The Good Shepherd: Part 1

The Good Shepherd John 10:1-21

Introduction: If I began this message reciting a Scripture in Hebrew, it wouldn’t be very edifying to most of us! If I read the same verse in English, it’s a favorite verse that speaks about a God who knows us, loves us, and cares for us. We need to hear God in a language we understand! As the awesome, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent God of the Universe reveals himself to humans, He has spoken in Word and history in a way that we can understand. So He used figures of speech, metaphors that compare Him in some limited way to something that we can relate to. We’ve seen some of that with Jesus and the people in John: He said “I am the Bread of life... I am the living water… I am the Light of the world…” These are things from everyday life that resonate with people. Now in John 10 He uses the everyday picture of a shepherd and sheep and a sheepfold… And He says “I am the gate… the door to the sheepfold…” He says “I am the Good Shepherd…” As we look at this discourse in its context we get some clues that help us to know Him better. The movement from chapter 9 to 10 is direct. Jesus is illustrating in this discourse what had been made evident by the response to the miracle in Chapter 9 (see 10:21). The response to Him and His teaching reveals the heart of those who hear Him. In using the metaphor of “sheep” and a “Shepherd” Jesus is provoking the situation a little more, in one more way using language that would evoke in the mind of his hearers the God of the Old Testament. Psalm 80 begins,

“Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who dwell between the cherubim, shine forth! 2 Before Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, Stir up Your strength, And come and save us! 3 Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!”

Even more familiar to us is Psalm 23:1, “The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” The language is applied to the coming messiah as well, for example by the prophet Micah,

“And He shall stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To the ends of the earth; 5 And this One shall be peace” (Micah 5:4-5).

Against this background Jesus says, “I AM the Good Shepherd…”

The Big Idea: As a shepherd protects, guides, and cares for his sheep, so Jesus will take care of his own, showing the way to life and blessing.

I. Jesus is the Gate for the His sheep (John 10:1-10). Jesus tells a story, in the first part without getting very specific, about sheep and a shepherd, a gatekeeper, and a gate, and thieves and robbers. Whenever Jesus used language like this, he expected his hearers to identify with someone in the story. He doesn’t immediately identify the shepherd or explain the sheepfold and the gate. First we see that He is the only way into the place of security and peace (1-6). Jesus is contrasting himself and his ministry with the false teaching promote by the Pharisees. The one thing that is immediately very clear is that Jesus is speaking this to reveal something about himself as the One Way, but also pointing a finger back at the Pharisees, they are the thieves and robbers trying enter by another way, since they have failed to see the truth about Jesus. Jesus is both the true Shepherd, and the Way into the sheepfold. That gets more explicit in the next verse…

He alone is the Way to the abundant life of blessing (7-10).

He says in verse 7, “I am the door…” This is one more of the “I AM” statements in this Gospel, there will be another in just a few verses, “I AM the Good Shepherd.” As we have seen reading through John there is no accident in Jesus choosing this phrase to identify himself. 8:58 left no doubt for even the most skeptical reader as to what Jesus was claiming, any ambiguity was gone: “Before Abraham was, I AM…” I am what or who? The One who spoke to Moses out of the burning bush, the one who spoke through Isaiah the prophet, “I AM that I AM…” He was identifying himself with the God of the Covenants, The LORD of the Old Testament.

NB. Also that he says, “I AM the door…”

A door indicates a way in, an entrance, a gateway that allows access to some protected place. Jesus says “I am THE door...” He is not “a” door, as though there were many paths to God and the abundant life of blessing. There is only one way into the sheepfold, through Jesus. This is the kind of exclusivistic statement that He will make in 14:6, “I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father, except by Me….” This kind of language gets evangelicals like us in trouble with the world today. “You mean to say that you think only born again Christians are going to heaven? Isn’t that arrogant?” Actually its about as humble as you can get—because we are saying that we can do nothing to earn God’s favor—it is by grace alone that we are saved. As a shepherd protects, guides, and cares for his sheep, so Jesus will take care of his own, after all He is the way, the only way, to life and blessing.

II. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who would graciously sacrifice Himself for the good of His sheep (11-15).

