1 00:00:00,166 --> 00:00:01,533 our music ministry. 2 00:00:01,566 --> 00:00:04,033 They do such a great job. 3 00:00:04,099 --> 00:00:07,333 We're very blessed to have such talented 4 00:00:07,333 --> 00:00:09,066 musicians. 5 00:00:10,033 --> 00:00:13,166 You have your Bibles, or you can look upon the 6 00:00:13,166 --> 00:00:16,000 screen, Gospel of John. 7 00:00:16,566 --> 00:00:20,600 Chapter 9, and 8 00:00:20,600 --> 00:00:21,733 verse number 35. 9 00:00:23,100 --> 00:00:27,300 And before we round this chapter, out 10 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:30,366 today, since it's been a minute, 11 00:00:30,366 --> 00:00:33,899 since we've been here, I want to give you the condensed review 12 00:00:33,899 --> 00:00:37,333 of where we have been in 13 00:00:37,333 --> 00:00:40,333 this encounter between Jesus and the 14 00:00:40,333 --> 00:00:42,566 blind, the man born blind. 15 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:46,266 Remember that Jesus, now, 16 00:00:46,266 --> 00:00:50,766 is just a few months away from the cross, maybe six. 17 00:00:50,899 --> 00:00:52,866 He's in Jerusalem. 18 00:00:53,966 --> 00:00:58,033 And after he claimed to 19 00:00:58,033 --> 00:01:01,633 the Pharisees that he is, 20 00:01:01,633 --> 00:01:05,366 I am the name of God, 21 00:01:05,366 --> 00:01:07,700 What did they do? 22 00:01:07,766 --> 00:01:11,833 Well, they picked up rocks to stone him to death. 23 00:01:12,599 --> 00:01:15,833 But somehow we don't get the details, he 24 00:01:15,866 --> 00:01:17,733 disappeared from their midst. 25 00:01:19,166 --> 00:01:22,400 As he passes through the temple gates, 26 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:25,500 then after that, he comes across 27 00:01:25,500 --> 00:01:28,500 a man, 28 00:01:28,500 --> 00:01:31,666 who is not only blind, but this man has 29 00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:33,133 been blind from birth. 30 00:01:33,200 --> 00:01:36,333 He's never seen anything in his entire life, 31 00:01:36,333 --> 00:01:39,433 which is just really staggering to just 32 00:01:39,433 --> 00:01:40,799 think about that thought for a moment. 33 00:01:41,833 --> 00:01:45,733 And the man, of course, is at the gate, and he's begging. 34 00:01:45,799 --> 00:01:49,400 It's the only way that he could get money 35 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,400 for food, because he was an outcast in Jewish 36 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,466 society, and Jesus 37 00:01:55,466 --> 00:01:58,766 heals this man, 38 00:01:58,766 --> 00:02:02,000 of his blindness, by literally creating 39 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:04,099 new eyeballs for the man. 40 00:02:05,233 --> 00:02:08,066 He is immediately able to see. 41 00:02:09,666 --> 00:02:12,800 And his neighbors, the people who saw 42 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:15,900 him every day, the people who watched him grow up, 43 00:02:15,900 --> 00:02:18,900 are trying to figure out 44 00:02:18,900 --> 00:02:21,900 how, in 45 00:02:21,900 --> 00:02:25,066 the world, could this have 46 00:02:25,099 --> 00:02:26,166 possibly happened? 47 00:02:27,666 --> 00:02:29,833 And they interrogated him. 48 00:02:31,266 --> 00:02:34,400 And then he's 49 00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,833 brought to the Pharisees, who 50 00:02:37,833 --> 00:02:41,266 are the religious leaders, and, of course, OK, 51 00:02:41,300 --> 00:02:44,599 they're supposed to render some type of explanation for this, 52 00:02:44,599 --> 00:02:47,666 and as we've been studying, they, of course, 53 00:02:47,666 --> 00:02:51,099 have already had their verdict in place, 54 00:02:51,099 --> 00:02:54,800 even before they start the questioning, 55 00:02:54,800 --> 00:02:56,900 because they believe that Jesus 56 00:02:58,166 --> 00:03:02,433 is an insane demon possessed impostor. 57 00:03:02,599 --> 00:03:05,300 They've already made that verdict long ago. 58 00:03:05,766 --> 00:03:08,166 So he can't be from God. 59 00:03:09,599 --> 00:03:13,866 And with that conclusion, they 60 00:03:13,866 --> 00:03:15,366 reject the testimony of the man. 61 00:03:16,566 --> 00:03:19,866 They reject the testimony of 62 00:03:19,866 --> 00:03:23,766 the neighbors who had known this man all of his life. 63 00:03:23,833 --> 00:03:25,699 They knew he was blind when he was a little kid. 64 00:03:28,766 --> 00:03:32,699 And eventually, the 65 00:03:32,699 --> 00:03:36,000 religious leaders end up throwing the man, who 66 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:40,333 can clearly now be out of the building. 67 00:03:41,699 --> 00:03:45,233 And when they do that, even 68 00:03:45,266 --> 00:03:49,233 more than when he was a blind beggar at the gate, out of the life of Israel completely. 69 00:03:50,666 --> 00:03:54,133 He's already been an outcast, because 70 00:03:54,133 --> 00:03:57,866 in their view, if you remember, we went through this, anybody 71 00:03:57,866 --> 00:04:01,166 born blind was cursed by God, 72 00:04:01,166 --> 00:04:04,500 either for their sin or for the sins of their parents, that 73 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:06,766 was the Jewish religious leader's view. 74 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:13,066 And then his own family is embarrassed by him. 75 00:04:14,066 --> 00:04:16,533 They show up to the scene. 76 00:04:16,566 --> 00:04:17,466 Do you remember? 77 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:19,699 And they throw him under the bus? 78 00:04:20,100 --> 00:04:22,066 To protect themselves. 79 00:04:22,466 --> 00:04:24,100 Think about it. 80 00:04:24,133 --> 00:04:27,433 If they had any love whatsoever 81 00:04:27,433 --> 00:04:30,500 for their blind son, he 82 00:04:30,500 --> 00:04:32,433 wouldn't have been a beggar in the first place, right? 83 00:04:33,666 --> 00:04:35,899 They would have cared for him. 84 00:04:37,166 --> 00:04:40,500 That's why I said last time, these are 85 00:04:40,500 --> 00:04:42,833 some really lame parents for this guy. 86 00:04:43,333 --> 00:04:46,566 So this is a man who 87 00:04:46,566 --> 00:04:50,333 has been completely rejected by 88 00:04:50,366 --> 00:04:53,533 everyone, and now, all 89 00:04:53,533 --> 00:04:57,199 of a sudden, he can see, everybody knows it. 90 00:04:57,899 --> 00:05:01,800 And he is struggling to 91 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,866 get people to accept what happened to him. 92 00:05:04,933 --> 00:05:07,633 But everybody can see that it did happen to him. 93 00:05:08,466 --> 00:05:11,466 Those who, where his 94 00:05:11,466 --> 00:05:12,600 neighbors can see it, 95 00:05:14,666 --> 00:05:17,899 they can't explain it, the Pharisees see 96 00:05:17,899 --> 00:05:20,899 it, but they refuse to see it 97 00:05:20,899 --> 00:05:23,899 for what it is, and even his own parents 98 00:05:23,899 --> 00:05:26,899 treat him with disdain. 99 00:05:27,366 --> 00:05:30,366 And finally, when the interrogation is 100 00:05:30,366 --> 00:05:32,933 over, look in verse 34. 101 00:05:33,500 --> 00:05:36,500 Here are the Pharisees' last words to him. 102 00:05:37,699 --> 00:05:42,066 You were born entirely 103 00:05:42,066 --> 00:05:45,533 in sins, and are you teaching us? 104 00:05:45,866 --> 00:05:48,633 So they put him out? 105 00:05:50,300 --> 00:05:53,899 They reject Jesus, they 106 00:05:53,899 --> 00:05:56,966 reject the man, and they 107 00:05:56,966 --> 00:06:00,800 reject the clear, obvious to see miracle. 