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“True Blindness" • 9.22.19 • Calvary
Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- The first twelve verses of
chapter 9 contain a miracle that directly proves the claims that Jesus
has recently made about Himself at the end of the Feast Of Tabernacles in
chapter 8.
- He has called Himself the
"light of the World, proclaimed Himself to be sent from heaven by the
Father and has declared Himself to be "I AM."
- Anyone can say these things, but
Jesus actually brought light to a man afflicted with congenital blindness!
- He demonstrates His prowess by
creating new nerve endings as God, the "I Am" does in Genesis 2:7.
He even made sure to send him to wash in a pool that was called
"sent!"
- The Lord's work was so complete
that even the man's neighbors could hardly recognize him! This is about to lead
them to bring this man to the Pharisees.
- We will find that this was the
audience that Jesus has been targeting all along! Let's pick it up where we
left off in verse 13.
Text
• John 9:13,14 : "They brought him who formerly was
blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his
eyes." : This
man's neighbors couldn't wait to present their friend to the Pharisees!
- They figure that these men will be the most
excited to hear about God's work within their own Temple! This was sure to
produce celebration and praise to God!
- Additionally, that such a feat took place in
their time, meant that the Messiah was near! This was the exact kind of miracle
that the people expected when He arrived!
- You can look up Isaiah 29:14-18, or 35:1-6
and see the specific references to the Messiah's ability to open blind eyes! Have
a look at Isaiah 42.
• Isaiah 42:5-7 : "Thus says God the Lord, who created the heavens and stretched
them out, who spread forth the earth and that
which comes from it, who gives breath to the
people on it, and spirit to those who walk on
it: 'I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I
will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to
open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from
the prison, those who sit in darkness from the
prison house." :
With verses like this in their scriptural background, the people assume that
Messianic power is present with them.
- Unfortunately, these leaders were about to
miss the forest for the trees because Jesus went and made clay on the Sabbath
day!
- When He spit upon the ground and rolled the dirt
around, He made mud. This was considered a work, "kneading," that was
condemned by the Pharisees traditions.
- Just to spit in the dirt was considered a
work! They had a million other outrageous, ridiculous laws that made the
Sabbath, not a day of rest as God intended it, but a day of stress!
- Jesus had healed on the Sabbath before and
defended it by stating, in effect, that He and His Father continued to work,
even if men were commanded to cease from it.
- God is not subject to the laws that He makes
for men to follow! Plus, their traditions were not binding in the sight of God!
God called people to rest. Their religious rules made that impossible!
- Instead of celebrating a genuine work of God,
a miracle in their midst, these religious leaders begin a bonafide interrogation.
Verse 15.
• John 9:15-17 : "Then the Pharisees also asked him
again how he had received his sight. He said to them, 'He put clay on my eyes,
and I washed, and I see.' Therefore some of the Pharisees said, 'This Man is not from God,
because He does not keep the Sabbath.' Others said, 'How can a man who is a
sinner do such signs?' And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, 'What
do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?' He said, 'He is a prophet.'" : They wanted to hear the details.
"How did you receive your sight again?" They had already been filled
in by the friends but they want to hear it from his own lips.
- I love the simplicity and the childlike
response of the formerly blind man. It's not a complicated story! He tells them
exactly what happened without any fanfare.
- As he speaks it, I imagine him doing so with
a smile across his face, probably assuming that these men will want to glorify
the Lord with him. Boy, was he about to be surprised!
- Some of the Pharisees dismissed the work
outright! They presumed that Jesus was not from God because He didn't keep the
Sabbath! This was the strict teaching of Rabbi Shimei.
- He taught that a man of God could never be
considered such if he violated another of God's commands. The issue is that
Jesus wasn't violating the spirit or the letter of His Father's law!
- It was their fanciful and ridiculous
traditions that Jesus refused to honor! But talk about missing the forest for
the trees! The formerly blind man was shocked! "How could they not see
this?"
