A PILGRIM S PROGRESS (John 9:35-41)

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1 A PILGRIM S PROGRESS (John 9:35-41) A. Jesus & the disciples came upon a man who was born blind, & the Lord gave the man his eye-sight, but only after he met a certain condition. 1. To receive his physical sight, the man had to wash the clay from his eyes in the Pool of Siloam. 2. This miracle is about more than giving eye-sight; it s about proving that Jesus is the light of the world, & that He gives spiritual sight. B. What is spiritual sight anyway? a. Origin of life, human nature, Satan, angels, Jesus, the gospel, what happens after death: the resurrection, the judgment, Heaven & Hell. 3. But is just understanding these things on a cognitive level the same as spiritual sight? a. (John 16:8) Jesus was speaking of the effect that gospel preaching will have on the listeners; the word convict means to reprove, admonish or to correct someone to their shame. b. He was telling His disciples that some people will understand the truth, but they will NOT gain their spiritual sight. 1. The word sight in this context is a metaphor meaning knowledge, so spiritual sight implies knowing things that are spiritual. c. Why? Because one cannot have spiritual sight while living in the darkness & blindness of sin Since God is Spirit (John 4:24), we rely on Him for our knowledge of things that are spiritual. d. Because spiritual sight is only granted to those who follow the Lord (John 8:12); in other words, spiritual sight entails a knowing the truth by person experience & it is a gradual process.

2 C. Let s get back to the miracle. 1. Remember that when the people became aware of this wonderful event, instead of rejoicing with him they treated him cruelly. I. HIS GROWING FAITH (in Christ) BROUGHT PERSECUTION A. There is no evidence that anyone rejoiced with this man when his sight was restored. 2. Last week we learned why so many people who are confronted with irrefutable truth can be blind to it & remain in their unbelief. 1. Rather than comforting him with words of joy, he was instead set up as an object of controversy & hostility. Why? D. Today we want to focus on the character of the once blind man. 1. He was a man of conviction not weakness, a defender of truth not human traditions, & one who feared God not human judgments. a. The parents feared losing their place in Jewish society, & the leaders feared losing their control of the people. 2. And since Jesus had gone on his way, they took out their frustrations on this man. [It is ironic, that he probably never felt cruelty more intensely than on the greatest, happiest day of his life. This man made a lot of progress in his faith in a short period of time (9:11, 17, 33), & today we want to follow along with his progress of faith (9:35-41).] 2 B. Paul informed us that persecution will confront all who desire to live godly in C.J (2 Tim 3:12), that is, all who wish to make spiritual progress & grow in faith.

3 1. Persecution (dioko) To run after a person in to catch him; to harass, trouble, & molest someone. 2. How do you know if you re making spiritual progress as a Christian? a. The heat of resistance will be hotter, & the pain of persecution will be more intense. b. Gratefully, the Lord s church is a refuge against persecution (Mark 10:28-31). [This man in one day, because of his faith in Jesus Christ, lost his family, his right to make a living & his privilege to worship with other Jews. Think of it, his first day to see the temple was his last day ever to be allowed to go there. His growing faith brought persecution.] A. Never was a person in greater need of a reward. 1. He had lost everything that a Jewish man would consider to be important. B. What was his reward (9:35-37)? 1. The giving of his sight? There s much more 2. How about being able to look into the face of the Son of God? 3. How about hearing Him speak the truth from His own mouth, rather than second hand? 4. How about having Him on YOUR side, & in YOUR defense (Job 5:8-16). 5. And the greatest reward of all, how about knowing Him through personal interaction? II. HIS GROWING FAITH (in Christ) WAS REWARDED a. The best way to know a person is to walk a mile in their shoes. 3

4 b. The once blind man now KNEW the Lord. III. HIS GROWING FAITH (in Christ) RESPONDED IN WORSHIP 4 1) Jesus KNEW what it was like to be ridiculed & rejected for teaching the truth. 2) And now the once blind man KNEW not only the truth about Jesus, but what it was like to be Jesus. 3) Paul KNEW these things too (Phil 3:8-10). [The more our faith in what we KNOW ABOUT Jesus drives us to follow Him, then the more we will come to KNOW Him. Song: Lord Make Calvary Real To Me or God Is So Good has a verse that says, Jesus Is Real. The only way our Lord can become REAL to us is by experiencing what He experienced. To do that will take an ever-increasing faith as exemplified by the once blind man (Heb 12:1-4). The more we suffer with Him, the more He begins to live in us (Rom 8:17; Gal 2:20), & the greater our hope that we will be glorified together with Him (Rom 8:17).] A. Our text shows a man who was blind in every sense of the word, but who was made to see in every sense of the word. 1. The first thing he did with his new life was defend the deity of his benefactor. 2. The second thing he did would have been the first thing he did if Jesus had been with him at the Pool of Siloam he worshipped Jesus? (9:38). B. Worship is a very personal & often private matter. 1. Being at the right place at the right time & doing the right things on Sunday morning does not make me a worshipper of God. 2. But when we know His Son, when we are willing to walk in His sometimes painful steps, then we are prepared & permitted to worship Him.

5 a. Actually, no one should ever see the greater part of our worship (Matt 6:3-4, 6, 16)! Jas 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. [This is not a command regarding the assembly.] TLB 13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should keep on praying about it. And those who have reason to be thankful should continually be singing praises to the Lord. 1 Thess 5:16-18 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. CLOSING A. The main point to which Jesus was leading (9:39-41). B. There are two types of unbelief : 1. Ignorant unbelief says, Instruct me, direct my faith. I want to be enlightened (1 Tim 1:13). 2. Arrogant unbelief says, I don t need any help. I already see. a. Arrogant unbelief will cause many to be lost, even among those who were once enlightened (Heb 6:4-6). There was an ophthalmologist (Jack Cooper) who said, There is nothing more exciting in my work than taking the bandages my patients. We do that in a dark room with the blinds closed. As we take off the bandages, we have someone slowly open the blinds. When the patient says, I can see. I respond, Not yet. Then I take them into another room where there is an eye chart on the wall. That chart is John 3:6. After the patient reads the chart, I give him a Bible & ask him to read John 1:4-5, A. Do you clearly see the Jesus as the word of God presents Him to us? Or do you see Him through the dirty lenses of tradition, hatred & prejudice? B. If you are in a state of spiritual blindness (unbelief), the healing of the blind man (John 9) is God s attempt to help you remove the attitudes in your life that keep you from clearly seeing His Son; light of the world. C. If you are spiritual sighted, walking in the light & growing in faith then your LIFE will naturally demonstrate as much light as Your SPEECH. D. But if you not spiritually sighted, then you are wearing bandages that need to come off before you can begin to truly know the Lord. E. The once blind man will offer the invitation today. Do you also want to become His disciples? (27) We must answer that question today! F. Will you arise & be baptized & wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord (Acts 22:16)? 5