Changes Are Coming
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Introduction
For the next three weeks we are going to be taking a look at another miracle of Jesus.
This miracle that takes place is the healing of the blind man.
We are going to first read through the entire story then we are going to break it down into three parts.
Let’s begin - stand if you are able.
John 9:1-41
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 would be born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4 “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
5 “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.
8 Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?”
9 Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”
10 So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”
12 They said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind.
14 Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
15 Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them.
17 So they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight,
19 and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”
20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
21 but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.”
22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.
23 For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So a 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 then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?”
28 They reviled him and said, “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 is from.”
30 The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
31 “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him.
32 “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.
33 “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.”
38 And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
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 would be born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4 “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
5 “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.
8 Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?”
9 Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”
10 So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”
12 They said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”
Let’s Pray
Let’s Pray
John 9:1-2
John 9:1-2
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 would be born blind?”
We see two things in the question of the disciples:
We want easy answers to tough questions.
We see a glimpse into the worldview of the disciples.
1. Easy Answers to Tough Questions
Jesus, this guy is blind, who’s fault is it?
Blindness, illnesses, and disabilities are always hard human issues.
We meet someone with lung cancer - what is our first thought?
I wonder what they did?
Were they smokers?
Drink too much soda out of aluminum cans?
Where did they work, were they exposed to asbestos?
We look for fault when we see illnesses or disabilities
The Jews were no different - we want easy answers to tough questions
What did the parents do that caused the chromosome issue?
2. We see a glimpse into the worldview of the disciples.
This guy was born blind - so was it his fault?
Did you know that the rabbi’s used to teach that a baby could sin while still in the womb?
21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”
24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.
26 Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a peaceful man, living in tents.
21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.
22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”
24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were twins in her womb.
25 Now the first came forth red, all over like a hairy garment; and they named him Esau.
26 Afterward his brother came forth with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
22 But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.
23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger.”
The Rabbi’s read this and saw sin in the boys fighting and kicking their mother as they wrestled in Rebekah’s wombs.
So when the disciples saw the man blind from birth there were only two options.
1. It was his parents sin that caused him to be blind.
2. It was his fault for sinning while in utero.
Look at Jesus’ response
3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.
Jesus doesn’t blame the parents nor does He blame the man
His blindness was so that the works of God might be displayed in him
Think about that - suffering so that God’s work might be shown
Have you ever wondered if your suffering was for the glory of God?
Have you ever wondered if the trial you are going through is so that God can work through you
What do you think the blind man thought when he heard, neither he nor his parents caused his blindness, but that he was blind so that the works of God could be shown through him.
Change #1
Change #1 - Jesus Changes Your Worldview
The disciples were looking to blame someone for the man’s blindness
Jesus changes their worldview - his blindness was for God’s glory - not because of sin.
John 9:4
4 “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.
Jesus was looking at the cross - as long as He is here He needed to work - but once the cross happened, no one can work.
Have you lost someone you loved dearly
You can’t work
You can’t think
You can’t breathe
A time was coming when Jesus would hang on the cross and there was darkness and no one could work.
John 9:5
5 “While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”
Jesus is about to bring light to a dark world in the life of the blindman
Again we hear Jesus say, “I am the Light of the world.”
When Jesus comes into your life - your whole life changes
You start working on your big sins when Jesus rescues you from your darkness
You finally feel a little hope again
Jesus shines His light on your dark heart and you finally feel forgiveness and a release from guilt and shame
He truly is the Light of the world.
John 9:6-7
6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and washed, and came back seeing.
There is a great application here for the church
When we see Jesus perform miracles like this we have to be careful that we are not doing things just because they worked in the past.
If you saw a blind man would you spit in the dirt and make mud and apply it like makeup to his eyes?
Why not?
It worked in the past.
I was not blind but I certainly needed glasses and I had the opportunity to get Lasiks.
I am happy we used Lasers and not mud to fix my eye sight
It’s true for the church too.
We look towards the past and think fondly of programs that once worked, but then times change
People change, the worldview changes - we too can get stuck putting mud on someones face because it worked in the past.
In seminary we were required to use sources and books that were written in the last 10 years for our papers. I asked Dr. Ames why didn’t we trust the works of those that were over 10 years old. This is what he told me.
Sources and books are like medicine. In medicine we stand on the shoulders of those that came before us. Medicine has advanced over the years. If you needed surgery, would you want today’s medicine, the civil war medicine, or the medieval medicine?
Obviously we would all say today’s medicine.
We can’t get so stuck in the past - that we fail to look forward
Change #2
Change #1 - Jesus Changes Your Worldview
Change #2 - Jesus Changes Your Eyes
Jesus can open our eyes to see the lost around us
We have the opportunity to have Jesus open our eyes and see those that need love, those that need help, those that need Jesus
John 9:8-12
8 Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?”
9 Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”
10 So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.”
12 They said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”
Change #3
Change #1 - Jesus Changes Your Worldview
Change #2 - Jesus Changes Your Eyes
Change #3 - Jesus Changes Your Life
Conclusion
From this point forward the man’s life was changed.
He no longer needed to beg
He no longer needed help to get to places
He no longer needed to rely on others
Jesus can and will change your whole life when you put your trust in him.
Let’s Pray