Transcript

The Diagnosis of Spiritual Eye Disorders

John 9:8-34
Sunday, June 1, 2003
Pastor Randy Smith

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I must confess that I struggled this week to prepare a sermon from the middle verses of John chapter 9. Last week we had the joyous account of Jesus miraculously opening a man's physical eyes. Next week we have even a greater account of Jesus miraculously opening a man's spiritual eyes. You'll remember the former (physical) miracle was intended to illustrate the latter (spiritual) miracle. However this week, in the middle, verses 8-34, we have 27 verses, two-thirds of the chapter that deal with the greatest sin known to man, the sin of unbelief. I found myself continually asking why the Holy Spirit would devote such an enormous portion to such a disappointing and depressing theme.

However, as we have seen, this theme transcends chapter 9; it runs throughout the entire gospel. In chapter 2 many believed in Jesus, but He was "not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men" (Jn. 2:23). In chapter 6, "Many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore" (Jn. 6:66). In chapter 7 we read, "For not even His brothers were believing in Him" (Jn. 7:5). In chapter 8 the many who believed in Jesus soon heard Him say, "You are of your father the devil" (Jn. 8:44). Fourteen verses later we read of these people seeking to kill Jesus. Eleven chapters later they succeeded (so they thought).

It's ironic, the One who proclaimed to be "the truth" (Jn. 14:6) has come into this world and countless people throughout history have called Him a liar, despite the irrefutable evidence that backs up His claims. For example, the account this morning comes on the heels of Jesus restoring the eyesight of a man congenitally blind. In 8:46 Jesus Himself encapsulated it well when He said, "But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me."

How can we account for such unbelief? Well, the human heart apart from Christ is sick. It's depraved. It's spiritually blind. As we will see next week, the human heart is totally dependent to be illuminated by the One who claimed in this chapter to be the "Light of the World" (Jn. 9:5). Therefore, in anticipation of our text this morning, I believe the Spirit of God desires us to be forever reminded of God's great mercy which opened our eyes to spiritual realities and enabled us to call upon Him for salvation. In John 15:6 Jesus declared, "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit." Jesus found us. He enabled us to overcome unbelief. He shined His light in the confines of darkness that we preferred. Because of His amazing grace and not our own human intuition, we are in Christ Jesus. Before we echoed the crowd, "Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" in our own way. Now we echo the blind man from chapter 9. "One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see" (Jn. 9:25).

So this morning as we prepare our hearts for the Lord's Supper, I would like to exposit verses 8-34, by diagnosing four categories of unbelief, explained in the vocabulary of spiritual blindness. They are: Spiritual Cataracts (vs. 8-13), Spiritual Stargardts (vs. 14-17), Spiritual Myopia (vs. 18-23) and Spiritual Hyperopia (vs. 24-34). I have structured these conditions around the four interrogations mentioned in this section. If last week's sermon fell under the topic of divine sovereignty, this week's sermon falls under the topic of human responsibility.

1. SPIRITUAL CATARACTS (verses 8-13)

Let's begin. I have chosen to call the first condition spiritual cataracts. In other words, there is a form of unbelief that is demonstrated by an inability to clearly see the situation as God would desire, a clouding of the spiritual eyesight.

Beginning in verse 8. "Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, 'Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?' Others were saying, 'This is he,' still others were saying, 'No, but he is like him.' He kept saying, 'I am the one.' So they were saying to him, 'How then were your eyes opened?' He answered, 'The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.' They said to him, 'Where is He?' He said, 'I do not know.' They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind."

Our minds cannot even fathom the excitement this man must have experienced when he began to see for the first time in his life. Naturally, you'd expect him to share this miracle with those whom he loved the most. And naturally, you'd expect those who knew him best to be the most impacted by the miracle. After all, they knew he was blind from birth. They witnessed him begging for years outside the temple. They likely were personally acquainted with the man. And now the blind man they knew so well was able to see. Surely they would praise Jesus, right?

An indisputable miracle was wrought before their very eyes, but their spiritual cataracts of unbelief failed to see the hand of God. In verse 10 they want to know "how" the event happened without any concern for "who" performed the miracle. You see unbelief has no problem with religion (especially the participation in miracles) providing the religion does not call for sacrificial acts of faith or for one to be identified with Jesus.

