Welcome to expound, our verse
by verse study of God's word. Our goal is to expand your
knowledge of the truth of God by explaining the word of God
in a way that is interactive, enjoyable, and congregational. We're in John, Chapter
9 tonight and we'll see how far we get before
we take the Lord's supper. But some of you may remember
years ago on television, Art Linkletter-- anybody
remember that namr-- OK, you do. So he hosted a program called
Kids Say the Darndest Things. And they had little
excerpts of kids in different issues of different
experiences on the show. And kids are cute. What they come up with,
how they see life-- it's pretty adorable. And I've discovered
that kids just don't say the craziest things. They pray some pretty
amazing things. And so I have a
little book-- a couple little books-- in my library
I've used sort of as sources of illustrations called,
Kids Prayers to God or something along that line. For instance, a little girl
named Joyce was talking to God and she said, dear God,
thanks for my little brother. But what I prayed
for was a puppy. How is that for
an honest prayer. Another little
boy said, hey God, could just stick another holiday
between Christmas and Easter because nothing is
good there right now. Kids kind of live for
the holidays, don't they? When it comes to questions
that people have of God, kids grow up and become adults. And their issues,
their observations, their prayers become
much more profound than, could you just give me a
better holiday to celebrate. In fact, by the time we
come of age as an adult, we have already
wrestled with some of the deepest issues
that bring the greatest tension to our lives. And one of the things
I have discovered is that almost every
person I've ever met-- the question they
would want to ask God, if they could ask
him any question, is, why do you
allow evil to exist. What are you going to do about
the enormity of evil that has dominated human history. Why do you allow it. Why don't you stop it. And that is an
issue that has been wrestled with since
people were on the Earth and have lived life. Because Jesus even
gave us an observation that the sun shines on the just
and the unjust and the rain falls on the just
and the unjust. That is, good and bad,
good things and bad things, good and evil happen to the
righteous and the unrighteous alike. Now that issue is
given its own category in the study of theology
called theodicy. Theodicy. Theodicy struggles with how
a good and all powerful God could allow evil to exist. When you see evil, you
go, hey, what about that. I have a real problem with that. And perhaps there's no greater
roadblock that people have when it comes to believing
in God than dealing with the problem of evil. It seems to be a huge issue. Barna did a poll
years ago asking people that question--
if you could ask God any question, what would it be. And almost universally is why
does God allow evil to exist. And the Greek philosopher
struggled with it. One of the Greek
stoic philosophers named Epicurus said, if
God is willing to prevent evil but unable to do so,
then he is not all powerful. If God is able to prevent
evil but not willing to do so, then he is not all loving. So how can an all
loving, all powerful God allow evil to exist. Now I say that as a set up for
Jesus healing a blind man here in John, Chapter 9. A man blind from birth. A man that Jesus notices as
he is leaving the temple. Why is he in the temple. Because it's been the
Feast of Tabernacles. He was there on the
great day of the feast. He came late to the
feast but they're on the last day of the
feast, that eighth day, that final Sabbath, when the
water was poured on the altar that we told you about
in depth last time. And the people sang
out and cried out, Jesus stood up and said, If any
man thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He came to the temple
the very next day. And the very next day
they brought a woman caught in the act of adultery. After dismissing the accusers
because he said-- Jesus said, he that is without sin, let him
cast the first stone-- they all left-- there were still
others in the temple who had a discussion with Jesus. And toward the end of Chapter 8,
Jesus said before Abraham was, I am. I existed before Abraham. Abraham was, but I am. And it says they took
up stones, not to stone the woman caught in adultery. They picked up
stones to kill him because he was
claiming to be God. Unmistakably, that's why
they picked up stones. But we're told Jesus passed
through the midst of them. So he's leaving the
temple precincts where he had been teaching. And Verse 1, now
as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was
blind from birth. And his disciples asked him,
saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents
that he was born blind? Jesus noticed a blind man . The blind man didn't notice
