LIFE OF
CHRIST
John 9
THE LIGHT AT WORK
AM
LIFE OF CHRIST #36
Jesus is the light
of the world. John 8:12, John 1:1-5
It was after Jesus
had shown mercy to the woman taken in adultery that Jesus was still in
Vs. 1 – There was a man who was blind from birth.
Vs. 2 – Jesus’ disciples asked a theological question. Based on what they had been taught, they felt
that all illness was caused by someone’s sin.
So they wanted to know, whose sin was responsible for the
blindness. Was it something the blind
man had done, or was it the sin of the parents.
What is the source
of all illness in the world?
It is sin! Death did not enter into the world until
after Adam and Eve had sinned. They were
in a perfect environment. Therefore,
sickness did not enter into the world until after Adam and Eve had sinned.
So, all sickness
is actually caused by sin.
And some sickness
is caused by the sins of parents. For instance the suffering of baby with AIDS
might be caused by the sin of the parents.
And some sickness
is caused by our own sins. A person who
habitually overeats, smokes or abuses alcohol can bring about sickness to his
body.
But as Jesus will
indicate in the next verse, not all sickness is caused by some specific sin.
Vs. 3 – God had a purpose for this man’s suffering. There was no specific sin that caused his
blindness.
The purpose of the
sickness was that the works of God would be revealed in him.
Beloved there are
times when we suffer illness or other problems so that the glory of God may be
revealed in us! Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4
Vs. 4 – In the
original language, the word “I” is “we”. Jesus is saying to His disciples, “We
must work the works of him that sent me.”
I feel that that
the word “We” is still in effect today.
We must work the
works of the Father. That’s what Jesus
has given us to do. John 14:12-14
While we are alive
it is “day”.
The night of death
is coming when no man can work.
Whatever good you
are going to accomplish must be accomplished before you die. And you don’t know when that will be.
Vs. 5 – At this point Jesus was still physically in the world.
He was the light
of the world.
And as light
illumines, so did Jesus.
Question – Is
Jesus still the light of the world?
Of course He is!
How does He shine today?
He shines through
His Word.
He shines through
His Spirit.
He shines through
us! Matthew 5:14-16
Now we are going
to see Jesus at work in the life of this blind man. We see the Light at work.
JESUS GAVE
LIGHT TO THE MAN’S EYES - Vss. 6-12
Vs. 6-7 – Why did
Jesus make mud, put it on the blind man’s eyes and tell him to go wash? Couldn’t he have just spoken a word or
touched Him and achieved the same?
Of course he could
have!
We do not know for
sure why Jesus did it this way. Perhaps
he was testing the blind man’s faith as God did with a certain leper named
Naaman. Naaman was told to wash himself in the
Whatever the
reason, Jesus is God, and can go about the healing process anyway He sees fit!
The blind man went
to the Pool of Siloam and washed.
It wasn’t long
before he was back and seeing.
Vss. 8-9 – The man caused an immediate stir. People who are blind often look
blind. They look different. He looked
different because he was no longer blind.
Some asked if this
was the man who used to sit and beg.
Some said, “Yep,
that’s him!”
Others said,
“Nope, he just looks like him.”
The former blind
man left no doubts.
He said, “I’m
him!”
Vss. 10-12 – Of course, the people asked the obvious question, “What happened!”
The man answered
them by telling of the man named Jesus who had made clay, put it on his eyes
and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.
They wanted to
know where Jesus was. The blind man
didn’t know. Jesus had left. And remember that the blind man hadn’t seen Jesus
as yet.
Jesus still gives
light to the blind today.
When a sinner
comes to the point of being convicted of his sin and of his need for help,
Jesus is opening blind eyes through His Spirit. John 16:8-10
When you and I as
Christians see things which we hadn’t seen before, we are being given Jesus’
light through the Holy Spirit.
When you and I as
Christians walk in His light, we will deal with sin in our lives. 1 John 1:5-7
JESUS GAVE
LIGHT TO THE MAN’S MIND – Vss. 13-34
Vs. 13 – Evidently some Pharisees had been appointed to have jurisdiction over
certain religious matters. The man was
taken to them.
