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John 9
9:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews1 did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus2 to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”3 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt;4 but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
[1] 9:18
[2] 9:22
[3] 9:35
[4] 9:41
(ESV)
Redeemer exists to celebrate and declare the gospel of God as we grow in knowing and following Jesus Christ.
Invite you to open your Bibles to John chapter 9. It's also there in your worship guide. John chapter 9. I realize it's been a long time since we've been in the gospel of John. There's been a lot of traveling, a lot of presence, a lot of eggnog, a lot of extended family time, a lot of eggnog because of extended family time.
Joel Brooks:So I probably should bring us up to speed as to where we are in this gospel. During the last couple of chapters of John, we have seen Jesus teaching at the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tents. And it was during this time that He made some extraordinary claims about Himself. He would say things like, come to me all who are thirsty and drink. He said things like, I am the light of the world.
Joel Brooks:If you remember, when He made the statement, I am the light of the world, there were actually those 2 huge torches that during the feast, they were lifted up to the very top of the tabernacle and they were gigantic and all of Jerusalem would be able to see its light. And Jesus, He stood underneath these torches when he said I am the light of the world. And these torches, they represented the Shekinah glory of God. That flame that led the Israelites out of Egypt through the desert. And Jesus said, this is me.
Joel Brooks:I am the light of the world. And now this feast has come to a conclusion and those torches have burned out and they're just the charred remains, yet Jesus remains there as the light of the world. And now, what we see going on after John 8, is that this light goes out into the darkness. And the very first place that Jesus goes as the light of the world, as He goes and He encounters a man who was born blind, born blind. He is both spiritually blind and He is physically blind.
Joel Brooks:And Jesus encounters that darkness. And he brings the light of who he is to completely change this person. Chapter 9 is one of the most beautiful chapters in this entire gospel because it has pretty much every theme you can find in the gospel of John. You see Jesus as the light of the world. Jesus shining in the darkness.
Joel Brooks:You see the themes of suffering and of healing. Themes of new birth. Spiritual sight, spiritual blindness. You have our calling to follow Jesus and to testify about Him. All these things are found in this one chapter, which makes it pretty dense because it, there's so much there.
Joel Brooks:I'd actually thought about breaking it up into a couple of weeks, but I think we lose something when we do that. And so I want us to go through the whole thing. We're gonna look at the suffering of this man. We're gonna look at the healing of this man. We'll look at the calling of this man.
Joel Brooks:Read with me John chapter 9, as we look at this man who was born blind. As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? And Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day.
Joel Brooks:Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with mud and said to him, 'Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sent. So he went and washed and came back seeing.
Joel Brooks:The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, is this not the man who used to sit and beg? So they said to them, then how were your eyes opened? He answered, the man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight. They said to him, where is he?
Joel Brooks:He said, I do not know. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, he put mud on my eyes and washed, and I see.
Joel Brooks:Some of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. But others said, how can a man who is a sinner do such signs? And there was division among them. So they said again to the blind man, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes? He said, he is a prophet.
Joel Brooks:The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' His parents answered, we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind, but how he now sees, we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is of age. He will speak for himself.
Joel Brooks:His parents said these things because they fear the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. Therefore, his parents said, he is of age, ask him. So for the 2nd time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, give glory to God. We know that the man is a sinner.
Joel Brooks:He answered, whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. They said to him, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and you would not listen.
Joel Brooks:Why do you wanna hear it again? Do you also wanna become his disciples? And they reviled him saying, you are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.
Joel Brooks:The man answered, this is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered him, you were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?
Joel Brooks:And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him, he said, do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered, and who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Jesus said to him, you have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. He said, Lord, I believe.
Joel Brooks:And he worshiped him. Jesus said, for judgment I came into this world that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. Some of the pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, are we also blind? Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt. But now that you say, we see, your guilt remains.
Joel Brooks:That you would open up our eyes to see the truth that you have before us, that you would open up our eyes to see Jesus. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore. But, Lord, may your words remain, and may they change us. And we pray this in the strong name of Jesus, amen. As Jesus is leaving the temple, he sees a man that has been born blind.
Joel Brooks:He's been blind since birth. And his disciples do what probably any person here would do when they see somebody suffering. They ask the question, why? For all of time, man has been desperate for this answer to try to determine the why behind suffering. Because we believe everything has a cause and an effect.
