WEBVTT 00:00:00.639 --> 00:00:04.339 Our sermon today is on the blindness and miraculous 00:00:04.339 --> 00:00:08.140 grace of sight here during this Lenten season. 00:00:08.839 --> 00:00:14.039 Let us pray together. Our God and our Father, 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:17.620 we come before you this Lord's Day in this Lenten 00:00:17.620 --> 00:00:19.800 season and we thank you for how you have always 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:23.100 provided for us. And so we ask you now to grant 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:26.399 us ears that truly hear, minds that understand, 00:00:26.760 --> 00:00:30.329 and hearts that fully obey you. joyfully obey 00:00:30.329 --> 00:00:33.829 you and in so keeping let the words of my mouth 00:00:33.829 --> 00:00:36.950 and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable 00:00:36.950 --> 00:00:39.990 in your sight for the sake of our dear Savior 00:00:39.990 --> 00:00:45.770 Jesus Christ amen as we prepare here today I 00:00:45.770 --> 00:00:48.750 just want to make mention to you in preparation 00:00:48.750 --> 00:00:52.530 for the Lord's Day we do send out the lectionary 00:00:52.530 --> 00:00:55.979 readings and I want to encourage you to read 00:00:55.979 --> 00:00:58.579 the lectionary in your preparation for the Lord's 00:00:58.579 --> 00:01:01.740 Day. So if you're not on our email list, I would 00:01:01.740 --> 00:01:05.420 encourage you to get with us and we'll share 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:09.980 that information with you by midweek. Our gospel 00:01:09.980 --> 00:01:12.040 reading today, we'll be looking at that in some 00:01:12.040 --> 00:01:16.060 detail. We'll read two portions of John 9 to 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:18.879 remind us of a few things before we begin today. 00:01:20.540 --> 00:01:23.079 Now Jesus passed by and he saw a man who was 00:01:23.079 --> 00:01:25.849 blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, 00:01:26.069 --> 00:01:29.189 saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, 00:01:29.209 --> 00:01:32.609 that he was born blind? Jesus answered, neither 00:01:32.609 --> 00:01:36.750 is this man nor his parents sinned, but that 00:01:36.750 --> 00:01:40.670 the works of God should be revealed in him. I 00:01:40.670 --> 00:01:42.689 must work the works of him who sent me while 00:01:42.689 --> 00:01:45.310 it is day. The night is coming when no one can 00:01:45.310 --> 00:01:48.150 work. And as long as I am in the world, I am 00:01:48.150 --> 00:01:50.370 the light of the world. When he had said these 00:01:50.370 --> 00:01:52.870 things, he spat on the ground and made clay with 00:01:52.870 --> 00:01:55.510 the saliva. And he anointed the eyes of the blind 00:01:55.510 --> 00:01:58.370 man with clay. And he said to him, go and wash 00:01:58.370 --> 00:02:01.790 in the pool of Siloam, which is translated scent. 00:02:01.829 --> 00:02:05.790 So he went and washed and came back seeing. Therefore, 00:02:06.209 --> 00:02:08.250 the neighbors and those who had previously seen 00:02:08.250 --> 00:02:11.669 that he was blind said, is this not he who sat 00:02:11.669 --> 00:02:15.509 and begged? Some said, this is he. Others said, 00:02:15.889 --> 00:02:20.129 he is like him. And he said, I am he. Therefore, 00:02:20.150 --> 00:02:23.180 they said to him, how were your eyes open? And 00:02:23.180 --> 00:02:26.080 he answered and said, A man called Jesus made 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:29.599 clay and anointed my eyes, and said to me, Go 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.979 and wash in the pool of Siloam, and wash. And 00:02:32.979 --> 00:02:37.080 so I went and washed, and I received sight. Then 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:40.719 they said to him, Where is he? And he said, I 00:02:40.719 --> 00:02:44.400 do not know. Dropping down to verse 35, we see 00:02:44.400 --> 00:02:47.439 this. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, 00:02:47.599 --> 00:02:50.979 and when they had found him, he said to him, 00:02:51.360 --> 00:02:54.219 Do you believe in the Son of God? And he answered 00:02:54.219 --> 00:02:56.659 and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe 00:02:56.659 --> 00:02:59.759 in him? And Jesus said to him, You have both 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:02.840 seen him, and it is he who is talking to you. 00:03:03.419 --> 00:03:07.539 Then he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped 00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:10.219 him. And Jesus said, For judgment I have come 00:03:10.219 --> 00:03:13.939 not into this world that those who do not see 00:03:13.939 --> 00:03:17.879 may see, and that those who see may be made blind. 