Jesus because he was blind. And I say that, I
make a point of that because what happens
here physically is what happened
to us spiritually. You didn't seek Jesus. You might have thought you did. I'm really seeking after God. The Bible says no one does. No one seeks after God. You are blind and
incapable of doing so. But Jesus took notice of you. And he has been
seeking after you. And I assume most of
you, he has found. If not all of you. He's found you. You belong to him. Jesus noticed this. And so the disciples
decide that this man is a point of discussion
about the problem of evil. The disciples make the
man who is suffering with blindness a
point of discussion rather than an
object of compassion. Now please mark that. We are so used to doing that. I want to get into a
theological discussion about the problem of evil. There is a place for that. But there comes a point
when you must ask yourself, what are you doing to
help alleviate suffering. Is it just a topic
of discussion. Is it a point of discussion. Or is it an object
of compassion. Now it's an
interesting question. Who sinned, this man or his
parents that he was born blind. They believe the Jewish
theology of theodicy, the problem of evil, is that
there was a direct cause and effect relationship
between what you do and consequences in this life. So if you are suffering greatly,
there must be sin in your life. Does that sound familiar. Does that sound
like Job's buddies, who accused him of
great sin because there was great suffering
going on in his life? Now we know that
that's not true. There are plenty of
examples of godly people who have suffered
horrible things-- lots of tragic circumstances--
but they press on. They live godly lives. But there are also other
examples of unbelievers. Some of them really scoundrels,
really gnarly lives, who seem to be prospering. Happy. Healthy. And it bothers us. It bothered David. In Psalm 73, David
begins saying, now I know that God is good
to Israel and especially to those who call on
him with a pure heart. But as for me, my
feet almost stumbled, my steps had nearly
slipped because I was envious of the wicked. I saw the prosperity
of the wicked. I saw how ungodly
people seemed to be prospering and
healthy and happy. And I just had a
problem with that. Now, something else
you need to know. Some of the Jewish
people 2000 years ago, the Pharisees
believed in something known as prenatal sin,
hence the question, did this man sin that
he was born blind. How can you sin
to be born blind. They taught that you could
actually sin in the womb. Now it goes back--
and I'm not going to belabor you with all the
philosophy behind that-- but some of the
Greek philosophers taught in the preexistence
of the soul and the ability to do those evil
deeds or good deeds. But, there was an idea
that in Jewish theology, a pre-born infant could
actually sin in the womb. Where did they get that from. Well, in the Old Testament
in the book of Genesis, where it says, sin is
crouching at the door and its desire is for
you, some interpreted that to be at the door of
the womb, the birth canal. Before that baby is born,
there is the possibility that that soul, pre-born
infant could actually sin. So whatever defect it
might have was due to sin before he or she was born. It's insane. It's not true. But it was a belief. So what is the direct
correlation here, Jesus. His parents or did he do this. Jesus answered, neither this
man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God
should be revealed in him. In other words, it's not
that he has sinned less. It's that his sin or his
parents and didn't cause this. But rather, he is a
miracle waiting to happen. Now he is going to be cured. He has been, all
of his life, blind. But for the glory of God,
he is going to be healed. Jesus said, neither this
man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God
should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him
who sent me while it is day, night is coming when
no one can work. As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world. I mention this man
has been suffering for a number of years. Some think up to 30
years old he was. We don't know for sure. His parents are going
to come later on. This man is a
beggar at the gates. He's been blind, as I said,
as a congenital anomaly. Jesus is going to heal
him for the glory of God. But it brings up an issue. Do you think that suffering
can be used by God to bring out a greater good in your life. See, we always say that the
worst thing that could happen is some disease that
would happen to me. Nobody likes to suffer. I'll grant you that. I'm with you. Nobody likes pain,
nobody likes a malady, nobody likes suffering,
nobody likes tragedy. But do you think that God
can use it to bring something really good out of it. Well, I can think
