Now I See

0:00 Please turn to John chapter 9 in your Bibles. And if you're taking notes tonight, you can note down that the title of our message is going to be a couple of words that we see in our text, which is, Now I see. Now I see. Tonight we are going to be considering a very notable miracle of Christ. and certainly let's be clear every miracle of Christ is a notable miracle and Jesus did countless miracles actually in John 21 verse 25 one of the the closing verse actually of John's gospel account John throws this in there in case we thought that after reading 21 chapters of John that that was all that Jesus had done, John sets that record straight by saying, and there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

1:12 Amen. That is a statement. That is a profound statement. nonetheless the miracle that we will be focusing on tonight is one that every time I read it it really just tends to jump off the page to me really stands out to me and as you can likely tell based on the title of our message tonight we are going to be meditating upon the miracle of Jesus healing a blind man. But I would argue that there is so much more here in John chapter 9 to see than just the physical opening of this man's eyes. As we will see, we are also going to learn a lot about spiritual sight and spiritual blindness. And so, as we read God's word together, would you stand?

2:09 And I will confess, we are going to be standing for a few minutes here because we are going to study all of John chapter 9 tonight. 41 verses. I'll do the reading, but you can stand for roughly five minutes. I'll be standing up here for like an hour, you know, so you can bear it. Unless, of course, you're unable to, then please remain seated. But follow along with me in this incredible chapter of the Word of God. Now, as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

3:02 I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva. And he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And he said to him, go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which is translated scent. So he went and washed and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, Is not this he who sat and begged? Some said, This is he. Others said, He is like him. He said, I am he. Therefore they said to him, How were your eyes open? He answered and said, A man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.

4:06 So I went and washed, and I received my sight. Then they said to him, Where is he? He said, I do not know. They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, but by what means he now sees, we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age, ask him. He will speak for himself. His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that he was the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, he is of age, ask him. So again, they again called the man who was blind and said to him, give God the glory. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I know, that though I was blind,

6:11 now I see. Then they said to him again, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? Then they reviled him and said, you are his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses. As for this fellow, we do not know where he is from. The man answered and said to them, why this is a marvelous thing that you do not know where he is from. Yet he has opened my eyes. Now we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, he hears him. Since the world began, it has been unheard of that anyone open the eyes of one who was born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered and said to him, you were completely born in sins and you are teaching us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And when he had found him, he said to him, do you believe in the son of God? He answered and said, who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? And Jesus said to him, you have both seen him and it is he who is talking with you. Then he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him. And Jesus said, for judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.

7:49 Then some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him, are we blind also? Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, we see, therefore your sin remains. Father God, speak through your word tonight by the power of the Holy Spirit. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. tonight you can note down that where we're starting in verses 1 through 7 our first point is entitled seen by the Savior seen by the Savior Right off the bat, here in the very first verse of our text tonight, we can already observe some pretty amazing things. For context sake, Jesus has just escaped being stoned by the religious leaders because just before this, at the end of John chapter 8, he had just plainly declared himself to be God. In John 8, 58 and 59, Jesus said to them, most assuredly I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.

9:05 That is a claim of divinity. Then they took up stones to throw at him. But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by. And verse 1 of our text tonight mentions that as Jesus is passing by, he observes a blind man. And this blind man, you can imagine him kind of sprawled out, leaning against a wall, raggedy clothing, an outcast, begging those who were passing by him. He was a blind beggar, we read later on.

9:52 We're told of this blind beggar, some details. Firstly, that he was a man. And I don't bring that up to really emphasize his gender necessarily, but rather his age. We're not told how old he was, but the word that is used is man, not boy. So this is a mature man. but due to the fact that we later on read that his parents are alive and well, we can deduce that the blind man couldn't have been too old because his parents are still around but he wasn't too young. I think it's fair to say if we were to attach a range, a potential range, maybe 25 to 40, somewhere in that range is a fair guess. But an even more important detail to observe about him, wasn't that he was just blind, but that he had been blind since birth.