108 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:03,899 Now, Jesus is 109 00:06:03,899 --> 00:06:05,333 not there, right at this point. 110 00:06:05,533 --> 00:06:07,566 He healed the man. 111 00:06:07,633 --> 00:06:09,800 He fades on out of the story. 112 00:06:09,899 --> 00:06:14,233 The Pharisees throw the man out, but 113 00:06:14,233 --> 00:06:17,766 Jesus comes back into the scene, starting in verse 35. 114 00:06:18,300 --> 00:06:21,366 And this is going to be our text for today. 115 00:06:21,866 --> 00:06:25,399 35 through 41. 116 00:06:25,699 --> 00:06:28,100 Let's read and pick it up there in 35. 117 00:06:28,199 --> 00:06:31,866 Jesus heard that they had put him out. 118 00:06:32,399 --> 00:06:35,699 And finding him, he 119 00:06:35,699 --> 00:06:39,666 said, Do you believe in the son of man? 120 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,266 He answered, Who is he, Lord? 121 00:06:42,266 --> 00:06:44,233 that I may believe in him. 122 00:06:44,399 --> 00:06:47,766 Jesus said to him, You 123 00:06:47,766 --> 00:06:50,766 have both seen him, and he is the 124 00:06:50,766 --> 00:06:52,800 one who is talking with you. 125 00:06:53,233 --> 00:06:56,699 And he said, Lord, I 126 00:06:56,699 --> 00:07:00,666 believe, and he worshipped him. 127 00:07:01,033 --> 00:07:05,833 And Jesus said, For judgment, I came into this world. 128 00:07:06,266 --> 00:07:09,366 So that those who do 129 00:07:09,366 --> 00:07:12,433 not see, may see, 130 00:07:12,433 --> 00:07:15,500 and that those who see may become 131 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:16,633 blind. 132 00:07:16,633 --> 00:07:19,633 Those of the Pharisees who 133 00:07:19,633 --> 00:07:22,633 were with him heard these things and said to him, 134 00:07:22,633 --> 00:07:26,166 We are not blind to, are we? 135 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,199 Jesus said to them, If 136 00:07:30,199 --> 00:07:33,433 you were blind, you would have no sin, but since you say 137 00:07:33,433 --> 00:07:36,433 we see your sin, 138 00:07:36,433 --> 00:07:37,766 remains. 139 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,166 Now, removing 140 00:07:41,166 --> 00:07:44,333 in this story from physical blindness 141 00:07:44,366 --> 00:07:47,000 to spiritual blindness. 142 00:07:47,466 --> 00:07:49,433 The healing was physical. 143 00:07:50,233 --> 00:07:53,300 The section that climaxes this 144 00:07:53,300 --> 00:07:57,000 amazing story is about spiritual 145 00:07:57,000 --> 00:08:00,533 blindness and spiritual sight. 146 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,333 And it's significant to realize how all 147 00:08:04,333 --> 00:08:08,300 throughout the whole Bible blindness 148 00:08:08,300 --> 00:08:11,466 is used metaphorically so many times to 149 00:08:11,466 --> 00:08:15,000 represent the natural condition of fallenness 150 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:18,666 and corruption, and the natural inability 151 00:08:18,666 --> 00:08:22,566 of man to comprehend God, 152 00:08:22,566 --> 00:08:25,399 and to comprehend divine truth. 153 00:08:25,466 --> 00:08:27,633 And let me just run through a quick sampling. 154 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,933 Of how blindness is used 155 00:08:30,933 --> 00:08:34,066 in scripture to illustrate this point. 156 00:08:34,166 --> 00:08:35,799 And we won't turn to all of them. 157 00:08:35,833 --> 00:08:37,266 I'll just give you some paraphrases. 158 00:08:37,399 --> 00:08:40,399 Isaiah 43, we read of the people who 159 00:08:40,399 --> 00:08:42,733 are blind, even though they have eyes. 160 00:08:42,799 --> 00:08:45,966 Jeremiah 5, the people who are foolish and 161 00:08:45,966 --> 00:08:49,100 senseless, who have eyes, but do not see. 162 00:08:49,466 --> 00:08:52,500 Jesus called the Pharisees, 163 00:08:52,500 --> 00:08:54,533 one time, blind guides. 164 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,766 Think about Paul on the Damascus road. 165 00:08:57,866 --> 00:09:01,100 He had been blind when he was a Pharisee, spiritually 166 00:09:01,100 --> 00:09:04,766 blind, and then he was blinded physically, 167 00:09:04,766 --> 00:09:07,766 and then he was given sight, both 168 00:09:07,766 --> 00:09:10,799 spiritually and physically, to illustrate 169 00:09:10,799 --> 00:09:13,799 the point of what was happening on the domestic road to the man who 170 00:09:13,799 --> 00:09:16,966 wound up writing two thirds of the New Testament. 171 00:09:17,066 --> 00:09:20,233 In Ephesians 4, Paul tells 172 00:09:20,233 --> 00:09:23,366 us, unbelievers are darkened in their 173 00:09:23,366 --> 00:09:24,700 understanding. 174 00:09:24,799 --> 00:09:28,033 Remember, in John 3, Jesus 175 00:09:28,033 --> 00:09:31,200 said, they love the darkness, rather than the light. 176 00:09:31,566 --> 00:09:34,933 They cherish their evil deeds, that's why. 177 00:09:35,233 --> 00:09:38,399 So, the Bible speaks of blindness 178 00:09:38,399 --> 00:09:41,399 as a metaphor of spiritual ignorance, 179 00:09:41,399 --> 00:09:44,533 spiritual, darkness, spiritual 180 00:09:44,533 --> 00:09:48,966 corruption, spiritual, inability to know God. 181 00:09:49,766 --> 00:09:53,766 spiritual inability to know truth, 182 00:09:53,766 --> 00:09:56,833 and on top of this, this 183 00:09:56,833 --> 00:10:00,000 natural blindness that every natural born person 184 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,166 has, look with me at 2 Corinthians 185 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:08,966 4, and verse number 4, which 186 00:10:08,966 --> 00:10:11,966 says, in whose case, the god, 187 00:10:11,966 --> 00:10:15,600 little g, god of this world, Satan, 188 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,566 has blinded the minds. 189 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,833 of the unbelieving so that they might not 190 00:10:21,866 --> 00:10:25,100 see the light of the gospel of 191 00:10:25,100 --> 00:10:28,333 the glory of Christ, who is the image 192 00:10:28,333 --> 00:10:29,600 of God? 193 00:10:29,700 --> 00:10:32,700 So notice that's a double blindness. 194 00:10:33,066 --> 00:10:36,799 Natural blindness, compounded 195 00:10:36,799 --> 00:10:40,100 by our adversary's power and 196 00:10:40,100 --> 00:10:43,200 deception, of blindness, and when 197 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,200 this blindness in a person is 198 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,266 persistent, and when it continues 199 00:10:49,266 --> 00:10:50,933 relentlessly. 200 00:10:51,799 --> 00:10:54,433 Oh, then there's a third kind of blindness. 201 00:10:55,566 --> 00:11:00,666 A divine judgment kind of blindness. 202 00:11:01,166 --> 00:11:04,566 This brings about a 203 00:11:04,566 --> 00:11:06,966 terminal blindness. 204 00:11:07,266 --> 00:11:09,899 Isaiah 44, 18. 205 00:11:10,166 --> 00:11:10,933 Look at it. 206 00:11:12,266 --> 00:11:14,133 They do not know. 207 00:11:15,566 --> 00:11:17,899 Nor do they understand. 208 00:11:17,966 --> 00:11:19,333 Why? 209 00:11:19,566 --> 00:11:23,933 For he, God, 210 00:11:23,966 --> 00:11:27,633 has smeared over their 211 00:11:27,633 --> 00:11:31,633 eyes so that they cannot see, 212 00:11:31,633 --> 00:11:34,766 and their hearts, so that they cannot 213 00:11:34,766 --> 00:11:36,566 comprehend. 214 00:11:36,666 --> 00:11:39,799 And that's exactly what God said to Isaiah 215 00:11:39,799 --> 00:11:43,700 in that amazing vision in Isaiah chapter 6. 