Jesus has contrasted himself with “thieves and robbers” and now shifts the imagery a bit: He is the “Good Shepherd,” the One who lays down his life for the sheep, in contrast to mere “hired hands.” Now this image goes farther than a shepherd typically would go. A typical, devoted shepherd might fight to protect his flock, he might even put himself in danger in the process, but he would not, willingly at least, lay down his life for the sheep. But that is just what Jesus did; going that much farther than anyone could be reasonably expected to go. He gave His life, as a substitute for his sheep. He is also not saying that he is a good shepherd, but that He is THE Good Shepherd. The One and Only. In light of the words of the prophets concerning God as the Shepherd of Israel, there can only be One who would merit this title: God alone. The great I AM. As the shepherd who protects, guides, and cares for his sheep, even more, who laid down his life for His sheep, we can trust Jesus, He will take care of his own, showing us the way to life and blessing.

III. Jesus is God’s Son, who came to fulfill His Father’s plan (16-18).

Some “world views” don’t give adequate place to the sovereignty of God. It is as though He is a great and powerful being who we can call on for help from time to time, but ultimately His plan is dependent on our choices. The Bible gives a different perspective. History really is His Story. Notice that the Father’s plan included all nations: “I have other sheep that are not of this fold…” From the beginning God was interested in all of humanity. He chose Israel for two specific reasons: 1) to them would be entrusted the oracles of God. And 2) through them would come the Messiah, the savior of the world. But it was God’s plan that the chosen Seed of Abraham would be a blessing to all the nations. And so Jesus commissioned His disciples to bring His message to all the nations. The plan included Jesus’ death and his resurrection. “I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. What a statement! This is akin to what he says at the graveside of Lazarus: “I AM the resurrection and the life…” Its possible for a person to choose to lay down their life for another. But if you give your life, you can’t take it up again. Only One could do that. He is again making a claim that only God could make. Who is this man who would call himself God? Either He is who He claimed to be, or he was insane, or a pathological liar. Liar, Lunatic, or Lord? His death and resurrection according to His prediction vindicated His identity. That’s why He came, to fulfill the Father’s plan, and as a shepherd he protects, guides, and cares for his sheep, and will take care of his own, showing the way to life and blessing.

IV. Jesus is the Great Divide(r) (19-21).

As we consider this story and the claims of Jesus, we come face to face with the question once again that is at the heart of this Gospel: Who is this man who said he was God? What will you do with Jesus? Again we see the two-fold response, the division, that Jesus brings. Men either come to the light or stay in the darkness. They are either God’s children or the devils. They either are His sheep, or they are not. They either hear His voice or are deaf, blind, and dead. There is no kinda, maybe, a little bit, more or less saved people. People today are trying to undercut the Gospel, saying that God is love, that means He will finally let everyone into heaven. That kind of thinking makes a mockery of the Cross. John says it plainly: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:36). We see the extreme reaction of some of the leaders: “He has a demon and is insane.” If Jesus wasn’t who He claimed to be to call him a lunatic might be one reasonable conclusion. But He is who He claimed to be, God the Son, the Great I AM, the promised One. The reasonable response to the evidence might start with the questions raised in verse 21: “But others said, "These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" He spoke only good, exemplifying Grace and Truth, He did things that only God himself could do.

What is God saying to me in this passage?

He said, “I AM the Gate, God and the Way to God, I AM the Good Shepherd, the One who protects, guides, and cares for his sheep, showing the way to life and blessing. That’s the Truth, He is the Truth, how will you respond to Him?

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

Have you heard the shepherd’s voice and come? Do you recognize His voice as He speaks to you in His Word? Do you acknowledge His presence in the midst of the crises of life, protecting you, watching out for you? Have you decided to follow Him, obediently, reverently, worshipfully?

