:08:50.590 --> 00:08:54.730 man, these are the things that they say. Look 00:08:54.730 --> 00:09:01.230 there in John 9 verse 2. His disciples asked 00:09:01.230 --> 00:09:06.370 Jesus, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, 00:09:06.789 --> 00:09:09.409 that he was born blind. The only good thing I 00:09:09.409 --> 00:09:11.730 want to say about this is at least the disciples 00:09:11.730 --> 00:09:14.429 know where to go with the question. They go to 00:09:14.429 --> 00:09:16.330 the rabbi, they go to the teacher, the master, 00:09:16.409 --> 00:09:21.809 they go to Jesus. But their question is wrong. 00:09:23.389 --> 00:09:27.350 It's incredibly wrong to say that if you suffer, 00:09:27.750 --> 00:09:31.129 it must be, the emphasis on must, that it must 00:09:31.129 --> 00:09:36.460 be because of your sin. It should also be noted 00:09:36.460 --> 00:09:41.419 that the man was born blind. So in saying, did 00:09:41.419 --> 00:09:44.600 he do this to himself? That seems rather impossible. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:49.379 And so what the disciples are doing here is either 00:09:49.379 --> 00:09:53.440 talking foolishly, accusing the man's parents, 00:09:53.820 --> 00:09:58.820 or perpetuating bad theodicy. This sort of theodicy 00:09:58.820 --> 00:10:02.929 is instructed. It is destructive. It amounts 00:10:02.929 --> 00:10:06.870 to those who suffer the worst must be those who 00:10:06.870 --> 00:10:10.470 sin the worst. And this is actually contrary 00:10:10.470 --> 00:10:13.950 to what we might observe in this life. It's contrary 00:10:13.950 --> 00:10:16.990 to what Solomon observed in this life. I want 00:10:16.990 --> 00:10:19.269 to read this to you from Ecclesiastes chapter 00:10:19.269 --> 00:10:24.610 seven, verse 15. This is what Solomon saw when 00:10:24.610 --> 00:10:27.529 he looked around at suffering. He said, in my 00:10:27.529 --> 00:10:31.509 vain life, I have seen everything. There is a 00:10:31.509 --> 00:10:34.129 righteous man who perishes in his righteousness 00:10:34.129 --> 00:10:38.110 and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life 00:10:38.110 --> 00:10:42.909 in evil Doing and that may be our observation 00:10:42.909 --> 00:10:46.690 as well that sometimes those who suffer the most 00:10:46.690 --> 00:10:51.950 Are those who are the most faithful to God? We 00:10:51.950 --> 00:10:55.610 also need to be careful we get ourselves into 00:10:55.610 --> 00:10:59.879 trouble when we start answering questions And 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:02.519 we don't have the answers in Scripture. We don't 00:11:02.519 --> 00:11:05.379 have the answers from Christ, right? Because 00:11:05.379 --> 00:11:09.179 sometimes we just don't always know why a person 00:11:09.179 --> 00:11:11.799 suffers the way that they do or the extent to 00:11:11.799 --> 00:11:14.740 which they suffer. You might not know the reason 00:11:14.740 --> 00:11:17.899 for your suffering. And this is where people 00:11:17.899 --> 00:11:21.519 tend to muddy the waters of theodicy. We come 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:24.419 to hasty conclusions. We speak when we don't 00:11:24.419 --> 00:11:26.559 know what we're talking about and we don't know 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:30.370 what God is doing. But here's the good news friends 00:11:30.370 --> 00:11:36.610 in John chapter 9 We do know what God is doing 00:11:36.610 --> 00:11:41.149 Because Jesus tells us we see three things at 00:11:41.149 --> 00:11:44.049 least three things from Jesus in this passage 00:11:44.049 --> 00:11:48.269 Firstly Jesus is going to give this man his sight 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:51.529 Secondly Jesus is going to teach everybody a 00:11:51.529 --> 00:11:55.549 lesson and thirdly Jesus is going to point out 00:11:55.549 --> 00:11:59.909 true blindness Ultimately, Jesus will display 00:11:59.909 --> 00:12:04.990 the works of God and teach us that spiritual 00:12:04.990 --> 00:12:11.669 blindness is worse than physical blindness. Let's 00:12:11.669 --> 00:12:13.750 look at this here at the beginning of chapter 00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:18.370 9. You can see that once again Jesus's compassion 00:12:18.370 --> 00:12:23.029 is on display. Everybody is blaming this poor 00:12:23.029 --> 00:12:29.220 blind man. for his own blindness. But Jesus destroys 00:12:29.220 --> 00:12:32.340 that bad theology and he gives sight to the blind. 