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John 9:1-5, 39 KJV And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [his] birth. (2) And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? (3) Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. (4) I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. (5) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. … (39) And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
As we come to John chapter 9 we see a wonderful account of Jesus with a group of blind people. The chapter starts with
a man which was blind from [his] birth
Jesus was leaving the Temple because the self righteous and unhearing scribes and Pharisees sought to kill Him. Jesus told the Pharisees that He was and is the Son of God, and that He came to this earth representing God. Jesus told the self righteous:
John 8:39 (KJV) … If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
Whose Little Boy or Girl Are You?
The children of Abraham are children of faith. They belong to God. If you are indeed a Christian you are a child of Abraham, seed of the Promise. This is the teaching of the Apostle in ..
Galatians 3:6-7 (KJV) Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
If you are saved by faith in the Messiah – if you love Jesus – then it doesn’t matter your color or race or even sex. The Scripture declares:
Galatians 3:28-29 (KJV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
If these scribes and Pharisees were Abraham’s children they would not only do the works of Abraham, but …
John 8:42 (KJV) Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: …
If you are Abraham’s child and therefore an heir to God’s promise you would love Jesus. Not seek to kill Him, nor ignore Him, but love Him. You would believe Him and do what He says do. Jesus told the Pharisees:
John 8:44 (KJV) Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
There is nothing more sad than a person who thinks they are saved, but they are not. Part of the problem in the Church today is it is often filled with people who think they are saved but they have only deceived themselves. The Apostle James wrote:
James 1:21-22 (KJV)21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtinessresidue of wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
I was reading a commentary today where the writer began to teach that there are two levels of Christians – the Christian who just believes and is saved, and the Christian who is saved by faith and does the things that God commands. I don’t know where this nonsense came from. I suspect it is an aberration created by liberal preachers who are looking for numbers. It is not taught in Scripture. And it is not natural.
Let me illustrate. I have a dog named Scooter. I know he’s a dog. Why? He looks like a dog. He barks like a dog. He smells like a dog. He’s a dog. A dog is a dog because it ACTS like a dog. If you take a dog and treat him as a fish, he will drown. A fish is comfortable underwater, a dog is not. Whatever you are born to be is what you will be. Period.
We are all born into this world as sinners.
Romans 3:23 (KJV) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 5:12 (KJV) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
All are born into this world in the darkness of sin. We are all born blind. We need to be born again. We can only be born again by interaction with Jesus Christ. We must believe on Him. We must receive Him as Lord and Savior. He can bless us and give us eyes to see.
Jesus Proves His Point With A Blind Man
The Pharisees and scribes …
John 8:59 (KJV) … took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
Jesus was not afraid of these fools, and fools they were indeed. But Jesus blinded them so they couldn’t see Him, and walked right by them. But then Jesus stopped!
John 9:1 KJV And as [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man which was blind from [his] birth.
There is a mob of scribes and Pharisees who want to kill Jesus, but Jesus takes the time to stop for this man. His disciples ask the Lord:
John 9:2 KJV And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
The Bible teaches us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Sin is a thief, a robber. When sin comes into the life it begins by scarring the soul, and ends up scarring the body. James said:
James 1:15 (KJV) Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
When the disciples saw this man born blind they wanted to know whose sin caused his blindness. Who was responsible for this man being born blind. The answer to the question may shock you. Jesus replied:
John 9:3 KJV … Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Our God is Sovereign over His creation. Why was this man born blind? What caused this tragedy? It was not a tragedy. Long before the creation of the earth, the universe, the sun and the stars God knew that a day would come when Christ would be teaching in the Temple. He knew that the Pharisees and scribes would first argue with, then attack the Lord Jesus. The Creator Father wanted to insure that an object lesson be given to all that were there so He purposed this man’s blindness. Long before man walked the earth this was established of God.
God is Sovereign!
Isaiah 14:24 (KJV) The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand:
Isaiah 46:9-11 (KJV) Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: 11 Calling a ravenous bird from the east, the man that executeth my counsel from a far country: yea, I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.
God controls the birds, and controls the man. He controls the events. There is nothing God cannot do. This man was not born blind because of sin, nor because God was punishing him or his parents. He was born blind so that those detractors of Christ along with His Disciples could see the glory of God in His Son.
