Transcript

Seeing With The Eyes of Faith

John 9:35-41
Sunday, June 8, 2003
Pastor Randy Smith

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Have you ever flown "stand-by?" "Stand-by" means that you are not assigned a seat on a plane, but after the plane has been boarded; the remaining seats are distributed to those who are waiting. This week I had the opportunity to fly "stand-by" for the first time. Though many had comforted me as to the relative ease of this procedure, my experience was not as smooth.

I knew I was in trouble when the check-in attendants refused to sell extra tickets, claiming that the flight was already full. My trouble was confirmed when I realized the priority list. Almost twenty people were waiting to fly "stand-by", and my name appeared third from the bottom. I thought to myself, there is no way I am going to get on this flight!

Fortunately some of the scheduled flyers failed to arrive, and the attendant began chipping away into those on the list. Seven individuals were immediately given tickets. It was two minutes before take-off, and there I was standing with a dozen or so anxious folks. The attendant said they could take ten more, but that number decreased by one each time an individual arrived out of breath after sprinting down the concourse, thinking they had missed their plane. The gates were closed and the final empty seats were issued to those waiting. My name wasn't read. I missed it by two!

All of a sudden, now past the departure time, a lady comes running off the ramp saying they can seat two more. A young woman and myself were hustled down the ramp. Our bags were taken from us and placed in the general cargo. I was standing in the plane! I made it! Or so I thought!

Within seconds, a guy from the back of the plane comes running up claiming the plane is full. Well, the young woman I was waiting with wasn't going to stand for that. Immediately she ducked around the flight attendant station and disappeared into the body of the plane down a different aisle. And boy, was I tempted to follow her, especially since my bag was now checked on that plane prepared to depart to Houston without me!

Within seconds another voice yelled from the back of the plane, "We have a seat for one more." Immediately about four flight attendants were looking up to the front of the plane. They were staring right at me. I kind of gave the indication, "Well, you must be talking to me." But one of the flight attendants said, "Wait, that girl was before you. What happened to her?" I said, "I don't know, I just saw her disappear around the corner about 30 seconds ago!" To her loss, I received the final seat as they whisked me to the last row of the airplane. It surely was a memorable experience. Last I heard Continental Airlines is still searching their baggage compartments for that young lady!

Our text this morning also deals with two people. However their predicament is much more important than getting a seat on a plane; it deals with getting a seat in heaven. Finding their name written in the Lamb's book of life.

By way of review, you'll remember two weeks ago we studied how Jesus healed a man blind from birth. We learned how Jesus preferred miracles of this sort because they best illustrated His ability to heal spiritual sight as well as physical (c.f. Lk. 4:18). Everything in the first seven verses of John 9 symbolizes how Jesus grants eyesight to those who are spiritually blind. He is the One "Sent" (verse 7) from God to be the "Light of the World" (verse 5) to open the eyes of people spiritually "blind from birth" (verse 1).

The man received his physical eyesight in verse 7 and his spiritual eyesight will be eventually restored in verse 35. But the intermediate 27 verses, which we covered last week, demonstrate the unbelief and blindness of the human heart. You'll recall that I categorized them into four spiritual eye disorders (spiritual cataracts, spiritual stargardts, spiritual myopia and spiritual hyperopia). The neighbors, the parents and the Pharisees demonstrated these disorders and could not see the glory of Christ and therefore express personal faith in Him.

But our seven verses this morning contrast this unbelief. Jesus once again enters the scene in verses 35-41. The former blind man reveals his spiritual eyes by trusting Christ, while the blind Pharisees reject Christ and receive the just recompense of judgment. In these verses we will once again see how Christ's coming results in a division between darkness and light, a theme John favors throughout his gospel.

1. FAITHFUL EYES (vs. 35-38)

Let's first examine the faithful eyes of the healed blind man. Verse 35, "Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

A question that I received from some of you this past week regarded the timing of this man's salvation. Based on his faith and his bold stance for Jesus (which we witnessed last week), many have been inclined to think that he was already saved at this point in the narrative. Though I would not be dogmatic on the timing, I do not believe he was saved until verse 35. The Bible does speak of a general conviction of sin against God without ever referring to salvation (Ex. 9:27-Pharoah; Mt. 27:4-Judas). Additionally, countless individuals have evangelized for Christ, advocated His Name and received persecution for His cause without ever being born again. Additionally, there is no indication until verse 35 that this man heard the gospel and put His faith in Christ. Romans 10:9 is clear, "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

However, though I don't believe he was saved, I do believe the Lord was preparing this man's heart in the previous verses for the salvation that would arrive in verse 35. I've seen this so often in the ministry. Some, at the mention of salvation in Christ resist the message with bitter hostility, while others seem so open and eager to receive the gospel. These individuals have a soft heart. They sense the need for forgiveness and are ready to cast themselves fully into the loving arms of Christ when they hear the gospel proclaimed. They are like a ripe tomato ready to be plucked from the vine. I believe the former blind man was in this category.