In verse 9, their cataracts went so far as to prevent some from even believing this was the same man despite his continual plea, "I am the one." All the man could do in verse 11 was give an honest and succinct account of what took place despite the unbelief. He shared his testimony. "He answered, 'The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash;' so I went away and washed, and I received sight.'"

Though I do not believe this formally blind man was saved at this point in the narrative, I do see tremendous signs of a spiritually sensitive heart. I see this uneducated and irreligious man express more faith than the astute, self-proclaimed religious people of his day. I see a willingness to take the name of Jesus upon his lips when so many were highly offended by Him. I see a boldness to speak the truth amidst much opposition. I see a humility to give Jesus the glory. I see a rock-solid faith with the minimal spiritual light he had been given. I see a soft and cultivated heart prepared to humbly bow to the Lord of glory for salvation. Come to think about it, I sadly see more faith in this man than from many who claim to be Christians.

The people of Jerusalem probably did not know what to make of this man. But when they heard his testimony, they were left without further comment. Our testimony is always our greatest testimony because people can't deny changes that have occurred in our life. At their wits end, verse 13 says that they brought him to the Pharisees. Possibly this was to seek spiritual assistance, for the Pharisees were the trained experts and final authority in such matters that pertained to religious issues. Possibly there was more malice involved. Maybe the citizens knew that confessing Christ resulted in one being put out of the synagogue (vs. 22), so they went to the Pharisees to "tattle" on the man. Maybe the light of this man's testimony offended the citizens, living in spiritual darkness themselves. Maybe they knew the easy way to silence Him was to report him to the proper authorities.

Either way, verses 8-13 display the spiritual cataracts. A genuine miracle was performed supported by a legitimate witness, and we observe the clouded vision of unbelief.

2. SPIRITUAL STARGARDTS (verses 14-17)

The second eye disorder that results in unbelief is spiritual Stargardts. Physically speaking, Stargardt's Disorder is characterized by a reduction of the central vision with a preservation of the peripheral vision. Doctors tell us that patients suffering from Stargardts also experience an abnormal intolerance for the light.

In the same way, the unbelief of spiritual Stargardts prevents one from seeing the reality of Christ while being consumed with peripheral interests that have no biblical merit or eternal significance. The reason? Such people hate the light. They prefer the darkness lest their disease be revealed

Beginning in verse 14. "Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, 'He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.' Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, 'This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.' But others were saying, 'How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?' And there was a division among them. So they said to the blind man again, 'What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?' And he said, 'He is a prophet'" (Jn. 9:14-17).

In his second interrogation, the formally blind man is now in the hands of the Pharisees. The Pharisees already hated Jesus. They saw Him as a threat to all that they stood for. The sooner they could remove Him from the public eye, the better. No doubt in this case they thought their opportunity was golden. The apostle John makes it clear for the reader in verse 14 that Jesus healed this man on the Sabbath.

You see the Pharisees elevated their oral law to the status of the divine written law. According to the Torah, the law of God, Jesus did not violate the Fourth Commandment by failing to honor the Sabbath. We know from the Scriptures that He perfectly kept the law of God. However, the Jews in seeking to define violations of the Sabbath from man's perspective added certain stipulations that carried the weight (in their mind) of Scriptural mandates. For example, healing was considered a work. Therefore one could not be healed on the Sabbath unless one's life was in danger. And even then, enough treatment could be given only to keep the individual alive, but not improve his or her condition. Additionally, one could not knead on the Sabbath. When Jesus made the clay which He applied to the man's eyes from the spit and dirt, such a product required kneading. Therefore based upon these interpretations, Jesus violated the law. Based upon the Scriptures, Jesus worked within the law, and I believe intentionally went out of His way to confront these man-made regulations head on by His actions on the Sabbath.

Nevertheless, the Pharisees suffered from Stargardt's Disorder. They were focused on the peripheral (man-made regulations), totally blind to the matter staring them right in the eyes (God in the flesh). Their logic went as follows: We know our oral law is correct. Our oral law is on par with Scripture. Jesus violated our oral law by working on the Sabbath. Therefore Jesus is a law-breaker. Conclusion: Jesus cannot be sent from God as His special messenger because He intentionally violates God's law. Hence verse 16, "Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, 'This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.'"