Joel Brooks:And here the effect is a man who is born blind. So now the question is, what caused this? We do this when we see people with sicknesses. We ask why did this person get cancer? Or why did a tornado hit this town and not this other town?
Joel Brooks:Why did that person get killed in a car wreck and yet this person was spared? Is everything just random? Or is there an actual reason or a cause behind all of this? Now the disciples, they saw that this man who had been born blind, they saw him and they assumed that there had to be a cause. There had to be a cause for this blindness and that it had to be sin.
Joel Brooks:Either a sin that he had committed somehow in the womb, they believed that was possible in this day that you could sin in the womb, or perhaps it was a sin that His parents had done. So the disciples assumed that this man's suffering was either the result of something he had done personally or something that had been done to him or a sin by somebody like a parent. But it had to be one of these two things. These were the 2 assumptions that they had that caused suffering. And these are the same two assumptions that we have today about suffering.
Joel Brooks:The disciples, they see a person and they say, it's a result of his own sin. I call that the guilt view. Or they see a person and say, he's this way because of a sin of another. I would call that the blame view. These are the 2 dominant views that are around today.
Joel Brooks:Either you're in the suffering that you're in because of something you have done or because something someone else has done. The guilt view says that when something happens to you, it's your own fault. You deserved it. So if you, you know, if this past week you got a speeding ticket. It's the 1st speeding ticket, let's say, you've gotten in 20 years.
Joel Brooks:So naturally, you think that you got this ticket because you had done something wrong. It's not speeding. That's not what you did wrong because you've been speeding for 20 years and you haven't gotten a ticket. So it's gotta be something else. And so you begin thinking, well, you know, I've already broken my New Year's resolution.
Joel Brooks:I'm already off on the Bible reading plan. God is trying to teach me something. He's telling me I need to slow down, focus on Him. This is a direct consequence of my sin. And so we have crazy views like this.
Joel Brooks:Or perhaps, you make an offer on a house that you really want, but that offer falls through. So you think, well, God is punishing me for something. Perhaps it's He's punishing me because of the jealousy that I feel towards everybody else who has such nice homes. Or maybe you get cancer, or you fall into a serious illness and you think it's, wow, it's because I got divorced. Or it's because I've I've been looking at things I should not be looking at.
Joel Brooks:And God is punishing me. The guilt view says that whatever the bad thing is that happened, you absolutely deserved it. And so the end result of of this is that you were just heaping guilt, guilt upon this suffering. There's a lot of things that are wrong with this view. One of the the main things that I see that's wrong with it is the reverse of this certainly is not true.
Joel Brooks:Is the very life he has given you. Maybe the really comfortable life he has given you is not the result of your hard work or your righteousness. It is purely a gift from God and there is no connection there. The other view. The other view is what I would call the blame game.
Joel Brooks:This is what I would say the most common view. We like to blame others for our suffering. So you come home and you complain to your spouse about your job and you're like, I got passed over for the latest promotion because my boss is a jerk. It's all his fault. Because I did the work.
Joel Brooks:He just ignored me. And so you think everything that's wrong at work is his fault. Or perhaps you feel your friends withdrawing their friendship from you, and you know the reason why is because somebody out there is gossiping about you. Somebody is spreading lies about you and your friends are starting to believe it. It's easy to blame others for our suffering.
Joel Brooks:And particularly in particular, we like to blame our parents. We believe still today that our suffering, much of it is a result of our parents. Blaming parents was fashionable 2000 years ago and it's still around today. It's not a modern thought. If you have kids, you understand this right off the bat because kids think you are responsible for every one of their failures and all of their unhappiness.
Joel Brooks:And so if if I were to let one of my children watch cartoons, and then if I were to give them some kind of sweet treat to eat, and they were to complain later, they would still say, dad, I'm unhappy because you never let me do what I want to do. I'm the source of their unhappiness. And it could be some big things. It could be as little as I didn't cut the crust, you know, off of their sandwich. Therefore, they had a miserable day, and it's your fault.
Joel Brooks:We we do this when we're children. But here's the thing, we we never outgrow it. For instance, some of you might be really quick to anger. As a result, you just kinda say things in an instant in anger, and you have hurt a lot of people. You have destroyed a lot of friendships because of that.