216 00:11:43,766 --> 00:11:45,733 They will hear and yet not understand. 217 00:11:45,799 --> 00:11:49,466 They will see and yet not perceive. 218 00:11:50,666 --> 00:11:52,833 They will not believe. 219 00:11:53,299 --> 00:11:56,366 Because, after so 220 00:11:56,366 --> 00:11:59,500 many attempts, they have been hardened. 221 00:11:59,899 --> 00:12:03,366 as a judgment of God. 222 00:12:03,433 --> 00:12:07,466 Later on in John 12, verses 223 00:12:07,466 --> 00:12:10,766 39 and 40, John actually quotes 224 00:12:10,766 --> 00:12:13,700 from Isaiah again, where he says this, look at this. 225 00:12:13,766 --> 00:12:17,533 For this reason, they could not believe, 226 00:12:17,533 --> 00:12:20,966 for Isaiah said again, He has 227 00:12:20,966 --> 00:12:24,366 blinded their eyes, and he hardened 228 00:12:24,366 --> 00:12:27,600 their heart so that they would not see 229 00:12:27,600 --> 00:12:30,666 with their eyes, and perceive with 230 00:12:30,666 --> 00:12:34,500 their heart, and be converted, and I heal them. 231 00:12:34,799 --> 00:12:37,366 Folks, let me tell you, I can't think. 232 00:12:38,166 --> 00:12:41,933 of a more frightening and 233 00:12:41,966 --> 00:12:43,100 dangerous reality. 234 00:12:43,799 --> 00:12:47,566 for a person to be in, then 235 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:50,433 terminal spiritual blindness. 236 00:12:51,966 --> 00:12:55,500 Now, natural blind, 237 00:12:55,500 --> 00:12:59,700 I mean, if you think about terminal blindness, 238 00:12:59,700 --> 00:13:02,700 as the judgment of God, it is the judgment of God at 239 00:13:02,700 --> 00:13:06,066 that point, that's 240 00:13:06,066 --> 00:13:08,600 the removal of all hope for you. 241 00:13:09,266 --> 00:13:12,333 But natural blindness compounded 242 00:13:12,333 --> 00:13:15,899 by satanic blindness that we talked about earlier, that's 243 00:13:15,899 --> 00:13:17,766 where we all were before salvation. 244 00:13:20,899 --> 00:13:25,166 Terminal blindness, judicial blindness, 245 00:13:25,166 --> 00:13:27,266 equals no hope. 246 00:13:28,166 --> 00:13:30,566 Colossians 113. 247 00:13:30,966 --> 00:13:32,899 Look what it says. 248 00:13:32,966 --> 00:13:35,966 The beautiful word, for he 249 00:13:35,966 --> 00:13:38,366 rescued us. 250 00:13:38,399 --> 00:13:40,366 He rescued us. 251 00:13:41,066 --> 00:13:44,133 From the domain of 252 00:13:44,133 --> 00:13:47,266 darkness, from the domain of 253 00:13:47,299 --> 00:13:50,899 natural, spiritual blindness, compounded 254 00:13:50,899 --> 00:13:54,033 by satanic, blindness, and 255 00:13:54,033 --> 00:13:57,433 so blindness, and darkness, or constant metaphors 256 00:13:57,433 --> 00:13:59,833 for our natural condition in the Bible. 257 00:14:00,500 --> 00:14:03,566 And then contrast that with the fact that 258 00:14:03,566 --> 00:14:04,600 in the Old Testament. 259 00:14:05,899 --> 00:14:09,033 Over and over, God starts to 260 00:14:09,033 --> 00:14:12,766 talk about in different passages throughout the Old Testament and Messiah. 261 00:14:13,166 --> 00:14:17,133 He talks about the Messiah coming to bring what light? 262 00:14:18,266 --> 00:14:20,600 All over Isaiah. 263 00:14:20,666 --> 00:14:24,666 Messiah is described as the one who will bring light into 264 00:14:24,666 --> 00:14:28,100 this world of darkness, and the light will 265 00:14:28,100 --> 00:14:31,933 shine upon the nations when Messiah comes. 266 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:34,633 And as this gospel of John opens up, 267 00:14:34,766 --> 00:14:36,100 Do you remember what John said? 268 00:14:36,266 --> 00:14:39,266 In him, in Christ 269 00:14:39,266 --> 00:14:41,066 was life. 270 00:14:41,100 --> 00:14:44,866 And the life was what the light of men. 271 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:46,500 In the darkness. 272 00:14:46,633 --> 00:14:48,266 Jesus says what? 273 00:14:48,299 --> 00:14:49,266 I am the what? 274 00:14:49,333 --> 00:14:51,733 Light of the world. 275 00:14:51,799 --> 00:14:54,966 He who follows me will not walk 276 00:14:54,966 --> 00:14:58,799 in darkness, but have the light of life. 277 00:14:59,666 --> 00:15:01,533 In Matthew 4. 278 00:15:03,266 --> 00:15:06,133 says the people were sitting in darkness. 279 00:15:06,266 --> 00:15:08,133 And they've seen a great what? 280 00:15:08,233 --> 00:15:08,766 Light. 281 00:15:09,433 --> 00:15:12,966 First Peter 2:9, very end of the verse. 282 00:15:14,299 --> 00:15:17,366 It describes Jesus as him 283 00:15:17,366 --> 00:15:20,533 who has called you out of 284 00:15:20,533 --> 00:15:23,966 darkness into his 285 00:15:23,966 --> 00:15:25,833 marvelous light. 286 00:15:25,866 --> 00:15:29,466 Oh, aren't you glad, if you're here this morning, 287 00:15:29,466 --> 00:15:32,700 that you're in the light, that you're walking in the light, because 288 00:15:32,700 --> 00:15:35,033 of who Christ is and what Christ has done. 289 00:15:35,100 --> 00:15:38,466 So, I give you all of that. 290 00:15:39,799 --> 00:15:42,866 to get you locked into the sense that 291 00:15:42,866 --> 00:15:45,866 God, in his divine purposes, 292 00:15:45,866 --> 00:15:48,933 has designed to use blindness 293 00:15:48,933 --> 00:15:51,966 and darkness all throughout scripture 294 00:15:51,966 --> 00:15:55,500 as a metaphor for the natural spiritual 295 00:15:55,500 --> 00:15:58,666 condition of man, and then contrast that 296 00:15:58,700 --> 00:16:01,700 with what he uses as light as 297 00:16:01,700 --> 00:16:04,266 the only answer to the problem of the darkness. 298 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:08,133 And now, as I said, as we come to this text, 299 00:16:08,133 --> 00:16:11,233 the subject matter is 300 00:16:11,233 --> 00:16:14,299 changing, from physical sight and 301 00:16:14,299 --> 00:16:17,533 light, to spiritual sight and 302 00:16:17,533 --> 00:16:21,066 light, coming out of blindness and darkness. 303 00:16:21,266 --> 00:16:24,266 And we're going to break this down very simply, OK? 304 00:16:24,299 --> 00:16:25,966 Two sections here. 305 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,433 Spiritual site, in 306 00:16:29,433 --> 00:16:33,466 verses 35 to 38, with the beggar, spiritual 307 00:16:33,500 --> 00:16:37,333 blindness, in verses 39 to 41, that's with the Pharisees. 308 00:16:37,399 --> 00:16:40,399 So let's look first at spiritual site 309 00:16:40,399 --> 00:16:43,866 and the beggar, and I want to define spiritual 310 00:16:43,866 --> 00:16:46,500 site with four points. 311 00:16:46,566 --> 00:16:50,533 Point number one, spiritual site requires, 312 00:16:50,533 --> 00:16:54,000 divine initiative. 313 00:16:54,066 --> 00:16:58,100 Now we're getting into what Brother A was talking about this morning in Sunday school. 314 00:16:58,333 --> 00:17:01,766 This man does not have any 315 00:17:01,766 --> 00:17:05,733 capability to make himself see physically. 316 00:17:05,766 --> 00:17:08,400 If Jesus hadn't stopped at that gate, 317 00:17:08,466 --> 00:17:11,700 He would have went the rest of his life blind 318 00:17:11,700 --> 00:17:13,566 as a bat till his death. 319 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,866 And in the same way. 320 00:17:16,566 --> 00:17:20,099 He doesn't have any capacity 321 00:17:20,099 --> 00:17:23,266 or ability in and of himself to make 322 00:17:23,299 --> 00:17:25,400 himself see spiritually. 