00:03:18.689 --> 00:03:20.710 And then some of the Pharisees who were with 00:03:20.710 --> 00:03:23.229 Him heard these words and said to Him, Are we 00:03:23.229 --> 00:03:26.669 blind also? And Jesus said to them, If you were 00:03:26.669 --> 00:03:29.889 blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, 00:03:29.990 --> 00:03:34.349 We see, therefore your sin remains. These are 00:03:34.349 --> 00:03:36.930 the words of Almighty God. Receive them in your 00:03:36.930 --> 00:03:40.189 hearts. There are three things that I would like 00:03:40.189 --> 00:03:42.409 you to think about as we go through this passage 00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:46.699 in some detail today. First of all the blind 00:03:46.699 --> 00:03:54.620 man simply obeyed the blind man simply obeyed 00:03:54.620 --> 00:04:00.360 Second beware the grace of God did not fit the 00:04:00.360 --> 00:04:06.680 paradigm of the Pharisees Beware the grace of 00:04:06.680 --> 00:04:12.199 God did not fit the paradigm of the Pharisees 00:04:12.199 --> 00:04:16.019 and finally The blind man had simple courage 00:04:16.019 --> 00:04:21.139 with gratitude under worship. The blind man had 00:04:21.139 --> 00:04:24.420 simple courage with gratitude under worship. 00:04:25.439 --> 00:04:28.240 Now I want you to imagine with me a young man 00:04:28.240 --> 00:04:31.279 awakens to another day in his life. And unlike 00:04:31.279 --> 00:04:36.480 you and me, he cannot appreciate the beauty or 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:41.370 joy of a sunrise. He is blind. His daily routine 00:04:41.370 --> 00:04:45.110 is to get up and make his way to the temple This 00:04:45.110 --> 00:04:48.750 man born blind is not only cut off from sight 00:04:48.750 --> 00:04:54.209 But he is also unable to enter the temple Because 00:04:54.209 --> 00:04:57.009 of this blindness he is considered ceremonially 00:04:57.009 --> 00:05:01.170 unclean and therefore cannot draw near to God 00:05:01.170 --> 00:05:05.129 So he's left outside the temple walls begging 00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:08.800 He's hoping that the worshipers who come to the 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:12.939 temple will be generous as they enter into the 00:05:12.939 --> 00:05:16.620 house of God and The blind man on this particular 00:05:16.620 --> 00:05:21.300 day is very very optimistic You know, he doesn't 00:05:21.300 --> 00:05:23.839 know yet that he's gonna encounter Jesus. That's 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:27.439 not why he's optimistic No, he's optimistic because 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:31.019 worshipers have come all over the realm for the 00:05:31.019 --> 00:05:34.199 feast of the tabernacles We know that three times 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:38.089 a year that God commanded the believers in God 00:05:38.089 --> 00:05:42.370 to go to the temple and worship and have feasts. 00:05:43.170 --> 00:05:46.689 And this is the feast of the tabernacles. It's 00:05:46.689 --> 00:05:50.009 one of the mandatory times of feasting. In Deuteronomy 00:05:50.009 --> 00:05:52.529 16, we see it says this, seven days you shall 00:05:52.529 --> 00:05:55.810 keep a sacred feast to Yahweh your God in the 00:05:55.810 --> 00:05:58.730 place where Yahweh chooses, because Yahweh your 00:05:58.730 --> 00:06:02.230 God will bless you in all your produce and in 00:06:02.230 --> 00:06:05.029 all the work of your hands so that you surely 00:06:05.029 --> 00:06:09.509 rejoice. One of the reasons this blind man was 00:06:09.509 --> 00:06:12.129 very excited perhaps on that day was because 00:06:12.129 --> 00:06:15.449 we know that over 100 ,000 people would swell 00:06:15.449 --> 00:06:18.410 into the city, not counting the 60 ,000 that 00:06:18.410 --> 00:06:22.569 already lived there. So they almost tripled in 00:06:22.569 --> 00:06:26.550 size. People are everywhere. They've come to 00:06:26.550 --> 00:06:29.410 worship and feast and tabernacle and booths made 00:06:29.410 --> 00:06:32.389 of trees. And as God's word instructs us, they 00:06:32.389 --> 00:06:34.550 