Joel Brooks:And each time you don't look to yourself and blame yourself, you blame your dad who was quick to anger and used to always unleash it on you. I got that from him. I'm in this boat because of him. Perhaps if you can't get a good job, you think it's because your parents never really encouraged or affirmed you enough. You didn't have the confidence you needed.
Joel Brooks:Or perhaps if you lost a job, it's because your parents coddled you and affirmed you and encouraged you too much, when you shouldn't have been encouraged. But it's their fault. Maybe the reason you struggle with intimacy or you have trust issues, all because your parents got divorced. Their sin is why you're struggling with what you're doing now. We still blame our parents for our suffering.
Joel Brooks:So we have this guilt view of suffering, we have this blame view of suffering. What does Jesus say about this man's suffering? Is this man blind because of his own sin or because of someone else's? Let me just say that this is an important question because all of you are in one of 2 places in life. You are either leaving suffering or about to enter into suffering.
Joel Brooks:That's what life is. You're either just coming out of it or you're just about to come in it. But suffering is going to mark your life. And so you need to have a theological understanding of suffering and what you're to do when it comes. You you don't start choking and then try to learn about the heimlich.
Joel Brooks:Alright? You you you come and you read and you understand the heimlich. So when it comes time and you choke, you know what to do. You gotta have a theological understanding of suffering for when it comes. Jesus answers the question of suffering in verse 3.
Joel Brooks:Jesus answered, it was not this man's sin or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. Now notice that Jesus does not give the disciples the cause for this man suffering. He doesn't tell him the cause of it. All he tells him is the purpose behind it. Jesus is telling us, don't look for the cause of our suffering.
Joel Brooks:Look for the purpose in our suffering. Jesus, he says, it's not that this man sinned. It's not that his parents sinned, but that. Do you see those 2 words there? But attached to it.
Joel Brooks:You could translate it as so that. You were suffering so that something else. There's a purpose behind your suffering. There's no such thing as meaningless suffering. Jesus says it is so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Joel Brooks:Now this is a heavy, heavy statement by Jesus. I hope you could feel the weight of his words. Because here you have a man who has suffered his entire life. And Jesus looks at him and says, you have suffered your whole life just for this one moment that I might display my mercy on you and receive glory. I mean, years and years of suffering, all that Christ might display his mercy, and receive glory, and magnify his grace.
Joel Brooks:And so what Jesus is doing here is he is making a huge assumption. And he is inviting us to have the same assumption. Actually for Jesus is not assumption. He knows it for fact. And it's this, that the works of God in your life is more valuable than years of blindness, years of joblessness, years of infertility, years of being single and longing to be married, his glorious works being magnified in your life, being displayed in your life is worth more than any suffering that comes your way.
Joel Brooks:Do you believe that? It's heavy. In other words, God says he sees his work as so valuable, He will bring into your life whatever suffering is necessary for you to see it, and for Him to be glorified. Now, John is telling us this because he wants us to use this as glasses. This is the lens that we're supposed to put up for which we see all of suffering.
Joel Brooks:Everything that's wrong with this world, all of the evil, all of the corruption, all of the power grabbing, all of the tragedies and sickness and violence, all of the darkness that is there exist so that the light can come and shine even brighter in the midst of darkness. It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. Now sometimes, the works of God displayed in our life looks like healing. That's the one we're all wanting. Alright?
Joel Brooks:We want the healing. We want the removal of suffering. That's what this man got. But other times, it's that God gives us the grace to endure this suffering. That was the case of Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 when Paul, he was praying to the Lord, remove this thorn in my flesh.
Joel Brooks:And three times, he is just, he's pleading with the Lord to remove this thorn from his flesh. And God says no. He says no. He says that instead he's gonna give him a sustaining grace. He says, I want to teach you that my grace is sufficient for you and that my power is made perfect in weakness.
Joel Brooks:And so whether whether God deals with our suffering by by removing it, or whether God deals with our suffering by giving us the grace to endure it, We're not to look at the cause itself of the suffering. We don't look at the past causes. We look towards the future purposes. We're asking, God, what are you doing? How are you using this suffering in my life?