- I've watched many new converts experience the
same treatment by religious people, who answered their conversion with
skepticism! These Pharisees thought the contradiction proved it.
- Jesus is a sinner because He doesn't keep the
Sabbath! That was their rationale, but it was followed by other Pharisses who
couldn't make sense of the signs that He had done!
- If Jesus were a sinner, how would it be
possible to perform these signs? That was the point!
- All the signs pointed to Him being the
Messiah, the Son of God! If He were anything less, it would be impossible for
Him to do anything!
- Both sides were convinced of their position
and opposed each other. The leading authorities are left to look over to the
formerly blind man to ask his opinion! He's the tie breaker!
- They are at such a loss about what to think,
that they ask the guy with the least experience for help! All that he can say
at the moment is that Jesus was a prophet.
- Notice the upgrade in the man's knowledge.
Earlier, in verse 11, he had referred to Jesus simply as a
"Man."
- As a result of further consideration and
conversation with the Pharisees, the man is convinced that Jesus is, at least,
a Prophet! Isn't that funny?
- The Pharisees are becoming less informed the
more they refuse to believe. Jesus is no longer a Rabbi or Teacher. He's now a
"sinner" in their eyes! Verse 18.
• John 9:18-23 : "But the Jews did not believe
concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called
the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, 'Is
this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' His parents answered them and said,
'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do
not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will
speak for himself.' His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for
the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would
be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'" : Instead of answering the man's declaration,
the religious leaders turn their attention to the reality of the man's previous
condition.
- Maybe he had never really been blind at all!
Maybe this was just an elaborate hoax concocted between this man and Jesus,
which led the Pharisees to interview his parents.
- Listen to their inquisition: "You SAY
that he was born blind. How then does he see?"
- They are now accusing the parents of creating
a false narrative that the man would have been forced to perpetuate for the
totality of his lfe! Why or how could anyone do such a thing?
- This is what happens to a person who will not
believe the simple truth about Jesus!
- They will be relegated to believing myths or
fairy tales! They will be the ones who force themselves to believe in alien
life, evolution and any other theory that is born from a naturalistic basis.
- The man's parents aren't helpful to their
cause in one respect. They affirm that this is their son and that he was born
blind. That was as far as they were willing to go.
- They claim neither to know how nor who caused
his change in condition! "He's old enough to answer! Ask Him!" John
fills us in on the reason for their odd answer.
- Certainly, they knew from their own son how
it was that he had been healed. But that admission would be akin to a
confession, an acknowledgement, that Jesus was the Christ.
- The Pharisees, along with all that reject
Christ, are not out on a fact finding mission, but a fact obscuring mission!
They had already agreed together to quell any such notion.
- These parents likely believe, but their
belief in Jesus was not greater than their all encompassing, persistent fear of
the Jews! The grammar relays a near terror of these people!
- Being expelled from the Synagogue wasn't
simply a matter of being kicked out of a church.
- Today, a person can commit adultery, leave
their church and go become a good standing member of another church just a few
blocks away! This wasn't the case in Israel.
- The synagogue was the central hub of a Jewish
person's community. His life flowed in and out of this refuge. He was taught and
encouraged here in the ways of his people.
- Connections were made and sustained as these
people bonded together through thick and thin. If a person was kicked out of
the synagogue, they were ignored in the streets!
- These parents left their adult son out to dry
because they didn't want to lose their seat in the synagogue! The more things
change, the more they stay the same!
- How many today are ashamed to confess the
Name of Christ in their workplace or across their social networks for fear of
being cast out?
- Jesus Himself warns us not to let our fear
keep us from confessing Him before men on earth, lest we find that He will not
confess us before His Father in heaven! (Matthew 10:32,33)
- I pray none of you will find yourselves in
this position! Thankfully, you and I can glean better insights from their son!
Verse 24.