of a few things that suffering can be used
by God to do as a benefit. First of all, it can equip us. You say, equip us for what. Ministering to those
who are suffering. You know how you
get credentials. You know how you get
the degree to minister to people who are suffering. You know how you do that? Suffering. You have to join that
club to be able to speak to people who are suffering. If you have never
suffered in your life and never had a
problem, what are you going to say to the
person who is struggling, has struggled deeply
with pain or issues of loneliness or depression. There's nothing there. That's why Paul
said, God is the God of all comfort, Second
Corinthians, Chapter 1, who comforts us and
all of our trouble so that we can be a comfort to
those who are in any trouble, with the same comfort that we
have been comforted from God. So God works in us, comforts
us, we learn things, and having learned
them, I'm now equipped to speak to other people
to minister to other people because I've joined that
club along with them. That's number one. Number two, suffering, pain,
tragedy strengthens us. Strengthens us. James said, countered
consider it all joy, brethren. Now most of us don't really
do that, I've noticed. That's not your first
right out of the chute as soon as suffering
happens-- oh, praise God. He's going to do something
wonderful in my life. That's not our first response. But James said, we
ought to, at some point, count it all joy, when we
go through various trials because the trying of our
faith produces patience, perseverance. So it strengthens us. Paul had what he called
a thorn in the flesh. Do you remember that term? In Second Corinthians,
12 he said, because of the abundance of the
revelations that I received, there was a thorn in
the flesh given to me. A messenger of
Satan to buffet me, lest I should be
exalted above measure. Concerning this thing, I
pleaded with God three times that it would depart from me. No answer. God didn't do anything. But after three times, he
said, the Lord spoke to me. And he didn't say, Paul, your
prayer has been answered. I'm taking the thorn
away from you, buddy. You're going to walk in
prosperity and perfect health. He said the Lord told me
what I didn't want to hear. He said, my grace is enough. My strength is made
perfect in weakness. You are weak. But I am strong. And my strength is really
good at taking somebody who is not strong,
who is totally weak, and enabling them as
an act of my grace. My strength instead of yours. You're weak, so it'll equip you. It will strengthen you. I can think of something
else suffering does. It corrects us. It corrects us. When my son Nate was a
young boy, I spanked him. Of course, I don't
do that anymore. I would be afraid
of the consequences. He's grown up. But the pain inflicted at
that stage of his life worked. He's the man he is today, in
part, because of discipline. We all had that
from our parents. David said, before-- listen
to this-- I was afflicted, I went astray but
now I keep your word. Psalm 119. Before I was afflicted,
I went astray but now I keep your word. CS Lewis-- who put things
so well-- had such insight. I love what he said. He said, pain plants the
flag of truth in the fortress of a rebel soul. Isn't that good? Pain plants the flag of truth
in the fortress of a rebel soul. So it corrects us. God uses it to get our attention
and to correct our steps. And to put us on the right path. So think of it this way. Nothing happens to you. It happens for you. How is that for a truth. Nothing happens to
you, it happens for you for we know that all
things work together for the good of
those who love God and are the called
according to his purpose. So don't say, this
happened to me. No it didn't, it
happened for you. Behind the pain is a
God who is in control of every prescription of every
pill you take that you go, oh, yuck, I hate
taking that medicine. It's OK, swallow. There's a perfect
physician behind it. He knows exactly what you need. Nothing happens to you. It happens for you. So he says that the works of
God should be revealed in him. Now notice his reaction. They're making this an
academic discussion. Jesus is making this a
practical demonstration. He says I must work
the works of Him who sent me while it
is day, the night is coming when no one can work. I don't want to discuss
stuff theologically, I want to do stuff ,
practically lovingly. It's a nice discussion to
have-- disciples-- and it is. There is a place for that. There's room for that. But once you discuss it, now
you've got a day to work. And the metaphor of the day,
the while, is your lifetime. You don't know how long
that's going to be. I don't know how long
mine is going to be. At some point, the sun will set. We will die. Life will be over. Which means all of