10:48 Can you imagine that? it wasn't that he used to be able to see, and then some sort of freak accident happened, head trauma, a foreign object or substance landing in his eye that made him blind. All he had ever known was blindness, darkness, and inability to see.

11:14 You know, if I were to become blind today, that would obviously be very tragic, and it would be hard. But with that being said, I've seen some pretty amazing things in my life. I can envision right now because I've seen the beautiful face of my wife and my daughter. And if I were to go blind, I'd still remember that, you know? Or sunsets at Laguna Beach.

11:43 Or the Grand Canyon. Or a night sky at Joshua Tree National Park. But imagine being born blind, never able to see anything such as what I just said. To say that this man's condition was sad, truly an understatement. And yet we must understand something very important about this blind man. this blind man is a typification of our spiritual condition. He represents us. As this man was blind and completely helpless, so we are spiritually. He depicts our fallen, sinful condition that we can all relate to. It's true of all of us.

12:38 Just like he was unable to do anything to fix himself, to fix his condition. So we are unable to do anything of ourselves to fix our sinful condition. but while it was true that this man could not see he was seen and the one who saw him was Jesus this word saw we could easily pass over it in reading this first verse that he saw a man but there's another depth it certainly means to be able to perceive with one's eyes to perceive with sight, but the extra layer to this Greek word is there is a meaning also in it that means to care for, to attend to, to notice. Jesus noticed him.

13:41 In Matthew 9, 36, this same word, saw, is used. We read here in Matthew 9, but when he, Jesus, saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep, having no shepherd. Something crucial about our Lord that we can never forget is that the one who others so easily pass by and don't notice,

14:18 Jesus does this. He stoops down and comes to them. He notices them. in verse 2 the disciples observe that the blind man has caught Jesus's attention and so they ask him a pretty obnoxious loaded question they say who sinned Jesus to cause this man's blindness did he sin did his parents sin that's a dangerous way of thinking by the way which is why Jesus sets them straight I hear verse 3 his correction of them almost as like he's saying neither him nor his parents you dopes you know like but I doubt he said it with that tone that's just you know me but he does go on to correct them he tells them this man's blindness had a purpose.

15:20 There was a purpose. A reason. And the reason was not rooted in this man's sin, though he was a sinner. This man's blindness was not rooted in the sin of his parents, though they were sinners. it was rooted in the opportunity for the glory and power of God to be revealed and on display.

15:49 His blindness was certainly not caused by God. but it was ordained by God and it would be used by God. in John 11 verse 4 we see a similar verse regarding the sickness that Lazarus had and it's a unique verse because you and I both know that Lazarus would go on to die but Jesus knew something we didn't in verse 4 when Jesus heard that he said this sickness is not unto death but for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Jesus knew that this sickness that Lazarus had was not going to be the end of the story. That God would get the last word and that God would be glorified.

16:43 And what if we adopted this way of thinking when it came to our trials? what if God would say to us regarding the difficult seasons that we often find ourselves navigating what if he would say you're not in this because you've done something against me you're not in this because I'm mad at you I want to let my glory and my power be revealed through your life I hear that and I'm like okay sign me up for that I'd love for the power and glory of God to be on display in my life but God does this in trials what a change of perspective this truly is what if God tonight has you in the crucible so that both you and others around you could see his hand at work?

17:50 In verses four and five, we go on to see Jesus speak to his disciples about his mission, his mission to accomplish the will and the works of the Father while it was still day. We read that. While it was still day, the day that Jesus had in mind was the time until his crucifixion. While he was still alive on the earth. Until that day would come, Jesus was utterly, fully committed to doing as much work for the Father. bringing as much glory to the father as he possibly could which was a lot he was always busy about the father's business.

18:47 And shouldn't we think the same way? That Lord, until the day, until my day is done, I'm going to bring you glory as much as I can. The day that you arrive at the end of your life, that I arrive at the end of my life, That's the end of your day, so to speak. Your life here on earth. Paul articulates this same logic, this same reasoning in Philippians 121. Short but powerful verse. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I'm going to live, I am living for Jesus. And I'm laying it all on the field, you know. I'm leaving nothing back, holding nothing back.

