John 9
THE LIGHT AT WORK
LIFE OF CHRIST #36
The captain of
the ship looked into the dark night and saw faint lights in the distance.
Immediately he told his signalman to send a message: "Alter your course 10
degrees south." Promptly a return message was received: "Alter your
course 10 degrees north."
The captain was
angered; his command had been ignored. So he sent a second message: "Alter
your course 10 degrees south--I am the captain!" Soon another message was
received: "Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a seaman third class
Jones."
Immediately the
captain sent a third message, knowing the fear it would evoke: "Alter your
course 10 degrees south--I am a battleship." Then the reply came:
"Alter your course 10 degrees north--I am a lighthouse…"
Paul Aiello, Jr., Leadership, Vol. 4, no. 2, Bible
Illustrator 3.0
The light in that lighthouse was at work.
When you turn on a flashlight or light a lantern, the
light works to illumine a path or a camping area.
When you turn on a light switch the light works so you
can see in a room.
When the sun comes up in the morning it provides light
for us to see and warmth.
Jesus is the light of the world.
John 8:12 - Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I
am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
John 1:1-5 - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. [2] The same was in the beginning with God.
[3] All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that
was made. [4] In him was life; and the life was the light of men. [5] And the
light shineth in darkness; and the darkness
comprehended it not.
We continue our study in the life of Christ. Last week
we saw Jesus showing mercy on the woman who was taken in adultery. This week we find Jesus at work as the light
of the world. The light is at work.
It was after Jesus had shown mercy to the woman taken in
adultery that Jesus was still in
Vs. 1 – There was a man who was blind from birth.
Vs. 2 – Jesus’ disciples asked a theological question. Based on what they had been taught, they felt
that all illness was caused by someone’s sin.
So they wanted to know, whose sin was responsible for the
blindness. Was it something the blind
man had done, or was it the sin of the parents.
What is the source of all illness in the world?
It is sin! Death
did not enter into the world until after Adam and Eve had sinned. They were in a perfect environment. Therefore, sickness did not enter into the
world until after Adam and Eve had sinned.
So, all sickness is actually caused by sin.
And some sickness is caused by the sins of parents. For
instance the suffering of baby with AIDS might be caused by the sin of the
parents.
And some sickness is caused by our own sins. A person who habitually overeats, smokes or
abuses alcohol can bring about sickness to his body.
But as Jesus will indicate in the next verse, not all
sickness is caused by some specific sin.
Vs. 3 – God had a purpose for this man’s suffering. There was no specific sin that caused his
blindness.
The purpose of the sickness was that the works of God
would be revealed in him.
Beloved there are times when we suffer illness or other
problems so that the glory of God may be revealed in us!
Romans 5:3-5 - And not only so, but we glory in
tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh
patience; [4] And patience, experience; and
experience, hope: [5] And hope maketh not ashamed;
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is
given unto us.
James 1:2-4 - My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall
into divers temptations; [3] Knowing this, that the
trying of your faith worketh patience. [4] But let
patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing.
Vs. 4 – In the original language, the word “I” is “we”.
Jesus is saying to His disciples, “We must work the works of him that sent me.”
I feel that that the word “We” is still in effect today.
We must work the works of the Father. That’s what Jesus has given us to do.
John 14:12-14 - Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than
these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. [13] And whatsoever ye shall
ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
[14] If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
While we are alive it is “day”.
The night of death is coming when no man can work.
Whatever good you are going to accomplish must be
accomplished before you die. And you
don’t know when that will be.
Vs. 5 – At this point Jesus was still physically in the
world.
He was the light of the world.
And as light illumines, so did Jesus.
Question – Is Jesus still the light of the world?
Of course He is! How does He shine today?
He shines through His Word.
He shines through His Spirit.
He shines through us!
Matthew 5:14-16 - Ye are the light of the world. A city that
is set on an hill cannot be hid. [15] Neither do men
light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. [16] Let
your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in heaven.
Now we are going to see Jesus at work in the life of
this blind man. We see the Light at
work.
JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S EYES
JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S MIND
JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S HEART
JESUS GAVE
LIGHT TO THE MAN’S EYES - Vss. 6-12
Vs. 6-7 – Why did Jesus make mud, put it on the blind
man’s eyes and tell him to go wash?
Couldn’t he have just spoken a word or touched Him and achieved the
same?
Of course he could have!
We do not know for sure why Jesus did it this way. Perhaps he was testing the blind man’s faith
as God did with a certain leper named Naaman. Naaman was told to wash himself
in the
Whatever the reason, Jesus is God, and can go about the
healing process anyway He sees fit!
The blind man went to the Pool of Siloam and washed.
It wasn’t long before he was back and seeing.
Vss. 8-9 – The man caused an immediate stir. People who are
blind often look blind. They look different.
He looked different because he was no longer blind.
Some asked if this was the man who used to sit and beg.
Some said, “Yep, that’s him!”
Others said, “Nope, he just looks like him.”
The former blind man left no doubts.
He said, “I’m him!”
Vss. 10-12 – Of course, the people asked the obvious question,
“What happened!”
The man answered them by telling of the man named Jesus who
had made clay, put it on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of
Siloam.
They wanted to know where Jesus was. The blind man didn’t know. Jesus had left.
And remember that the blind man hadn’t seen Jesus as yet.
Jesus still gives light to the blind today.
