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Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: You.
[00:00:01] Speaker B: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message. My name is Jason, and I'm one of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the teaching from God's. Words you hear today will bless your life and draw you closer to Him. If you're ever in the Madison, Alabama area, we'd love for you to worship with us on Sundays at 830 or 10:30 A.m.. If you have any other questions about the Bible or want to know more about the Madison Church, find [email protected]. Be sure to also check out our Bible study podcast, madison Church of Christ Bible Studies. Thanks again for stopping by.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Good morning, everyone. Grab your Bibles and turn to John, chapter nine. We're going to spend all of our time this morning in John nine as we will talk about this encounter with Jesus and this blind man. And I'll go ahead and spoil it for you. The blind man gets healed, he recovers his sight, and we're going to get into all of that story, and it's pretty amazing. But I want us, as we think about this story, to not just think about it from the standpoint of this guy being healed, but more so, even the spiritual applications and the deeper lesson that may be found in the middle of this lesson. When you think about blindness, I can only relate in a couple of ways. When I was in college, I was pledging a certain club at Faulton University and what can only be described as put, you know, these blindfolds around us and made us run through different areas. And you ran into stuff and all those kinds of things. And I look at it and we'll say, fun, all right, we were running through and it was fun, but you couldn't see a thing. And it was a little unnerving, right, to not be able to know exactly where you were going, what direction. And it was kind of tough. They had to lead us by the hand in different areas and keep us safe and those kinds of things. And again, it was great. But in the midst of that anxiety that I may have felt, one of the things that I knew for sure is that when this was over with, I could take off that bandana and my eyes were open and I could still see and I could guide myself through. So that's not really the same thing, is it? Maybe the best way that I can connect it is when I was growing up as a child, we went to this event in the community at Monsanto Park Indicator. And for those of you who don't know that, there it is. It's just right off the river. It stinks really bad. And they didn't really have what you would think of as a playground per se. It was more like a park. And there were all these different elements. So I want to take your mind away from, like, rubberized pellets and nice landscaping around a playground or soft places to land. What you saw around these elements of the playground were roots and fallen branches and trees and hard ground and all those kinds of things. And they had a merry go around, those things that have grease that lasts forever, apparently. You spin that sucker, and it gets faster and faster, and kids go flying. They bust their heads, wipe off the blood, jump right back on, and do it again. It just definitely would not have met the requirements for today's type of playground areas. But another element that they had is they had this big, tall slide. I'm talking 1215ft tall. And that slide, it was straight down. It wasn't one of those loop de loos kind of thing. It was straight down. And you know what it was made of, right? Polished steel. So, like, in the heat of summer, if you didn't have on pants and you went down in shorts or something, well, you'd have to be peeled off of that thing before you got to the bottom. But if you had on the right kind of pants, you would hit that thing and slide down fast. And if you can imagine 1215ft, you come off and is basically tuck and roll when you got to the bottom, right? Well, we were at this park playing, okay, having a good time with people, and my sister, Brooke, and if you know her, you know she's not right. And this story may help you understand why she climbed up this ladder of this slide. And so she's 1215ft off the ground, and she and this other girl get into some kind of tussle over a hairbow, okay? And the girl gets fired up and pushes my sister Brooke off the back of that slide, and so she falls down and lands on the back of her head, 1215ft up in the air. Okay, well, I'm playing somewhere else. I hear the screams of my family. Let's go. We've got to go to the emergency room.
Brooke has fallen. She's hit her head. She can't see.
And so that was kind of shocking. So we get in the car, and we go, and we're all kind of upset. We're like, Brooke, can you see my fingers? Can you see me? And her eyes are kind of fixed, and there's tears kind of coming down, and she's scared, obviously, and she's saying things, but I can't see anything. And so we're all kind of nervous for her. We're praying for her. We get to the er and things are taken care of, and she ultimately survived all this, and she can see just fine and all that now. But in that moment, the gravity of what that could be for her, what that would be like for her, sort of hit me. And I'm sure it hit every one of us in our family. And I remember, as we were driving to the emergency room that I found myself just taking my hands and putting them over my eyes and just imagining what that would be like forever to experience that.
Brooke's blindness was very temporary, okay?