19:40 If I'm going to die, that's an upgrade. I get to go be with him. we move on to verse 7 following this interaction with his disciples Jesus then shifts his focus solely back to the blind man and our Lord goes on to do something that is quite extraordinary Jesus spits upon the dirt he forms a clay in his hands he takes the clay and he smears it on the eyes of the blind man and then he tells them, go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.

20:32 The Pool of Siloam, by the way, has an incredible history and symbolism to it even. It was originally built by King Hezekiah many years before this. It was located close to the temple and was used for purification for the Jews, specifically participating in the Feast of Tabernacles to purify themselves before participating. And in Jewish rabbinical teachings, this pool of Siloam was referred to oftentimes as the Messiah's pool.

21:09 Starting to make sense why Jesus did this exact thing and told him to go and wash in that exact pool. the man's response to Jesus, I would argue, is equally as extraordinary as what Jesus did. And what do I mean by that? I mean, we don't read of any questions, he asked Jesus. We don't read of any hesitations or anything like that. What does he do? He simply obeys Jesus. And from a place of faith, he navigates himself towards the pool of Siloam. And he washes himself. You know, in 2 Corinthians 5, 7, we read, we walk by faith, not by sight.

22:08 walking by faith and so after obeying Jesus no questions asked and going to the pool of Siloam and washing himself this blind man who had never seen a thing in his life his eyes are open and he can see clearly for the first time ever What a miracle, right? We move on to our second point, our second section, which you can note down. Scrutinized by the skeptics.

22:49 Scrutinized by the skeptics. first we saw seen by the Savior we go on to see that this man was scrutinized by the skeptics upon receiving his sight and returning from the pool of Siloam those who knew this man observe his new found condition that he can see now and their responses to seeing him there's astonishment and there is skepticism. The people who knew the man, they start to reason amongst themselves and they start asking each other, wait, isn't this the blind beggar that we all know? And some are saying, that's him.

23:40 Others are saying, no, it's just a guy who looks like him. It's his doppelganger. I've been told I have a doppelganger named Brock Purdy, the quarterback for the 49ers. Hey, he loves the Lord, and he's playing some pretty good football right now. But to be clear, I'm not a 49ers fan. Go Broncos. But, you know, I've seen pictures, and I'm like, okay, yeah, I see it. You know, I see what people are saying. All I'm saying is we've never been in the same room at the same time, you know. So is he a doppelganger? I'll let you wonder about that. But in all seriousness, the one thing about the formerly blind man is that he wasn't deaf. So he's hearing these people talking about him. Some are saying it's him. Some are saying, no, it's a guy who looks like him.

24:32 He's hearing this and he's like, it's me, guys. It is truly me. I have been miraculously transformed. and I will say that it's pretty much always the case that when God does a miraculous work of transformation in a person's life, there's going to be skeptics. There will be doubters. This was the case for the formerly blind beggar. don't be shocked if it's the case for you too.

25:10 Such was the case for Saul, the persecutor, who became, as we know, Paul the apostle. In Acts chapter 9, verses 10 through 18, this is after Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus, meeting Jesus.

25:30 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias. And to him the Lord said in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Here I am, Lord. So the Lord said to him, Arise and go to the street called Straight and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has the authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name. But the Lord said to him, go, for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way and entered the house and laying his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and he arose and was baptized. And then in verses 26 and 27, later on in the chapter. And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas, good old Barnabas, took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.

27:23 there may be doubters to your personal transformation. Just keep going. After realizing that it is indeed the same man that they all knew, the people, they ask him, how is it that you can now see? We've known you your whole life. We've known that you've been blind since birth. How can you see? This doesn't just happen. And in verse 11... he gives a pretty succinct version of the story, you know, a very guy version of the story, just necessary details, no extra details, you know. You fellas, you know what I'm talking about. When your wife is like, what else happened? I'm like, I don't remember.