Jesus heard that he was booted from the synagogue (verse 34) because he boldly spoke in favor of Christ. Now in verse 35, Jesus begins to culminate the work He began earlier. He is about to demonstrate the spiritual reality to which the opening of his physical eyes pointed. He is about to bring salvation to this man's life.

To begin with, notice with me in verse 35, three components of true salvation.

First of all, true salvation results in a proper initiative. We have already mentioned the symbolism that this man was a spiritual "beggar" (verse 8), spiritually "blind from birth" (verse 1). The man showed no interest in Christ. In both healings, the Scriptures emphatically declare that Christ saw him (verse 1) and found him (verse 35). In both healings, Jesus took the initiative to seek this man out. After all this was His mission. Luke 19:10 says, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Just as physically blind eyes cannot see the Person of Christ, spiritually blind eyes cannot see the forgiveness offered by Christ. Just as physically blind eyes cannot see God's visible revelation, spiritually blind eyes cannot see God's invisible revelation. Just as the blind man had no capacity in himself to heal his physical eyes, the blind man had no capacity in himself to heal his spiritual eyes. 1 Pet. 2:9 says, "(God) called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light." Christ took the initiative to seek this man and then call Him out of darkness. True salvation always begins with a proper initiative, a divine initiative.

Second, true salvation results in a proper faith. By seeking us out and removing the scales that blind our spiritual eyes, we are then enabled to see Christ and express proper faith in Him. In verse 35, Jesus asked Him, "Do you believe?" The Greek verb translated "belief" (pisteuo) means to "rely upon," or "cling to" or "place confidence in." Jesus is asking the man if he has this kind of faith. When Jesus called this man to "believe," we was commanding a complete surrender, an unwavering allegiance, a total trust in His Person and work. Biblical belief is never adding Jesus to all that you have; rather it is forsaking all to have Jesus. True salvation also has a proper faith.

Third, true salvation has a proper object. Many people may have die-hard, sold-out, profound belief, but their belief is in vain because of the object in which they place their faith. You can believe all you want in Buddha or astrology or money or yourself or fill in the blank, and it won't get you even one inch closer to salvation. According to verses 35, the object of faith must be "the Son of Man."

This is a title quite often used of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, it was the favorite title that He used for Himself. Specifically, the apostle John often uses this designation for Jesus to refer to His role of judgment (5:27). Similarly in Luke's gospel, Jesus said, "And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God" (Lk. 12:8-9). Or how can we forget Mark's gospel when Jesus declared that the high priest would "see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming with the clouds of heaven" (Mk. 14:62).

The stage for salvation is set: the proper initiative, the proper faith and the proper object seem to be in place.

After being asked if he believes in the Son of Man, the former blind man logically asks in verse 36, "Who is He, Lord (kyrie-probably better translated 'sir'), that I may believe in Him?" Though he likely recognized Christ's voice, we must remember that this is the first time the man had ever seen Jesus. Additionally, he was probably unfamiliar with the term "Son of Man." Yet the man did trust the One who restored his sight and displays a readiness to follow Christ's lead, whatever that might be. It's interesting that the one who was as bold as a lion before the Pharisees, is now as meek as a lamb before the Messiah.

In verse 37 Jesus reveals the identity of the "Son of Man." "Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you'" (c.f. Jn. 4:26). The One who healed his sight and the One who compassionately took the time to speak with him was Himself, the "Son of Man."

The former blind man needed no further information. In verse 38 he answered Christ's question from verse 36 by immediately responding, "Lord, I believe." And obviously if Jesus is Lord, the climax of the man's belief ought to result in adoration. We see exactly that in verse 38 when it says, "He worshiped Him" (c.f. Jn. 20:28).

For 51 years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn't see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. "I never would have dreamed that yellow is so…yellow," he exclaimed. "I don't have the words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can't believe red. I can see the shape of the moon and I like nothing better than seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail and of course, sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is."

The former blind man in our account must have experienced a similar joy. But imagine the greater joy when his spiritual eyes were opened! "One thing I know, that though I was blind, now I see" (Jn. 9:25)!