Dad, the family Teacher

Dad, the Family Teacher Proverbs 3:1-12

Introduction: At the wedding a couple of weeks ago, someone was trying to empathize with me in light of the “empty nest.” He inquired, “Do you have a dog or a cat?” I replied, “No, only sheep…” Last year on Father’s day we considered “Dad the Family Shepherd.” Our next chapter in John deals with Jesus as the “Good Shepherd.” We understand the metaphor of “shepherd” being applied to pastors and elders as seek to lead and care for the members of a local church, yet its also true that men, as they have been given the responsibility to care for, protect, and lead their family also fulfill the “shepherding” role at that level. I decided to focus today one aspect of what Dad, as the family shepherd should do. Shepherds protect the sheep, and lead the sheep. Another thing he does is feed the sheep. Of course beyond the physical need to put food on the table, that refers to feeding spiritually as well. So, in one sense, Dad is also called to be the family teacher. This idea is not only for those who have the spiritual gift of “teaching.” Our responsibility to teach the next generation was “built into” the Old Testament and New Testament alike. In Deuteronomy 6:6,7 says, “These words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children…” Similarly we read in Eph 6:4, “…fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath but bring them up in training and admonition of the Lord.” Obviously this isn’t referring just to teaching by “word” but also to the example we set by our lives. One of the phrases I would often hear from my parents was “do as I say, not as I do.” The biblical model is that we teach by word and example. Proverbs 3 begins with a series of those fundamental lessons we need to impart to our children. Notice who the writer is addressing in 3:1, “My son…” And then again in 3:11 he says “My son…” Those two phrases bracket this section and tie it together as a series of admonitions, from a God fearing father to his child, calling his son to live rightly, in accordance with God’s Word. Big Idea: A godly father accepts his God-given responsibility to teach his children, by word and example the way of the Lord. A Godly father teaches his children to allow God’s Word to shape them into people of integrity and faith who humbly honor God and learn from His loving correction.

I. A Godly Father Teaches his children to cherish the Word (1-2).

“My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands...” First of all, Solomon is not urging his son to obey his personal, arbitrary rules. The words here are deliberate, “Law” is the word torah and command is the word mitzvah (we know the phrase “Bar-mitzvah”, “son of the commandment’). These are the terms consistently used for God’s teaching and His commands. Because he himself has embraced and internalized God’s Word, since he has received personally the commands and law of the Lord, it is “his command” and “his law.” We do the same thing when we say, “My Bible tells me…” The translations vary a little, the idea is “take it to heart…” A godly father is himself in the process of internalizing the Word, God’s Law, and he also teaches his children to cherish the Word of God. **Spurgeon said, “A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” He also said, “The key to victory is “It is written…” This is more than just knowing what the Bible says… it means, as Paul said to the Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom…” *Lincoln said, “I believe the Bible is the best gift that God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book. I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go.” This may be convicting to us, since it has rightly been said that you cannot impart what you do not possess. Is God’s Word the final rule for faith and practice in your life? Have you embraced it for what it is, have you responded to it as from the mouth of God? Our attitude toward the word is reflected in our lives constantly… One of the things we pray for, as we are praying for revival, is that we would have a hunger for the Word, that we would “Long for the pure milk of the word that we might grow there by…” A godly father accepts his God-given responsibility to teach his children, by word and example the way of the Lord. He teaches his children to allow God’s Word to shape them into people of integrity and faith who humbly honor God and learn from His loving correction. It starts with the Word. Someone said, “This book will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from this book…” Right thinking will lead to right living.

II. A Godly Father Trains his children to embrace integrity (3-4).

“Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck …” This verse is closely connected with vv.1 and 2, and I wondered if the writer is still talking about the Word, since it is “Truth” and reveals God’s “mercy,” and that would fit with the idea of “writing it on your heart.” There could be a double entendre here, but I think the emphasis is on the outworking of the Word in our life practically. These are characteristics, marks of integrity, that flow out of internalizing the Word of God. Someone said that “Fame is vapor, popularity is an accident, and money takes wings. The only thing that endures is character.” As followers of JC our character should be molded by the Word not the world. It’s always easier in theory. Like the pastor who got on a bus and paid the fare, and then noticed the driver had given him too much change. He rationalized and struggled as the bus ride went on – maybe God was supplying in an unexpected way. Finally he was so convicted he went up to the driver as he was getting off the bus and said, “Excuse me, you accidently gave me too much change.” The man replied, “It was no accident pastor, I was at your church on Sunday and heard your sermon about “honesty” and wanted to see if you practiced what you preach!” We have heard the Truth, and known the Truth, and been saved by the Truth, so we should speak the truth, in love. Its also true that we have experienced mercy (and grace!); and so of all people we should be the most merciful, the most gracious, the most forgiving. A godly teaches his children by word and example to allow God’s Word to shape them into people of integrity and faith who humbly honor God and learn from His loving correction.