the opportunities we have to do good will be over. You won't be doing good
works to help people, to heal people, to comfort
people, to counsel people, to evangelize people
in heaven, will you? Because only the
people in heaven are the people who have
responded to Christ, are in a perfect environment,
completely renewed, restored, resurrected,
life is good. You're not going to pass
out a tract in heaven. You're not going to pray
for the sick in heaven. There won't be any. So all of the opportunities
we have to work for God happen right here,
during the day. The night is coming
when no one can work. So Jesus is urgent about this. The second thing is that
he is personal about this. Verse 6, when he had said these
things, he spat on the ground and he made clay with his
saliva and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. You go, ew, wouldn't the
guy just be repulsed. Of course not, he couldn't
see what's going on. Makes it kind of fun. Now, without getting
too detailed about this, it would take a
lot of saliva to be able to make mud to smear
it on two eyeballs, right? So I'm sure the disciples are
going, what are you thinking. Now why did he do this. Why did he do that. Why did he spit on
the ground and do it. I don't know. I could guess, there have
been several guesses, and I won't bore you
with all the guesses because they're
all lame guesses. They're all guesses. We don't know. We're not told. But for me, it hearkens
back to Genesis when God formed man out
of the dust of the ground. I think there is something
there because it says, John said, concerning
Jesus, without him, nothing was made that has been made. He made eyeballs anyway, he
made all people anyway, he made the world anyway. This Jesus is the creator
and now the creator is recreating
eyeballs for this man. So he spat and then he-- it's
funny how some people say, well we need to
do what Jesus did and get back to
the New Testament. I have never seen those who
do healing ministries ever try this. I don't think their
ministry would last very long if they
went around traveling to different convention
centers and just started spitting and putting
it in people's eyes. They would lose their audience. I had to just get that in. So he spat, made clay. And then he said to then go
wash in the Pool of Siloam-- it's that pool where
those priests went down at the Feast of Tabernacles
we told you about last time. That lower city pool
of the Gihon spring, which is the water
source of Jerusalem. The water was brought into
Jerusalem in the Old Testament by King Hezekiah. He made a tunnel to
it and then a pool was built so people
could gather water. And so he went down into
the city to get the water. That's where the
Pool of Siloam was. Jesus said, go wash. It is translated sent,
so he went and washed and he came back seeing. So I say that Jesus-- he
was personal about this. He wasn't just urgent. He was personal. Listen, he touched the
man with his hands. Do you ever think about this. He didn't have to, right? How could Jesus have healed. He could have done this. Let's say you're there
and I went, be healed. That would have worked. He could have done that. He could have waved his hand. Be healed. And it would have worked. He could have healed crowds
in mass, if he wanted to. In fact, he could
have said, you know what, paralytics over
here-- of course, they'd have to be
carried over there. All the blind people,
you sit over here. All the congenital
anomalies over on this side. Ready? One, two, three, fwoom. Could've done that. But I don't want you to miss
the fact that Jesus touched him. Touched him. And I say that as a set up for
what an author wrote-- and I wanted to read this to
you, see what you think. Jesus' mission was not primarily
a crusade against disease, but a ministry to individual
people, some of whom happened to have a disease. He wanted those people, one
by one, to feel his love. Jesus knew he could not readily
demonstrate love to a crowd, for love usually
involves touching. It's a beautiful thought. Love involves touching. When you put your
arm on a shoulder and you pray for someone,
we put out a hand and we shake it-- that embrace,
that human touch means so much. Studies have been
done of children who didn't have touch at a young
age and what that does to them. Ill-equips them for life. The ministry of touch. So Jesus did that. So a couple of quick
questions to ask yourself. Are you willing to
embrace suffering if it drives you to God. Think of suffering. Are you willing to
embrace suffering if it drives you to God. I just want you to have to
think about that for a minute. Some of you are maybe
entering into a season and the suffering
has been prolonged. You, like Paul, have prayed
more than three times that God would take away
that thorn in the flesh and it's still there. And you're wondering,