would have had money that they were bringing 00:06:34.550 --> 00:06:37.509 to feast with. And one of the things that they 00:06:37.509 --> 00:06:39.810 point out with that feasting is that you are 00:06:39.810 --> 00:06:42.790 to be generous. If the person beside you has 00:06:42.790 --> 00:06:45.750 none, invite them to your table. Share, drink, 00:06:45.930 --> 00:06:49.870 be merry, eat well, celebrate God's goodness 00:06:49.870 --> 00:06:57.180 to you. So he's excited. that all these people 00:06:57.180 --> 00:07:01.420 would be there and be generous. Now Jesus, we 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:03.480 learned in chapter 8, slipped into Jerusalem 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:07.740 unnoticed and went to the temple. And Jesus taught 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:10.379 in the temple where he declared the doctrine 00:07:10.379 --> 00:07:14.319 of the one who sent him, God the Father. The 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:16.800 Jews and the religious men of the temple argued 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:19.759 with Jesus, especially concerning his good works 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:24.160 on the Sabbath. The Pharisees and chief priests 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:27.970 even attempted arrest Jesus, but the temple guards 00:07:27.970 --> 00:07:31.790 would not arrest him because of the words with 00:07:31.790 --> 00:07:36.110 which Jesus spoke. He spoke as one who had authority, 00:07:36.149 --> 00:07:40.269 unlike their own leaders. On the day of our text, 00:07:40.329 --> 00:07:44.430 Jesus returns to the temple and thwarts the Pharisees 00:07:44.430 --> 00:07:49.189 and chief priests at every turn. In fact, Jesus 00:07:49.189 --> 00:07:52.329 says to them, if God were your father, you would 00:07:52.329 --> 00:07:55.459 love me, for I proceeded forth and came from 00:07:55.459 --> 00:07:59.980 God, nor have I come of myself, but he sent me. 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:03.399 Why do you not understand my speech? Because 00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:07.360 you are not able to listen to my word. You are 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:10.480 of your father the devil, and the desires of 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:14.860 your father you want to do. He was a murderer 00:08:14.860 --> 00:08:16.980 from the beginning and does not stand in the 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:19.399 truth, because there is no truth in him. When 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:22.439 he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, 00:08:22.779 --> 00:08:26.980 for he is a liar. and the father of it. But because 00:08:26.980 --> 00:08:31.220 I tell you the truth, you do not believe me." 00:08:31.220 --> 00:08:34.120 Now Jesus will continue to challenge these religious 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:37.440 leaders in Judea and Jerusalem, but they will 00:08:37.440 --> 00:08:40.600 cling to their religious views, not to honor 00:08:40.600 --> 00:08:44.360 God. But as we were reminded last week, remember 00:08:44.360 --> 00:08:47.419 last week we thought we learned about or were 00:08:47.450 --> 00:08:50.850 were reminded of, Jeroboam, who was elevated 00:08:50.850 --> 00:08:54.370 into leadership by God and who desired to cling 00:08:54.370 --> 00:08:57.070 to his own power and authority for himself and 00:08:57.070 --> 00:09:00.710 his children. And so what did he do? He was afraid 00:09:00.710 --> 00:09:03.809 that during these three feasts that all the people 00:09:03.809 --> 00:09:06.429 of his kingdom would go down to the temple and 00:09:06.429 --> 00:09:10.429 worship God. And so what did he do? Man, I don't 00:09:10.429 --> 00:09:12.090 want him to do that. That's going to take the 00:09:12.090 --> 00:09:15.250 kingdom away from me. And so he perverted worship 00:09:15.250 --> 00:09:17.870 and brought in idolatry. And he didn't just build 00:09:17.870 --> 00:09:20.850 one idol, he built two so that people could travel 00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:24.730 and go any direction and not be able to worship 00:09:24.730 --> 00:09:29.750 the Almighty. And so too now, the chief priests 00:09:29.750 --> 00:09:32.730 and the Pharisees cared more for the retention 00:09:32.730 --> 00:09:36.649 of their power and desired