III. A Godly Father Instructs his children to live by faith (5-6).

“Trust in the LORD…” Is our trust, our confidence and faith in the God who is, the great I AM, the God who speaks and reveals himself in human history and is always faithful to keep his promises? “Trust in the LORD with all your heart…” Whole hearted confidence on the God who is, the God of the covenants who chose to reveal himself to humans. The God who showed his love among us by sending his only Son into the world that we might live through him (I John 4:9). We need to believe God, to take Him at His Word. “The just shall live by faith.” “…and lean not on your own understanding…” We need to trust Him even when life doesn’t make sense from our limited human perspective. I was counseling someone this week who felt despair over the fact that life just doesn’t make sense at the moment, they couldn’t see what God was doing. The simple truth is that it won’t always make sense, but we can trust Father, He is good, He loves us, He is trustworthy. “…in all your ways acknowledge Him…” The Hebrew word here is yadah, lit. “…know Him…” It seems to be a call to recognize God and to see His hand at every moment and in every situation of life. If we do we’ll understand better our dependence upon Him, we’ll see more clearly that He is trustworthy. Have you had any “God sightings” this week? As we acknowledge his presence and lordship in our daily life, the promise is… “…He will direct your paths…” As we trust Him, we can know that “He will make our paths straight.” That’s a promise. A godly teaches his children by word and example to allow God’s Word to shape them into people of integrity and faith who humbly honor God and learn from His loving correction.

IV. A Godly Father Counsels his children to exemplify humility (7-8).

Proverbs 3:7-8 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil… The call is to see ourselves rightly. Philip Brooks said, “The true way to be humble is not to stoop until you are right smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that will show you what the real smallness of your greatness is.” It must begin with seeing God rightly. Calvin in his Institutes rights: “…man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty…” Isaiah 6, “Woe unto me, I am undone…” The more we know God, as He really is, the more clearly we’ll see ourselves. Paul asked the prideful Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive? If you received it, why do you boast?” If we understand grace we can’t be prideful, only thankful. A godly teaches his children by word and example to allow God’s Word to shape them into people of integrity and faith who humbly honor God and learn from His loving correction.

V. A Godly father conveys to his children the principle of stewardship (9-10).

“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over …” “Honor the Lord with your possessions…” Easier in theory than in practice? Pastor was talking to his farmer friend and asked, “Brother, if you had 100 horses, would you give me 50?” The farmer replied, “I sure would pastor!” The preacher asked “If you had 100 cows would you give me 50?” “Absolutely!” he said. The pastor then asked, “If you had 2 pigs, would you give me one?” The farmer answered, “Now cut that out Pastor you know I have two pigs!” Are we teaching our kids to honor God with all that we have? Are we showing generosity in our giving? And what about stewardship that honors God with the 90% that remains under our care? “And with the firstfruit of all your increase…” I like the story of the little girl was given $2 by her father, “One is for you to buy candy, the other is for the offering in Sunday School.” Skipping across the street she stumbled and fell, and one of the dollars drifted right down the storm drain. She looked at the dollar in her hand, glanced at the drain, then looked up and prayed, “Sorry Lord, there goes your dollar!” Does the Lord get our first fruits or our leftovers? Solomon thought this principle important enough to include in this list. What are we teaching our children? A godly teaches his children by word and example to allow God’s Word to shape them into people of integrity and faith who humbly honor God with their possession. He also teaches them to learn from His loving correction.

VI. Directs his children to learn from discipline (11-12).

“My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline and do not resent his rebuke, 12 because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” God doesn’t punish believers, but because He loves us, He will discipline us. Sometimes with the inward conviction of the Holy Spirit. Have you seen parents that with a stern look can stop a child that is pushing the limits? If we are attuned to the Spirit, and we sin, we’ll know it. If we ignore that God will sometimes allow things in our life to draw us back. C.S. Lewis said: “God whispers to us in our pleasure, speaks to us in our work, and shouts to us in our pain.” Discipline is not God’s wrath, but His love.