• John 9:24,25 : "So they again called the man who
was blind, and said to him, 'Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a
sinner.' He
answered and said, 'Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I
know: that though I was blind, now I see.'" : This is the man's second interrogation and the religious leaders
are now spoon feeding him the confession that will ease everyone's minds.
"Give God the glory!"
- You may remember this phrase from when Joshua
spoke to Achan in Joshua 7:19.
- After God had singled Achan out as the
transgressor who stole from God after Jericho, Joshua looked at him and said,
"Give glory to the Lord God of Israel!"
- The idea is that they have caught this man in
a lie. Somehow, he could not have been blind and he could not have been healed
by this Man because he is a sinner!
- It's interesting that they claim to
"know" that Jesus is a sinner. Jesus has recently asked them, in John
8:46 to name His sin and they were unable to answer Him as He spoke in
their temple!
- These men were wretched cowards, able to talk
big when Jesus wasn't around, but silent as the grave when they stood before
Him! The formerly blind man was not a coward!
- He couldn't speak to the kind of Man Jesus
was. He had only just met Him! He didn't know about His character or His
claims. He didn't even know what He looked like!
- What he did know, he boldly shared! "One
thing I know: I was blind, now I see!" This man gives us a formula for
personal testimony that is timeless!
- One commentator said this: "A man
with experience is never worried about a man with an argument!" Nobody
will ever be able to argue against your own personal testimony!
- It's this easy: Before you met Christ you
were a scoundrel, an addict, a drunk, etc. After you met Him, you were not!
- This man had been undeniably blind and now,
he had the capacity to see! Jesus made that possible in him! The religious
leaders can hardly contain themselves. Verse 26.
• John 9:26-29 : "Then they said to him again, 'What
did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?' He answered them, 'I told you
already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also
want to become His disciples?' Then they reviled him and said, 'You are His disciple, but we are
Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not
know where He is from.'" :
How many times will they ask the same question? What did they hope to
accomplish? They are groping in the dark for an answer that pleased them.
- This man doesn't have another answer and he's
almost had it with them! He can't understand why they can't figure this out! Whether
sincere or not, he figures that they want to be His disciples too!
- This is a great question: Why are unbelievers
and skeptics so interested if they have written the Lord off? Something in them
will not let them rest!
- God's words and actions on behalf of His
people demand an honest reckoning! That is why they cannot let it go! There has
to be an explanation!
- The formerly blind man was not ashamed to
call himself a disciple. Why wouldn't they want to join? That was not the right
thing to say to these guys!
- With their faces flush with anger, they began
to insult him by giving him the best compliment a person could receive! "You
are His disciple!" Oh, friends, let it be said of you!
- Pray that the Lord would make that obvious to
the world around you and wear that designation with all possible pride!
- These men fancied themselves to be Moses'
disciples, knowing that God spoke to Moses, but not being able to even tell
where Jesus was from.
- The formerly blind man finds that information
to be very funny! Verse 30.
• John 9:30-33 : "The man answered and said to them, 'Why,
this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has
opened my eyes! Now
we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and
does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened
the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.'" : This man is incredible! The situation
that he is witnessing is worth pondering.
- He is as amazed at their inability to see as
they were in his ability to see! They were amazed at his sight and he was
amazed at their blindness!
- These supposedly educated and godly men have
admitted that they do not know where Jesus came from. After all of their
investigation, they are still unable to answer!
- How many are just like this!? They have all
the head knowledge and proof that a person could ask for, but they still can't
move from unbelief to trust!
- The formerly blind man has experience and
logic on his side! Jesus was responsible for opening his eyes! If He were a
sinner like they said He was, He could not have done anything!
- The fact that He did reveals that He was a
worshiper of God! Nobody else in history had ever done such a thing! Jesus had
to come from God! There was no other conclusion! Verse 34.
• John 9:34 : "They answered and said to him, 'You
were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?' And they cast him out." : In typical fashion, the religious
leaders, having failed to win the argument, turn to insults and accusations.
- "Who do you think you are to teach us?