to kill Jesus. And 00:09:36.649 --> 00:09:40.840 chapter 8 ends with this very tense scene. It 00:09:40.840 --> 00:09:43.039 says, then they took up stones to throw at him. 00:09:43.039 --> 00:09:46.080 That's Jesus. But Jesus hid himself and went 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:48.519 out of the temple, going through the midst of 00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:52.080 them, and so passed by. It's not that Jesus was 00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:54.379 like hiding in the sense he just got up, walked 00:09:54.379 --> 00:09:57.279 out, there's crowds, swelled everywhere. And 00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:59.220 certainly God prevented them from being able 00:09:59.220 --> 00:10:02.960 to throw those stones at him. But you know what 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:05.000 happens at this time, right? We see all this 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:09.090 great tension. Then all of a sudden. As Jesus 00:10:09.090 --> 00:10:12.690 leaves the temple, he passes by and he sees this 00:10:12.690 --> 00:10:16.049 blind man. And his disciples see the blind man 00:10:16.049 --> 00:10:18.470 as well, and they ask Jesus, who sinned, this 00:10:18.470 --> 00:10:22.990 man or his parents? And like Job's friends, the 00:10:22.990 --> 00:10:26.570 disciples held to a view that if hardships, especially 00:10:26.570 --> 00:10:29.149 the ones that made one unclean and unable to 00:10:29.149 --> 00:10:32.090 draw near to God, meant that either the parents 00:10:32.090 --> 00:10:37.480 sinned or that man sinned. As if a child... could 00:10:37.480 --> 00:10:43.340 sin in utero. We're all born in sin, but he hadn't 00:10:43.340 --> 00:10:46.600 yet committed the sin against God. And Jesus 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:48.860 answered, neither this man nor his parents sin, 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.100 but that the works of God should be revealed 00:10:52.100 --> 00:10:57.759 in him. John 1 tells us that Jesus is the light 00:10:57.759 --> 00:11:00.539 of the world and that the darkness could not 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:04.320 comprehend it. And then we see a little further 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:09.480 down. This unimaginable thing that Jesus came 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:14.259 to his own and his own did not receive him Go 00:11:14.259 --> 00:11:19.120 down a little farther and John 1 We see this 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:22.899 the wonder of grace But as many as received and 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:25.460 to them he gave the right to become the children 00:11:25.460 --> 00:11:29.500 of God To those who believe in his name who were 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:32.000 born not of blood nor of the will of flesh nor 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.080 the will of man but of God So what did Jesus 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:38.320 do with the blind man? He spat upon the ground 00:11:38.320 --> 00:11:42.240 and made clay and anointed the blind man's eyes. 00:11:43.480 --> 00:11:46.159 Jesus says to the blind man, go and wash in the 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:51.399 pool of Siloam, which means scent. So Jesus sees 00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:54.980 the blind man. He does this thing that we think 00:11:54.980 --> 00:11:56.659 is pretty strange, although we see him do it 00:11:56.659 --> 00:12:00.860 several other times. And he anoints the blind 00:12:00.860 --> 00:12:04.679 man's eyes and he sins that man. down to the 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:07.019 Pool of Siloam. Now the Pool of Siloam, we don't 00:12:07.019 --> 00:12:09.159 know exactly where Jesus encounters the blind 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:13.460 man, but it's about 70 yards downhill through 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:19.120 those crowds. Through those crowds. So it wasn't 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:22.620 a quick walk, it wasn't an easy walk. There are 00:12:22.620 --> 00:12:25.440 all kinds of people and on top of that he can't 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:31.500 see. But what does the blind man do? He simply 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:35.899 obeys. Jesus speaks, and unlike so many in and 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:40.059 around the temple, the blind man does not delay. 