28:19 You just remember the bare bones, you know, what you need to remember. Maybe that's just me, I don't know. But the people then, they want to know, they want to hear from him, where is this guy Jesus? And the man says, I don't know. We move on to our third section, our third point tonight, which is pressed by the pretenders. Pressed by the pretenders. You will see what I mean by that word pressed as we revisit some things in this section. And in terms of quantity, actually, the bulk of our text tonight is about this man's interaction with the Pharisees following his healing. And Jesus, throughout his ministry, I don't think you need me to tell you that he called them out. He didn't hold back.

29:16 He called them hypocrites to their face. and that word hypocrites, it means, it literally translates to mean a pretender. A pretender, one who is fake. the formerly blind man, he is brought to the religious leaders of Israel, and they are told of his healing. And in verse 14, there is a very key detail that is given. It was a Sabbath day that Jesus healed this man.

29:55 The Sabbath was commanded by God for his people to solemnly observe. This was to be taken very seriously. It was intended by God for his people to rest, not work, once a week, the seventh day. But the religious leaders had taken this commandment as they had done with so many commandments of God. They had twisted it. They had added to it. And they took it too far.

30:29 And I kind of love it. Jesus had a knack for healing people on the Sabbath, you know. Throughout the four gospel accounts, we read of seven distinct healings that he performed on Sabbath days. I think he did this intentionally to kind of ruffle their feathers, you know, to ruffle the feathers of the religious.

30:52 But the Pharisees, they begin to question this man. They begin their full court press on him by first asking, how did you receive your sight? And to this question, the man tells him exactly what happened, but he kind of gives them like a caveman version of it, you know? He's like, he, clay, ice, wash, sea, you know? You'll have to bear with me. I am a youth pastor, so. The Pharisees, they then deny that Jesus was from God due to the fact that he healed this man on the Sabbath. In their eyes, healing on the Sabbath was breaking the Sabbath. But they were wrong. Jesus in Luke 14, 1 through 6, another one of those seven healings on a Sabbath day.

31:49 we see here now it happened as he went into the house of one of the rulers of the pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath that they watched him closely they're looking for something you know and behold there was a certain man before him who had dropsy and jesus answering spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? But they kept silent and he took him and healed him and let him go. Then he answering them saying, which of you having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day? and they could not answer him regarding these things. Perfect.

32:44 In the second half of verse 16, in response to some of the Pharisees' wrong conclusion about Jesus not being from God, there are some who are there who chime in and say, how is it that a sinner could perform a miracle such as this? so there's some in the group saying he's a sinner and he's not from god and so they don't believe in the miracle and then there's another group a more logical group who are not so blind to the fact that a miracle has happened and they use what's called backwards reasoning to Thank you. logically deduce, this man is no longer blind. He used to be blind.

33:39 He's not blind anymore. So the man who healed him must be from God, not a sinner like he's being accused of being. So there's this deep division, even amongst themselves as to who Jesus is. That sounds about right. We sometimes forget that Jesus said he came to divide.

34:09 In Luke 12, 51 through 53, when's the last time you read these verses? Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all. but rather division. For from now on, five in one house will be divided, three against two and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Why? Because of Jesus.

34:49 Because not everybody, even your own family, is not going to love that you follow Jesus. After arguing amongst themselves, then they turn back to the formerly blind man. I love that we get to call him the formerly blind man now, you know? But then they ask him, what do you think about this guy Jesus that supposedly healed you? And the man says, well, he's a prophet.

35:21 And based on this man's later interaction with Jesus that we will see in detail, I don't think he is intentionally diminishing who Jesus is by calling him just a prophet. Rather, he said this because he didn't have the full picture of who Jesus was just yet, but he would have that full picture very soon. following this the pharisees they begin to doubt whether this man was even blind in the first place i mean anything they could do to get out of believing in jesus you know anyone like that that will look for any excuse not to believe we go on to see in verses 18 through 19 that in light of this they called the man's parents in they call them in to validate whether or not he's actually their son whether or not he has actually been born blind and they demand an explanation as to how he now sees so the parents come in and they validate this is our son and i can tell you 100 he has been blind since birth but they have no explanation as to how he saw and so the parents then say why don't you talk to him they direct the pressing pretenders back to their son telling the the pretenders the Pharisees. He's a grown man. Exactly. He can answer for himself. But their motive for doing so, their motive for directing the Pharisees back to him was actually self-preservation.