00:12:32.460 --> 00:12:36.700 Look in verse 6. After he says these things, 00:12:36.940 --> 00:12:39.360 he spits on the ground and he makes mud with 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:42.899 the saliva and he applies it. He anoints the 00:12:42.899 --> 00:12:46.759 man's eyes with it. There is no objection from 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:49.559 this man, is there? We might say, ooh, what are 00:12:49.559 --> 00:12:52.860 you doing? No objection from this man because 00:12:53.080 --> 00:12:56.299 Blindness is all he has ever known. He probably 00:12:56.299 --> 00:12:58.259 would have done just about anything to be able 00:12:58.259 --> 00:13:01.320 to see. This man has never experienced a sunset. 00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:05.100 This man has never even looked on the faces of 00:13:05.100 --> 00:13:09.960 his parents. And so Jesus applies this to him, 00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:13.500 but the miracle's not done until he washes. And 00:13:13.500 --> 00:13:15.960 so he sends him to Siloam. And so your Bible 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:19.360 probably says that Siloam, the name means what? 00:13:19.419 --> 00:13:22.470 The word scent. I believe there's a connection 00:13:22.470 --> 00:13:26.250 with the name of Siloam in verse four. Go back 00:13:26.250 --> 00:13:30.169 to verse four. Jesus says, we must work the works 00:13:30.169 --> 00:13:34.950 of him who sent me. We are to be reminded that 00:13:34.950 --> 00:13:38.269 Jesus is sent by the Father for the purposes 00:13:38.269 --> 00:13:41.549 of doing this very thing and of saving people 00:13:41.549 --> 00:13:45.429 from their sins. We are reminded that Jesus comes 00:13:45.429 --> 00:13:52.620 to do the Father's will. But also, what he goes 00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:57.159 to do is symbolic, this washing. Because we're 00:13:57.159 --> 00:13:59.600 ultimately going to see that as he's told to 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:02.700 wash, we should be reminded that there is a greater 00:14:02.700 --> 00:14:05.019 miracle that's going on. There's something greater 00:14:05.019 --> 00:14:09.360 than being able to see physically. It's being 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:13.419 able to see who Jesus is in our hearts. The cleansing 00:14:13.419 --> 00:14:17.639 of our hearts is what we all need. And so the 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:20.539 man is sent. He goes to the pool of Siloam. He 00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:24.179 washes. And then he can see. And the people are 00:14:24.179 --> 00:14:27.700 amazed. They cannot believe that this is the 00:14:27.700 --> 00:14:31.299 same man. The neighbors, the people, they can't 00:14:31.299 --> 00:14:33.240 believe it. So what do they do? They take this 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:37.220 man to the Pharisees. And when he gets there, 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:40.200 you see some of the Pharisees are less concerned 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:43.659 with the miracle and more concerned with when 00:14:43.659 --> 00:14:48.889 the miracle is done. They are, according to verse 00:14:48.889 --> 00:14:52.350 16, divided on this. There's, we might say, Pharisee 00:14:52.350 --> 00:14:57.250 group A that says, no way is this man from God. 00:14:57.330 --> 00:15:00.029 And Pharisee group B is saying, well, he did 00:15:00.029 --> 00:15:02.789 do this incredible thing. They're just not sure 00:15:02.789 --> 00:15:05.870 what to make of it. But some of these ones, group 00:15:05.870 --> 00:15:08.389 A, they're accusing Jesus. They're saying, you 00:15:08.389 --> 00:15:11.889 can't be from God. Why? Because you did this 00:15:11.889 --> 00:15:15.990 on the Sabbath. Don't they know the Sabbath? 