Joel Brooks:How might you be glorified in it? And there's a there's a lot of different purposes. That's a whole another sermon, all the different purposes for suffering. But let me give you just one brief main one. God uses suffering to expose idols.
Joel Brooks:But it is to ask why is this considered suffering by me? Not why am I suffering, but why do I consider this to be suffering? And it that's a very revealing question. Why is job insecurity to me so damaging to me? Infertility so devastating to me?
Joel Brooks:Why is this suffering to the extent where I'm devastated? And often that reveals an idol, reveals a place where you are going to find your identity other than Christ. And therefore, that suffering is a tremendous grace, because it will teach you the work of God in your life. For this blind man in this story, the work of God displayed in his life is going to result in immediate healing. I want you to notice this man does not seek healing.
Joel Brooks:He doesn't ask for it. He doesn't show any belief or faith in Christ when he receives it. Jesus just simply decides to heal him. It's a great picture of of our salvation. Christ just deciding in his own sovereign will to save us.
Joel Brooks:Light decides to come and to shine in the darkness. This is the only miracle recorded in all of the Gospels in which Jesus heals somebody who has been suffering since birth. All right, this is the only one we have in all the gospels that Jesus actually heals somebody who's been suffering from birth. We have a couple of times in the book of Acts that we see that, but this is the only time in the Gospels. And John wants to point this out to us, that this was a man blind at birth.
Joel Brooks:Because He wants us to see that this was a fundamental part of His human condition. He wants us to relate to this man. He is he is a representative not just of physical blindness, but of spiritual blindness. We are all born blind, all born in darkness, all born in sin. And we will remain there unless Christ shines his light on us.
Joel Brooks:So Jesus approaches this man. He spits on the ground, makes a little mud patty, and smears it on the guy's eyes, and tells him to go wash it off. Now how many of you, when you read that, just thought, this is really, really weird? Alright. I mean, I've I've been studying this for a while, and every time, I just think this is bizarre.
Joel Brooks:It's weird. Usually, Jesus would just say things like, be healed. Or your faith has made you well. Perhaps there's times that He would reach out and touch you and you would be made well. But, I mean, you don't see Him spitting on the ground, making mud and smearing it in a person's eyes and telling them to go wash it off.
Joel Brooks:It's just highly unusual. So it begs the question, why? Why does Jesus heal the person this way? Let me just say I've studied this a lot, and I can honestly say I have no idea. I really, I have no idea.
Joel Brooks:If you have got a good answer, I am all ears. Talk to me afterwards. But I really don't know. I've read a ton of commentaries on it and have great theories about it. And so you you have some theories about Jesus was trying to intentionally break the Sabbath.
Joel Brooks:You know, spitting was against Sabbath regulations. Making things was against Sabbath regulations. He was doing both of those, causing the Pharisees to just go in an uproar. Perhaps He was doing that. I read one that said, well, some people thought, spit was kind of like a magical potion, you know, something like an essential oil in our day, you know, and like He was he was just putting it on there and magical things would happen.
Joel Brooks:One of the favorite things that I've heard, and I really do like this, is it goes back to Genesis. When God created everything, He just spoke it into existence. Let there be light, there's light. You know, let there be land, there's land. You know, He just speaks everything into existence until He gets to man.
Joel Brooks:But when He comes to man, he actually gets his hands dirty. He he he grabs the dirt and he fashions it and he he makes a man. And so, it's possible here, that's what Jesus is alluding to. He is he is making a new creation. This is a new birth.
Joel Brooks:This is a new man. And I'll read that like, man, I really like that one. I kinda wanna go with that one, but it's just a theory you can't really say for sure. So I really don't don't know the why, but I can tell you the result. What we do know is this.
Joel Brooks:Jesus healed this man in such a way that this man would not be able to see who did it. He couldn't see who healed him. This man with this mud in his eyes has to awkwardly try to find, the pool of Siloam. He's just kinda walking through the streets. Had to be incredibly awkward for him to do so, incredibly difficult.
Joel Brooks:And by the time he gets there and he washes off the mud, and then he could see, Jesus has already left. He's nowhere around. So apparently, although Jesus wanted to heal this man, He did not want this man to know who He fully was yet. Jesus, he revealed just enough of himself to this man to produce faith, but then he hid just enough of himself to where this man still needs faith. He's producing faith in this man.