It didn't last long. Over two or 3 hours, swelling went down. She began to restore her sight and everything was fine. But the guy we're going to talk about today was blind from his birth. And I want us to kind of imagine that for just a moment, to see that, if you can, to experience it, to never see the smile on someone's face, to never see the warmth of someone. To never see when there's danger in the way. To never know where you can step and where you can't step. To not be able to recognize people.
And I know that they tell us that when we're blind or when we lose one of our senses, all the others are kind of amplified and they kind of help make up some of that a little bit. Maybe they're heightened from that standpoint, but blindness would be a very difficult thing for us to imagine.
But this guy was born blind. And so if we can wrap our minds around that for just a moment and think about that, that's one thing of this story. But the second thing is anytime you read the scriptures, you need to be reminded that it doesn't just happen in that one isolated instance. There's always things that happen that are happening all around that are fluid, that kind of build to this moment. So if you look in John, chapter seven, what you're going to see is Jesus is there at the Feast of Tabernacles, and he's going through and he's teaching. We've got all these Jews here for this big festival, and there's tents everywhere and it's just very festive. And they enjoy this. And Jesus is walking around introducing Himself to people, and he's teaching and people are gathering around and you know what happens? A crowd begins to gather and everybody's like, well, what's that? And so their curiosity gets them and they go over there and start listening. And Jesus is teaching them and he's doing all kinds of wonderful things, and people are being moved. And so you look around and the people who are also gathering are going, who are these people gathering? And so you got Pharisees and other officials going in and checking that out and seeing what's going on. And they're troubled by that, that Jesus is talking. He's getting a group of people to follow after Him, and they're moving from one place to the next as he goes and teaches. They can't get enough of Him. And so it says they decided they were going to arrest Him because of some of the things that he was saying. But the Bible tells us in John seven and chapter eight that it wasn't yet Jesus time. So providentially God worked it out where he escaped through these different attempts to arrest him and lay hold of him. And we get to John, chapter eight. They're not done with him. They're ready to test him and tempt him again. And so they bring this woman that's caught in adultery. You guys remember the story. They bring her out. She's only in a bedsheet. They throw her at Jesus feet. And they said, the law of Moses says that this woman who is caught on adultery must be stoned to death. What do you say?
And Jesus is riding in the ground and spends a little know doing whatever. And then he looks up and says, well, he who is without sin cast the first stone.
And so it hits them that none of them are qualified. Nobody's perfect. So one by one, the stones drop, and they all leave. And Jesus is just there with this woman, and he says, well, where are your accusers? And she says, There are none. And he says, well, neither do I condemn you, but go and sin no more. So they're watching him, watching how he does things. They're bothered by it. And so they start asking, well, where's your father? He's like, well, you don't know my father, because if you knew my father, you would know me and you would understand who I am. And they go a little bit further, and ultimately, they're talking about their fatherhood saying, our Father is Abraham. And he says, no, your father is actually the devil, and he was a murderer and a liar, and the father of all lies and everything he does is evil because that's just who his nature is. And you guys are following after your father, the devil. Well, this gets them fired up, and they're all angry about that. And ultimately they say, hey, you say your father is someone else, but we're saying our father is Abraham. And he says, how about this? Abraham saw my day coming and was rejoicing in it.
And before Abraham was, I am. Well, that word and that expression alone caused them to grab stones, and they were going to stone him. And he flees out of the city. And that's where we get to John, chapter nine. So all of this is happening around him. Jesus is fleeing through the city, but he comes to this area, and it says that as he walks along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. And, Rabbi, his disciples are asking him, why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents sins? Now, this is just a common misconception of their time, or maybe even a misapplication of what happened when people rebelled against God and were disobedient and they felt the consequences of that. This was something different. They just assumed that anyone who had any kind of affliction or difficulty in their life, that those afflictions were there because of their sinfulness. And so this guy being blind obviously had sin in his life. At least their question was that. And so they're asking that question. And as I think about this, isn't it interesting that we wonder sometimes even why we go through afflictions, why we go through suffering? And I can think of a lot of people in this audience who are going through difficult times, circumstances that maybe are outside their control, and we ask ourselves, why did these things happen? I want to give you just three little quick points about this. Who calls this in? Well, Jesus is going to answer this question in just a moment, but let's talk a little bit about these afflictions. First of all, I think afflictions, these are just things in the Scriptures that I believe can help us at least understand why maybe some of these things happen. Some afflictions are there because those afflictions, as we're going through them, two Corinthians, chapter one says that God comforts us through those afflictions, that he's carrying us through it. He's helping us through that time. And whatever that affliction is, it may be that through that comfort that you receive from God that you become aware of ways that you can be a blessing to other people. So the affliction that you go through and the comfort that you receive from God is given to you. So you can in turn be a minister to someone else and take care of their needs and their challenges during that time and be a blessing to them. But then I think sometimes we think about the trials that we go through, the difficulties. In James chapter one, there's the idea that those things that we go through are meant to test us and to bring us to a deeper faith. So that burden is tough, and in the middle of that is endurance and faith. And as we continue to build patience, then our faith is strengthened. So sometimes the things that we're going through are there to help us draw closer to God.
