Sermon Notes: John 9 - Spiritually Blind (06/12/2011)

John 9:1-34 “I was blind, but now I see”

Context

·         John 9 is so full of great stuff that we run danger of focusing on the things that are not primary.

·         There are places that if we are not careful, we can get bogged down and miss the main things of the passage.

·         Attempting to preach, to persuade hearers through the Spirit in John 9 is much like eating an elephant.

·         We need to do it in small bites.

·         However, if you attempt to take John 9 in small bites and focus on all the fantastic details, you may miss the main focus of the passage.

o   I was blind, but now I see.

·         So today I want to look at this scene from the point of view of the Pharisees and that of the blind man.

·         The main thing here is this man, cured of blindness, now testifying about Jesus.

·         As I was putting all of this together I went through a few iterations, and felt like Polonius from Hamlet.

·         Polonius:  My liege, and madam, to expostulate what majesty should be, what duty is, What day is day, night night, and time is time, Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time; Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit, And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad. . . .

Cultural Context

·         Anytime we read scripture, in the back of our mind must be the thought;

o   “What did this mean to the original audience?”

·         In other words, what does it mean in Jerusalem before what it means in Concord.

·         There are many things in the Bible that if we do not filter them through their original audience we can go off the rails.

·         The Pharisees were fastidious legalists who wanted to read something spiritual into every tiny word of Scripture.

·         They were children of the Ascetic Movement, the Hasidim, meaning the pious, the saintly.

·         They were the Jews who, first of all, were committed to the Law of God

·         And as a secondary reality, they hated Greek culture.

·         The Pharisees were separatists, they hated the pagans, they hated the Romans, and they hated the heathen.

·         They separated themselves from Publicans and sinners.

·         They separated themselves from the general Jewish population.

·         They separated themselves from any kind of defilement that they thought would make them ceremonially unclean.

·         They were the literalists and the legalists and the separatists.

So if we drop down into the first century as a Pharisee and see what is happening, this may be our take; (all my words)

·         The day started plainly as it often does.

·         Today is the Sabbath, I will do no work.

·         Therefore my servants brought me my tunic and outer garment early in the morning.

·         After my morning prayers and after my servants prepared my food, I made my way to the temple to observe the Sabbath.

·         It was at the temple that my Sabbath was to be ruined by that Galilean and his rabble.

·         The heretic son of the carpenter was there again today with his fishermen and their tax collector.

·         If only the Romans would allow us to do away with him, this would all be done with and we could again please God in the temple.

·         We cannot tolerate disobedience to the Law and blasphemy from this man, lest his teaching increase.

·         We have already decreed that if anyone says that this Jesus is the Messiah that man will be thrown out of the synagogue, and by inference, the community.

·         But that did not stop this fool beggar from making a mockery of the Sabbath.

·         We know that anyone who breaks the Sabbath is not from God, this man and that Jesus did not keep the Sabbath.

·         He broke the Sabbath law three times today, and we were there to interrogate the one he reportedly healed.

·         Not only did he make mud, which is breaking the law by working on the Sabbath;

o   But he told this man to wash, another infraction. 

o   Lastly, healing is forbidden on the Sabbath according to our tradition.

·         After discussing with his parents, a useless exercise;

·         and the man, a frustrating exercise;

·         We determined to cast the man out.  For he was confessing Jesus as the Messiah.

·         Whether or not he was healed, I do not know.  Perhaps he was never blind to begin with.

·         It is more likely he used that excuse to keep from working because he is simply lazy.

·         Yet this I know; God has handed to us the laws and traditions, and no beggar will teach us the ways of God!

·         The sooner we can do away with this Jesus character the better.

·         There is a little bit of the Pharisee in all of us isn’t there?

·         I know there is in me.

o   I like things the way I like them.

o   If you disagree with me, then you are likely wrong.

o   God has called me to teach His Word, who are you to correct me?

o   When in fact, I am just an old clay pot.  Useful to God when I do what He has asked me to do.

Now if we could interview this beggar, we would likely get a different take;

·         When I woke, the only hope I had was that no one spits on me today.

·         Today started like every other day.

·         I needed to make my way to the temple area before the pilgrims funnel in.

·         It is usually the outsiders that will give me money as they pass by.

·         I can do nothing.

·         I am thankful to God that my parents allow me to shelter with them, but my food comes only from the grace of others.

·         I cannot work, because I cannot see.

·         The only thing I can do is sit in the street and beg.

·         It takes me some time to get there, although I am familiar with the streets, the vendors and crowd sometime make it difficult.

·         It is only through hearing the Priests praying that I know I am close.

·         They do not want me very close to the temple.

·         I had heard of this man Jesus.

·         I’ve heard him in the temple before, boy does he get the priest and Pharisees upset.

·         I think he may be a prophet.

·         Someone told me that he had fed thousands with only a small amount of food.

·         But today, I knew he was coming by as the crowd was gathering.

·         Then I heard his men talking about me.  They determine that my sin or my parents had given me this life.

·         It was then that the most peculiar thing happened.

·         I heard the crowd come closer, then I felt mud on my face.

·         This was unusual to say the least, because no one has touched me in many years.

·         Most don’t even know that I exist.

·         But he caked mud onto my eyes like a salve.  I really didn’t know what to do.

·         Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash it off.  I did.

·         I still cannot describe what I experience when I pulled my head from the pool.

·         I could see.

·         This world looks nothing like I thought it did.

o   Colors.

o   People.

o   The beauty of the Temple.

o   Food!  It looks amazing!

o   The beauty of creation!

o   I saw my mother for the first time today.

·         SO many people were asking me what happened, but I couldn’t explain it.

·         But I couldn’t find Jesus again, he had left.