Spiritual Stargardt's always starts with a false standard. Eventually that false standard, that peripheral issue becomes the cornerstone of belief causing one to love the darkness and reject the true light of Jesus Christ, even if Jesus is standing face-to-face and all the evidence points in His favor.

The captain of the Titanic demonstrated such unbelief. He began with the false standard that his ship was unsinkable. Historians tell us that it wasn't until he was ankle deep in water in the mailroom that he acknowledged that his ship was in trouble. Only then he admitted that his unsinkable ship was going to sink. Unfortunately, it was too late.

In the same way, countless souls because of their pride refuse to abandon their false standards before it is too late. They bank their eternal salvation on peripheral issues such as: God is too loving to send anybody to hell, or God doesn't exist, or God knows I am a good person, or I prayed the "sinner's prayer" when I was 10. When people get so locked into peripheral issues, a revelation of the truth often results in hostility.

Every human being must do something with Jesus Christ. His life, His claims, His sacrifice and His resurrection parallel no other religious figure in history. But unfortunately, as you will recall, Stargardt's Disease hates the light. Stargardt's Disease refuses to run to the Light of the World and prefers to place its belief in the peripheral issues of spiritual darkness. It focuses on the dark shadows and ignores the substance.

3. SPIRITUAL MYOPIA (verses 18-23)

The third seeing disorder that results in unbelief is spiritual myopia. Myopia is commonly referred to as shortsightedness or near-sightedness. What this means is that an individual suffering from myopia can't see things far away.

In the spiritual sense this translates to an inability to recall distant events, possibly due to fear or denial or a simple lack of faith. It's like the Israelites in the desert. Miracle after miracle after miracle, but the moment they are confronted with a trial they forgot God's faithfulness in the past and wanted to return to Egypt. They were myopic. They could only see events as they stood before their very eyes of unbelief. In this third interrogation, spiritual myopia is diagnosed in the Pharisees and the parents of the formally blind man.

Beginning in verse 18. "The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them, saying, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?' His parents answered them and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.' His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him'" (Jn. 9:18-23).

Let's first begin with the Pharisees. Since they were getting nowhere with the son, they sent him out and began to target his parents. They believed that the son could have lied about his former blindness or at least been mistaken to believe he was blind from birth. If either of these could be proved, the man's testimony about Jesus would have been worthless. So as a last hope, the parents were summoned by the Pharisees to verify the facts, to basically tell the Pharisees what they wanted to hear.

The spiritually myopic Pharisees had failed to consider all that they had already seen. But they were not interested in the truth. They were not even interested in the man. They were only concerned about supporting their already drawn conclusions of unbelief. The facts were irrefutable, but their myopic eyesight could only see the false and biased premise concerning Jesus that was right before their eyes. They were desperate for one shred of evidence that would support their conclusion about Jesus.

The two questions addressed to the parents in verse 19 were very straightforward. First, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind?" And second, "Then how does he now see?"

Based on their response, the parents were also as myopic as the Pharisees. To the first question they responded (in verse 20), "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind." They knew such a response would hardly get them in trouble. However, to the second question they responded (in verse 21), "But how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself."

Even though they might have been absent during the miracle itself, I find it hard to believe that they were unaware of these events that miraculously transformed their son. Yet these parents show no excitement in their son's healing. They demonstrate no gratitude toward the One who healed him. They take absolutely no stand for Jesus. They don't even speak the truth. On the other hand, as complete cowards, they deferred to their son who was old enough to bear his own witness (meaning he was at least 13).

You say how can these parents demonstrate such heartless unbelief? The answer is that they were spiritually myopic. They too could not see all of the surrounding evidence. They too were overwhelmed with the one fact that was standing before their face. Verse 22 clearly spells out what was positioned before their eyes and blocking that which was much more significant. "His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue."

The unbelief of the Pharisees and the parents resulted from spiritual myopia. They were so caught-up with the one tree they missed the forest. Both parties were so consumed with an up-close, pressing issue that they failed to see all the surrounding evidence that should have inspired faith in Jesus Christ.

4. SPIRITUAL HYPEROPIA (verses 24-34)

In the first interrogation between the neighbors and the man we witnessed spiritual cataracts. In the second interrogation between the Pharisees and the man we witnessed spiritual Stargardts. In the third interrogation between the Pharisees and the parents we witnessed spiritual myopia. And now, in the fourth interrogation between the Pharisees and the man we will witness spiritual hyperopia.