But then there are times where, let's just call it we don't like what God has to say. We want to do something different. We make choices that are in opposition to Him, and we start chasing things that are not good for us, and we find ourselves in open rebellion. Well, this passage in Psalm 119, verse 67 says something to the effect of this. Until I found the affliction, the ways that I was living in my life, those things were okay by me. Okay. But after I was afflicted, those things are what triggered my response in coming back to God. So sometimes it is a result of your decisions, the consequences, the burden, the grief and the weight that you're carrying with you of sin that is meant to bring you back to God, to remind you that God is the one who heals, who is the one who helps us. So sometimes affliction can correct us in this particular case, though, Jesus says, he says it's not because of his sins or his parents'sins.
This happened so the power of God could be seen in Him. So I want to say this about all of the afflictions that we have. Let us understand that everything in life, good or bad, all of those things are meant to help us honor and glorify God. But he says specifically this situation, this man being blind is in the purpose and the will of God. Now, that is hard for us, right? We don't want people to have to go through difficult times or circumstances, and we don't understand this. But I think what Jesus is going ahead to tell them right now is this is really not about this guy's blindness. This is about something even greater. So as you are listening to this story, open your mind up to other ways that Jesus may be teaching us, even through this powerful scene. Ultimately, God can and will use anything for his glory. John, chapter nine, verse four and five. Jesus switches to another topic here real quick, quickly. And as he's walking along, he says, hey, we must act quickly to do the things that God has sent us to do. He said, the night is coming and then no one can work. But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world. So he's got a little bit of a double message going on here. He says, hey, we're coming through. And what you'll find out is contextually. As we continue to study, you'll find out that this is actually on the Sabbath day. And so they're on the Sabbath, they're seeing all these things. They're going through the city, they're running around, and as they do, night has fallen. And so Jesus says, hey, there's something that needs to be done. God has sent us to do these works. So while there is daylight so people can see God's power, so people can see God's glory, we need to take care of this thing that we need to be doing right here and now. But he's also kind of saying, and in life as well, jesus is the light. He's here to come and do certain things, but there is coming a time where his life is going to come to an end as well. So there's sort of like a double meaning here. And that time is short, right? Today, you live for this moment and the opportunities that are here in front of you. And so when you look at Jesus, he's always taking advantage of the moment. And I think that's where we lose focus sometimes. We don't always see the opportunities in front of us. And Jesus here gives us that great example, but he's also saying, I'm only going to be here for a certain time, so let's take advantage of that time that I'm here. So then it says, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud over the blind man's eyes. Can I get a gross up in here? All right, anybody else weirded out by this at all? This is one of those texts that I read in scriptures, and I find myself just going, right? And I can only relate to it. And listen, if you were brought up in the, you probably are going to also connect with this and maybe even some of you who are younger. But we didn't have wet wipes in the car when I was growing up, okay?
You all know what I'm talking about, right? Everybody's got a little package and they pull it open and clean everything, right? You know what wet wipes were when I was a kid? It was your mom going, you've got a smudge on your face.
And then she would wipe that mess off. And so you're fighting, you're going crazy because it's gross and it's disgusting. And then I remember when I would protest enough, my mom would say, well, then just stick out your tongue. So then I'd stick out my tongue and she, yeah, I didn't like it at all. It's just saliva. It's like gross. I felt like I could smell it all over me.