00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:44.899 He doesn't get caught up into debate. Now, he 00:12:44.899 --> 00:12:47.899 may have heard of Jesus, we don't know, but it's 00:12:47.899 --> 00:12:51.840 likely. And yet, not knowing who he is, he's 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:54.720 the prophet, he's the son, he doesn't know. He 00:12:54.720 --> 00:13:00.679 simply obeys. He goes, and he comes back seeing. 00:13:01.259 --> 00:13:04.500 For so many who claim Christianity as their own, 00:13:04.519 --> 00:13:10.240 they hear God's words and they delay. We delay 00:13:10.240 --> 00:13:14.460 obedience in so many ways. We debate and listen 00:13:14.460 --> 00:13:19.320 and often pause and hear scoffers. We question 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:22.840 among ourselves. We hear only what our itching 00:13:22.840 --> 00:13:26.360 ears want to hear and ultimately we don't receive 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:33.049 the grace of God because we delay. we simply 00:13:33.049 --> 00:13:39.429 disobey. Now let me say about delayed obedience. 00:13:39.809 --> 00:13:42.330 Children, are you listening? Are you listening? 00:13:42.730 --> 00:13:45.210 When your parents or authorities speak to you, 00:13:45.450 --> 00:13:48.769 you should obey right away. Children, are you 00:13:48.769 --> 00:13:53.129 listening? You obey right away, and you do it 00:13:53.129 --> 00:13:57.730 joyfully. Ah, but parents, how are you catechizing 00:13:57.730 --> 00:14:00.870 your children? When you hear God's word, Do you 00:14:00.870 --> 00:14:04.809 joyfully obey right away? Are you angry because 00:14:04.809 --> 00:14:06.950 God has put you in a circumstance and you know 00:14:06.950 --> 00:14:10.830 the right thing to do? And what do you do? You 00:14:10.830 --> 00:14:18.350 delay. Do you become impatient with what God 00:14:18.350 --> 00:14:24.090 is doing in your life? Do you delay with ingratitude? 00:14:24.529 --> 00:14:28.990 Or do you obey joyfully right away? Simple obedience. 00:14:29.650 --> 00:14:32.889 joyfully. So this blind man, he simply obeys. 00:14:33.070 --> 00:14:36.929 He goes and he washes, and the grace of God is 00:14:36.929 --> 00:14:42.029 given. The blind man returns to the temple, and 00:14:42.029 --> 00:14:44.629 all those who had seen him begging probably very 00:14:44.629 --> 00:14:47.269 often wondered if it was the same man, and he 00:14:47.269 --> 00:14:52.149 declares, I'm he, it's me. Astonished, they say, 00:14:52.230 --> 00:14:54.850 how were your eyes opened? And he responded, 00:14:55.090 --> 00:14:59.029 a man named Jesus came and he anointed my eyes. 00:14:59.100 --> 00:15:01.480 with clay. He made clay and anointed my eyes 00:15:01.480 --> 00:15:05.159 and go to the pool of Siloam and wash. So I went 00:15:05.159 --> 00:15:09.460 and I washed and I received sight. They want 00:15:09.460 --> 00:15:12.440 to know where Jesus is and the man doesn't know. 00:15:13.419 --> 00:15:17.440 These men take the man to the Pharisees because 00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:19.940 his sight had been given to him on the Sabbath. 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:24.720 How? Because Jesus worked. He spat on the ground. 00:15:24.799 --> 00:15:26.460 He made mud and he went up and put it on his 00:15:26.460 --> 00:15:33.039 eyes. They asked that man Again the Pharisees 00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:36.700 ask him and he retells a story Some of the Pharisees 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:39.340 begin to question Jesus being from God because 00:15:39.340 --> 00:15:44.320 they think he violated the Sabbath Since the 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.879 earliest days of his ministry Jesus the son in 00:15:47.879 --> 00:15:50.940 whom the father is well -pleased Has pointed 00:15:50.940 --> 00:15:54.120 out that man was not made for the Sabbath. We 00:15:54.120 --> 00:15:57.309 are not to be a slave to the Sabbath but that 00:15:57.309 --> 00:16:00.789 the Sabbath is for man to be blessed by God and 00:16:00.789 --> 00:16:06.230 for men to bless others with Sabbath rest. Now 00:16:06.230 --> 00:16:08.909 Jesus we're told in Mark 2 is called the Lord 00:16:08.909 --> 00:16:12.570 of