Hyperopia is the opposite of myopia. Those battling myopia can't see things far away. Those battling hyperopia (or farsightedness) can't see things up close.

A comical dialogue helps illustrate the point. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night, Holmes wakes Watson. "Watson, look up at the stars and tell me what you deduce." Watson says, "I see millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it's quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life." Holmes replied, "Watson, you clown, somebody stole our tent!"

The spiritual sense is no different. Unbelief is often demonstrated even when the facts are right before our eyes, but we refuse to believe the truth often due to a prideful and egocentric spirit. We get focused on the stars when the roof over our head is missing. We get consumed with the distant issues that bear no weight of spiritual significance.

Time restricts me from a detailed explanation of verses 24-34, but I wish to briefly point out the spiritual farsightedness of the Pharisees. Carefully observe in this dialogue how their prideful preconceived notions blinded them to the reality right before their eyes. Contrast their comments with the former blind man, humbly open to the evidence at hand.

The Pharisees (verse 24), "Give glory to God (in other words, tell the truth-Josh. 7:19 or possibly, give credit where credit is due) we know (confident assertion) that this man is a sinner." Unbelief! The former blind man (verse 25), "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see." Belief! The Pharisees (verse 26), "So they said to him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes? Unbelief! The former blind man (verse 27), "I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?" Belief! The Pharisees (verses 28-29), "They reviled him and said, 'You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man (once again (vs. 16, 24, 29) they can't bring themselves to even say His name! Especially since His name means "Yahweh saves."), we do not know where He is from.'" Unbelief! The former blind man (verses 30-33), "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing. Belief!

By this point the hard-hearted, willfully blind, spiritually farsighted Pharisees heard all they could take. The facts were undeniable. Their only response was to stoop to the lowest level of argumentation. Verse 34, "They answered him, 'You were born entirely in sins (c.f. verse 2), and are you teaching us?' So they put him out."

As we will see next week, the formally blind man will demonstrate the ultimate belief by placing his faith in Christ. But for now, he was willing to hold his ground, unlike his parents (vs. 22), even if it meant persecution for the cause of Christ. And lest we minimize this man's stand for what he saw and believed, excommunication from the synagogue was tantamount to being cut off from the social and religious life of Israel. I believe at this point the Pharisees had ironically condemned this man to eternal judgment

The story is told about a Coloradoan who moved to Texas and built a house with a large picture window from which he could view hundreds of miles of rangeland. "The only problem" he said, "there's nothing to see." He missed the beauty right before his eyes. About the same time, a Texan moved to Colorado and built a house with a large picture window overlooking the Rockies. "The only problem is I can't see anything," he said. "The mountains are in the way." He too missed the beauty right before his very eyes. Just like the Pharisees, people have a way of missing the revelation of God that stands right before them. They need to examine the testimony of Christ, follow their conscience and contemplate the general revelation of creation. They need to realize God is standing right before their very eyes. Unfortunately, many suffer from spiritual hyperopia, which locks them in a state of unbelief.

Spiritual cataracts, Stargardts, myopia and hyperopia: All of these lead to spiritual unbelief, which leads one to reject Jesus Christ and persecute His followers.

My friend let me ask you, do you have a spiritual eye disorder? Is there anything preventing you as it did the neighbors or the parents or the Pharisees from seeing Christ? If so, pray that the Lord would give you spiritual glasses to help you clearly see His glory. Maybe right now He's performing laser eye surgery; maybe He's opening your previously blind eyes. If so, you put your faith in Christ today!

And for those of you in Christ Jesus, I have two questions of application. First, are you thankful for His mercy on your behalf? Are you grateful to be delivered from the spiritual domain of darkness? Are you appreciative of the spiritual eyesight that has given you abundant life? Second, are there any elements of unbelief that you need to repent of? Is there any portion of God's Word that you are not obeying whole-heartedly? If so, you are dealing with a lack of faith. In speaking to believers about godliness, the apostle Peter in his second epistle said, "For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins" (2 Pet. 1:9). Based upon this verse, these two points of application are closely related.

Let's go before God considering these comments as we prepare our hearts for Communion.