Joel Brooks:I think this is really important. As a matter of fact, the more and more I read this and have thought about it, I think this is one of the main reasons that Jesus healed the man this way. Now this man is going to have to testify about Jesus without knowing who Jesus fully is. And what you're actually gonna see as we read the rest of the story is is that this man's faith and his knowledge of Jesus is going to grow more and more every time he testifies. And I think this is one of the points of the story.
Joel Brooks:Jesus tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means the pool of scent, Or you could translate it, the pool of missionary. John makes it a point to translate that for us because it's essential to understanding what's happening. This man is essentially being baptized in the pool of sent or the pool of missionary, because this is exactly what he's being called to do. Jesus is calling him to do what he's done. Jesus has lived the ultimate sent life, and now this man is to live a sent life.
Joel Brooks:He must testify about Jesus from the start, even though he doesn't have a full understanding of who Jesus is. His theology isn't the best. His doctrine is weak. His soteriology is pretty off. But he can speak to what he knows.
Joel Brooks:He says, hey, I used to be like this, but now I'm a completely different person. That's his testimony. You see in verse 25, I love verse 25, When he's called before these religious leaders to testify and they say, hey, we know Jesus is a sinner. What do you think? And he responds, well, whether Jesus is a sinner or not, I do not know.
Joel Brooks:Now that is terrible theology, okay? Whether Jesus is a sinner, I do not know. You learn that in Sunday School 101. 1st day in Sunday school, they teach you Jesus is sinless, he's the spotless lamb. You know, he's the perfect sacrifice for us.
Joel Brooks:You learn this right at the start. This guy doesn't have a basic knowledge of who Jesus is. Yet, look what he says. But the one thing I do know, I was blind, but now I see. I have been utterly formed by my encounter with Jesus.
Joel Brooks:That's my testimony. Jesus set up this miracle in such a way where this man would have to immediately begin testifying about him without much knowledge about him. But I want you to notice that the knowledge is gonna keep growing. It's gonna keep growing every time he shares his faith. And so in verse 11, when this man is telling his neighbors about what happened, he just calls Jesus a man.
Joel Brooks:A man came and did this to me. In verse 17, when he is telling the Pharisees about what happened, he calls Jesus a prophet. In verse 27, he calls himself a disciple of Jesus. In verse 33, when he's called to testify once again, he says that Jesus has to be sent from God. By the time we get to verse 35 or 37, he believes that Jesus now carries the divine title of the son of man.
Joel Brooks:And by the end of verse 38, he's bowing down and worshiping him. Do you see the progression here? No new knowledge is being given him. He is simply testifying that I had an encounter with Jesus and he changed me. And then Jesus goes from a man, he goes to a prophet, he goes to now I am a disciple following him, to now he is sent from God, now he is the son of man, and now I am bowing down in worship.
Joel Brooks:All from just being faithful to testify about his encounter with the risen Lord, or with the Lord. As Christians, we are called to live a sent life. Every person in this room is a missionary. Everybody is called on to testify about what Jesus has done in their life, how Jesus has changed them. And so I asked the question, if you're not doing this, what are you waiting for?
Joel Brooks:Are are you waiting for more knowledge? You have to, you know, you haven't quite made it through Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. You know, once you finally get through that, you're gonna feel pretty equipped to to now go share. I'm not saying that is unimportant. Please, please dig in.
Joel Brooks:But you don't need to wait before you start testifying to what the Lord has done. You can at least tell people, I once was blind, but now I see. I once was dead in my sins, but now I'm alive. I once was bogged down in despair, but now I have joy. I once was incredibly materialistic, but now God has given me a a generous heart.
Joel Brooks:I once had a heart full of bitterness, but but now I have a heart full of thankfulness. I once had a heart that was prone to anger, but now I have a heart that loves and forgives. I once was full of anxiety, but now I have peace. And all of this has come about because of Jesus. We can all do that.
Joel Brooks:We can all do that. We're all called to do that. Now realize that sharing your faith is not something that is always easy to do. Often, it will come at a price. We see this quite vividly in this man's story.
Joel Brooks:It's one of the most heart wrenching parts of the story. When this man's parents are called before the Pharisees to testify, and they essentially throw their child under the bus. It's what they do. And it's astounding that parents could act this way. Picture this this formally blind man.