the Sabbath and he is continuously forgiving 00:16:12.570 --> 00:16:16.730 sins and healing people of sicknesses and infirmities 00:16:16.730 --> 00:16:21.389 especially those people ceremonially unclean 00:16:21.389 --> 00:16:25.700 and unable to draw near to God. These self -righteous 00:16:25.700 --> 00:16:29.159 Pharisees cared more for their extra religious 00:16:29.159 --> 00:16:32.659 rules That they had added for the Sabbath than 00:16:32.659 --> 00:16:36.419 the people who would be forgiven and healed and 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:38.919 restored to temple worship people of God Don't 00:16:38.919 --> 00:16:44.679 be like Jonah the reluctant prophet who drags 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:47.720 Right to Nineveh put him through a lot of hardship. 00:16:47.740 --> 00:16:50.159 All right, God I'm gonna do what you tell me 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:54.879 to do and he goes out and he preaches By golly 00:16:54.879 --> 00:17:00.440 those dirty rotten sinners they repent How awful 00:17:00.440 --> 00:17:04.180 they get their bad sinners they they need to 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:11.279 get what they've got coming Don't be like that 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:17.799 Jonah You see there was no room in the Pharisees 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:20.799 and chief priests paradigm for the grace of God 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:24.609 They desired to cling to the darkness Even though 00:17:24.609 --> 00:17:27.950 they had been given the words of God the culture 00:17:27.950 --> 00:17:31.849 of God and the covenant of God For what purpose 00:17:31.849 --> 00:17:37.190 to be the priests to the world? To them was given 00:17:37.190 --> 00:17:41.809 to lead and to provide Sabbath rest to all men 00:17:41.809 --> 00:17:45.809 You know, there's a great irony here. They fought 00:17:45.809 --> 00:17:49.589 so hard to find cause against Jesus. They totally 00:17:49.589 --> 00:17:53.339 ignored the evidence of the grace of God found 00:17:53.339 --> 00:17:57.720 by the former blind man. The Pharisees seek every 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:00.680 means to discredit the miraculous grace of God 00:18:00.680 --> 00:18:04.319 in their midst. They call the man's parents to 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:07.759 prove that he was in fact born blind. And the 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:09.700 parents acknowledge that this is their son who 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:13.940 was born blind, but instead of joy for their 00:18:13.940 --> 00:18:16.559 son's sight and the fact that he now has been 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:20.190 restored to the temple. They create a plausible 00:18:20.190 --> 00:18:23.809 done deniability by saying their son is of age 00:18:23.809 --> 00:18:27.349 and he can testify for himself And we learn that 00:18:27.349 --> 00:18:29.950 they that that why they did this because they 00:18:29.950 --> 00:18:33.329 feared the Jews for the Jews had already agreed 00:18:33.329 --> 00:18:36.849 That if anyone confessed that Jesus was the Christ 00:18:36.849 --> 00:18:39.890 that those people would be put out of the synagogue 00:18:39.890 --> 00:18:46.690 So the man he's called back and we know They 00:18:46.690 --> 00:18:50.089 say that we know Jesus is a sinner and he answered 00:18:50.089 --> 00:18:53.230 and said whether he's a sinner or not. I do not 00:18:53.230 --> 00:18:58.089 know One thing I know Though I was blind now 00:18:58.089 --> 00:19:03.730 I see simple boldness simple obedience simple 00:19:03.730 --> 00:19:08.109 statement of fact This man doesn't understand 00:19:08.109 --> 00:19:11.069 what the conspiracies are he doesn't live in 00:19:11.069 --> 00:19:14.329 the world of the movers and shakers and plotters 00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:17.960 The man points out to the questioner their fullest 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:21.339 their fullest grasping about as if they're blind 00:19:21.339 --> 00:19:26.660 They deny the obvious Because if they know anything 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:30.160 at all they know that they are superior to the 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:34.619 average person this formerly blind man and most 00:19:34.619 --> 