well, where's God. Well, maybe this isn't real. Why would God allow that. Are you willing to embrace
suffering if it drives you to God to depend on him. Second question. Are you willing to alleviate
somebody else's suffering if it will drive them to God. Now that's very
practical, isn't it? Are you willing to alleviate
somebody else's suffering if it will drive them to God. This man will be
driven to the Savior. Therefore, the
neighbors-- Verse 8-- and those who previously
had seen that he was blind said, is not this he,
who sat and begged. Some said, this is he. Others said, well,
he's like him. I just think he looks
like him but I don't think that's really the guy. He said, I'm the guy. I am him. I am he. Therefore, they said to
him, how are your eyes open. Now notice the question how. It will be repeated
four times in the text. How. How. How. How. Wrong question. Right question, who? Not how, who. Who did it. They're trying to figure
out, how is that possible. Well, if you understand
who, you'll get to how. You just keep trying to figure
out the how, you'll never get it. But you understand who,
then you'll get the how. You need the who for the how. He answered and
said, a man called Jesus made clay, anointed
my eyes, and said to me, go to the pool of
Siloam and wash. So I went and washed
and I received sight. Then they said to
him, where is he. He said, I don't know. And so you see the mixture
of wonder and confusion trying to figure this out. They're so confused
by it that they're willing to believe it's a
case of mistaken identity rather than that this man,
who is blind, can now see. And why is that. Well, it's simple. This is simple. Nobody expected a blind
beggar who's been at that gate for years begging as
a blind man-- which is what they were reduced
to in those days-- to be anything but
a blind beggar. Now listen, suffering
lowers the expectation that life is going to get
any better than it is now. It always lessens
the expectation that life could be any
different than what this is. I'm a blind beggar. I'm just a blind beggar. I'm always going to
be a blind beggar. Suffering does that. However, though God may call
somebody to prolong suffering, we must not, we cannot ever
limit the power of God. We can't limit it. Jesus Christ is the same
yesterday, today, and forever. What he did then he can do now. That man and those
neighbors never expected this blind beggar
to be able to see again. Their expectations were lowered. In Psalm 78, there is
a passage of scripture about the children of Israel
that says-- listen to this-- and they limited the Holy One
of Israel by their unbelief. They limited the Holy One. How do you limit
a limitless God. By unbelief. Jesus went to Nazareth, the
Gospel of Mark, and it says, Jesus could do no great
miracle among them except a few things because of
the unbelief that persisted. He marveled, it says,
at their unbelief. We must never limit God. Even though that
expectation is lowered, maybe God's going
to do something. And he does. They brought him, Verse,
13 who was formerly blind to the Pharisees. It was the Sabbath when
Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. You know, Jesus does this
a lot on the Sabbath. It's kind of like he looks
at his watch-- of course, he didn't have
one-- his hour glass and he says, you know,
it's the Sabbath. I think I'm going
to do something. I say that because
seven times there are seven miracles that
Jesus did on the Sabbath and he always stirred
up the leaders. Ruffled their feathers. Seven separate miracles
in the New Testament all done on the Sabbath day. Jesus did, it not just
to tick off the leaders, but to ruffle the feathers of
those who wrongly interpreted what the Sabbath was all about. You see, in the
Jewish writings called the Mishnah, the
Mishnah-- commentary on the law-- there was a
tractate, an entire book in other words, on what
you could and could not do on the Sabbath day. Did you know it was
forbidden in the Mishnah to heal on the Sabbath. It was forbidden to set a
broken bone on the Sabbath unless it was life threatening. Otherwise, you had to
wait till the next day before you set that broken limb. Now interestingly,
in the Mishnah, it was lawful-- they
talked about these things and wrote it down-- to
spit on the Sabbath. But if your spittle
rolled in the ground, now you broke the law. Because now you have created
a furrow in the ground. And that's the
agricultural process of digging a furrow
in order to plant. Seriously. This is how crazy it was. So there always, oh,
it's the Sabbath! Now what kind of
people don't rejoice when a blind man is healed. Answer-- people who
prefer policies to people. The policy is more
important than the people. To Jesus, the people are more
important than the policies because the policies didn't
match up with the word of God. God created this person,