37:06 They knew that the religious leaders would excommunicate anyone who even hinted at believing that Jesus was the Christ. And so they don't want to say too much more. So they push it back onto their son. And the Pharisees, they resume their attack.

37:27 They demand of the man, give God the glory. Give God the honor for this. Recognize that God has done this. And what these guys failed to understand was that the man had already done that. He had already given God the glory by recognizing Jesus being the one who was responsible for his healing. But the Pharisees couldn't accept that.

38:03 It's tragic. on Wednesday nights in the junior high room, we've been going through the parables. There are several parables that are rebukes toward the Pharisees. And there was just so many moments that they could have changed, you know? And yet, we see them double down. They continue to beat the same drum, declaring Jesus to be a sinner, and therefore Jesus not being from God, and not capable of such things.

38:38 Well, it's at this point that we see the blind man utter some words that I would argue, it's my personal opinion, may be ranked with some of the most beautiful words to have ever left a human mouth. Words that even 2,000 years later still bless us when we read them. Talking about verse 25. and he starts by saying hey whether he's a sinner or not i don't know i'm not sure you guys want me to say he is i can't say that there's one thing this man knew for certain. One thing he was assured of. I used to be blind, but now I see. I used to be blind, but now I see.

39:35 And when you think about it, is this not the testimony of every Christian? You see, though we were blind, through Christ we now see. We see that here in John 9, verse 25. Though we were lost, through Christ we have been found. We see that in Luke 15, 6, amongst other places. Though we were separated from God through Christ, we are now near to God. Ephesians 2.13 Though we were enemies of God through Christ, we are now children of God. Romans 5.10, 1 John 3.1 Though we were dead through Christ, we are now alive.

40:33 Ephesians 2.1 Though we were filthy through Christ, we are now clean. Spotless. And that's all. But we could keep going on this, right? That though we were, now we are. We were all blind. We are all a bunch of formerly blind people. Who have been healed. Who have been enlightened. but you know i guess i'm making a general statement and i shouldn't do that because maybe tonight there are some in here who are still blind because you haven't come to christ what are you waiting for there was surely a lot that this man did not know no theological training of any sort no experience to fall back upon prior to his healing but one thing he knew jesus made him see but of course that's not enough for the pharisees they don't give up at that they continue to ask him about how jesus healed him And at this point, the man is like, what are you doing?

41:56 We've gone over this. Were you not listening? And he flips the script on them. It's awesome. He then questions them. he asked them do you want to become his disciples too and you know there's a little bit of holy sarcasm in there i'm pretty convinced of it and i love it this this question really sets them off though i mean they were already upset this really does it we read that they begin to revile him and that word revile is a nasty word It means to use foul and abusive language towards another person. That's what these religious, supposed to be tippity-top in terms of godliness, that's what they begin doing to this man, using foul and abusive language toward him.

42:58 and they deny in verse 28, they deny that they want to be Jesus's disciples. They say, no, we're not his disciples. We are Moses's disciples. But that actually wasn't true. As much as they thought it was, it wasn't true. they were not Moses' disciples like they thought they were because in John chapter 5 verses 45 through 47 Jesus already went over this with them do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father there is one who accuses you, Moses in whom you trust for if you believed Moses you would believe me for he wrote about me but if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words so blind they were so blind verses 30 through 33.

44:04 The formerly blind man, he goes on to give them a better sermon than anything they had ever preached. The man actually rebukes them. They were so wrapped up in not knowing where Jesus was from while ignoring the very fact that standing before them undeniable evidence was a man who was blind but now could see. and Jesus was responsible for it the formerly blind man he acknowledges their point about a sinner not being from God but he brings it back again to the miracle declaring that such a miracle could only be done by a man who's truly from God the Pharisees don't like that they're now on the defense and so they respond with what's known as an ad hominem which is when you're in a debate or an argument with someone and you're no longer talking about the topic of the debate or the conversation they begin to attack you personally your character what you look like where you're from the list goes on and on I think it was Charlie Kirk who once said that when you get them there you got them you have won that's what they start doing to this formerly blind man.