This blind man was the clay, and Christ the Potter
This blind man is the raw material that Christ will use to illustrate His next words. Jesus said:
John 9:4 (KJV) I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
The Father put this man before the crowd and before the Son. Jesus must do a work of God in him to glorify the Father. Jesus said:
John 9:5 (KJV) As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Jesus is the Light of the World. Not light like the fiery star we call the sun is light. Not light like infrared is a light. Jesus is the Light of the World because He and only He can restore sight to the blind, both physical and spiritual. A blind man is exposed to light just as the rest of us are, but is unable to see the light because of a deficiency in himself. Jesus is CORRECTIVE LIGHT. Jesus is the John 1:9… true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
Jesus is the John 8:12 (KJV)… light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
Jesus is the CORRECTIVE LIGHT … John 12:46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.
This blind man has never seen light.
He cannot get better on his own.
He can only come to Jesus.
If he obeys Jesus, he will be given light.
Christ will restore his sight.
This is a FREE GIFT OF GOD!
Jesus now does something that people have debated about and speculated over for years and years. We read:
John 9:6 (KJV) When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
Some have speculated all types of superstitious and unsupported theories as to why Jesus did this. I know why Jesus did this. The Scripture says of God and His people:
Isaiah 64:8 (KJV) But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
When Adam was formed in Eden the Bible says that:
Genesis 2:7 (KJV) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
I believe that Jesus in the Garden of Eden reached down, and made a clay man that He called Adam (which means “Red Earth”). He then kissed that which He made, and Adam became a living soul. Jesus mimics what He did in Eden. He reaches down, and spitting on the ground makes clay of the spittle. He then takes this clay and molds the eyes of this man.
But he doesn’t immediately see. The blind man is still blind. But Jesus tells him:
John 9:7 KJV … Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
Faith obeys God.
Faith obeys God.
Faith obeys God.
My dear friend and fellow Pastor Joe McKeever wrote an article called “Why A Lot Of Professing Christians Never Attend Church”. In the article he wrote:
“Why don’t Christians go to church? I think I know. You’re not going to like my answer. They’re probably not Christians. …. In the earliest church, the believers gathered for “the apostles’ teaching, for fellowship, for breaking of bread, and prayer” (Acts 2:42). Fellowship was, and remains, a huge element in the function of a church. … But for believers–those who truly do take the things of God seriously–that fellowship element, as important as it is, is just the icing on the cake. Underneath it is the dead-serious work of the Kingdom–worshiping God, teaching His word, spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, supporting those doing the Lord’s work, reaching out to those in need …”
Joe allows for comments on his blog (http://joemckeever.com/wp/why-a-lot-of-professing-christians-do-not-go-to-church/). You should have read some of the nonsense I read. Some accused Joe of spreading a false Gospel. Others said he was going to hell for this teaching. Yet you can find absolutely NO SCRIPTURAL SUPPORT for the concept that there is EVER salvation without first repentance, then obedience.
Had this young man never went to the Pool of Siloam as Jesus said he would have never been healed.
End of story. Period.
Obedience Brings Salvation
When the blind man did as Jesus commanded he came away seeing. Jesus restored his sight. This caused a lot of confusion in the neighborhood.
John 9:8-12 (KJV) The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. 10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight. 12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
This caused the Pharisees no end of confusion. It was the Sabbath day when Jesus healed this man, and the Pharisees said:
John 9:16 (KJV) Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
If it was sinful to heal on the Sabbath Day (and Jesus healed people many times on the Sabbath Day) then Jesus was a Sinner. But if Jesus was a Sinner then how could He heal anyone? They began to debate among themselves. You see, the darkness can quote Scripture, and the devil can preach a great sermon, but they cannot tie anything to Jesus. So how to resolve this dilemma?
Call the healed man a liar!
John 9:18-19 (KJV) But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
The parents couldn’t answer their questions, and rightfully so. They knew this was their son, they knew he had been born blind, but they had no idea how he regained his sight. They told the Pharisees:
John 9:23 (KJV) ….He is of age; ask him.
The Pharisees came to the blind man once more.
John 9:24-25 (KJV) … again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. 25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
His profession got him thrown out of Church. If you profess Christ and His power today in many
Churches you’ll be thrown out! Jesus is able!
Once the man was thrown out of Church – a false Church led by false believers – Jesus went to him. To be honest the Pharisees did this blind man a favor! No one wants to stay in a false Church … but we do want to stay with Jesus!
John 9:35-38 KJV Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? (36) He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? (37) And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. (38) And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.
The Church of the Pharisees was not interested in worshiping God, but were all about power and status quo. We come together to worship the Lord.
Psalms 95:6 KJV O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.
When we come together it is to worship our God. Our God is awesome! Our Jesus is spectacular! We are His Kingdom on this present earth. We are not ashamed to submit to Him, to speak of Him, to glorify Him. The Pharisees died in their sins. Their Church is no more. But those who love the Lord endure. We love one another, and show His love by loving one another.
Until the day that Christ comes. Maranatha!
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