What is God saying to me in this passage?

Jesus was the Good Shepherd, the One who protected, guided, and fed his sheep flawlessly. As “family shepherds” Dads will fall short of that model, but that’s our goal. With respect to “feeding the sheep,” how are we doing? A Godly father will strive to fulfill his God-given responsibility to teach his children, by word and example the way of the Lord. He teaches them to allow God’s Word to shape them into people of integrity and faith who humbly honor God and learn from His loving correction.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

As we cherish the Word, embrace integrity, live by faith, exemplify humility, practice biblical stewardship, and learn from discipline, we are modeling those things for our children, setting an example that speaks louder than words. Let’s not be parents who say “Do as I say, not as I do.” Paul told his disciples, “Follow me as I follow Christ.”

"Seeing is Believing" John 9:35-41

Seeing is Believing: Or, Spiritual Blindness Exposed! John 9:35-41

Introduction: I have never been a big fan of roller coasters. I’ve reluctantly ridden a few in my life but I just don’t particularly enjoy having my stomach tied in knots while I’m trying to figure which way is up! I remember the first roller coaster I rode, as the car slowly chugged up the hill I started having second thoughts and started looking around for a way off… there was none! With my bad neck I don’t think I’ll ever ride on another one! Some of you probably love them, no problem. No one enjoys the dips, dives and flips we sometimes experience in life. The blind man in John 9 experienced the highest of highs—for the first time in his life, he saw! And then, the leaders of the synagogue descend on him, his pastors and elders, his community leaders, and he is given the “third degree.” As a result, just because he only spoke the truth about what had happened, he was finally evicted from the synagogue, the center of Jewish life and culture. Rejected by his religious leaders, effectively banned from the community center and “church”, and so he was separated from his friends, his community, maybe even his family. What had happened, and why? In the short paragraph we look at today at the end of John 9 the healed man is approached by his Healer. And he who received physical sight now comes into the full light, and now with 20/20 vision, recognizes Jesus—he come to know “the Light of the World.” The Big Idea: Spiritually speaking seeing is believing: it means recognizing who Jesus is and responding to Him in worship.

I. Seeing is believing: Open my eyes Lord, I want to see Jesus (35-39).

The Old Testament prophets used a lot of images to describe the future work of the coming Messiah—one is that he would come and “open the eyes of the blind.” In those prophecies as here, I think both physical and spiritual healing is in mind. For example we read in Isaiah 35:5-6,

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. 6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, And the tongue of the dumb sing. For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert.”

First, we see that “Spiritual sight results from divine initiative.” Just as Jesus “took notice” of the man initially, and called him and his plight to the attention of his disciples, now, after the healing, Jesus goes and finds the man again after he is cast out of the synagogue (v.35), “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him…” Remember the song “Amazing Grace,” “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” The man hadn’t been actively seeking healing (if he was, John doesn’t tell us about it). Unlike Bartimeus who had heard of Jesus and shouted for him as he passed by, this man was passively sitting there, waiting for alms from the passersby. After the healing there is no indication that he went looking for Jesus, but, Jesus found him. He had an even greater work to do, to open the man’s heart to the true and living God. Where were you when you met Jesus? Or rather, when He met you? Can you look back and recognize you were blind, and that He came to you, seeking you in your darkness? We also see here that “Spiritual sight is evidenced by faith” (v.35b-36). This is one of those “Chicken and the Egg” questions. We like to have our theology all worked out into a nice system—which comes first, life, the ability to see, or faith? The Calvinist says blind men can’t see and dead men can’t believe. The Arminian says faith is the response of seeing and believing the truth. “He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’ 36 He answered and said, ‘Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’" (I am going to get out it for now by saying John uses “faith” two ways, initial faith, which only happens when God works a miracle in the heart and mind, opening our understanding, and “continuing faith,” as we respond to his revelation, taking God at His word. We’ll dig into this question more in John 10). The healed man was ready. In dealing with the leaders he had “thought through” the implications of the sign that had been done. He could see the truth even if they couldn’t—God had to be in this! He lived his life in darkness—now the light was shining. And, to adapt the words of the Apostle Paul, the God who commanded the Light to shine out of the darkness, shined in his heart, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It’s also shown that “Spiritual sight recognizes Jesus” (v.37-38a). “And Jesus said to him, ‘You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.’ 38 Then he said, ‘Lord, I believe!’" The man had heard Jesus, but remember he was blind, and Jesus put mud in his eyes and sent him away—he had never seen Him, until now. ***Do you long to see Jesus?