Joel Brooks:He was actually probably pretty young, which probably made his state more pitiable. We think he was also young because the parents had to tell the Pharisees, you know, he is of age. You can ask Him. So he's probably a really young man. So so I want you to picture that this young man, he gets healed.
Joel Brooks:And so the first thing he would likely do is run home to his parents. He would burst in the door and he would say, mom, dad, I can see. And this would have been the first time in his entire life he's been able to see his parents. He's never been able to see them before. And I can only imagine, I mean, he was just, you know, bursting with tears.
Joel Brooks:And I mean, I'm sure his parents would see him and they would begin crying as well, just tears of joy. How did this happen? How did he see? He's like a man named Jesus, he healed me. And then he gets to see their face change is one of the first things he sees.
Joel Brooks:Like, Jesus? You you know Jesus is a wanted man. The religious leaders, they're saying that if anybody is caught actually following Jesus, they're gonna be kicked out of the synagogue. We can't really afford to have that happen. So can we just kind of keep that under wraps that Jesus did this?
Joel Brooks:Instead of these parents saying, oh my gosh, we've got to find Jesus and thank him. They say, you know what, is there a way we could kinda just sweep this under the rug? They're scared of being removed from the social status they have, being kicked out of the synagogue, being part of that social system they have worked so hard to be a part of. Can any of you relate to this? I've talked with several of you who I know can.
Joel Brooks:Some of you are parents who are not Christians, and you have gone home after the Lord has changed your heart. You've gone home and you're just so excited. And you're just sharing with them, you're like, Jesus has completely changed me. And they look at you and in a way they're kind of excited, but you keep mentioning Jesus and then they just kinda get embarrassed. I mean, don't get me wrong, you know, they'll say, I'm very happy for you that you've, you're now happy.
Joel Brooks:I'm really glad you have found a sense of purpose, but can we just tone it down on the whole Jesus thing? Because if you keep talking like that, you're gonna lose your social status. It's gonna cost you. And I know that some of you have had that happen to you. It can be heartbreaking, but we are still called to follow and to testify to Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Something that is remarkable about this story is once again, the more this man shares his faith, the more it builds his own faith and the more knowledge he has of Christ. But also the more he shares, the more it actually closes the hearts of those around him. So the more his light is dawning, the more the darkness is coming upon those who are around him. It's very interesting. He shares his faith time and time again, yet there is not any point in the story that we see anyone come to know Jesus.
Joel Brooks:The neighbors don't come to know him. The parents don't come to know him. The Pharisees don't come to know him. All the religious rulers, none of the Jews. Nobody comes to believe in Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Their hearts get darker while his heart gets lighter. Yet, he is called to share. Part of the gospel is this dividing. This man's healing, this man's calling, you need to see as your healing and your calling. You were once blind.
Joel Brooks:You now see. And when we were baptized in Jesus, we were baptized to be sent. I love verse 4. We'll end here. Jesus, he told his disciples, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.
Joel Brooks:Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Now I want you to notice that Jesus says, We must work. He's asking the disciples to join with Him in His work. I mean, he doesn't need these disciples.
Joel Brooks:Not at all. But out of his goodness, he is inviting them in, and he is saying, we we must work. We must get to work. He asked them to join the mission that I am on. And then he calls us to work while it is day because a time is coming when we will no longer be able to work.
Joel Brooks:Now this will mean a number of things in John. But one thing it definitely means, we could certainly apply to us right now is that we will not always have the opportunity to share our faith. We have one life. And it will come to a close. And Jesus is saying, don't waste it.
Joel Brooks:While it is day, do the work of God here. Join him and his mission while you have time. Do not waste your life. Jesus has healed you. Jesus has restored you.
Joel Brooks:Now you need to go and share simply about your encounter with Jesus that you once were blind, but now you see. Pray with me. Our father, we thank you so much for Jesus. And that Jesus has allowed us to see you. Father, for those who don't know you, may you at this time open up their hearts and their minds to see you clearly.
Joel Brooks:For those of us here who do know you, who have encountered you and been changed by you, may you give us a renewed boldness to share that. Every person in this room who knows you can say, I once was this, but now I am this. We could be faithful with that message. I pray through your spirit, we would be so. And we pray this in the strong name of Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Amen.