00:15:16.379 --> 00:15:20.960 was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. And 00:15:20.960 --> 00:15:23.179 certainly, if it's acceptable according to Jewish 00:15:23.179 --> 00:15:26.220 law to save the ox from the ditch, then it is 00:15:26.220 --> 00:15:30.940 a good thing to give sight to the blind. It's 00:15:30.940 --> 00:15:32.700 not really about the miracle anymore, though, 00:15:32.700 --> 00:15:43.159 for the Pharisees. Look in verse 17. In verse 00:15:43.159 --> 00:15:48.070 17. They said again to the blind man, what do 00:15:48.070 --> 00:15:51.269 you say about him, since he's opened your eyes? 00:15:51.590 --> 00:15:56.590 And he said, he is a prophet. Friends, we're 00:15:56.590 --> 00:15:58.750 itching for the man to say more than that, aren't 00:15:58.750 --> 00:16:02.250 we? We're itching to say, yes, this is the Christ. 00:16:02.570 --> 00:16:05.429 But saying that he is a prophet is no small thing. 00:16:06.529 --> 00:16:08.970 It's remarkable. There's only so many prophets. 00:16:09.090 --> 00:16:11.669 The Pharisees could probably only dream of being 00:16:11.669 --> 00:16:16.570 called prophets here. And so it's true that what 00:16:16.570 --> 00:16:19.970 Jesus does is he's displaying the works of God 00:16:19.970 --> 00:16:23.029 in this man who along the way is starting to 00:16:23.029 --> 00:16:26.450 realize, I think, more and more who this Jesus 00:16:26.450 --> 00:16:30.330 is. But the Jews don't believe this man. And 00:16:30.330 --> 00:16:33.210 so what's the next step? Well, let's go to the 00:16:33.210 --> 00:16:37.070 man's parents. They'll know. Maybe they're even 00:16:37.070 --> 00:16:39.129 thinking, we'll go to the parents and the parents 00:16:39.129 --> 00:16:42.710 will say, no, our son was never blind. And so 00:16:42.710 --> 00:16:45.740 they interrogate the parents. Is this your son? 00:16:46.100 --> 00:16:48.980 Was he born blind? And how is it possible that 00:16:48.980 --> 00:16:51.940 he can see? And they say, yes, this is our son. 00:16:52.259 --> 00:16:55.559 Yes, he was blind. How he can see right now? 00:16:56.440 --> 00:17:02.299 No clue. We don't know. Why won't they admit 00:17:02.299 --> 00:17:06.279 it? Why won't they admit that Jesus has done 00:17:06.279 --> 00:17:10.900 this? Well, the text is very clear, though. They 00:17:10.900 --> 00:17:14.769 fear excommunication. They fear getting kicked 00:17:14.769 --> 00:17:18.309 out of the synagogue, right? And so what do they 00:17:18.309 --> 00:17:23.349 say? He is of age. Go ask him there in verse 00:17:23.349 --> 00:17:26.430 23. Now, we might be thinking, well, with a synagogue 00:17:26.430 --> 00:17:29.589 like that, who wouldn't want to be kicked out, 00:17:29.690 --> 00:17:32.210 right? With friends like these who needs enemies. 00:17:32.910 --> 00:17:35.890 Additionally, this is their son we're talking 00:17:35.890 --> 00:17:39.529 about. How many days, nights had they prayed? 00:17:39.690 --> 00:17:42.430 or just long for their son to be able to see. 00:17:42.509 --> 00:17:44.609 Remember what their son is doing with his time. 00:17:44.930 --> 00:17:47.690 He is a beggar. He's sitting by the city gate 00:17:47.690 --> 00:17:50.069 just hoping that somebody would give him some 00:17:50.069 --> 00:17:52.829 money. Surely his good parents, they want something 00:17:52.829 --> 00:17:58.109 better for their son. But they won't say it because 00:17:58.109 --> 00:18:01.650 they're afraid of man, not afraid of God. We 00:18:01.650 --> 00:18:05.940 must have a healthy fear of God. a respect, an 00:18:05.940 --> 00:18:09.039 admiration. We must be in awe of God. But no, 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:13.039 they are in awe of the Pharisees. And so they 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:18.039 say, just go ask our son. Friends, anybody should 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:20.759 have been able to see this. This sort of thing 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:23.839 of giving sight to a person born blind, that 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:27.640 just doesn't happen. But the Jewish leaders are 00:18:27.640 --> 00:18:31.680 too blind to see it. And so they utter this awful 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:36.849 statement. in verse 24. So