You were born in sins!" They kicked him out of their club. According to
commentators, there were varieties of excommunication.
- There was a weeklong penalty called the
"rebuke," a 30 day penalty called the "admonition" and a
complete, indeterminate penalty, which was to be "cast out."
- This wasn't a loss to him, but what a
travesty of righteousness and a cruel turn of events!
- Here was a man with a clear identity and
testimony and these religious charlatans treated him like garbage! I'm so glad
the chapter continues on! Verse 35.
• John 9:35-38 : "Jesus heard that they had cast him
out; and when He had found him, He said to him, 'Do you believe
in the Son of God?' He answered and said, 'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in
Him?' And Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.' Then he said, 'Lord, I believe!'
And he worshiped Him." : Listen
again to verse 35. Religion had no use for him, but Jesus went
looking for him!
- Jesus has said as recently as John 6:37
that whoever believes in Him, He will by no means cast out! This is such a
beautiful picture. Can you imagine the initial thoughts of this man?
- Sure, he had discovered how empty these men
were, but where else would he go to meet God? If he couldn't meet God in the
Temple, where could he go to thank and worship Him?
- That is when Jesus discovered him and asked
him if he believed in the Son of God! Jesus isn't looking to meet man in a
Temple. He wants man to become His Temple!
- This man doesn't even skip a beat! All he
wants Jesus to do is point him in the right direction and he'll believe
immediately! This is the kind of person Jesus reveals himself to!
- What a joy it must have been for Jesus to
stand there and offer Himself to this man! For all the rejection, this one
sinner coming home made it all worth it! "Lord, I believe!"
- The man has graduated from calling Jesus a "Man"
in verse 11, a "prophet" in verse 17, to
"Lord" here in verse 38. The man believed and he worshiped
Jesus!
- He "faithed" toward the Lord and
kept kissing toward the one that had restored his sight and saved his soul!
That is worship!
- Think about this for a moment. When Paul and
Barnabas were among the Lystrans who attempted to worship them, they tore their
clothes and begged them to stop. (Acts 14:14-18)
- When John, the author of this book and
Revelation first saw the angel, his impulse was to worship him, which the angel
refused to receive. (Revelation 22:9)
- In our text, this formerly blind man
worshiped Him, the language indicating more precisely that he kept worshipping
Him! Jesus receives it as if that is what man is supposed to do!
- When you have a great sense of what He has
done for you, your worship won't ever be the same and one day, you and I won't
have to stop! Unfortunately, this led to a vivid contrast. Verse 39.
• John 9:39-41 : "And Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be
made blind.' Then
some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, 'Are
we blind also?' Jesus
said to them, 'If you
were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your
sin remains." :
Jesus has already said that He was here to speak the words of God, to offer
freedom to slaves of sin, not to judge.
- How then is it that He has come into this
world for judgment? His coming necessitates judgment. He is not judging men.
They are judging themselves by their response to Him!
- In reality, Jesus doesn't have to judge
anyone. When He sits at the Great White Throne, Jesus will not be condemning
men, but confirming their destination! How does that affect men today?
- There are men and women on this planet who
don't believe that they are able to see when it comes to God. They know they
are blind and need help to see! Jesus gives them sight.
- Those that think they can see however, are
made blind! They cannot see what is patently obvious before their eyes. Their
eyes grow more and more dim when they reject Him!
- The Pharisees understood and replied,
"Are we blind?" That is the exact arrogance that Jesus is pointing
out! They would have been better off being blind!
- The problem was that they thought they could
see! They thought that they understood! That's what made them blind! Their
"seeing" didn't lead them to Jesus!
- The fact that a man could come to the
conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah having only had physical
sight for an hour, spelled their doom!
- Jesus seeing this clearly spells it out for
them: Your sin remains! Their hardness of heart and their firm rejection of
Jesus led them to remain in a state of sin!
- That sin would keep them from surrendering to
Jesus in that day and lead to their separation from Jesus up until this day!
Conclusion
Let's pray.
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