323 00:17:26,366 --> 00:17:29,599 Humanly speaking, on the natural 324 00:17:29,599 --> 00:17:32,599 level, there was no surgeon around who could fix 325 00:17:32,599 --> 00:17:36,200 this man's blindness, even with all 326 00:17:36,200 --> 00:17:39,366 the technology we have today, a person born blind, we don't 327 00:17:39,366 --> 00:17:42,366 have the capability, in most cases, none that I know 328 00:17:42,366 --> 00:17:44,766 of, to give new eyes to someone. 329 00:17:45,299 --> 00:17:48,766 So in both cases, physical and spiritual, 330 00:17:48,799 --> 00:17:51,933 if he was ever going to sea, 331 00:17:51,933 --> 00:17:55,366 either physically or spiritually, 332 00:17:55,400 --> 00:17:57,033 guess what had to happen? 333 00:17:57,500 --> 00:18:00,366 Heaven had to come down and find him. 334 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:03,566 And initiate. 335 00:18:04,500 --> 00:18:06,833 And that's exactly what happened. 336 00:18:07,566 --> 00:18:09,799 We come to verse 35. 337 00:18:09,966 --> 00:18:13,500 There's still a buzz going around the temple area about what happened. 338 00:18:13,566 --> 00:18:14,599 Can you imagine? 339 00:18:14,666 --> 00:18:17,900 Can you imagine the words spreading like wildfire? 340 00:18:18,000 --> 00:18:20,099 You can't believe what happened to the blind guy at the gate. 341 00:18:20,233 --> 00:18:21,200 Come over here, let me tell you. 342 00:18:21,299 --> 00:18:23,700 Let's go see if we can find him, right? 343 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:25,799 Verse 35. 344 00:18:26,233 --> 00:18:30,133 Jesus heard that 345 00:18:30,133 --> 00:18:31,400 they had put it out. 346 00:18:32,700 --> 00:18:37,200 And finding him. 347 00:18:37,266 --> 00:18:40,333 Oh, that is such a great phrase. 348 00:18:40,466 --> 00:18:43,700 Don't skip over the 349 00:18:43,700 --> 00:18:46,766 deep meaning of that phrase, and 350 00:18:46,766 --> 00:18:49,166 finding him. 351 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:52,333 Just like we saw back in John 5, with the 352 00:18:52,333 --> 00:18:56,233 man at the pool of Bethesda who picked up his bed and walked. 353 00:18:56,299 --> 00:18:56,966 Remember that story? 354 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:00,233 He got interrogated by the Pharisee, same kind of deal, 355 00:19:00,266 --> 00:19:03,700 and it says in that text, Jesus found. 356 00:19:03,900 --> 00:19:04,733 him. 357 00:19:05,599 --> 00:19:08,233 That is how any person. 358 00:19:08,666 --> 00:19:11,433 receives spiritual site. 359 00:19:12,266 --> 00:19:15,433 It has to start with a divine initiative. 360 00:19:15,566 --> 00:19:18,566 It has to start with a sovereign purpose 361 00:19:18,566 --> 00:19:20,000 in the mind of God. 362 00:19:20,400 --> 00:19:23,700 Jesus said, Look at this. 363 00:19:23,766 --> 00:19:27,599 The Son of Man is come to seek 364 00:19:27,599 --> 00:19:31,200 and save that 365 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:33,233 which was lost, not just the saving. 366 00:19:34,099 --> 00:19:35,599 You see that? 367 00:19:35,666 --> 00:19:37,700 But also the seeking. 368 00:19:37,700 --> 00:19:41,533 Because Romans 3 says clearly what? 369 00:19:41,700 --> 00:19:44,533 No man seeks after God. 370 00:19:45,566 --> 00:19:49,333 No man in his natural condition will 371 00:19:49,333 --> 00:19:51,900 ever seek after the God of the Bible. 372 00:19:52,033 --> 00:19:55,333 Oh, he'll hunt for Allah, he'll hunt for Buddha, 373 00:19:55,333 --> 00:19:59,299 he'll hunt for any number of gods, but not the god of the Bible on his own. 374 00:19:59,366 --> 00:20:01,400 So Jesus is the seeker. 375 00:20:02,966 --> 00:20:06,799 He said to his apostles, You have not chosen me. 376 00:20:06,866 --> 00:20:08,966 I have chosen you. 377 00:20:09,666 --> 00:20:12,599 Jesus is the one who is seeking us. 378 00:20:13,099 --> 00:20:15,500 It's never the other way around. 379 00:20:16,266 --> 00:20:19,400 So Jesus finds this man, and this 380 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:21,966 is where spiritual sight begins. 381 00:20:22,033 --> 00:20:25,266 He finds the man, and he 382 00:20:25,266 --> 00:20:29,033 initiates the conversation, and it's very short. 383 00:20:29,099 --> 00:20:32,099 Now, remember, in these New 384 00:20:32,099 --> 00:20:35,266 Testament accounts, we get these very condensed conversations. 385 00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:38,833 What we get is exactly the essence of precisely 386 00:20:38,833 --> 00:20:41,900 what God wanted to reveal to us, but we don't, 387 00:20:41,900 --> 00:20:44,366 I'm quite certain, get the whole conversation. 388 00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,033 We get what God wants us to know. 389 00:20:46,166 --> 00:20:48,200 But look next in verse 35. 390 00:20:49,033 --> 00:20:50,966 He says to the man. 391 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:52,666 Do you believe? 392 00:20:53,166 --> 00:20:55,099 In the Son of Man? 393 00:20:55,566 --> 00:20:57,900 And that is a very important question. 394 00:20:58,933 --> 00:21:02,099 And what we learned last time is that this 395 00:21:02,099 --> 00:21:05,233 man, somehow, was well schooled in 396 00:21:05,233 --> 00:21:09,066 the Old Testament, even though he's never been involved in the synagogue 397 00:21:09,066 --> 00:21:12,066 because of his condition, we don't know how, but 398 00:21:12,066 --> 00:21:13,266 this guy is pretty wise. 399 00:21:13,866 --> 00:21:17,000 He knew there was no record ever in 400 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:20,066 history of anybody being healed of blindness, he knew that. 401 00:21:20,700 --> 00:21:24,433 He also knows what characterizes a prophet. 402 00:21:24,866 --> 00:21:26,500 Think about it. 403 00:21:26,533 --> 00:21:29,066 He's already said of Jesus, he's of God. 404 00:21:29,233 --> 00:21:32,233 He's already said of Jesus, he's 405 00:21:32,233 --> 00:21:33,566 the one who does the will of God. 406 00:21:33,666 --> 00:21:36,133 He's already said of Jesus, he's a prophet. 407 00:21:36,133 --> 00:21:39,366 And knowing his Old Testament, he 408 00:21:39,366 --> 00:21:42,500 is very familiar with this messianic title that 409 00:21:42,500 --> 00:21:45,799 comes from Daniel 7, that Jesus has just used 410 00:21:45,799 --> 00:21:48,966 in his question the title that Jesus uses 411 00:21:48,966 --> 00:21:52,333 of himself more than any other title in the gospel's 412 00:21:52,333 --> 00:21:53,833 son of man. 413 00:21:54,266 --> 00:21:57,433 All the Jews understood the 414 00:21:57,433 --> 00:21:59,900 messianic title, son of man. 415 00:21:59,966 --> 00:22:02,500 It's used 13 times in John's gospel. 416 00:22:02,599 --> 00:22:05,900 Because it's familiar in 417 00:22:05,900 --> 00:22:09,000 the conversation of the Jews, because they all knew 418 00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,033 Daniel 7, very well. 419 00:22:11,700 --> 00:22:15,000 So Jesus says to the formerly 420 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:16,966 physically born blind man, 421 00:22:17,900 --> 00:22:20,366 Do you believe in the Son of Man? 422 00:22:21,566 --> 00:22:24,500 Do you believe in the Messiah? 423 00:22:25,166 --> 00:22:28,166 Do you believe that the Messiah 424 00:22:28,166 --> 00:22:30,566 is coming to establish his kingdom? 425 00:22:31,933 --> 00:22:35,000 So the first step in bringing 426 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,466 spiritual sight is this darkened, 427 00:22:38,466 --> 00:22:41,833 spiritually blind man, is 428 00:22:41,833 --> 00:22:43,400 found by crime? 429 00:22:44,599 --> 00:22:47,433 For Christ's own saving purposes. 