It was bad. And then I look at this story and I'm going, okay, how much saliva does it take to make mud? Personally, maybe I'm just immature, but I can't get past what I hear in this story. It's just disgusting to me. And then I find myself asking why? I mean, are there not examples in the scriptures where a woman just touches the hem of his garment and she's healed of an issue of blood for twelve years? I mean, is that not the case where someone just says, hey, Lord, if you just speak it into existence, I know that you can heal someone? Yes, we see these over and over that Jesus has the power that's greater than anything you can imagine, and yet in this moment, he chooses to do that.
And maybe the better question is not why is it that he does this?
But maybe our minds always need to be brought back to this question. Which is always more important, who it is that is doing it? Because when you stop and you think about what Jesus is doing here, he's looking way beyond this person who is blind. He is looking to the people that are surrounding and watching it. So keep your eyes peeled, literally, as we look at this and as we dig deeper into this story, because it's pretty amazing.
He told him, told the man, go wash in the pool of saloam. And so the man went and washed and came back, seeing now just a little bit of a connection between some sermons we've done before. Hezekiah, you'll remember, was King of Judah, and they had a waterway that was called the Gihon Spring that created fresh water for them, and it flowed out these aqueducts, and that water was transferred down into the hillside to water the King's Gardens and all those kinds of things. But the enemies were coming and taking advantage of that water, and they were getting themselves prepared for battle right there at the foot of using the water source that the Judeans had. And so Hezekiah dug a tunnel underneath the city streets and had it empty into the Pool of Saloam. So this is that waterway that spring that flowed into the Pool of Saloam. And that's what we're talking about here. And it says, So He went and he washed, and he came back seeing I want you to recognize something. This is very important, is while it was Jesus who healed him, while it was Jesus who was willing to do this miracle and to restore his sight, don't miss the point that there was a responsibility and a requirement on his part to act in faith. And I think that's something that we need to be reminded of even in our journey as we are growing in Christ. There's always a need. He's always done it for us, right? He's always been the one who came first. The Bible says we love Him because he first loved us. It talks about how Jesus came into the world and he died for our sins. He poured out his grace and his mercy on us. All of us have access to it, but it is up to us to respond in faith and to obtain it. And so I want us to not miss that point here. There is a washing that takes place. There is a cleansing. There is a healing that takes place, partly because Jesus made it happen, but the guy had to respond in faith as well. So his neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, hey, isn't this the man who used to sit and beg? And some said he was, and others said, well, no, he looks just like him. I think this is got. I don't know what it was about his healing, but something changed in his demeanor, his expression. Maybe he had a little pep in his. Maybe his eyes are wide open now. I don't know exactly what it was, but for whatever reason, they're going, that's interesting. Is that not the guy that we see every day over here begging? And they're like, It can't be. He's blind, right? That guy can see, and he's walking around and he's talking to people, and he's looking people in the eyes. That's not the same guy. It can't be. Maybe he just looks like him. I think it's funny. It's like a first century doppelganger kind of thing, and I hate doppelgangers. People used to tell me how much I look like Tom Cruise. So I started eating cheeseburgers and stopped working out, and I got rid of that.
But this is one of those weird things, right?
They can see it, but they can't see it. And that is ironic, is it not? But the beggar kept saying, hey, I'm the one. It's me guys, it's me. It's been me the whole time.
He told them, the man they called Jesus made mud, spread it over my eyes and told me, go to the pool of slum and wash yourself. So I went and washed him. And now I can see he's excited. He wants them to be excited with him. And instead they're like, where is he now? Now, think about that for just a moment.
Has this guy seen Jesus collectively? You can say it. No.
Isn't that funny that they're like, Where is he now? And he's, ah, I don't know. Is he like, okay, y'all keep talking. Maybe I can figure out which one it was that was here. He's never seen Jesus, right? Jesus healed, makes the mud pies, puts him on his eyes. Jesus is gone. He goes to wash, he comes back, jesus is nowhere around, he's never seen him. And they're like, where is he? I don't know, he replied. So they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. Okay? So now we got to find some holes in this, right? We got to find a reason that this is not on the up and up. And so they say, hey, let's go to the Pharisees. They'll know what to do because this guy was doing something on Sabbath Day and that can't be right. And so they go to do that. Well, let me just give you a little bit of the complication of the Sabbath. Now we understand it. God in creation sort of established this pattern. Work six days, take the 7th day for rest. Then when you get into the old covenant, you find out that he established the Sabbath Day for them to get that rest, that restoration, okay? But these people took it to a whole new level and they had 39 different ways. And if you were to read all these, you'd be blown away at the detail and the minutiae of the things that they would use as ways to hold people under control on that Sabbath Day. I've highlighted a few of these things because anything that Jesus did this day, they could have used against Him. And one of those things was washing.
