The Man Born Blind

Seeing Jesus in His Miracles—Part 5 of 7

NOTE: This sermon is an outline and not a manuscript, which means in some spots you'll have to supply your own "polish."

January 29, 1989

John 9:35 Jesus found him and said: "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 38 And he said: "Lord, I believe!"

Statement of purpose for this sermon: To show that the gifts of God's grace must be used to discern God Himself; to understand that better than having sight is to see Christ and worship Him.

I. QUESTIONS RAISED BY THE PRESENCE OF THE BLIND MAN

Was this caused by sin? Why is he here?

As old as the Book of Job and older— we tend to see life and especially to see our relationship with God as direct cause-and-effect; the good prosper, the bad suffer. But life is not as simple as all that. There is mystery in every "connection" with the eternal. Our challenge is to come to know and love God and to believe that He is GOOD.

Blindness as a curse. Shared curse of sin.

All evil derives from "The Fall." The significance of Genesis 3 can hardly be over-estimated. A particular person's blindness may not be the result of his sin— but all humanity groans under the curse that blinds us from the light of God's pure love.

II. THE MIRACLE

Clay made - blind man sent away unseeing: he had never seen Jesus face to face. But he went obediently, and came seeing. But still he had never seen the face of Jesus. He could not identify Him.

The simple story here is fascinating. Who could/would invent such a thing? Jesus *spit* on the ground and made a little mud and rubbed in on this blind man's eyes. He didn't *need* to do it— just a word would have sufficed. The blind man simply did as Jesus told him. *We* are so sophisticated we probably would have argued.

III. DECLARATION: I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

One of the seven great "I AM" statements of Jesus found in John's Gospel- - each of the seven miracles cited illustrates and illuminates a facet of Jesus' divine glory and power.

The "Door" the "Good Shepherd" the "Way, Truth, Life," the "Bread of Heaven" the "Resurrection and Life" and the "True Vine" combine with the "Light of the world" to give us a glimpse of the radiant, many-splendor-ed glory that is our Lord.

IV. THE FUROR CAUSED

There is something wrong when a great problem is caused by HONESTY. The blind man speaks what he knows from experience:"The facts speak clearly: I was blind. I now see."

Jesus is a threat to comfortable religion-in-power. The authorities cannot deny a miracle— but are quick to try to get the formerly blind man to denounce Jesus. Remember— this blind man has never seen Jesus! He had to go away and wash in the Pool of Siloam while Jesus went on about his business. This miracle resonates with the elder brother character in Luke 15, and with the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector— where grace extended to those outside the circle bring up resentment.

When pressed, in all honesty, the blind man confounded, infuriated the power structure. "What's your problem?" he seems to say to the authorities.

But there was more than just a division of opinions. There was a threat to the control of the power bloc. The need to analyze: "Give God the glory: "we KNOW this man is a sinner"

THEY CAST HIM OUT.

V. WHAT DO WE SEE OF JESUS IN THIS MIRACLE?

  1. The "usual" compassion, yes.
  2. Jesus, although a part of the religious community, established the fact that He is the Leader of the true Church; man cannot excommunicate the man or woman who is "included in" by Jesus.
  3. Jesus is in the business of "including people IN!" Not in setting up ways to keep people OUT.

[Illus: Long ago and far away a young woman "protected the integrity" of a church I attended by slapping a cigarette out of the mouth of a man who lit up as he left a service. The message was clear— *we* don't do those filthy things! But it was no wonder if he never returned. We have to WANT people to be "IN."]

Jesus FOUND him and took him IN! Spiritual insight was added to physical vision: "WHO IS HE?" The reality of Jesus as a Person cannot be assumed; it cannot be accepted as fact just because someone says so. There must be a revelation, built on faith/obedience: "acting as if."

Jesus made the statement: "I AM HE!" "LORD, I BELIEVE!" ...AND HE WORSHIPED!

APPLICATIONS:

  1. We cannot "force faith." We cannot see what we cannot see. But to each of us there comes a Word of faith; we cannot see until we obey.
  2. Obscurantism. The facts are not allowed to confuse the issue at hand. We cannot ask people to believe what is patently untrue. But there is such a thing as obscurantist "Christianity."
  3. The danger— of trying to understand— to "see" before we are healed!
  4. Also the danger of stopping short of a commitment! Thomas was honest. This blind man was honest! But honest doubt, coupled with a willingness to be shown, and a willingness to obey when shown is not a hindrance to Jesus. Jesus revealed Himself to Thomas. Jesus said to this blind man: "I AM the Messiah!" And He will say to you, if you are willing to see: "I AM Almighty God!"
  5. Jesus is the Light of the world.
  6. This man actually was excommunicated because he would not "see things" the way he was told.
  7. Preclude the arguments of the need for expression of sin.

    In accommodation to changing times "seeker friendly" approaches could degenerate into excusing Christ's clear demands for self denial and taking up the cross. There is only ONE Savior, and Jesus says "I AM HE!"

    The beginning of a moving of the Spirit in New Jersey 25 years ago— the Maranatha Church of the Nazarene's foundings from "hippie" roots— started when Jack White, a very "straight" even old-fashioned but humble, Spirit-filled man of God preached a weekend series in New Milford, New Jersey. His messages were anything but "hip." But they were loving, simple, personal testimony to Jack White's own conversion as a teenager in Indiana. "I don't understand all your music or language," Jack seemed to say. "But I know I needed a Friend and a Savior to forgive my sins." It was the same testimony of the blind man. "I don't know a lot about this Jesus. But I know I was blind and he made me see!"

  8. Our culture is BLIND to the word "sin." It does not "compute." But even the fact that there are good reasons for keeping the Ten Commandments does not obscure the fact that it is SIN, not just poor judgment, to break them.

CONCLUSION

Warning!! Finding your spiritual sight will put you at odds with the way most of the world views life!

Jesus understood that VISION had gotten the formerly blind man into trouble. Just being honest about how he had received his sight got the formerly blind man kicked out of his "hope of heaven!"

But Jesus went looking for him. He found him; and brought him into fellowship with the Father. This fellowship is OUR privilege, through grace!

Warning! The religious power bloc said: ARE WE BLIND?

Jesus: If you admitted you were blind you might have hope. But no, you have eaten of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil— you "know" without God's help what is right and wrong— and so on you go in darkness that leads to outer, utter darkness!

** Outline incomplete