45:40 They say, you were born in sin. That was true, was it not? It's true. True of all of us. But the way that they say it shows that they didn't see themselves that way. They did not see themselves as born in sin.

46:02 And really, this is exhibit A of their pride and their self-righteousness. that Jesus so frequently condemned. They thought this man to be some sort of mega sinner that had no right to teach them, no right to say anything to them. But in reality, they should have really listened up.

46:27 The end of the interaction between the formerly blind man and the Pharisees, it ends with the Pharisees excommunicating him. They cast him out. But that's not the end of the chapter. We have one more point, one more section. Our fourth point tonight, found by a friend. Found by a friend. This is what we see in verses 35 through 41. And since I think we're doing okay on time, I'd love to just reread those verses specifically if your Bibles are still open. These won't be on the screen, but you can look down if you have a Bible tonight. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said to him, do you believe in the Son of God? He answered and said, who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? And Jesus said to him, you have both seen him, and it is he who is talking with you. Then he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped him. And Jesus said, for judgment, I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind. Then some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him, are we blind also? Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you'd have no sin. But now you say, we see. Therefore, your sin remains. In verse 35, Jesus hears of the man having been excommunicated from the synagogue. And so Jesus searches for this man. Jesus seeks him out.

48:08 Isn't that just like Jesus? To seek us out? To search for and find the one that others have cast out, oh, it's exactly like him. In Luke 19.10, we read that the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. To seek and to save. and regarding verse 35 I like what Dr. John MacArthur has to say when he says rejected by the religious leaders he was sought by the redeemer rejected by the religious leaders he was sought by the redeemer and of course Jesus ends up finding the man because those whom Jesus seeks he finds Let's get started.

49:02 in the second half of verse 35 upon finding the man Jesus asks him the most important question that anyone could ever be asked do you believe in the son of God and this man bless his heart he expresses a true willingness to believe he wants to he says who is he that I may believe in him, Lord.

49:36 And I wonder, I seriously wonder how many people are right under our nose, how many people that we know that are in this exact same spot, willing to believe, but need to be told who to believe in. You never know what God is doing on the back end in a person's life. you just never know when that time of harvest of their soul may be and that is why we must preach the gospel to all Jesus he reveals to the man that he is the son of God says you're looking at him buddy he doesn't say that but says you have seen him and it is he who is talking to you right now And this man, he responds with exuberant faith and declares Jesus as the Son of God.

50:39 And falls down and worships Him. So amazing. That word worship, it's a word we read in the Bible pretty often. Very unique Greek word though. It's the Greek word proskuneo. And yes, it means to worship. It means to bow down. But it is also the word to describe a dog licking the hand of its master.

51:11 I just think that's a beautiful way of picturing our worship to the Lord. If you have a dog, you know how much they love you, right? To love Jesus in that same, just, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you type of way. This man loved the Lord upon realizing that Jesus was the Son of God. And following this, Jesus gives a brief but incredibly important teaching about the essence of truly seeing and the essence of truly being blind.

51:48 Firstly, Jesus states his purpose for coming into the world was judgment. And on this verse, G. Campbell Morgan, he commentates saying, His statement that he had come to judge the world meant that he would be the separating one, the one through whom God would judge. And this makes sense when we consider Scripture such as John 5, 22 through 23. For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, that all should honor the son as they honor the father. He who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him. You know what this means? It means that what we say, what we believe about who Jesus is, is what judges us.