for the second time 00:18:36.849 --> 00:18:38.910 they called the man who had been blind and said 00:18:38.910 --> 00:18:41.930 to him, give glory to God. We know that this 00:18:41.930 --> 00:18:45.910 man is a sinner. Is there a more blasphemous 00:18:45.910 --> 00:18:50.269 false statement than that? Here's a hint, there's 00:18:50.269 --> 00:18:54.190 not. Calling Jesus a sinner is about the worst 00:18:54.190 --> 00:18:56.690 thing you could possibly do. No doubt they're 00:18:56.690 --> 00:18:59.730 remembering this healing that happened on the 00:18:59.730 --> 00:19:05.130 Sabbath, right? But Jesus is the Lord of the 00:19:05.130 --> 00:19:10.250 Sabbath. They have so much to learn. We have 00:19:10.250 --> 00:19:13.349 so much to learn, too, don't we? We really do. 00:19:13.490 --> 00:19:17.549 Because when we sin, we forget that Jesus has 00:19:17.549 --> 00:19:21.630 come and He has lived perfectly for us to deliver 00:19:21.630 --> 00:19:24.690 us from our slavery to sin. I already referenced 00:19:24.690 --> 00:19:27.390 Ecclesiastes chapter 7. I'm going to go back 00:19:27.390 --> 00:19:31.150 there again because Ecclesiastes 7 20 says something 00:19:31.150 --> 00:19:35.059 important about Jesus. This is Solomon's observation. 00:19:35.299 --> 00:19:39.980 He says, surely there is not a righteous man 00:19:39.980 --> 00:19:45.079 on earth who does good and never sins. Yes, there 00:19:45.079 --> 00:19:49.039 is. There is now. There is with Jesus, right? 00:19:49.200 --> 00:19:52.000 Jesus is perfectly righteous. And when we believe 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:56.240 in Jesus, we have his righteousness. It is given 00:19:56.240 --> 00:20:01.920 to us. It is credited to our account. The reason 00:20:01.920 --> 00:20:05.779 that we can have salvation is because Jesus lived 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:11.000 for us perfectly. He kept the law, where Israel 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:15.319 did not. When Israel failed, Jesus was successful. 00:20:15.740 --> 00:20:20.279 When we are not obedient, Jesus is. Jesus performs 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:23.079 miracles like this, but apart from Jesus, anything 00:20:23.079 --> 00:20:27.019 that we do is nothing better than just a filthy 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:32.099 rag, according to Scripture. But here is where 00:20:32.099 --> 00:20:36.079 the lesson comes in. Here is where we see that 00:20:36.079 --> 00:20:39.440 Jesus is teaching all along, even when Jesus 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:42.420 isn't present yet in the story. We take some 00:20:42.420 --> 00:20:45.359 time off from Jesus here, and yet what he has 00:20:45.359 --> 00:20:48.819 been teaching is coming to fruition. Look at 00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:55.039 verse 27. I love this verse. This is the man 00:20:55.039 --> 00:20:57.640 speaking to the Pharisees. He answered them, 00:20:58.059 --> 00:21:01.349 I've told you already. And you would not listen. 00:21:01.769 --> 00:21:04.630 Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also 00:21:04.630 --> 00:21:08.769 want to become his disciples? Nothing about this 00:21:08.769 --> 00:21:11.569 makes it sound like they want to be Jesus's disciples. 00:21:11.750 --> 00:21:14.470 They have just called Jesus a sinner. And so 00:21:14.470 --> 00:21:17.210 I think there's some humor in there. This man 00:21:17.210 --> 00:21:21.869 is being bold in what he has to say, right? And 00:21:21.869 --> 00:21:25.650 yet he doesn't know everything about Jesus. They're 00:21:25.650 --> 00:21:27.450 saying that he's a sinner and the man's saying, 00:21:27.549 --> 00:21:31.880 I don't know if he is. But I can tell you, I 00:21:31.880 --> 00:21:38.559 can tell you what Jesus has done for me. And 00:21:38.559 --> 00:21:40.740 so what do they do with the man? They don't want 00:21:40.740 --> 00:21:44.359 to hear it. And so they excommunicate him. The 00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:46.680 very thing that his parents feared is what they 00:21:46.680 --> 00:21:49.920 do to this man. And yet here comes Jesus again 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:53.380 