Couldn't do any of that. You couldn't do any plowing. So him digging in his hand to pick up the dirt would have been a violation of the Sabbath grinding anything that he would have done to put dirt and grind it together. It is thought that saliva in these days was medicinal. Sometimes they would often combine it with herbs and stuff and they would use it as ointments. So anything like an apothecary, jesus has got an apothecary going on over there.
Any kneading, okay, like you would like bread or dough. If he's doing that in his hand to make those mud pies, all that would have been it. Any kind of smoothing warping. There's probably 15 different ways that Jesus was actually purposefully violating these minutiae, these laws to hold the law, right? The laws that they had written know, and they're obviously upset because he's done this. So the Pharisees asked, he told them, okay, put the mud over my eyes and when I washed away, I could see. Just think about this man's testimony for a moment. Pretty simple, isn't it? The man told me what to do. I went and did it, and now I can see.
Do you know that that could still be our testimony today?
That if we just listen to what God says and we just do those things, then we will have the same blessing of this awareness of what is right and wrong and that we too can find ourselves in this same situation.
Put the mud over my eyes. When I washed it away, I could see.
But sometimes you're going to come across people that really don't want to hear truth.
I've had I don't know how many studies in my life with different people, and I've sat across from people who would study the Bible with me, and we're just opening up the Bible and turning the pages around and saying, here's what it says. And I've had people say to me before, well, that's what the Church of Christ teach.
And that bothers me so much.
Not because we don't want to be people of the Word and people of truth, but that makes it more like there's some kind of headquarters somewhere telling us what we can and what we cannot say.
But folks, we open up the Scriptures, and I remember saying to some of them, you're saying it's what the Church of Christ? We just opened up the Bible and let God speak to you through His Word.
Sometimes you're going to come across people who do not want to hear truth, and they're going to reject it just out of stubbornness. And sometimes the truth is inconvenient. And usually when that happens and people have no answer for that, what their next step is to begin to attack the character. And that's what happens here. Pharisees said, this man Jesus, not from God, can't be, he's working on the Sabbath day.
But then there were others who came to Jesus'support and said, oh, okay, but I mean, can we stop and acknowledge here that someone has been healed? Like this man who was blind can now see? Can we understand this? So you can look up and the Pharisees are going, okay, we got this big division going on. We got people up in an uproar because of what he's doing, because some people say, no, you can't do it because it's a Sabbath. And they're holding on to that for dear life. And. Then you got other people going, but, hey, can we not rejoice that this man who was once blind can now see? So the Pharisees questioned the man. What's your opinion about him? And now they're moving on to, okay, let's find something else. Let's find another way to go about this. What's your opinion about this man who healed him? And of course, he said, hey, I think he's probably a prophet. Wouldn't that be sensible? Wouldn't that be logical? Wouldn't you want to come to that conclusion that he would be a man of God, obviously, if he could have the power to do this? And I did what he said, and now I can see. But the Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man was blind and could now see. So guess what they do? They call mom and dad. Go to get mom and dad. Now, I don't know if you're keeping tabulation here, but I'm not thinking too highly of mom and dad right now, okay? Where are mom and dad? Where have mom and dad been all this time? Do they just drop him off in the morning at the gate and say, good luck to you, I hope you grab something today?
How is it that they are not a part of this picture? Okay, but they go to get them. They come and bring them in, and this is what happens. I'm sorry. Let me make this .2. Things are happening here, and we've kind of addressed it already. But you got stubbornness mixed with dishonesty, right? They're just absolutely refusing to believe what is absolutely right there in front of them, and instead, they're now trying to find other ways to do this. But when you get stubbornness and dishonesty and they combine together, I want you to know what you get.
You get blindness.
And isn't that an ironic twist in this here? They can see, but they can't see. It's very interesting. So his parents are brought in, and they say, well, we know this is our son, and he was born blind. We don't know how he can see or who it was that healed him. Maybe ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself. And while you are saying, oh, well, that's good, they're saying, hey, he's old enough. He can answer for himself. We weren't here. He has the experience. He can tell you all about it.