00:19:40.960 certain Jesus The man is given his sight Excuse 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:43.660 me the man given his sight responds calmly with 00:19:43.660 --> 00:19:48.319 the facts Since the world began, it has been 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:51.420 unheard of that anyone open the eyes of one who 00:19:51.420 --> 00:19:55.180 was born blind. If this man were not for God, 00:19:55.740 --> 00:19:59.680 he could do nothing." Totally enraged, these 00:19:59.680 --> 00:20:03.180 Pharisees point back to the idea that this man's 00:20:03.180 --> 00:20:08.960 a sinner. He was born completely in sins. So 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:13.259 how dare you present the truth to us? Saints 00:20:13.259 --> 00:20:17.529 of God, God has called you before the foundations 00:20:17.529 --> 00:20:21.430 of the world to be his You are here today because 00:20:21.430 --> 00:20:24.750 the grace of God has been given to you that his 00:20:24.750 --> 00:20:34.069 works may be revealed in you Dearly beloved do 00:20:34.069 --> 00:20:38.369 not be concerned concerned about those who conspire 00:20:38.369 --> 00:20:45.069 against Jesus God's will will be done And why? 00:20:45.190 --> 00:20:49.109 That the works of the living triune God may be 00:20:49.109 --> 00:20:54.369 revealed first in His church. When we stand firm 00:20:54.369 --> 00:20:58.309 as this man, we know this. We were just like 00:20:58.309 --> 00:21:02.970 this man. We were poor, blind wretches. But Jesus 00:21:02.970 --> 00:21:06.049 comes to us, and we have an encounter that we 00:21:06.049 --> 00:21:08.490 didn't know was coming. When we baptize our babies, 00:21:08.630 --> 00:21:12.720 those children don't know what's coming. If you 00:21:12.720 --> 00:21:16.400 were saved as an older person, you don't know 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:19.680 that day. One day you were going along and Christ 00:21:19.680 --> 00:21:21.740 came in your life. You didn't see it coming. 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:26.359 He pursued you. He gave you sight. He gave you 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:35.380 understanding. He gave you hearing. Listen, we 00:21:35.380 --> 00:21:38.180 can rest in His mercy and grace no matter the 00:21:38.180 --> 00:21:41.839 pressure, the persecution. or the denials of 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:45.660 the greatest society in our society. And we may 00:21:45.660 --> 00:21:51.559 even be cast out of society. On a Sabbath day 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:56.539 some 2 ,000 years ago, a man born blind who begged 00:21:56.539 --> 00:21:59.500 at the temple gates had what he thought was a 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:02.859 chance encounter with Jesus. He didn't know who 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:06.440 Jesus was. He did not know how this day would 00:22:06.440 --> 00:22:10.279 change his life. God gave him sight to see his 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:13.680 beautiful creation, and God give him sight and 00:22:13.680 --> 00:22:18.640 wisdom unto true understanding. The Pharisees 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:22.259 and the chief priests and scribes are just as 00:22:22.259 --> 00:22:24.460 the prophet Isaiah said of the people of his 00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:27.359 time before the day of the Lord. And this is 00:22:27.359 --> 00:22:29.920 Yahweh speaking to Isaiah telling him to tell 00:22:29.920 --> 00:22:33.240 this to these people. Go and tell this people, 00:22:33.460 --> 00:22:36.700 keep on hearing, but do not understand. Keep 00:22:36.700 --> 00:22:40.470 on seeing. but do not perceive. Make the heart 00:22:40.470 --> 00:22:43.190 of this people dull and their ears heavy, and 00:22:43.190 --> 00:22:48.089 shut their eyes." After all the hubbub and public 00:22:48.089 --> 00:22:51.869 debate, Jesus heard that the man was cast out. 00:22:52.329 --> 00:22:55.589 He goes and finds him. He seeks him out, and 00:22:55.589 --> 00:22:57.869 Jesus asks him, Do you believe in the Son of 00:22:57.869 --> 00:23:01.289 God? And the man responds, Who is he, Lord, that 00:23:01.289 --> 00:23:04.289 I may believe? And Jesus said, You have both 00:23:04.289 --> 00:23:08.569 seen him, and he is the one talking to you. What 00:23:08.569 --> 00:23:12.670 is the man's response? He says I believe