with great compassion to continue teaching the 00:21:53.380 --> 00:21:57.559 lesson. Look in verse 35, Jesus heard that they 00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:00.519 had cast him out. And having found him, he said, 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:07.940 do you believe in the Son of Man? The man born 00:22:07.940 --> 00:22:13.299 blind, as I said, so far he's starting to understand 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:15.779 who Jesus is, but he doesn't fully get it. And 00:22:15.779 --> 00:22:20.160 so he says, yes, but where is he? Where is the 00:22:20.160 --> 00:22:23.740 Son of Man? And Jesus says, in effect, you're 00:22:23.740 --> 00:22:28.349 looking at him. You are looking at him. Friends, 00:22:28.410 --> 00:22:32.029 as we study the miracles of Jesus, I want us 00:22:32.029 --> 00:22:34.750 to do more than look at the responses of people. 00:22:35.690 --> 00:22:40.089 I want us to respond. And so when Jesus asked 00:22:40.089 --> 00:22:42.069 the question, do you believe in the Son of Man, 00:22:42.089 --> 00:22:44.230 I want you to ask that question of yourselves. 00:22:44.529 --> 00:22:48.450 Do you believe in Christ Jesus? And the answer 00:22:48.450 --> 00:22:51.650 must be yes. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ 00:22:51.650 --> 00:22:54.410 and you shall be saved. He is the way and the 00:22:54.410 --> 00:22:57.069 truth and the life and the only way to the Father. 00:22:57.240 --> 00:22:59.759 You see, ultimately, what's on the line in this 00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:03.440 miracle is not just sight to see things, it's 00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:06.420 eternal life. The man doesn't fully know it yet, 00:23:06.440 --> 00:23:08.799 but he has been the object, a lesson for the 00:23:08.799 --> 00:23:12.000 works of God. Verse three, the works are displayed 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:16.900 in this man. And so this man, while he doesn't 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:19.319 know everything about Jesus, when they question 00:23:19.319 --> 00:23:24.519 him, he doesn't launch into a sermon. He doesn't... 00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:27.619 He doesn't teach a systematic theology class. 00:23:28.180 --> 00:23:31.740 What does this man do? He simply tells what Jesus 00:23:31.740 --> 00:23:34.740 has done for him. That's what I want you to do. 00:23:35.740 --> 00:23:38.980 Every single person in here who says that I believe 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:41.559 in Jesus, you need to have your story at the 00:23:41.559 --> 00:23:44.359 ready. You need to have your testimony at the 00:23:44.359 --> 00:23:46.920 ready. You need to be able to share what Jesus 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:49.839 has done for you. And then from that, launch 00:23:49.839 --> 00:23:53.670 into the gospel. that Jesus saves sinners who 00:23:53.670 --> 00:23:56.630 can't save themselves. This is the lesson for 00:23:56.630 --> 00:24:01.450 us, that we would all be ready to share our story. 00:24:02.730 --> 00:24:05.269 But I also know in a lot of ways we're weighed 00:24:05.269 --> 00:24:09.150 down, aren't we? We are weighed down by all kinds 00:24:09.150 --> 00:24:12.329 of pain and trouble and suffering. And so I want 00:24:12.329 --> 00:24:14.789 to give you two pieces of encouragement here. 00:24:15.869 --> 00:24:21.740 One, suffering is a result of sin. just not necessarily 00:24:21.740 --> 00:24:25.519 your sin. Suffering is a result of sin, just 00:24:25.519 --> 00:24:28.660 not necessarily your sin. All the trouble that 00:24:28.660 --> 00:24:31.700 we experience comes from living in a fallen world. 