If you read a little bit further, it tells you why it is. They said this because apparently the Jews had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah, they would be expelled from the synagogue. That's what the Pharisees had required.
So that's why they said, well, he's old enough. He can answer for himself, because they know their son is dangerously close from being kicked out of the synagogue forever. And so they themselves out of self preservation. Now, again, this is not mom and dad of the year, right? You would think they just found out that their son can see.
He's been healed of his blindness that he's been with his entire life. And all of a sudden, instead of going celebrate with him and going, man, we're so excited for you stopping and crying and being thankful to God and stopping and worshipping and doing anything else. What they are doing right now is self preservation, keeping themselves in good social status. So they said, he's old enough. Ask him. So they asked him again. They asked him for another time. They said, God should get the glory for this. So we'll just twist this around.
All you have to do is turn around and give God the glory for this, because we know this guy is a sinner. And his reply is this I don't know whether he is a sinner, but I know this.
I was blind, and now I can see. And they're like, but what did he do?
Well, how did heal you?
And I love this. Does this make anybody else smile? He says, Look, I like that look. Would you I told you once, didn't you listen? Why do you want to hear it again?
I've told you now a couple, three times. I mean, my story's not changing. It's the same one that it was before I couldn't see. Now I can. What is it that you're wanting? Or is it that you don't have an answer for this?
And maybe you yourself are beginning to have faith and belief in this Jesus. Maybe it is. You also want to be one of his disciples too. Isn't that awesome? I love this. God makes the best evangelist out of the most unlikely people. I keep thinking about that man with a legion of know. It looks like Tasmanian Devil coming down the mountains, right out of the tombs where he's been cutting himself and ripping himself apart and screaming and well and all. Every kid's nightmare, he comes running down to face Jesus. He falls down at his feet. Jesus heals him of those demons. Remember, they go into the pigs and they go and drown themselves into the sea. And then these people who once knew him and feared him see him now later that evening, sitting down with his right mind clothed and sitting at the feet of Jesus, just learning everything he can. And, you know, that guy wanted so badly to just follow Jesus and can I go with you on your missionary trips? I want to tell people what you've done for me. And Jesus going, oh, no, no. See, those people out there will not understand the change and the transformation that's happened in you. I need you to go back to your hometown, because those people know you. They were afraid of you. They will be moved by your transformation. You stay home. Now. Think about that woman at the well. She'd been on four or five husbands, whatever it was.
Jesus told her everything that she had done. And in that meeting with Him, she was so transformed that she goes back into the city and says, oh, I just found the Messiah, the one who knows everything about me. He's told me everything that I ever did. And she becomes a great evangelist for him in her hometown. See, when Jesus really does affect someone, it changes their perspective and their priority. And God makes them the best evangelist.
So then they cursed him and they said, you are his disciples, but we are disciples of Moses. Again, going back to their tradition and the things that they could hold on to.
We know God spoke to Moses, but we don't even know where this man comes from. And this is interesting, we don't even know where this man comes from. They just absolutely discredited him. But he says, well that's very strange, isn't it?
Because he healed my eyes and yet you don't know where he comes from.
What a great thing to say to them. He healed me, you don't know where he comes from. And then this guy goes into an absolute SmackDown of argumentation. Listen to what he says. We know that God doesn't listen to sinners. I can see Him saying this as a question. We know that God doesn't listen to sinners. Right. And they're like, Amen.
And then he says, but he is ready to hear those who worship Him and do his will. That's right. Now we're getting somewhere.
Well, ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone more blind. Right? That's right. Can't be done.
Well then, if this man were not from God, he couldn't have done it.
Wow, that's a powerful, powerful statement. And for most of us, if we have an open mind right. That makes total sense, right? Truth is logical. It makes so much sense. And folks, I want you to understand that's why the Bible says in Romans, chapter twelve, as you live your life as a sacrifice to God, it says that this is your reasonable service. It's very sensible to serve God in that way. That what, you know, he's done for you, you will return that in your service to Him. It just makes sense. There's a passage that says, let your moderation or your reasonableness be known to all mankind. It's very sensible, what we know, what we believe, what we can hold on to. And so often I think, we think people don't want to hear it because it's so out there. No, it's not. Truth is very logical. And the Bible gives us one page after another of logical information that can be followed and pursued and learned and lived out.