I'm going to heal him. So. They brought him who was
formerly blind of Jesus. It was the Sabbath, Verse 15. The Pharisees also
asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, he put clay and
my eyes and I washed and I saw. Therefore, some of the
Pharisees said, this man is not from God because he
does not keep the Sabbath. Another 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, what
do you say about him because he opened your eyes. He said, he's a prophet. 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,
we know that he's 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 the Christ, he would be put out
of the synagogue. They're not satisfied
with his testimony, they want to bring
in his parents. Now it's interesting. His parents, can I just say,
aren't that great of parents, it would seem. Because why isn't
he at their house and they're taking care of him. He's a blind beggar. And they want to,
in answering this, throw their son under the
bus for the Pharisees. Don't ask us, ask
him, he's of age. In other words, he'll be
responsible for himself. And what they were afraid
of is being un-synagogued. That's really the term. Aposynagogus. Kicked out of the synagogue. Cast out, which means
you were socially ostracized from
society at that point. You could lose your job,
you could lose your family, you'd be put out of the culture. They didn't want that. So they said, well you know, let
him get de-synagogued, not us. Therefore, his parents
said, he's of age, ask him. So they, again, called
the man who was blind and said to him,
give God the glory. We know this man is a sinner. Just pause over that. Here a sinful, religious,
arrogant, pompous, unrighteous man calling the sinless
perfect son of God a sinner. We know this man is a sinner. He answered and said whether
he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I know that though
I was blind, now I see. John Newton got the words of his
song, his hymn, Amazing Grace, from this text. The slave trader
who was converted-- Amazing Grace, how sweet the
sound, That saved a wretch like me. I once was lost
but now I'm found, Was blind, but now I see. And here's what I love. Because I don't know all
that stuff you're asking me, but there's one thing I know--
I was blind, but not anymore. I can see, that I know for sure. And you cannot take away a
person's personal testimony. That's why your
testimony is so powerful. Tell people, tell unbelievers
how you came to Christ. This is what happened to me. This is who I was
before I came to Jesus. This is what happened to me. This is who I am. Now they can't say, uh uh. They can't say that
because it happened to you. So I love it. He just sort of is like, I
don't know that but I know this. And there's a principle there. There's a lot of
things we don't know. But never give up what you do
know for what you don't know. You know, I don't know
this, so therefore I'm just going to leave church
and never be a Christian. And I'm not going to read
the Bible because I just can't figure that out. What. Just hold on to what you know. And let what you don't
know come in due time. Put a file in your head. Create a file and
title it-- write in that file-- this
is called, the file is called, Waiting for
Further Information. It's a good file to have. I got a lot of
stuff in that file. I'm waiting for
further information on a lot of things
that have happened in my life that kind of
bug me and I don't think I want to ask God about that. But it's like, you know
what, I don't see it all. I'll wait for
further information. He'll clarify it. And I'm sure that once I'm
in heaven and see His face, I won't even have a question. Hey listen, do you think this
guy, blind all of his life, is in heaven right
now going, man, I'm so bummed out that God let
me be blind all those years. Do you think he's thinking that. Are you kidding? His story is still being
told in hundreds of thousands and millions of people
have been blessed and enlightened
by the story that is told about him to this day. That's how God can
use your story. Your suffering. And there's something
simple about his testimony. I love simple testimonies I
get weary of people saying, you know, let me paint
the picture of how really creepy and bad I used to be. We tell those morbid
stories so people go, wow. You were like Breaking Bad. And now you're breaking glad. But you know, you
spent 20 minutes telling me about how
bad you were and only like one minute telling
me that you got saved. You know, that's why
I love the Testament. He goes, OK, here's my
testament, I was blind, now I see. Now I see. Simple. Straightforward. They said to him again,
what did he do to you. How. There's that question. How did he open your eyes. He answered, I told you
already and you did not listen. Why do you want
to hear it again. He's just sort of tired