and 00:23:12.670 --> 00:23:18.049 he worshiped Jesus the seeing man responds with 00:23:18.049 --> 00:23:24.289 gratitude and all and the action of worship simple 00:23:24.289 --> 00:23:31.130 obedience and action beginning with worship Now 00:23:31.130 --> 00:23:35.190 Jesus continues and speaks judgment for judgment 00:23:35.190 --> 00:23:37.470 I've come into the world that those who do not 00:23:37.470 --> 00:23:41.660 see may see, and that those who see may be made 00:23:41.660 --> 00:23:44.900 blind. Now notice this contrast here, because 00:23:44.900 --> 00:23:47.900 in the next verse it says that some of the Pharisees 00:23:47.900 --> 00:23:49.960 who were with him, with the blind man, right? 00:23:49.960 --> 00:23:52.240 They're walking around. All right, maybe this 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:54.039 guy, Jesus, is going to come back around. We're 00:23:54.039 --> 00:23:55.839 going to catch him. We're just going to follow 00:23:55.839 --> 00:24:01.140 this blind man around, or former blind man. And 00:24:01.140 --> 00:24:04.420 they asked Jesus this, are we blind also? And 00:24:04.420 --> 00:24:07.529 Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would 00:24:07.529 --> 00:24:12.089 have no sin. But now you say, we see, therefore 00:24:12.089 --> 00:24:16.970 your sin remains. This Lenten season, we must 00:24:16.970 --> 00:24:21.890 put off our pride and arrogance. Ask God to reveal 00:24:21.890 --> 00:24:28.289 our sin. Ask God to give you true sight of yourself. 00:24:29.650 --> 00:24:32.329 We must have a humble and contrite heart before 00:24:32.329 --> 00:24:36.819 the Lord, living in gratitude. That God has chosen 00:24:36.819 --> 00:24:42.160 us to reveal his works in us No matter the circumstances 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:45.559 we find ourselves in see that's our problem That 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:48.660 that our gratitude and our whole life gets gets 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:51.900 turned up because we say why is God doing this 00:24:51.900 --> 00:24:58.400 to me? instead of Why is God doing this for me? 00:25:01.460 --> 00:25:05.079 It is God's grace to us and the world and for 00:25:05.079 --> 00:25:07.400 his glory. Remember our epistle reading from 00:25:07.400 --> 00:25:12.799 today? Ephesians 5, for if you were once darkness, 00:25:13.180 --> 00:25:16.839 but now you are in the light. Walk as children 00:25:16.839 --> 00:25:18.819 of the light, for the fruit of the Spirit is 00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:22.319 in all goodness, righteousness, and truth, finding 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:27.079 out what is acceptable to the Lord. People of 00:25:27.079 --> 00:25:30.940 God, rejoice, for we were in darkness, but now 00:25:30.940 --> 00:25:33.920 by the grace of God and Christ Jesus, We not 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:36.559 only see the light, but because of His works 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:41.440 revealed in us, we are the light. Be encouraged, 00:25:42.619 --> 00:25:45.819 because Jesus is the fulfillment of this prophecy 00:25:45.819 --> 00:26:05.299 out of Isaiah 60. And then you shall see and 00:26:05.299 --> 00:26:10.240 become radiant, and your heart will swell with 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:15.319 joy. Let us pray together. Heavenly Father, we 00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:17.440 thank you for redeeming us by the work of your 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:21.779 Son, Jesus Christ. Help us, we pray, to see our 00:26:21.779 --> 00:26:25.339 sin, repent, and rejoice. Help us, we pray, to 00:26:25.339 --> 00:26:29.000 simply obey right away, even at... circumstances 00:26:29.000 --> 00:26:32.140 that may be hard so that you may reveal your 00:26:32.140 --> 00:26:35.799 work in us we ask all this for the sake of Jesus 00:26:35.799 --> 00:26:38.539 who reigns with you and the Holy Spirit forever 00:26:38.539 --> 00:26:48.200 and ever amen let us continue our worship here 00:26:48.200 --> 00:27:31.849 by the giving of our tithes and offerings goodness 00:27:31.849 --> 00:27:34.609 we have these gifts to share. Accept and use 00:27:34.609 --> 00:27:37.109 your tithes and offerings for your glory and 00:27:37.109 --> 00:27:40.170 for service in your kingdom. Blessed be God forever 00:27:40.170 --> 00:27:41.369 and ever. Amen.