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:34.680 Sickness, pain, death, these are products of 00:24:34.680 --> 00:24:37.940 the fall. But while that's true, that doesn't 00:24:37.940 --> 00:24:40.859 mean that every problem that we experience is 00:24:40.859 --> 00:24:43.980 because of our sin. It could be that God does 00:24:43.980 --> 00:24:46.819 punish for sin, and certainly there are consequences 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:50.430 for our actions. If you get behind the wheel 00:24:50.430 --> 00:24:52.750 of a vehicle and you drive recklessly, you might 00:24:52.750 --> 00:24:56.289 get in a crash and that might hurt. But that 00:24:56.289 --> 00:25:00.309 doesn't mean that everything that we do brings 00:25:00.309 --> 00:25:04.089 on punishment from God. D .A. Carson said this, 00:25:04.410 --> 00:25:08.849 pain and suffering are not always or even usually 00:25:08.849 --> 00:25:11.349 the immediate consequence of a particular sin. 00:25:11.970 --> 00:25:16.119 That is a hideous piece of heresy. capable of 00:25:16.119 --> 00:25:20.079 inflicting untold mental anguish. And so friends, 00:25:20.180 --> 00:25:23.640 I know many of us, we've got these illnesses. 00:25:24.420 --> 00:25:27.640 We've got these injuries. Or think about people 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:29.519 who are suffering in other parts of the world 00:25:29.519 --> 00:25:31.400 for the sake of the gospel. They have not brought 00:25:31.400 --> 00:25:34.720 this upon themselves. God is doing something 00:25:34.720 --> 00:25:39.539 in our suffering. Consider Romans 828, how God 00:25:39.539 --> 00:25:42.940 is working all things out for the good of those 00:25:42.940 --> 00:25:44.640 who love him and are called according to his 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:47.240 purpose. The sovereignty of God necessitates 00:25:47.240 --> 00:25:50.180 that whatever we go through, God is in charge 00:25:50.180 --> 00:25:53.019 of that. And so remember, in your suffering, 00:25:53.240 --> 00:25:56.359 remember the compassion of Jesus. Cry out to 00:25:56.359 --> 00:25:59.460 him. Rest in what he did. And remember that he 00:25:59.460 --> 00:26:02.200 is the righteous one who suffered in your place. 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:04.519 That even when you go through the valley of the 00:26:04.519 --> 00:26:09.759 shadow of death, But he is with you. Perhaps 00:26:09.759 --> 00:26:16.180 you remember Romans chapter 8, verse 18. Let 00:26:16.180 --> 00:26:20.519 me read this for you. For I consider that the 00:26:20.519 --> 00:26:23.779 sufferings of this present time are not worth 00:26:23.779 --> 00:26:27.440 comparing with the glory that is to be revealed 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:34.900 to us. But how can we have that? We must believe 00:26:34.900 --> 00:26:38.200 in Jesus. In order to have our eyes dried and 00:26:38.200 --> 00:26:41.519 the suffering gone, our hearts must be open to 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:44.619 Jesus. We must believe. Look back at our text 00:26:44.619 --> 00:26:48.019 at verse 38. You've seen the question, what's 00:26:48.019 --> 00:26:51.579 the answer from the man? He said, Lord, I believe 00:26:51.579 --> 00:26:57.849 and he worshipped him. This needs to be our response 00:26:57.849 --> 00:27:01.390 to believing in Jesus, to the grace of God saving 00:27:01.390 --> 00:27:04.650 us from our sins, that we would worship Jesus. 00:27:04.930 --> 00:27:07.269 That's really what this is all about. This is 00:27:07.269 --> 00:27:09.190 really what the miracles are all about, bringing 00:27:09.190 --> 00:27:12.950 people out of their sin to trust in Christ and 00:27:12.950 --> 00:27:17.589 to worship Him. And this is very plain to see, 00:27:17.690 --> 00:27:19.990 isn't it? Because our eyes have been opened. 00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:23.480 But for the Pharisees, their eyes are not. They 00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:26.619 have seen the plain evidence before them of Jesus 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:29.599 doing something that is completely astonishing, 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:32.660 that perhaps has never, ever been done, giving 00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:36.980 sight to a man born blind. And yet they are the 00:27:36.980 --> 00:27:41.119 ones who are truly blind. Friends, the worst 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:46.019 blindness you can have is refusing to see. The 00:27:46.019 --> 00:27:49.099 worst blindness you can have is refusing to see. 00:27:49.480 --> 00:27:52.119 Many of them, they see the works of Jesus and 00:27:52.119 --> 00:27:55.240 yet their response is to call Jesus a sinner 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:58.940 and excommunicate his disciples. And so Jesus, 00:27:58.980 --> 00:28:02.440 this whole saga ends with them overhearing Jesus 00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:08.319 and they ask this question, are we also blind? 