of this, exasperated, losing his patience. Do you also want to
become his disciples. Then they reviled him and
said, you are his disciple but we are Moses' disciple. We know that God spoke to Moses. As for this fellow, we don't
even know where he's from. The man answered
and said unto him, why, this is a marvelous thing
that you don't know where he is from, yet he's opened my eyes. Now-- listen to this-- we know
that God does not hear sinners but if anyone is a worshipper
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. Now that is one of the
clearest, most logical, lucid, compelling arguments
I have ever heard. He's beginning with
the major premise and he works to a minor premise. It's a lesson in logic. Major premise-- God
doesn't hear sinners. People who aren't in a
relationship with him. God isn't obliged to answer
their prayers until they pray the sinner's prayer, to
open their heart to Him. God doesn't here sinners. So major promise-- God
doesn't hear sinners. Minor presmise--
but he obviously heard Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore, there is
something to this. He must be from God. Also, he's very astute
in his theology. He says there is no record of
anybody, historically, who's ever been healed of blindness. Congenital blindness. No one. And it's true. In the Old Testament,
there is not a single record of all
the miraculous, even healings, leprosy, et cetera. Resurrection from the dead. There is not a single recorded
instance of a blind person who could see again. He was spot on. But now I can see. What are you going
to do with that. Very, very, very logical. Verse 34, they answered
and said to him, you were completely born in
sins, you are teaching us? What a bunch of creeps. When you lose an
argument, a person will often resort to what
is called an ad hominem argument, which is
really not an argument. Ad hominem means
a personal attack. And that's when you start name
calling and saying, you know, your mother wears
army boots and you're thinking of all
the bad things you can say because you just don't
have any logical response. So you just attack the
person rather than the issue. So they're saying, you know
what, you were born in sin. That's why you were
blind all your life. You were steeped in it. Boy, you know there's an
unbelief of a searching heart, but this is the unbelief
of a hardened heart. Now look what it says
at the end of Verse 34. What do they do. They cast him out. They aposynagogussed him. They un-synagogued him. He is now cast out. He is kicked out of the
fellowship of Judaism. His parents were
afraid of this, that's what they said, ask him,
let him deal with it, throw him under the bus. He says what he says, very
logically, very clearly. They cast him out. They gave him a formal
declaration of disfellowship. They cast him out and
now look at Verse 35-- you have to see this before
communion-- Jesus heard that they cast him out and when
he had found him-- don't you love that-- they unfound him. He found him. They rejected him, he
found him and accepted 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. Jesus said, you
have both seen him and it is he who is
talking with you. Boy, I get goosebumps
just reading that. It's like Jesus to the woman
at the well in Sumarra. I know that when
the Messiah comes, he's going to
figure all this out. The one that's speaking
to you is the Messiah. Who is he that I may believe. Now his faith is ready. He's ready to place faith. Who is he, Lord,
that I may believe. Or sir, that I may believe. [? Courier ?] or the word,
[? corias, ?] [? courier ?], Lord, could be translated sir. So when he says, who
is he Lord or sir, that I may believe in him. And Jesus said to him,
you have both seen him, you've apprehended him with
the new eyes that you now have and with the ear gate
that you're hearing, he's talking to you. And he said, Lord, I believe. Now the second use of the
word Lord is different. The second use of
the word Lord is that I acknowledge you as the
Messiah, as the Son of God. I acknowledge you
as the Lord of all. How do I know that. Because what did he do
as soon as he said that. He worshiped him. He worshiped him. Proskuneo, he bowed before him. He prostrated himself
and acknowledged that he is the only Lord of all. He worshiped him. And Jesus said, for
judgment, I have come into the world of those
who do not see may see. And that those who
see may be made blind. Some of the Pharisees who were
with him heard these words and said to him,
are we blind, also? Before we read,
that answer that. Are they? Oh Yeah. Oh yeah. What did Jesus call
them in Matthew 23. Blind guides who strain at
a gnat and swallow a camel. Blind leaders of the blind. He spoke about them being in
darkness, darkness not knowing God, opposed to
the truth of God. That's what spiritual