430 00:22:47,700 --> 00:22:50,833 Christ is the seeker, and 431 00:22:50,833 --> 00:22:53,966 Christ is the one who takes the initiative in 432 00:22:53,966 --> 00:22:57,733 this man's life, and that brings us to the second point, spiritual 433 00:22:57,733 --> 00:23:00,500 sight requires faith. 434 00:23:00,566 --> 00:23:02,233 Look at verse 36. 435 00:23:03,066 --> 00:23:06,733 And he answered, Who 436 00:23:06,733 --> 00:23:07,766 is he, Lord? 437 00:23:07,799 --> 00:23:10,033 Then I may believe in him. 438 00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:13,333 Now, that is 439 00:23:13,333 --> 00:23:14,400 an incredible statement. 440 00:23:15,299 --> 00:23:17,266 Here we have a man. 441 00:23:17,366 --> 00:23:18,700 He's ready to believe. 442 00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:22,133 He just wants to know who to believe in. 443 00:23:23,099 --> 00:23:26,166 And I could just really stop right now and do a whole 444 00:23:26,166 --> 00:23:29,466 series to develop the theology here, because what you're seeing 445 00:23:29,466 --> 00:23:32,633 in this is the very essence of the doctrine 446 00:23:32,666 --> 00:23:36,033 of regeneration at work right here in front of our face. 447 00:23:36,599 --> 00:23:39,133 This man is ready to believe. 448 00:23:39,866 --> 00:23:42,433 He just wants to know who to believe in. 449 00:23:43,566 --> 00:23:46,133 Now, this is not easily understood. 450 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:47,766 Make sure you understand. 451 00:23:47,833 --> 00:23:51,066 It's not just because of what we say, 452 00:23:51,066 --> 00:23:53,700 as Brother Ed said earlier, that people believe. 453 00:23:53,833 --> 00:23:56,833 Oh, it's used, by God, what 454 00:23:56,833 --> 00:23:58,200 we say when we give the gospel. 455 00:23:58,500 --> 00:24:01,633 But primarily, it is because of what 456 00:24:01,633 --> 00:24:04,633 God has done first to open 457 00:24:04,633 --> 00:24:08,366 them to believing that they respond to the truth. 458 00:24:08,466 --> 00:24:12,200 Let me put it to you simply, regeneration precedes faith. 459 00:24:12,266 --> 00:24:13,233 Yes, sir. 460 00:24:13,233 --> 00:24:16,866 You must be born again in 461 00:24:16,866 --> 00:24:19,700 order to activate the gifts of repentance and faith. 462 00:24:19,766 --> 00:24:22,766 The other side of the theological divide 463 00:24:22,766 --> 00:24:23,799 has it backwards. 464 00:24:23,833 --> 00:24:27,133 They say you must believe, and then you're born again. 465 00:24:27,266 --> 00:24:28,333 That's backwards. 466 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:29,533 Okay? 467 00:24:30,433 --> 00:24:32,766 That's not what the Bible teaches. 468 00:24:33,566 --> 00:24:36,566 This man now 469 00:24:36,566 --> 00:24:38,799 has a prepared heart. 470 00:24:38,833 --> 00:24:40,099 What we got right here? 471 00:24:40,166 --> 00:24:43,266 This is the good soil of Jesus' parables 472 00:24:43,266 --> 00:24:46,266 sitting right here at the gate brand new eyeballs. 473 00:24:46,500 --> 00:24:48,833 So who is he, Lord? 474 00:24:49,566 --> 00:24:52,633 And it's important to understand the Greek here 475 00:24:52,633 --> 00:24:53,966 with the word Lord. 476 00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:57,000 This man doesn't know who Jesus is, so here, he's 477 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:00,000 not calling Jesus, Lord, in that upper 478 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,733 case high level sense. 479 00:25:01,799 --> 00:25:04,966 He's calling Jesus, Lord, in the lower case sense. 480 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,000 Like, the word Kyrie in the Greek can be 481 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:09,666 used as, like, sir. 482 00:25:10,266 --> 00:25:11,766 You see? 483 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,233 Like you see, with the old English, the lords, 484 00:25:15,266 --> 00:25:17,066 and the ladies, the kind of idea. 485 00:25:17,099 --> 00:25:21,133 That's how he's using the word lore here, in the common sense. 486 00:25:21,266 --> 00:25:23,066 Who is he, sir? 487 00:25:23,466 --> 00:25:25,500 that I may believe in him. 488 00:25:25,633 --> 00:25:28,933 Oh, something's happening in this man's heart right now. 489 00:25:29,466 --> 00:25:32,466 The divine initiative is 490 00:25:32,466 --> 00:25:35,599 not only physical, not only Jesus finding 491 00:25:35,599 --> 00:25:38,766 him, but God, by the power of 492 00:25:38,766 --> 00:25:42,433 the Holy Spirit, is opening his heart to 493 00:25:42,433 --> 00:25:45,500 believe, just like Lydia, in the 494 00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:49,533 book of Acts, whose heart it says, The Lord opened. 495 00:25:49,633 --> 00:25:53,066 Thank you, Brother Ed, this morning for telling us that. 496 00:25:53,666 --> 00:25:58,466 This is not some kind of rational 497 00:25:58,466 --> 00:26:01,566 act, where you convince this man, he 498 00:26:01,566 --> 00:26:04,633 needs to be, leave the gospel facts that you just told 499 00:26:04,633 --> 00:26:08,533 him, and by his own human reasoning, now he's going to believe. 500 00:26:08,666 --> 00:26:11,833 The Holy Spirit, here has enabled this 501 00:26:11,833 --> 00:26:15,299 man to believe, even before the facts even become clear. 502 00:26:16,633 --> 00:26:19,700 So divine initiative 503 00:26:19,700 --> 00:26:22,466 and a response of faith. 504 00:26:22,566 --> 00:26:25,700 Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in 505 00:26:25,700 --> 00:26:28,866 him, and then thirdly, spiritual sight. 506 00:26:30,266 --> 00:26:32,366 confesses Jesus. 507 00:26:32,833 --> 00:26:35,966 as Lord, and the 508 00:26:35,966 --> 00:26:37,099 highest sense. 509 00:26:37,166 --> 00:26:38,599 Look at verse 37. 510 00:26:38,833 --> 00:26:41,966 Jesus said to him, You have 511 00:26:41,966 --> 00:26:45,500 both seen him, and 512 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:47,733 he is the one talking to you. 513 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,099 You are looking at him. 514 00:26:51,900 --> 00:26:54,966 Now, we 515 00:26:54,966 --> 00:26:59,166 don't know how much this man heard Jesus teach at all, if at all. 516 00:26:59,466 --> 00:27:03,133 Certainly he hadn't seen any of his miracles, right? 517 00:27:03,133 --> 00:27:04,166 Not a one. 518 00:27:04,166 --> 00:27:07,166 But there are lots of people who saw 519 00:27:07,166 --> 00:27:08,900 the amazing miracles of Jesus. 520 00:27:08,966 --> 00:27:12,200 In fact, the whole population of Israel, 521 00:27:12,200 --> 00:27:15,200 and in the large majority report, as 522 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,599 we know, in general, their spiritual 523 00:27:18,599 --> 00:27:21,733 darkness could not be overcome, 524 00:27:21,733 --> 00:27:24,266 even though they saw Jesus raise people from the dead. 525 00:27:26,066 --> 00:27:29,799 But God is 526 00:27:29,799 --> 00:27:34,400 overcoming this man's spiritual darkness by 527 00:27:34,400 --> 00:27:38,066 regenerating him and granting him the 528 00:27:38,066 --> 00:27:39,700 gift of faith. 529 00:27:39,733 --> 00:27:42,500 He just wants to know who he's supposed to put that faith in. 530 00:27:42,599 --> 00:27:44,466 And Jesus says, you've seen him. 531 00:27:45,366 --> 00:27:47,633 He's the one talking to you. 532 00:27:48,666 --> 00:27:52,566 He's the one looking at them new eyes that 533 00:27:52,566 --> 00:27:54,533 he just created in your skull. 