Rev Gideon Lee
How many of you enjoyed Rev Benjamin Yeoh's message last week? What did he talked about? Faith? The ability to see beyond your circumstances. To see the bigness of your God. And the future reward from God. Not look at the now but what God will do in the future.
I want to continue talking about seeing. Seeing beyond our circumstances.
John 9
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.
17 Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God, ’” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
I want you to note a few things.
v1 This man was blind from birth. He was most probably begging. Back in those days, if you had any infirmities, you'd probably have to beg and usually at the temple. People then believed in giving alms as being meritorious.
They asked if it is his fault that he is blind. What would you do when you see someone in need? You would try to help him or meet his need. But his disciples were more interested in a theological question. Whose fault was it that he is blind? Who sinned? This guy or his parent's sin?
Jesus was not interested in their theological question. He said neither. I am not talking about our church but sometimes we as Christians when we are faced with a need we are more concerned about the theological questions but God is more interested in meeting the need. What did Jesus do?
He spat on the ground and played with mud. Where has this happened in the bible before. He spat on the mud, took the mud and put it on the man's eyes.
We don't know if he had eyeballs or not. Maybe he has but cannot see or maybe no eyeballs and just a cavity. Probably there was no eye balls so the mud can be put into the cavity. He told the man to go wash his eyes after which he could see.
The only time this has happened was when God created man from earth. He fashioned the earth and breathed life into it. Jesus did the same because he is God. He replicated creation. Only God can do it.
He could see. How many times in these situation we see the Pharisees coming and asked how can this be done on a sabbath? It was supposed to be a day of rest. How dare this man healed you on a sabbath. It's like you come to church and how dare God heals on a Sunday. Or how a man can be saved on a Sunday.
The man replied in v11. He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
He referred to Jesus as the man called Jesus. Noticed as you go on in v17, his revelation of Jesus changes. He now sees Jesus as a prophet.
v17 Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
v35 it went even further. Jesus is now the son of man.
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
This morning I want to point out a very important fact. Especially in the KJV. You should have a KJV version.
v6 he anointed the eyes of the man's eyes, as in Christ the anointed one. He did not just put mud on this man's eyes but he anointed his eyes.
v11 Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
He christened his eyes. Like when they launch a new ship they would break a bottle of wine and christian the ship.
This morning my question to you is whether your eyes are anointed. What happens when your eyes are being christened, it changes the way you see yourself.
In general human beings are selfish. But we must move from being selfish. When babies are born, they don't see very well. They only see images but as the baby grow their vision becomes clearer. For babies everything is about the baby. Parents, your life changed when your baby came.
In my case everything changed when my first child came. It changes my driving. I keep to the speed limit. I use my signals. When you travel you pack for your child. The strollers and so many other things. The baby is all about the baby.
It's like us when we first became a Christian. It must move from just me and myself to others. Someone said conversion is from that belongs to me to I belong to that. It moves from self service to serving others. We have to expand our vision for others. From "do something for me to do something for others".
Jesus was interested in meeting needs. When our eyes are anointed it changes the way we see ourselves. Our view must change. Are our eyes christened?
Secondly, it changes the way we see other people.
Once a mother went to a cafe with her 6 year old son. Just before the meal came the mother said let's say grace. The son was excited and began to pray. And in the prayer he asked that God will bless him with an ice cream. The patrons there clapped and thought that it was cute and clever.
But a woman said how can this boy asked God for ice cream. So the son felt bad and asked the mother whether he did anything wrong. The mother said, no you did nothing wrong. Maybe the lady needed ice cream. Someone in the cafe was touched and gave this boy an ice cream. So when the ice cream came, the boy took the ice cream and gave it to the woman. And he said to the woman, I think you need this ice cream more.
When our eyes are anointed we see others differently.
Lastly, it changes the way we see God.
Just like this man when he received his sight he saw Jesus different. He saw Jesus as the son of man. Jesus is all about the people. His revelation of Jesus changed when his eyes were opened from a man, to a prophet, to the son of man.
Who is Jesus to you? I know you will give me a Sunday school answer. Jesus is your Lord and saviour but does your actions say that? Is he God to you? Do you see him as that? I pray that our eyes will be christianed. It will change your vision.
It will change the way you see yourself. It will change the way you see others and it will change the way you see God.
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