darkness is. Here's a man who is blind. You're blind blind. He was physically blind. He can see. Physically now, he
can see spiritually. You are blind spiritually. You will be sentenced
by God, because of that, to utter, total, eternal
darkness and blindness. Are we blind, also? Jesus said, if you were
blind, you would have no sin. But now you say we see,
therefore your sin remains. In other words, if you were
to admit that you were blind, you'd be seeing like this guy. But if you arrogantly persist
that you claim that you can see all, you are so blind. And you are worse off than
this man who was born blind and sat as a beggar at the gate. It's an incredible analogy,
these blind guides. Jesus says something-- and I
want to close in this thought. He said, for judgment, Verse
39, I have come into this world. You say, wait a minute,
how does that square with what is said in John,
Chapter 3, Verse 17, where he says that he didn't come
to judge or bring condemnation to the world. Here's how it is. When Jesus came
to this earth, he came to bring salvation,
not condemnation. Not judgment. He will be the judge. But he came to bring salvation. But his coming results
in condemnation to those who have persistently
hard hearts. The New Testament in John 5
says you are already condemned. You're living in the
state of condemnation. His coming, his living,
his substitutionary death-- the result of that
brings condemnation to those with hardened hearts. See, it's like the sun. The same sun that melts
the ice hardens the clay. The same presence
of Jesus Christ that opens up salvation
to this blind man who believes that Jesus
is the Messiah, hardens, further hardens, and puts
in darkness and consigns to judgment these
people who arrogantly persist that they can see. But think of this and then
will pray will take communion. This man is cast
out of the temple. The Lord of the
temple finds him. They push him away. Jesus finds him and
brings him close. Rejected by the society of men,
accepted by the Son of God. Beautiful contrast. One of my favorite
author, commentator, preachers of yesteryear,
yester-century-- you're thinking, he's going
to say Charles Spurgeon, he always quotes
Charles version. No, I'm not going to say him. OK, he's going to
J Campbell Morgan. No I'm not. Alexander McLaren. Scottish. Scottish preacher, wrote a great
commentary set on the Bible. Put sermons together. He was trying out for a position
as a pastor in the church. He went before the eldership--
the pulpit committee, whatever-- they heard
him, they talked to him, and they rejected him. They didn't give
him the position. And he said it was the
worst day of his life. He was broken hearted. And so he wired--
in those days, they had a wire, like telegraph--
his father one word. Rejected. So brokenhearted. One word only, rejected. His father immediately wired
back, rejected on earth, accepted in heaven. As you face the temple or the
table of the Lord tonight, these elements-- rejected
on earth-- perhaps. Some area where
your expectations are really, really low because
of suffering or circumstance-- perhaps. Cast out by men-- perhaps. By a spouse-- perhaps. By a boss-- perhaps. By the legal system-- perhaps. But accepted by God
because of the work Jesus. If you have asked Jesus to
forgive you of your sins, you take these elements
freely tonight. Oh, but I have sinned
this week, even. Then ask him to forgive you now. Listen, if it was
true that there is this direct
correlation between sin and suffering or sin and death,
I wouldn't be here right now. I would have been
dead a long time ago. The judgment of God would have
fallen on me a long time ago. But I'm here because of
God's grace and mercy. Rejected on earth,
accepted by God in heaven. And you take these
elements as arms of God reaching out saying, I
accept you, just as you are. You ask him, no matter
what you've done, to forgive you the iniquities
that have caused you to fall. If you have never accepted
Jesus, received him as your Lord and Savior,
you do so right now. I'm going to leave
you in that prayer. And as we pray,
the communion board will come and will
pass out the elements. Let's pray. Our father, we thank
you for Jesus, who found a man who is cast out. Some of us feel cast
out, cast down, rejected, despised, sad and
hurting, sorrowful, alone. Oh, how you love us. Oh how you find us and
soothe us and receive us as we come to you. If you have never received
the Lord personally, you say to him, Lord, I
am a sinner, forgive me. I believe Jesus came to
earth to die for my sin. That he shed his blood for me. That he died and rose again. I turn from my sin, I turn
to Jesus as my Savior. I want to live for
him as my Lord. Help me to do that
in Jesus' name. Amen. If you missed any of
our Expound studies, all of our services
and resources are available at expoundabq.org