The hymn writer Fanny Crosby wrote more than 8000 gospel songs. Although blinded as an infant she never held any bitterness in her heart because of it. Once a preacher remarked “I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when he showered so many other gifts upon you.” She replied quickly, “Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition it would have been that I should be born blind?” “Why?” asked the surprised clergyman. “Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my savior.” Some who are physically blind see more clearly than most of us!

Spiritual sight not only recognizes Jesus, but also responds to Him (“…and he worshipped Him…”) (v.38b). This is crucial to the point John is making: this man worshipped Jesus. John is writing his gospel to help us understand more fully and more correctly who Jesus is. The prolog of the gospel is almost shockingly abrupt in stating it at the outset, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Thomas finally gets it after seeing the resurrected Jesus, “My Lord and my God!” Only God is to be worshipped. The healed man recognized Jesus for who He really is, and responded to Him. Worship is our right response to the Lord, when we understand who he really is, when we sense something of his character, his holiness, his love… “Worship” means to “prostrate oneself, fall down before…” the One we worship. We respond to Him not only as the “famous One” but as our God. We love Him, adore Him, praise Him, give Him thanks for life, for salvation, for every good thing we experience. He is not just our friend, He is El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh, the Great I AM. He is the one Isaiah saw when he got a glimpse of his Majesty, the train of his robe filling the temple, the Serphim covering their faces singing Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God of Hosts. John says of Jesus, “we saw His glory.” I am going to ask you a personal question. It is a deep question that requires a thoughtful answer. Have you worshipped today? You might think, “Of course I’ve worshipped, I’m in church am I not?” Have you really recognized His presence and bowed your heart before Him? *** Spiritually speaking seeing is believing: it means recognizing who Jesus is and responding to Him in worship.

II. Blindness to the truth: Rejection of Jesus (39-41). The response of the religious leaders shows us the other side of the coin, the other effect of the Light shining in the darkess:

Jesus will expose Spiritual blindness and judge unbelief. John 9:39 “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." You can’t cure a blind man by turning up the light. The light was shining brightly—and the blind leaders still didn’t see. Their unbelief exposed their blindness. Spiritual blindness is refusal to see our need. John 9:40-41 “Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, ‘Are we blind also?’ 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.” John Calvin explained this passage beautifully: “He is blind who, aware of his own blindness, seeks a remedy to cure his disease. In this way the meaning will be, “If you would acknowledge your disease, it would not be altogether incurable; but now because you think that you are in perfect health, you continue in a desperate state.” When he says that they who are blind have no sin, this does not excuse ignorance, as if it were harmless, and were placed beyond the reach of condemnation. He only means that the disease may easily be cured, when it is truly felt; because, when a blind man is desirous to obtain deliverance, God is ready to assist him; but they who, insensible to their diseases, despise the grace of God, are incurable.” The Pharisees didn’t see their own need, they were blind leaders of the blind, and they didn’t even know it. Jesus is saying the first step toward seeing the Light of the World is recognizing the darkness of our own heart.

What is God saying to me in this passage?

Some of you have spent some time on some roller coasters—and I am not talking about amusement park rides. You’ve experienced blessing and success, but also heart break and pain… As disorienting as life can be at times, Jesus is the Rock, the firm foundation, the fortress, the comfort in a time of storm. Do you see him in the midst of the turmoil? Spiritually speaking seeing is believing: it means recognizing who Jesus is and responding to Him in worship.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

The miracles recorded in the Gospel of John are called “signs” because they point behind the act as a demonstration of power, to the miracle worker, and reveal something more about who He is. Here we are reminded that He is the Light of the World— Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:6, “For it is the God who [In the beginning…] commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Have you worshipped yet today? If Jesus walked down this aisle right now, what would you do? As he looked into your eyes, knowing that he knows you, and even so, loves you, how would you respond? The healed man worshipped Him, will you?