When a sinner comes to the point of being convicted of
his sin and of his need for help, Jesus is opening blind eyes through His
Spirit.
John 16:8-11 - And when he is come, he will reprove the
world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: [9] Of
sin, because they believe not on me; [10] Of righteousness, because I go to my
Father, and ye see me no more; [11] Of judgment, because the prince of this
world is judged.
When you and I as Christians see things which we hadn’t
seen before, we are being given Jesus’ light through the Holy Spirit.
When you and I as Christians walk in His light, we will
deal with sin in our lives.
1 John 1:5-7 - This then is the message which we have heard
of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at
all. [6] If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we
lie, and do not the truth: [7] But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his
Son cleanseth us from all sin.
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S EYES
JESUS GAVE
LIGHT TO THE MAN’S MIND – Vss. 13-34
Vs. 13 – Evidently some Pharisees had been appointed to have
jurisdiction over certain religious matters.
The man was taken to them.
Vs. 14 – Here is the issue. Jesus had done this healing on the
Sabbath day. The Pharisees considered it
a violation of the Sabbath to heal someone who is sick.
Many rules and regulations concerning the Sabbath had
been added to God’s law. It was man’s
law, not God’s that Jesus had violated.
Vss. 15-16 – The former blind man told what happened and there was
an immediate debate over the Lord Jesus.
Some said, “This man is not from God. He broke the Sabbath!”
Others said, “How can a sinner do miracles like this?”
Vs. 17 – They asked the opinion of the blind man. His eyes were opened enough for him to see
that Jesus was at least a prophet.
Vss. 18-22 – The Jews were not ready to concede that Jesus had
worked a miracle. They were thinking
that maybe it was a hoax.
So they brought in the man’s parents. They asked
questions.
“Is this your son?”
“Was he born blind?”
“How is it that he now sees?”
The parents answered.
“Yes, this is our son.”
“Yes, he can now see.”
“But we don’t know how it happened.”
(They lied because they did not want to be
excommunicated from the synagogue.)
“Our son is of legal age. Ask him!”
Vs. 24 – They brought the man who had been blind back into the
proceedings.
They told him to give God the praise for the healing. “Don’t
give credit to Jesus because we know that He’s a sinner!”
Vs. 25 – The man was not about to debate whether Jesus was a
sinner was not.
But no matter what they said about Jesus, the man knew
one thing, “Once I was blind, but now I see.”
Vs. 26 – They were still looking for a way to discredit Jesus,
so they asked him again what happened.
Vs. 27 – I think the man was being sarcastic. “You’re asking
me so much about Him. Do you want to be
his disciples?”
Vs. 28-29 – That set the Pharisees off.
“You’re his disciple. We’re the disciples of Moses. We
know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t where this guy came from.”
Vss. 30-33 – Now we see how completely Jesus had opened this man’s
mind.
“This man’s opened my eyes, and you don’t know where He
came from! That’s amazing.”
“We know that God doesn’t hear sinners.” He was right, according to Psalm 66:18.
“Since the beginning of the world, such a miracle hasn’t
been performed. If this man wasn’t from
God, He couldn’t do this or anything else.”
Jesus had given light to this man’s mind.
And let me tell you, when our minds grasp the things of
God as this man did, it is because Jesus, the light of the world, has given
light to our minds through his Spirit.
1 Corinthians 2:15-16 - But he that is spiritual judgeth
all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. [16] For who hath known the
mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
Vs. 34 – The Pharisees were so incensed at the man that they
excommunicated him from the synagogue.
Remember, when we have light from Christ in our minds,
we are not always going to be accepted or popular.
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S EYES
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S MIND
JESUS GAVE
LIGHT TO THE MAN’S HEART – Vss. 35-39
Vs. 35 – I’m sure the man was hurting and confused. He had received a great miracle, and instead
of the religious leaders rejoicing with him, they persecuted him and
excommunicated Him.
When Jesus heard what had happened, He found him.
And when we hurt Jesus will find us.
The man was ready for a heart decision.
Jesus had given light to his eyes.
Jesus had given light to his mind.
Now it was the heart’s turn.
When we come to Christ for salvation:
Jesus opens our eyes to see our sin.
Jesus opens our minds to understand what Christ has done
for us in His death, burial, and resurrection.
Jesus opens our hearts to faith.
Jesus asked him:
“Do you believe on the “Son of God”.
Vs. 36 – “Show me who it is Lord, that
I may believe on Him.”
Vs. 37 – “The one talking to you is this person.”
Vs. 38 – He believed and worshipped.
Whenever a person believes it is because Jesus, through
His Spirit, has opened His heart.
We have no capacity to believe except by God’s help.
John 3:3 - Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the
John 3:6-7 - That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. [7] Marvel not that I said unto
thee, Ye must be born again.
Ephesians 2:1 - And you hath he quickened, who were dead in
trespasses and sins;
My friend, perhaps Jesus is talking to you this morning.
Perhaps he is showing you that you need to place your
faith in Christ alone as your Savior. Perhaps he is giving light to your
heart! If so place your faith and trust
in Him right now.
And Christian anytime you are at a point of making a
right decision to do the right thing, I believe that Jesus, through his Spirit
is giving light to your heart.
John 16:13 - Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth…
Make sure that when the Lord gives light to your heart
that you are obedient.
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S EYES
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S MIND
JESUS GAVE LIGHT
TO THE MAN’S HEART
He will give you light as well if you ask.