So now they've gone away from attacking Jesus and now they're attacking Him.
You were born a total sinner. Again, the question that the disciples had was whose sin was it? But in this situation, he's already applied the sin to this person. You're a sinner. There's no way you could have been blind without having sin in your life. And now are you trying to teach us? They put on that holier than thou tone that says, hey, so now you've been the sinner, but you're going to teach us. And so they threw him out of the synagogue just in the same way. Truth is logical if we really have an open heart and open mind when we close our minds, truth is really inconvenient and very frustrating.
And folks, can I just say this? You're going to come across people that you're going to try to study with or you're going to try to convince or share, and they're not going to have it, but it's okay.
Your job is not to force them into anything. Your job is to put the truth of God before them. And if their hearts are open and receptive, the Bible really gives us an indication that they'll be touched by that and that they'll be moved to ask more questions and want to know what they need to do to be saved.
So Jesus saw what happened. He got kicked out of the synagogue. And I love it that Jesus goes to minister to his needs. And so he says to Him, do you believe in the Son of man? Now, this is the term that has been used in the prophets to designate who the Messiah is. Do you believe in the Son of man? He says, I want to. I don't know who he is. Can you show me who he is, sir? And he says, and I love the phrase here, you have seen Him and he is speaking to you.
And can you imagine the expression on his face?
Yes, I believe in you. And he fell down and he worshiped God.
I just want all of us to be challenged by that.
See, Jesus opens his eyes in two different ways. He opens them up physically in that he helps them see physically, but he also opens his eyes spiritually to say, I'm here and you can trust in me. And he does. What would happen if all of us, after we see what the Scriptures teach us and we learn and we know what God wants us to do, and we act upon that. If we also could just say to Him, hey, thank you so much for what you've done for me. So Jesus told him, I've entered in this world. And by the way, he's not just talking to Him now. He's talking to everybody out loud. I entered this world to render judgment, to give sight to the blind, and to show those who think that they see that they are blind. Are you catching this? This is not about this guy's blindness. This is about everyone else. So the Pharisees who were standing nearby heard it, and they asked the natural question, are you saying that we're blind?
And the answer, of course, is yes, so the blind man was not just to teach us or the blind man was not just about his healing. It was about teaching us this spiritual truth. Jesus said if you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty. Think about that. He's just saying, hey, if you were in the same boat as this guy, if you couldn't see and then you had received your sight, you know what? You'd be a believer too. But it's because you see, because you think you know everything, because you've got it all figured out. Because you've created a system for your authority and your abuse of this power and your knowledge and all those things. Because you have done these things and because you think you know, it's the very reason that you have become blind.
Let me give you a few takeaways from this real quickly. Jesus signs are not only there to amaze us, they're there to teach us. And I think that's important for us to be reminded of the lessons. Often as we see miracles happening, all of those signs are sometimes pointing to something even greater. And in this case, Jesus used a blind man to teach the spiritual truth of we can be spiritually blind.
But then for us, just some applications for us, we ourselves can be blinded by arrogance. We can think that we know everything, we can be determined that we have the answer for everything and we can stop studying, we can stop pursuing truth. And in that we can be blinded ourselves to that.
And if we're trying to seek to be right over seeking the truth, we're moving in the wrong direction.
And then finally this humility and honest inquiry, really searching the scriptures, really letting God's word transform us, really challenging us to look at our life and compare it to what God has to say and being willing to make some changes, that is what keeps our hearts pure and keeps our eyes open.
So this morning we're going to sing a song and it talks about opening up our hearts.
We're asking God to just open our minds up to ways that we can be more like Him. So as we sing this song, there may be some in here who are saying, hey, it's time for me to get honest and to get real. There are some things that are not right in my life. And it may be that you want to come forward or you want to find a shepherd in the back of the room and share those thoughts with them so that we can pray together and support you and encourage you. And then maybe that there's a person out there that has held on to a system of beliefs that when you compare it to scripture, doesn't hold water.
But when you look at and you're convicted and you know that there's a change that needs to be made, perhaps it's the day where you open your eyes and you make that decision. To die to yourself, to be buried with Christ in baptism, to be raised up, to walk a new life forgiven of your sins. If either of those things are your need this morning, please come while together we stand and sing.