534 00:27:54,599 --> 00:27:56,099 He's looking at you right now. 535 00:27:56,700 --> 00:27:59,833 Like Jesus when he was with the woman at the well, 536 00:27:59,833 --> 00:28:03,133 and she says, Well, we know that Christ is going to come, and Jesus responds 537 00:28:03,133 --> 00:28:06,866 by saying, I, who speak to you, am he. 538 00:28:07,466 --> 00:28:08,966 What happened? 539 00:28:09,066 --> 00:28:12,233 She believed, and so did the whole village, and he spent 540 00:28:12,266 --> 00:28:13,533 a couple days they were teaching them. 541 00:28:13,566 --> 00:28:15,733 Oh, what a teaching event that must have been. 542 00:28:16,333 --> 00:28:18,799 This is a divine miracle. 543 00:28:18,900 --> 00:28:20,233 Look next in verse 38. 544 00:28:20,466 --> 00:28:21,966 He said, Lord, I believe. 545 00:28:22,700 --> 00:28:25,166 Notice he didn't say. 546 00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:26,833 Could you give me more evidence there? 547 00:28:26,900 --> 00:28:27,500 guy. 548 00:28:29,066 --> 00:28:31,900 He didn't say, Well, why would I believe that? 549 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:33,500 about you. 550 00:28:33,666 --> 00:28:36,666 We don't know what all he 551 00:28:36,666 --> 00:28:40,099 had heard or what he had known, but it was sufficient for 552 00:28:40,099 --> 00:28:43,266 this man that Jesus had made him able 553 00:28:43,266 --> 00:28:46,433 to see that he had already declared that 554 00:28:46,466 --> 00:28:49,566 Jesus was from God, and that he was a prophet, and 555 00:28:49,566 --> 00:28:52,566 now he knows for, sure, 556 00:28:52,566 --> 00:28:53,700 he's a prophet from God. 557 00:28:53,766 --> 00:28:56,766 And if a prophet from God says, I am 558 00:28:56,766 --> 00:28:59,933 the Son of man, I am the 559 00:28:59,966 --> 00:29:01,533 long awaited Messiah. 560 00:29:01,566 --> 00:29:02,099 Guess what? 561 00:29:02,233 --> 00:29:03,666 That's enough for this guy. 562 00:29:05,466 --> 00:29:09,200 Because not only that, he 563 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,733 has a prepared regenerated heart already. 564 00:29:12,266 --> 00:29:15,433 And when he says, Here, Lord in 565 00:29:15,433 --> 00:29:17,766 the Greek, we move to the upper case since. 566 00:29:17,900 --> 00:29:19,833 This isn't just, sir. 567 00:29:19,933 --> 00:29:23,666 He's gone from sir to Lord of Lords. 568 00:29:23,833 --> 00:29:24,299 Now. 569 00:29:24,433 --> 00:29:27,799 This is Lord, and its fullest and most loftiest 570 00:29:27,799 --> 00:29:29,299 elevated sense. 571 00:29:29,366 --> 00:29:32,733 He's not asking a question of who he is anymore. 572 00:29:32,833 --> 00:29:35,900 Now, he believes, he says, Lord, 573 00:29:35,900 --> 00:29:39,266 now, in a completely different sense, because next. 574 00:29:39,299 --> 00:29:39,833 What? 575 00:29:40,033 --> 00:29:40,500 How do I know that? 576 00:29:40,566 --> 00:29:42,200 How you know that, brother Philip? 577 00:29:42,266 --> 00:29:43,466 Well, look immediately next. 578 00:29:43,500 --> 00:29:44,333 What does he do? 579 00:29:44,466 --> 00:29:45,000 it says. 580 00:29:45,066 --> 00:29:46,266 And he worshiped him. 581 00:29:46,333 --> 00:29:50,233 That's how you know how he's treating him with the word Lord. 582 00:29:50,299 --> 00:29:51,633 Now, he worshiped him. 583 00:29:52,333 --> 00:29:55,500 So, how do you know when 584 00:29:55,500 --> 00:29:57,666 spiritual sight comes to someone? 585 00:29:57,733 --> 00:29:59,366 Well, first, it's initiated by God. 586 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,700 The heart is prepared by God. 587 00:30:03,133 --> 00:30:06,066 It opens up to accept the truth. 588 00:30:06,866 --> 00:30:10,166 And then that heart confesses Jesus 589 00:30:10,166 --> 00:30:13,833 as Lord, king. 590 00:30:13,933 --> 00:30:15,866 It's a miracle. 591 00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,500 Just as equally as much as 592 00:30:19,500 --> 00:30:21,166 the miracle of physical sight. 593 00:30:21,900 --> 00:30:24,966 Remember when Jesus said to Peter, Peter, 594 00:30:24,966 --> 00:30:26,166 let me tell you something, dude. 595 00:30:26,299 --> 00:30:28,400 Flesh and blood hasn't revealed this to you? 596 00:30:29,966 --> 00:30:33,200 Don't get to thinking that my Father in heaven 597 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:35,433 has revealed this to you. 598 00:30:36,066 --> 00:30:38,466 And that wasn't just true of Peter. 599 00:30:38,666 --> 00:30:41,833 That is true of anybody who has 600 00:30:41,833 --> 00:30:44,966 ever been brought to saving faith in Christ, every single 601 00:30:44,966 --> 00:30:47,966 believer who has ever believed the same way. 602 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:48,900 That's what happened to me. 603 00:30:49,033 --> 00:30:50,099 Amen. 604 00:30:50,099 --> 00:30:53,400 So, this poor, blind 605 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,466 beggar, who has never 606 00:30:56,466 --> 00:30:58,733 seen anything in his whole life. 607 00:30:58,799 --> 00:31:01,033 Now he gets the double whammy. 608 00:31:01,099 --> 00:31:04,200 He sees physically, but more importantly, 609 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,200 now he sees very clearly the Son 610 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:10,333 of man, the Messiah, the king, 611 00:31:10,333 --> 00:31:12,733 the Lord, standing right in front of his face. 612 00:31:12,799 --> 00:31:16,233 He's gazing on the glory of God, 613 00:31:16,233 --> 00:31:19,633 incarnate in the world, in the person of Jesus Christ, 614 00:31:19,633 --> 00:31:21,900 in the face of Jesus. 615 00:31:21,966 --> 00:31:24,533 He's been given the most important kind of sight. 616 00:31:24,599 --> 00:31:27,133 Anybody can ever receive. 617 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:28,766 Do you know if you're saved here? 618 00:31:28,866 --> 00:31:29,900 This morning. 619 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:33,299 The most significant, important 620 00:31:33,299 --> 00:31:36,766 thing above all things that could ever happen to 621 00:31:36,799 --> 00:31:38,733 a human being has happened to you. 622 00:31:39,733 --> 00:31:41,666 It has happened to you. 623 00:31:41,700 --> 00:31:44,266 God took the initiative in your life. 624 00:31:44,400 --> 00:31:46,366 and gave you spiritual sight. 625 00:31:46,500 --> 00:31:50,033 There's nothing more important than can happen to a human being than that. 626 00:31:50,466 --> 00:31:54,299 And so again, spiritual 627 00:31:54,299 --> 00:31:58,033 sight requires divine initiative, responds 628 00:31:58,033 --> 00:32:02,099 with faith, confesses Jesus' Lord, which 629 00:32:02,099 --> 00:32:04,266 results in worship. 630 00:32:04,333 --> 00:32:06,733 That's how verse 38 ends. 631 00:32:07,766 --> 00:32:11,700 And really, the whole of what it is to believe is 632 00:32:11,700 --> 00:32:14,700 in that one simple statement, he worshipped him. 633 00:32:15,066 --> 00:32:18,433 How do you know when a person becomes a believer because 634 00:32:18,433 --> 00:32:19,700 they become a worshipper? 635 00:32:20,700 --> 00:32:24,733 They love to come to church and worship with their church family. 636 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:28,266 Not because you prayed a prayer, brother Anne, 637 00:32:28,266 --> 00:32:31,266 or got emotionally moved in a meeting and felt 638 00:32:31,266 --> 00:32:32,766 all sentimental about Jesus. 639 00:32:33,066 --> 00:32:36,799 True spiritual sight produces 640 00:32:36,799 --> 00:32:38,966 a true worshiper. 