Yesterday morning during men's discipleship we enjoyed fellowship with Al Plevier. As many of you know, Al experienced a chemical accident at work that left him permanently blind. Shortly after the accident, Al trusted Christ. In one way Al could say, "I saw, but now I am blind." But in another way Al could say, "I am blind, but now I see." Al will tell you that the trade of physical eyes for spiritual eyes was a joyous one!

Or consider the great Puritan, John Bunyan, who recalled his conversion. "Now indeed my chains fell off…I went home rejoicing in the grace and love of God…Oh, I thought, 'Christ,' 'Christ.' There is nothing but Christ before my eyes. I was now not only looking upon…the other benefits of Christ, such as His blood, burial or resurrection, separately but considering Him as a whole Christ, as the One in whom all these things and all other things, His virtues, relations, offices and operations, met together and that He sat on the right hand of God in heaven, too. It was glorious to me to see His exaltation and the value and prevalence of all His benefits…Ah, these blessed considerations and Scriptures…were made to sparkle before my eyes…so that I have cause to say, 'Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him according to His excellent greatness!" (Grace Abounding, pg. 114, 115)

We try, but even words cannot fully capture the joy we experience when Christ delivers us from the domain of darkness. With this in mind, it's interesting how the author of this gospel has slowly transitioned from the miracle itself to the identity of Jesus Christ. While the blind Pharisees' claim that Christ is a sinner (verse 24), the former blind man's insight into the person of Christ increases. In verse 11 he referred to Jesus as "the Man who is called Jesus." In verse 17 he referred to Jesus as a "Prophet." In verse 27 he referred to Jesus as a Leader with disciples. And finally here in verse 38 he referred to Jesus as "Lord." Miracles are not done to draw attention to themselves as those done by the so-called "miracle" workers of today. Miracles are done to validate and symbolize the work of Christ whereby people might come, like this man, to believe in His Name and bow to Him in worship.

A Pastor preaching on this text once commented, "We cannot but envy you, O happy man, who, the Lord's patient, was privileged to become his advocate; whose gaining physical sight made way for spiritual sight; who lost a synagogue but found heaven; who, abandoned by sinners, was welcomed by the Lord of Glory." (Dr. Robert S. Rayburn)

It's interesting that we no longer hear of the healed blind man again in the Scriptures. Isn't it appropriate that the Holy Spirit left Him after this marvelous account, worshipping His Savior?

2. FAITHLESS EYES (vs. 39-41)

In verses 35 to 38 we saw the effects that the Light of the World has on those who are prepared to receive it. Now in the final three verses of the chapter (the second point of the sermon) we will see the effects of the Light on those who have closed their eyes. Most likely this section begins with a private conversation with the former blind man, but is overheard by some nearby Pharisees who eventually enter the dialogue.

Verses 39, "And Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.'"

Many have cited the beginning of verse 39 as a clear contradiction in John's gospel. You will recall that Jesus said in 3:17 (c.f. 12:47), "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world" and now in 9:39 Jesus says, "For judgment I came into this world." Yet these apparent opposing statements are easily reconciled. The mission of Jesus was not to judge the world. Jesus was on a rescue mission to save the world from sin, darkness and damnation. However, Jesus came into a world that was judged already for turning their back on God. And when people now refuse the forgiveness offered in Christ, they are doubly judged: one for their outstanding sin and another for rejecting the love offering from God.

Christ's coming divides a judged world in half. Some place their faith in Christ to be set free from condemnation; others refuse Christ only to be confirmed in their condemnation. AW Pink summarized it well, "He judged no one, and yet He judged everyone." Earlier in the gospel, John summarized it best. "He who believes in Him is not judged; (but) he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (Jn. 3:18). There are no partial believers. There are no half-sighted Christians. There are only two groups of people in the world, the spiritually seeing and the spiritually blind, the forgiven and the judged, (or as John MacArthur says) the saints and the aint's.

These two poles are also clarified in verse 39 itself. First, Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see." Again, the purpose of Christ coming was to save (Lk. 19:10)! But saving some entails condemning others because their refusal to believe. Hence the remainder of verse 39, "And that those who see may become blind." In other words, those who think they have spiritual insight will be shown for the blind people that they really are. Their proud self-reliant spirit, their misguided religious opinion and their love for the darkness will be confirmed.

Overall, verse 39 is a summary statement of the events we have studied in chapter 9. The former blind man received spiritual sight, while the Pharisees were confirmed in their spiritual blindness. The irony is evident. The one who is considered cursed of God by the Pharisees is indeed blessed by God and the Pharisees who considered themselves blessed by God are the very ones who receive His judgment. In the end, the blind man sees and those who claim to have superior sight are shown to be blind.