Vs. 14 – Here is the issue. Jesus had done this healing on the Sabbath
day. The Pharisees considered it a
violation of the Sabbath to heal someone who is sick.
Many rules and
regulations concerning the Sabbath had been added to God’s law. It was man’s law, not God’s that Jesus had
violated.
Vss. 15-16 – The former blind man told what happened and there was an immediate
debate over the Lord Jesus.
Some said, “This man
is not from God. He broke the Sabbath!”
Others said, “How
can a sinner do miracles like this?”
Vs. 17 – They asked the opinion of the blind man. His eyes were opened enough for him to see
that Jesus was at least a prophet.
Vss. 18-22 – The Jews were not ready to concede that Jesus had worked a
miracle. They were thinking that maybe
it was a hoax.
So they brought in
the man’s parents. They asked questions.
“Is this your
son?”
“Was he born
blind?”
“How is it that he
now sees?”
The parents
answered.
“Yes, this is our
son.”
“Yes, he can now
see.”
“But we don’t know
how it happened.”
(They lied because
they did not want to be excommunicated from the synagogue.)
“Our son is of
legal age. Ask him!”
Vs. 24 – They brought the man who had been blind back into the proceedings.
They told him to
give God the praise for the healing. “Don’t give credit to Jesus because we
know that He’s a sinner!”
Vs. 25 – The man was not about to debate whether Jesus was a sinner was
not.
But no matter what
they said about Jesus, the man knew one thing, “Once I was blind, but now I
see.”
Vs. 26 – They were still looking for a way to discredit Jesus, so they asked
him again what happened.
Vs. 27 – I think the man was being sarcastic. “You’re asking me so much about
Him. Do you want to be his disciples?”
Vs. 28-29 – That set the Pharisees off.
“You’re his
disciple. We’re the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we
don’t where this guy came from.”
Vss. 30-33 – Now we see how completely Jesus had opened this man’s mind.
“This man’s opened
my eyes, and you don’t know where He came from! That’s amazing.”
“We know that God
doesn’t hear sinners.” He was right,
according to Psalm 66:18.
“Since the
beginning of the world, such a miracle hasn’t been performed. If this man wasn’t from God, He couldn’t do
this or anything else.”
Jesus had given
light to this man’s mind.
And let me tell
you, when our minds grasp the things of God as this man did, it is because
Jesus, the light of the world, has given light to our minds through his Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16
Vs. 34 – The Pharisees were so incensed at the man that they excommunicated him
from the synagogue.
Remember, when we
have light from Christ in our minds, we are not always going to be accepted or
popular.
JESUS GAVE
LIGHT TO THE MAN’S HEART – Vss. 35-39
Vs. 35 – I’m sure the man was hurting and confused. He had received a great miracle, and instead
of the religious leaders rejoicing with him, they persecuted him and
excommunicated Him.
When Jesus heard
what had happened, He found him.
And when we hurt
Jesus will find us.
The man was ready
for a heart decision.
Jesus had given
light to his eyes.
Jesus had given
light to his mind.
Now it was the
heart’s turn.
When we come to
Christ for salvation:
Jesus opens our
eyes to see our sin.
Jesus opens our
minds to understand what Christ has done for us in His death, burial, and
resurrection.
Jesus opens our
hearts to faith.
Jesus asked him:
“Do you believe on
the “Son of God”.
Vs. 36 – “Show me who it is Lord, that I may believe on Him.”
Vs. 37 – “The one talking to you is this person.”
Vs. 38 – He believed and worshipped.
Whenever a person
believes it is because Jesus, through His Spirit, has opened His heart.
We have no
capacity to believe except by God’s help. Ephesians 2:1, John 3:3, 6-7,
My friend, perhaps
Jesus is talking to you this morning.
Perhaps he is
showing you that you need to place your faith in Christ alone as your Savior.
Perhaps he is giving light to your heart!
If so place your faith and trust in Him right now.
And Christian
anytime you are at a point of making a right decision to do the right thing, I
believe that Jesus, through his Spirit is giving light to your heart. John
16:13
Make sure that
when the Lord gives light to your heart that you are obedient.
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S EYES
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S MIND
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S HEART
He will give you
light as well if you ask.
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