641 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:42,433 There is a change in your whole way of thinking, 642 00:32:42,433 --> 00:32:45,799 you have this now wild desire to 643 00:32:45,799 --> 00:32:48,933 strive to be obedient to the Word of God. 644 00:32:49,033 --> 00:32:50,400 Amen. 645 00:32:50,466 --> 00:32:53,700 And the only person, listen to me now carefully here. 646 00:32:54,266 --> 00:32:57,700 The only person on all of the earth. 647 00:32:57,866 --> 00:33:00,933 Who knows, if that is 648 00:33:00,933 --> 00:33:04,366 genuinely true about you, is you. 649 00:33:04,466 --> 00:33:05,599 Yeah. 650 00:33:05,599 --> 00:33:08,133 You, only you. 651 00:33:08,766 --> 00:33:10,700 Only you know. 652 00:33:11,900 --> 00:33:15,133 If this is truly the priority of your life, 653 00:33:15,133 --> 00:33:18,200 only you know if you're living your life to 654 00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:21,566 bring glory to God above all over things, and worship Him, 655 00:33:21,566 --> 00:33:23,500 and not just on Sunday morning. 656 00:33:24,433 --> 00:33:27,566 But only independently for the 657 00:33:27,566 --> 00:33:29,599 rest of your week, Monday to Saturday, as well. 658 00:33:29,700 --> 00:33:32,700 Only you know, if what fulfills the 659 00:33:32,700 --> 00:33:35,866 longing of your heart, more than anything, is to 660 00:33:35,900 --> 00:33:39,200 honor the Lord, to hear his word, to worship him, 661 00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,333 only you and God, 662 00:33:42,333 --> 00:33:45,599 know if this is true about you. 663 00:33:46,633 --> 00:33:48,500 You fool me. 664 00:33:49,033 --> 00:33:51,133 You can fool everybody. 665 00:33:51,799 --> 00:33:53,433 except yourself. 666 00:33:54,133 --> 00:33:55,700 And him. 667 00:33:56,533 --> 00:33:59,533 The formerly blind man is a 668 00:33:59,533 --> 00:34:02,166 picture, folks, of what it is to be a Christian. 669 00:34:03,066 --> 00:34:06,299 He takes his place at the feet of 670 00:34:06,299 --> 00:34:10,033 Christ himself and becomes a worshiper. 671 00:34:10,033 --> 00:34:13,333 Now, lastly, we're going to close out with this. 672 00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:17,166 Let's do a contrast, because that's where the text takes us. 673 00:34:17,233 --> 00:34:21,266 With spiritual blindness in the case of the Pharisees, verse 39. 674 00:34:21,500 --> 00:34:24,800 And Jesus said, For judgment, I came into the world, 675 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:27,966 this world, so that those who do 676 00:34:27,966 --> 00:34:30,966 not see, may see, 677 00:34:30,966 --> 00:34:34,566 like the blind man in all who repent and believe, and 678 00:34:34,566 --> 00:34:37,633 those who see, like the Pharisees who 679 00:34:37,633 --> 00:34:41,300 think they see, may come blind. 680 00:34:42,300 --> 00:34:45,466 It's the same as when Jesus said, 681 00:34:45,500 --> 00:34:48,933 I've not come to call the righteous, meaning, 682 00:34:48,933 --> 00:34:52,966 I'm not come to call to people who think they're righteous, 683 00:34:53,000 --> 00:34:56,166 I have come into this world so that those who do not see, 684 00:34:56,166 --> 00:34:59,599 may see, and those who see, think they see, 685 00:34:59,599 --> 00:35:00,666 may become blind. 686 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:02,366 It's a play on words. 687 00:35:02,766 --> 00:35:05,833 In this whole concept of blindness, 688 00:35:05,833 --> 00:35:08,533 and it's white, a contrast. 689 00:35:08,533 --> 00:35:11,900 Even though Jesus comes to 690 00:35:11,900 --> 00:35:15,066 seek and to save the loss, his salvation in 691 00:35:15,066 --> 00:35:18,133 itself, folks, it becomes the great 692 00:35:18,133 --> 00:35:19,333 dividing line. 693 00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:22,400 across all of humanity across 694 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:24,666 all of the people in the world. 695 00:35:24,733 --> 00:35:27,800 There is judgment bound up in it, 696 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,033 and Jesus is the dividing line. 697 00:35:31,766 --> 00:35:34,000 This is not final judgment. 698 00:35:34,766 --> 00:35:37,833 This is a kind of immediate judgment 699 00:35:37,833 --> 00:35:41,166 that happens at the point when the gospel is introduced. 700 00:35:41,833 --> 00:35:44,900 There is a dividing line that takes place 701 00:35:44,900 --> 00:35:47,966 between a believer and an unbeliever, as 702 00:35:47,966 --> 00:35:51,099 we learned in John 3, if you reject 703 00:35:51,099 --> 00:35:54,599 Christ, you judge yourself, 704 00:35:54,599 --> 00:35:57,366 in fact, Jesus said, you're already judged. 705 00:35:58,266 --> 00:36:01,500 If a person sees in Jesus, 706 00:36:01,500 --> 00:36:04,566 who died on the cross for salvation, no 707 00:36:04,566 --> 00:36:07,800 big deal, nothing desirable, just 708 00:36:07,800 --> 00:36:10,966 another religious zealot who got himself killed on a Roman cross, 709 00:36:11,000 --> 00:36:14,900 nothing that that person wants anything to do with, guess what? 710 00:36:14,966 --> 00:36:16,599 That right there is judgment on that person. 711 00:36:17,533 --> 00:36:20,699 That's a self condemnation for that person. 712 00:36:21,500 --> 00:36:23,466 And guess who that is? 713 00:36:23,533 --> 00:36:25,466 That's the Pharisees. 714 00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:28,366 In their minds, they didn't need anything. 715 00:36:29,666 --> 00:36:32,233 And their minds, they could see clearly. 716 00:36:32,300 --> 00:36:33,133 What are you talking about? 717 00:36:33,199 --> 00:36:35,900 We see clearly, that we know God. 718 00:36:36,666 --> 00:36:38,533 We know the truth. 719 00:36:38,966 --> 00:36:43,166 And we know this Jesus guy is a demoniac, insane person. 720 00:36:43,199 --> 00:36:44,466 That's what we know. 721 00:36:44,833 --> 00:36:47,900 And because they thought they could 722 00:36:47,900 --> 00:36:50,900 see so clearly, they are totally blind. 723 00:36:51,266 --> 00:36:53,833 And that's the point of verse 39. 724 00:36:54,266 --> 00:36:57,433 So that's the first thing about spiritual blindness. 725 00:36:57,433 --> 00:36:58,866 It brings judgment. 726 00:36:58,933 --> 00:37:02,099 both in the here and now, and 727 00:37:02,099 --> 00:37:04,333 in the future, which you can never get out of. 728 00:37:04,400 --> 00:37:07,500 But secondly, spiritual 729 00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:08,933 blindness is so very stubborn. 730 00:37:09,000 --> 00:37:10,666 Look at verse 40. 731 00:37:11,699 --> 00:37:15,133 Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard 732 00:37:15,133 --> 00:37:18,566 these things and said to him, We are not blind too, are we? 733 00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:22,766 And again, speaking metaphorically, 734 00:37:22,766 --> 00:37:26,133 they just refuse to admit their blindness. 735 00:37:26,166 --> 00:37:29,233 They are speaking here, really, read between the 736 00:37:29,233 --> 00:37:32,599 lines, arrogance and scorn is dripping 737 00:37:32,599 --> 00:37:33,866 out of that statement, right? 738 00:37:34,800 --> 00:37:38,099 You're not saying that we, 739 00:37:38,099 --> 00:37:41,566 the most learned erudite righteous 740 00:37:41,599 --> 00:37:44,699 and holy representatives of God, are blind, 741 00:37:44,699 --> 00:37:46,933 are you really saying that to us? 742 00:37:48,433 --> 00:37:50,599 Well, that's exactly what he was saying. 