The final two verses confirm this teaching. Verse 40, "Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, 'We are not blind too, are we?'"

I'm going to go out on a limb on this one, but I think these Pharisees may have been the ones who associated themselves with Christ. Maybe they were the ones who disagreed with the majority in the latter half of verse 16, causing the division in the party. Maybe this explains why they were so privy to the private conversation Jesus was having with the man. I believe this small band of Pharisees (possibly Nicodemus included) associated with Christ, but had not fully given themselves over to His lordship. They may even have distanced themselves from their Pharisaic traditions, but they did not see themselves as guilty sinners; men who were naked, needing to be clothed with Christ, men who were blind, needing spiritual eyes to see. Converting to the Christian religion means absolutely nothing if one relies on his own self-righteousness and tacks on Christ like a new hobby. Remember, salvation is a total reliance (the proper faith) in the Person and work of Christ (the proper object).

In verse 41 Jesus responded to these Pharisees who asked if they were blind. "Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.'"

In other words, in order for any person to have "no sin" they must come to Christ. For only Jesus Christ can remove sin by His shed blood on the cross. And the only way a person will come to Christ is if they humble themselves, cry out for Christ's illumination and confess their blindness. On the contrary, these Pharisees were too proud to say they were blind. Jesus declared them to be "Blind guides" (Mt. 15:14; 23: 16, 24), but they were too proud to admit it. They were self-righteous, independent, hard-hearted individuals. They believed they had already attained satisfaction in God's eyes by their own religious merit. Isaiah 5:21 says, "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight" (c.f. Pro. 26:12). Remember, "(Jesus did) not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Lk. 5:32).

Therefore those who confess to be blind come to Christ and have their sin removed. But those who claim to see have no need for a Savior and henceforth have sin that remains. And as we know, "The wages of sin is death" (Rom 6:23). That's frightening! Remaining, unatoned sin results in eternal separation from God! Those who reject Christ because of their own self-righteousness by claiming to already see are responsible and will be held accountable.

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus illustrates the difference between those who confess their blindness and need for God and those who think they see but in reality are spiritually blind. Listen for the one who is declared justified with all his sin removed. "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: 'God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Lk. 18:10-14).

In his wonderful book, The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis described a busload of folks who travel from hell to heaven. The roster of tourists has as many intellectuals as it does wicked heathens. We think of hell as the home for the immoral, but there will be many moral people in hell, as there will be many theologians, many religious individuals and many who claim to see without trusting Christ. Spurgeon once said, "It is not our littleness that hinders Christ; but our bigness. It is not our weakness that hinders Christ; it is our strength. It is not our darkness that hinders Christ; it is our supposed light that holds back His hand."

We've seen a lot in chapter 9. We've see divine sovereignty and human responsibility. We've seen belief and unbelief. We've seen Jesus worshipped and Jesus cursed. The Apostle John now leaves this drama squarely in our laps.

Gary Burge said it well. "As a reader I watch this drama unfold. However, the drama is working its magic on me as well. I too must choose. Will I believe the evidence of the miracle? Was this man blind from birth? Were these his parents? Will I decide that whoever can do such a miracle may come from God? Was Jesus a sinner? Does His Sabbath violation invalidate His claims? And will I choose to believe? What about the consequences? What about threats of persecution? I am invited to believe…The narrative of John 9 supplies me with what I need to properly identify Jesus. Titles for Jesus spill over each other, creating a catalogue for my study: Rabbi (9:2), Jesus (9:3), the light of the world (9:5), Sent (9:7), from God (9:16), prophet (9:17), Christ (9:22), Son of Man (9:35), Lord (9:38). Everything is here except the title Son of God (cf. 3:18, 5:25; also 10:36). Hence, there are two principle "loci" in the story that I can interpret and bring into my generation. (1) There is the experience of the blind man, and here I can draw a dramatic picture of his infirmity, his begging, his healing (physical and spiritual), and his expulsion from his synagogue. (2) I can explore the experience of Jesus' opponents-filled with questions aimed to hobble Jesus' good work, puffed up in their theological knowledge, and in the end are judged by the Lord. Each locus is placed before me and I am invited to participate in the story. John has crafted the story so that I am forced as the reader to make the same judgment as Jesus' audience. All the evidence of the miracle and Jesus' identity are here. Now will I believe-with the blind man-or will I ask antagonistic questions-with the leaders?" (NIV Application Commentary-John, pg. 278, 279)

I close chapter 9 with this question do you believe? And if so, is your belief evidenced in a life of worship? Is there a seat waiting for you in Heaven?