I SEE, SAID THE BLIND MAN

This manuscript is the fuller text of what I intended to preach on Sunday, due to the busy day it was abbreviated…

I SEE, SAID THE BLIND MAN John 9:5-34

Introduction: God gave us ten commandments, but honestly, we hardly get past the first before we are in trouble and fall short! Most sin amounts to some form of idolatry, that is, there is something that we set up and put in the place of God. Often, it is our minds, our “reason,” that usurps the place that belongs to Him. We think it is up to us to decide what is “reasonable” and therefore “true.” The miracle stories in the Bible make it clear that human reason is limited because our minds are corrupted, tainted by sin. That is one of the things that John is showing in his Gospel: the evidence was incontrovertible, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The miracles were clear and convincing proof that Jesus came from God and that He spoke the truth, therefore He was who He claimed to be. Yet repeatedly we see the religious leaders rejecting Him, blind to the evidence that was right before their eyes. The healing of the man born blind is the sixth miracle leading up to the cross and resurrection. The response to this sign is shown in greater detail, I believe intentionally; to give us an example of the kind of “investigation” that perhaps typically followed the reports of Jesus’ miracles. It is a story that really is a kind of “historical parable.” It shows the power of God working through Jesus as the man is healed. It also shows the contrasting responses to the “sign.” The healed man gradually is led to understand who Jesus is, and responds to Him in worship. The religious leaders have their minds made up—they will not believe, they cannot consider the possibility that Jesus is who He claimed to be. They are exposed as blind men, spiritually speaking. This story makes it clear that our mission cannot be simply the human attempt to disseminate the facts of the Gospel to as many people as possible (see Acts 1:8). Our mission has to be carried out in the power of the Spirit with the recognition that something supernatural needs to happen: People are blind and need God to open their eyes in order to believe. Light has come into the world, and… Big Idea: When our eyes are opened by God we see the truth & are led into greater light. Those who refuse to see are exposed as truly blind. The Setting (9:1-5; cf. 20:30,31): A man blind from birth: Why? It was neither sin from the parents or the man’s own sin, but the plan of God to reveal Himself in what He was about to do. The miracles were “signs” because they were revelation. Just as certainly as the words of Jesus revealed something about his identity, work, and will for humans, so did the miracles reveal His glory. Remember the words of John in chapter 1:14: “We have seen His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth… No man has seen God at any time, but the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known.”

I. The Revelation of the Light of the World: The Signs Jesus did revealed His identity (6-12).

The means: We see examples in the NT of Jesus laying on hands, sending people to the temple, healing from a distance, here, he makes clay and puts it on the man’s eyes, and, like Elisha and Naaman in 2 Kings 5, He sends him away to wash… Do you remember that story? Naaman, commander of the Syrian army contracted leprosy. He learned from a captive Israelite girl that there was a great prophet in Samaria named Elisha. So he was sent with a letter of introduction and a tremendous gift of silver and gold to Israel. Elisha sends word: go and wash seven times in the Jordan and you will be healed. At first Naaman was angry, I come all this way and you tell me to take a bath?—but finally he acquiesced and did as he was instructed, and he was healed. At some point the obedience required faith. This man has mud put in his eyes, and is told to go and wash—he believes Jesus enough to go do as he is told, and he is healed. A little faith led to the miracle. I don’t believe that the Bible teaches that if we have enough faith we can claim physical healing (in this life—ultimately God will heal as He will give us a new, glorified body!). Yet we are told to pray, including prayer for those with a physical need of healing. It seems that this healing was a “miraculous sign” intended to bring glory to God, to reveal to those who had eyes to see that Jesus is the Son of God. The message of this story and the message of this Gospel is a call to believe Jesus, a call to believe in Him as God the Son, our one and only Savior. *** When our eyes are opened by God we see the truth and are led into greater light. Those who refuse to see are exposed as truly blind.