52:43 that will be what will judge us on the day of judgment. Jesus goes on to refer to those who do not see. He refers to a group of people that do not see, but are made to see. They don't see, but they are made to see. These people are just like the formerly blind beggar. fully aware of their blindness. but these people are made to see because they're humble enough to come to Christ and be enlightened and be saved. Whereas there is another group of people,

53:40 those who see, those who see that will be made blind. and these are they that are self-deceived into thinking that they have spiritual sight when in reality they are the blindest of all just like the pharisees and their blindness is not curable because they won't come to christ the only solution the only one who can enlighten them and open their eyes. And for this they will be judged. The Bible says in James chapter 4 verse 6 that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

54:32 And so apparently the Pharisees are standing nearby and they hear Jesus saying these things, giving this teaching, and they ask him, well, are we blind? And Jesus' response to them is so perfect because he tells them, understand this, if you were blind, I could make you see because I could forgive you.

55:06 I would forgive you of all your sin if you just acknowledge your need for me. This is exactly what Jesus does to the one who comes to him poor in spirit with an acknowledgement of their own spiritual bankruptcy. Jesus forgives that one. He gives grace to that one, the humble.

55:31 But because the Pharisees were unwilling to do that, Jesus rebukes them by saying that their sin remained because they thought they saw. they thought they saw and so their sin remained whereas the better option would be to say I don't see Jesus would you make me see F.F. Bruce he commentates on this verse saying to be so self deceived as to shut one's eyes to the light is a desperate state to be in the light is there but if people refuse to avail themselves of it but rather deliberately reject it how can they be enlightened as Jesus said their sin remains

56:22 and so I ask of you tonight can you see have your eyes been opened there's only one who can open your eyes there's only one way to see and it is through believing on the Lord Jesus Christ coming to him he is the only one who can fix us he's the only one that can heal us of our spiritual blindness and I'm not talking down to anyone tonight because I join in with so many here saying I once was blind and then I came to Christ and now I see thinking you can see without Jesus, thinking you're going to heaven without Jesus.

57:28 It is self-deception. it's right where Satan wants you and I wonder how much of the world falls into this camp. I'm sure you've met people as I've met people when you ask them if they have faith in Jesus in any way. They say, oh yeah, me and the big guy upstairs, we're all good.

57:59 I don't know if I'd talk like that. when in reality they haven't come to Christ. They think they're all good with the Lord. and they're blind. I call out to you tonight. that if you are just humble enough to recognize your blindness, you are right where you should be. And the one who you need is seeking you, just as he sought this man,

58:43 just as Jesus noticed him, cared for him, loved him, so he notices you, cares for you, and loves you. Give him your life. Give him your heart. Repent and say, Lord, I realize tonight that I am a sinner. I am blind. And without you, I have no hope. no hope of heaven but that hope of heaven is in you, Jesus.

59:26 You can open my eyes, the eyes of my heart. if you have been enlightened by the Son of God, if you fall into the camp of a formerly blind man or formerly blind woman, I think the Lord would stir us up tonight to go, to go to the blind and tell them there's someone you should meet. his name is Jesus he is the Christ he is the son of God he is the way the truth and the life and he wants you in heaven with him the world needs this message the world needs this gospel will we take it to the ends of the earth and preach it that is the question Father we come to you tonight and Lord you have spoken through your word so clearly, Lord.

1:00:31 Lord, maybe there is, maybe it's a single person here tonight or watching online that you have, just as you did with Saul when the scales fell from his eyes. Lord, you're doing that in this moment. The Holy Spirit is working on this person, and they are realizing, I am blind. I thought I could see. I thought I was good with God but I've realized that I've never come to Christ friend call out to him right now the Bible says if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead you will be saved tell him what he already knows I'm a sinner I can't save myself but Jesus I have heard your gospel tonight I've heard what you've done for me I've heard that you went to the cross on my behalf to die in my place you shed your blood though you were innocent and I was guilty you hung on that cross when you had the power to get yourself off your blood was poured out and you said to telestai it's finished and then you breathed your last you accomplished the work of our redemption and then to prove your power and victory over sin and death you rose on the third day and Lord Jesus, tonight I put my faith in you.

1:02:30 I believe in you and I trust in you as my personal Lord and Savior, and I surrender my life to you. I repent of my sin. I turn from it all. and I ask that you'd help me to live that transformed life that is in you it's in Jesus name all God's people said