00:28:10.160 --> 00:28:13.180 Of course they are. They can't see what's right 00:28:13.180 --> 00:28:17.720 there before them. They are unwilling to examine 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:20.500 their hearts. Additionally, these are Jewish 00:28:20.500 --> 00:28:22.700 leaders They should have been looking for the 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:26.319 Messiah Isaiah 42 7 that says that there is one 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:29.720 coming who opens the eyes of the blind and there 00:28:29.720 --> 00:28:33.740 he was right before them They said this man must 00:28:33.740 --> 00:28:39.299 be a sinner Friends the evidence is right before 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:43.519 us because we have the scriptures the very word 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:47.289 of God And so we must respond with faith. We 00:28:47.289 --> 00:28:51.910 must respond in worship because God alone is 00:28:51.910 --> 00:28:56.789 worthy of our praise. But as I begin to wrap 00:28:56.789 --> 00:29:01.170 up, the lesson's not quite done. We have not 00:29:01.170 --> 00:29:03.309 thought about the disciples for several minutes 00:29:03.309 --> 00:29:07.309 here and their question. The way in which they 00:29:07.309 --> 00:29:10.170 respond, when they see the man, they don't respond 00:29:10.170 --> 00:29:12.700 in a very good way, do they? And so we need to 00:29:12.700 --> 00:29:15.359 understand how we should respond to others who 00:29:15.359 --> 00:29:19.180 are in suffering. And so just one point of application 00:29:19.180 --> 00:29:25.019 here. Friends, we must listen to the suffering 00:29:25.019 --> 00:29:30.119 and we must avoid assumptions. Think of the harm 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:32.680 done to this man throughout his lifetime by people 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:36.000 who would not stop to listen to him. They continued 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:39.279 to operate under the assumption that sin by the 00:29:39.279 --> 00:29:43.240 man had somehow led him blindness all the times 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:46.319 that this poor beggar heard people whispering 00:29:46.319 --> 00:29:49.559 about him or avoiding him or telling him to his 00:29:49.559 --> 00:29:52.059 face you're a bad person and you did this to 00:29:52.059 --> 00:29:56.539 yourself like like Job's friends just wearing 00:29:56.539 --> 00:30:00.160 him down friends we must be people who listen 00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:04.240 to one another in our suffering look at verse 00:30:04.240 --> 00:30:10.000 34 they answered the man you were born in utter 00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:15.869 sin And would you teach us? Isn't it funny how 00:30:15.869 --> 00:30:19.710 much we care about what God teaches us, but how 00:30:19.710 --> 00:30:22.250 little we care about what God teaches other people. 00:30:22.829 --> 00:30:26.190 We must be willing to listen. Oh, that we would 00:30:26.190 --> 00:30:28.190 learn to listen to those who are in suffering, 00:30:28.470 --> 00:30:31.029 that we would learn how to persevere in suffering, 00:30:31.210 --> 00:30:34.289 that we would be reminded of the glory that awaits 00:30:34.289 --> 00:30:39.799 us as Christians to be good friends. We must 00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:42.579 take time to listen to one another, to love one 00:30:42.579 --> 00:30:45.599 another through our suffering, avoid assumptions, 00:30:46.079 --> 00:30:50.000 and in doing so give glory to God as we love 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:56.359 our neighbor as ourselves, remembering that Jesus 00:30:56.359 --> 00:30:58.160 suffered in our place.