II. Obstacles to the Faith: One obstacle is that humans are sinners blind to the truth (13-23)!

Light illuminates the way for those who will believe, it also exposes what is hidden in the darkness, our sin… o Unbelief and legalism (13-17). Another obstacle can be “religion” in the form of “legalism.” Legalism is contrary to the doctrines of God’s grace, yet we easily fall into the trap. Somehow we can forget that Christianity is all about a personal relationship with God, through faith in Jesus and his finished work. *Remember the story about the young pastor who discovered the roads were blocked and the only way he could get to church was skating on the river? The elders were angry that he would be such a bad example as to ice skate on a Sunday. Finally one asked, “Did you enjoy it?” “Not really,” he replied. “Well then, I guess it is ok.” The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath! o Unbelief and “peer pressure” (18-23). Another obstacle to faith is “peer pressure.” Most of us will admit that we like the approval and acceptance of people, the question is, how far are we willing to go to get it. The blind man’s parents knew that if they said anything favorable about Jesus it would mean excommunication—being thrown out of the synagogue. For them that would mean separation from friends, family, their community. It was a price they were unwilling to pay. We usually reserve the term “peer pressure” for teens because we remember what it was like in high school – everyone wants to fit in, to be accepted, to be popular. It doesn’t stop there… in the work place, among neighbors and acquaintances, to we try to “blend in” or are we willing, when it is appropriate, to say something about the Truth? We need boldness to speak the truth in love. *** When our eyes are opened by God we see the truth and are led into greater light. Those who refuse to see are exposed as truly blind.

III. Revelation and Reason: The “natural man” is unable to discern spiritual truth, but God is able to open our eyes to His truth (24-34).

Most often, when someone ways, “I don’t believe that God is like that…” or, “My God wouldn’t do that…” the God they are talking about is one they have fashioned in their own mind based on what seems “right” or “reasonable” to them. Should we base our understanding of God on our “reason” or on His revelation? The God who “is” has spoken. He has revealed Himself. In fact, He took upon Himself a human nature and walked for awhile among us. “Give God the glory!...” (v.24). Think about the irony of what they are saying. In the works of Jesus His glory is revealed, John 1:14b says, “…We have seen His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father…” Yet their minds and hearts are so hardened that they have decided that God would be glorified in denying Jesus, “We know this man is a sinner…” What the truth is, is that they had decided they would not believe, their idea of “religion” was so ingrained that they could not even consider the facts that were right before their eyes. The dialog here is almost comical as the man who was blind logically follows the implications of his healing, and he becomes the teacher. Read v.25, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: though I was blind, now I see.” Just the facts! He isn’t an expert, doesn’t have all the answers, but simply and in a straight forward way relates his experience. They can’t deal with the facts, John 9:26-27

“Then they said to him again, "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? Do you also want to become His disciples?"

The blind man sees their hearts, and he now, with maybe a little sarcasm [!], he becomes their teacher.

John 9:28-33 “Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. 29 "We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from." 30 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! 31 "Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 "Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 "If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."

Finally in V.34, The rulers can’t take it any more: How dare you teach us?! And they put him out. Who are the blind ones now?

What is God saying to me in this passage?

When our eyes are opened by God we see the truth and are led into greater light. Those who refuse to see are exposed as truly blind.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage?

Paul spoke of the coming of the Light of the World when he said, 2 Cor 4:6 “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Have you believed in the Light of World? It may be that as you are hearing the story of the healing of the blind man you have been feeling a tugging at your heart, you’ve been feeling a hopefulness that there is something real here, something you need, something you long for. The same God who spoke and created the universe may be shining his light on your heart at this very moment. Will you trust Him? It’s as simple as A.B.C… First, Admit that you are a sinner, because all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Believe that Jesus died for your sins on cross, that He was buried and raised again the third day. And then Confess Him as the saviour and Lord of your life. The Scripture says, if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It may be that you are a believer but you feel there is so much you don’t understand. Keep reading, praying, seeking… Light exposes our need, it also leads the way, so that we can experience the abundant life of blessing that God wants us to have. One of our men this week said he just discovered, in a new way, that God speaks to us in his Word. Hear Him today. Amen.