743 00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:54,966 But to them, this idea he's 744 00:37:54,966 --> 00:37:57,966 presenting of spiritual bonus was a joke, and 745 00:37:57,966 --> 00:37:59,099 it definitely didn't apply to them. 746 00:38:00,199 --> 00:38:03,433 And then, thirdly, the spiritually 747 00:38:03,433 --> 00:38:06,733 blind reject sight when it is offered. 748 00:38:06,866 --> 00:38:07,900 Look at verse 41. 749 00:38:09,066 --> 00:38:12,666 Jesus said to them, If you were blind, 750 00:38:12,666 --> 00:38:15,733 you would have no sin, and 751 00:38:15,733 --> 00:38:19,400 Jesus uses another play on words, here, I'm going to explain this, when 752 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,500 he says, If you were blind, you would have no sin, 753 00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:25,500 what he means there is, You are not 754 00:38:25,500 --> 00:38:28,033 blind to the truth, you are not. 755 00:38:28,566 --> 00:38:31,933 If you really were blind to the truth. 756 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,766 In other words, if you had no knowledge of the truth. 757 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:37,800 If you didn't have the scripture, if you didn't have all 758 00:38:37,800 --> 00:38:40,933 of the Old Testament, if you didn't have all of the law that 759 00:38:40,933 --> 00:38:44,099 you know, and all of the prophets that you know, and 760 00:38:44,099 --> 00:38:47,533 me standing in front of you, and all the demonstration 761 00:38:47,533 --> 00:38:51,566 that I've given you of who I am, your sin would not be so severe. 762 00:38:52,166 --> 00:38:54,633 But you're not blind to the truth. 763 00:38:55,633 --> 00:38:59,900 You are blind in the sense that you don't see your own sin. 764 00:38:59,966 --> 00:39:01,300 That's what he's saying here. 765 00:39:03,066 --> 00:39:06,199 But you are not blind in the sense that you 766 00:39:06,199 --> 00:39:09,266 have been very exposed to the truth. 767 00:39:09,300 --> 00:39:10,500 That's what he's saying. 768 00:39:10,699 --> 00:39:13,699 You have the law, you have the prophets, you 769 00:39:13,699 --> 00:39:16,933 have the covenants, you have the whole Old Testament, and you have 770 00:39:16,933 --> 00:39:18,966 me in your midst. 771 00:39:19,033 --> 00:39:20,166 You've hurt my words. 772 00:39:20,233 --> 00:39:21,800 You've seen the miracles. 773 00:39:21,866 --> 00:39:22,900 And guess what, men? 774 00:39:22,933 --> 00:39:25,766 You have no excuse whatsoever. 775 00:39:27,133 --> 00:39:30,900 Yes, you are blind to your own sin. 776 00:39:31,033 --> 00:39:34,166 But no, you are not blind to the truth. 777 00:39:34,266 --> 00:39:36,133 It's all around you. 778 00:39:36,199 --> 00:39:40,233 I am the way, the truth, standing right in front of you. 779 00:39:41,300 --> 00:39:45,266 Lastly, Spiritual 780 00:39:45,266 --> 00:39:46,933 blindness results in doom. 781 00:39:47,066 --> 00:39:50,766 Look next in verse 41, but since you say, 782 00:39:50,766 --> 00:39:52,633 we see? 783 00:39:52,766 --> 00:39:55,400 Whoo, that's a heavy phrase right here. 784 00:39:55,633 --> 00:39:57,733 Your sin remains. 785 00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:00,666 Just skip over that. 786 00:40:01,500 --> 00:40:04,633 You are accepting the condition you 787 00:40:04,633 --> 00:40:08,366 are in of spiritual blindness as 788 00:40:08,366 --> 00:40:11,699 spiritual sight, and the result is, 789 00:40:11,699 --> 00:40:13,366 you are doomed. 790 00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:16,666 You are hopeless. 791 00:40:16,766 --> 00:40:18,400 If you think right now, 792 00:40:18,500 --> 00:40:20,766 Right now, I'm standing in front of you. 793 00:40:20,833 --> 00:40:23,599 If you think right now, that you can see? 794 00:40:23,900 --> 00:40:24,666 There's no hope for you. 795 00:40:25,933 --> 00:40:28,566 It's amazing play on words. 796 00:40:28,633 --> 00:40:29,400 Look at the phrase. 797 00:40:29,666 --> 00:40:32,199 Your sin remains. 798 00:40:32,300 --> 00:40:35,300 You can look at me, reject me. 799 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,366 I'm God incarnate. 800 00:40:37,466 --> 00:40:39,633 Not I've proved it over and over. 801 00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:41,599 You don't get it. 802 00:40:41,666 --> 00:40:42,866 You won't believe it. 803 00:40:43,099 --> 00:40:45,033 Your sin remains. 804 00:40:45,133 --> 00:40:46,933 Let me tell you something. 805 00:40:47,066 --> 00:40:50,199 That's finality right there for those guys. 806 00:40:50,300 --> 00:40:51,266 That's it. 807 00:40:51,866 --> 00:40:55,099 So the light shines in the darkness and 808 00:40:55,099 --> 00:40:58,166 the darkness cannot extinguish it. 809 00:40:58,266 --> 00:41:01,633 The darkness cannot put it out, 810 00:41:01,633 --> 00:41:03,866 but I can tell you what the darkness can does and does do. 811 00:41:04,199 --> 00:41:05,766 Reject it. 812 00:41:06,599 --> 00:41:10,199 Jesus came to his own, and his own received him not. 813 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:12,666 He was in the world. 814 00:41:12,900 --> 00:41:15,900 Oh, John tells us, the world was made 815 00:41:15,900 --> 00:41:17,033 by Jesus. 816 00:41:17,900 --> 00:41:20,000 And the world knew him not. 817 00:41:21,199 --> 00:41:23,366 This is still true today. 818 00:41:24,366 --> 00:41:27,433 The truth, the 819 00:41:27,433 --> 00:41:31,699 gospel message, is available, is 820 00:41:31,699 --> 00:41:34,533 accessible worldwide. 821 00:41:34,699 --> 00:41:37,800 I just preached it last Easter Sunday, 822 00:41:37,800 --> 00:41:39,000 as clearly as I know how. 823 00:41:40,566 --> 00:41:43,866 But only those, with eyes 824 00:41:43,866 --> 00:41:46,266 to see, will believe. 825 00:41:46,466 --> 00:41:48,033 Let's pray. 826 00:41:48,433 --> 00:41:52,099 Father heaven, we thank you for this very, 827 00:41:52,099 --> 00:41:53,900 very clear teaching. 828 00:41:53,966 --> 00:41:56,966 This is Biblical 829 00:41:56,966 --> 00:41:58,633 Christianity one on one. 830 00:41:59,233 --> 00:42:03,066 And, Lord, we want to pray right now. 831 00:42:03,199 --> 00:42:06,900 For those in our families, in 832 00:42:06,900 --> 00:42:09,966 our circles of influence, who 833 00:42:09,966 --> 00:42:11,400 reject the gospel. 834 00:42:11,699 --> 00:42:14,766 Only you can give them sight, 835 00:42:14,766 --> 00:42:15,800 just like you did with us. 836 00:42:15,900 --> 00:42:18,766 And just like you did with this blind man. 837 00:42:18,900 --> 00:42:22,566 And it is a great source 838 00:42:22,566 --> 00:42:25,699 of encouragement to us to 839 00:42:25,699 --> 00:42:28,766 know that you use our prayers as 840 00:42:28,766 --> 00:42:31,833 a means to bring sinners 841 00:42:31,833 --> 00:42:35,266 out of spiritual sight. 842 00:42:35,599 --> 00:42:38,733 We don't need to understand how all of that works. 843 00:42:38,766 --> 00:42:40,633 We just know that it's true. 844 00:42:40,699 --> 00:42:43,833 So help us, Lord, to 845 00:42:43,833 --> 00:42:47,866 make a commitment to those who we are praying for, even now that 846 00:42:47,900 --> 00:42:51,266 are close to us, who reject Christ and reject the gospel, 847 00:42:51,266 --> 00:42:53,966 to say to you, as Jacob did. 848 00:42:54,066 --> 00:42:57,666 I will not let you go, Lord, until 849 00:42:57,666 --> 00:43:00,300 you bless me, until you save them. 850 00:43:00,433 --> 00:43:02,366 In Jesus' name we pray. 851 00:43:02,466 --> 00:43:03,133 Amen.