·         It was then that the Pharisees pulled me into the temple.

·         I told them what happened, but they wouldn’t listen to me.

·         I think they want to become one of Jesus disciples as well!

·         They asked my parents, but they didn’t know what was going on.

·         All I know is this, I was blind, but know I see!

·         Why won’t they believe me?  They passed me for years in the street, and now look at me!

·         They told me that I was a sinner and cast me out of the temple, and the community.

·         That’s ok.  I was never part of the community.

·         But now I can see.

This man suffered blindness.  Many of you suffer spiritual blindness.

·        Spiritual blindness is a universal malady,

·         It is a universal human condition.

·         Every human being born into this world since the Fall of Adam has been born spiritually blind.

·         And it is not a superficial blindness, it is a profound blindness, it is a total blindness, it is a complete blindness.

·         It is essentially living in the darkness with no light at all.

·         That is the biblical diagnosis of the universal human condition.

·         This is the universal human condition.

·         When the light is at its brightest, when the light is standing in front of you, looking you in the eye, when you can reach out and touch the light,

·         when you can hear the voice of the light, when you can see the power of the light displayed in miracle after miracle,

·         day after day after day, there is still no capacity in the darkness of the human heart to grasp the light to comprehend the light

·         Voltaire, the French atheist, said this, “Even if a miracle should be wrought in the open marketplace before a thousand sober witnesses, I would rather mistrust my senses than admit a miracle.”

·         That’s tragic, isn’t it?

·         The whole world is full of people like this who live in the darkness.

·         Oh, they may think they are spiritual and they have transcended and they are mystically aware of the spiritual realm.

·         The truth is, they are in total darkness and they are consigned to even deeper darkness and they are condemned to permanent eternal darkness.

·         1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The natural man understands not the things of God; to him they are foolishness because they are spiritually discerned and he is spiritually dead.”

·         The only cure for spiritual blindness is Jesus Christ.

·         Remember the centurion at the cross?  He illustrates this point to us;

o   He had overseen the beating,

o   The public humiliation,

o   The crucifixion.

o   But as Jesus died, and the event surrounding His death occurred.

o   The centurion suddenly realized “Truly, this was the Son of God.”

·         The centurion was spiritually blind.  But his encounter with Jesus resulted in him receiving spiritual sight!

·         Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts is another example.

·         The Ethiopian did not understand what he was reading because he was spiritually blind.

·         Philip explains the scriptures to him, he is immediately baptized!

·         Philip didn’t do any gymnastics or tricks, he just explained the Bible to him.

Doctrine is not a four letter word.

A few years back I was invited to visit a neighbor Church as they were in the process of looking for a new pastor.  As I sat with the leaders of the Church over lunch, they asked me what my philosophy of ministry consisted of, and what the Church really needed in our postmodern generation.   If memory serves my response was something like this; “What Churches and Pastors need today is what they have needed for the past 2000 years.  Not “new” feel good teaching about how to be a better X, but sound, consistent doctrinal teaching directly from the Word of God.”  The response both confused and concerned me; “Well, we don’t need doctrine here, because we just want folks to be comfortable and experience God and feel welcome.  Doctrine just divides people” Their response had a sanctimonious ring to it.  After all, who would take issue with someone wanting to experience God in comfy seats in a welcome environment?  That should certainly be a subordinate goal for our Church, experiencing God and ensuring visitors feel welcome.  However, that should not be our primary mission.

This conversation opened my eyes to what I consider a significant threat to gospel ministry in New England.  Today, studies tell us that most folks identify themselves as spiritual. (Barna, Pew Forum)  In our postmodern culture you are less likely to find an atheist then you would find someone with a vague, quasi-Christian spiritual belief.  Many of these spiritual folks are taking residence in the pews and pulpits of once Biblically-based teaching ministries.  This quasi-Christian spirituality ultimately waters down, dilutes and removes the power of the Gospel in the lives of its proponents and their communities.  If I could boil this all down I would say this; there is a growing trend of willful biblical ignorance.    

How did we get here and how then should we live?  I suspect that if you ask several experts, you will get several good answers.  Paul instructs us in Romans “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”  If we bend the Church to be accommodating the world, we are then being conformed to the world.  Instead of impacting the culture, we will emulate the culture and be a comfy place for folks.  While I understand this is an attempt at evangelism, it is not evangelism.  If we emulate the culture, we then become a sub-culture.  A sub-culture will not impact the culture, but remain subordinate to it.  That is not the great commission.  Proclaim boldly the truth of the Word, stand fast in your true convictions and share Christ without fear.  If you lead a person to Christ, disciple him until one of you is taken home to Glory.  If you are a pastor or elder, devote yourself to the Word, prayer and service.  If you sit in the pew; subject yourself to Godly authority, know your Bible and be a prayer warrior.  Serve Christ as he calls you. 

Our Lord gave us his “great commission” to go into all the world, to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit.  Discipleship, the art and method of making disciples has been lost in some Christian circles.  We should invest in the life of a young man or woman who needs spiritual guidance and a kick in the pants every now and then.  The alternative is entertain spiritual discussions about silly secondary issues, or the benefits of the latest end times novel.   Without biblical discipleship; prayer meetings turn into forty five minutes of gossip and five minutes of prayer. Bible studies will turn into silly discussions about small, non-essential “stuff”.  These fruitless relationships lead to broken communion within the body, and a diluted gospel impact in our communities.  In his article “Organized Religion is Dying”, Tyler Jones succinctly states; “Churches that live, teach, and believe the Gospel are prevailing; not even the gates of Hell can stand against gospel-centered churches!”  If we teach the full counsel of scripture and don’t skip the “naughty” parts, nothing can stop God from turning a town upside down.