LOC #36: THE LIGHT AT WORK (John 9)

(This message may be used as an individual sermon or as part of the series.)

JOHN 9 – THE LIGHT AT WORK

LIFE OF CHRIST #36

Jesus is the light of the world. John 8:12, John 1:1-5

It was after Jesus had shown mercy to the woman taken in adultery that Jesus was still in Jerusalem after the Feast of Tabernacles. We are not certain where he was. Perhaps he was near the temple.

Vs. 1 – There was a man who was blind from birth.

Vs. 2 – Jesus’ disciples asked a theological question. Based on what they had been taught, they felt that all illness was caused by someone’s sin. So they wanted to know, whose sin was responsible for the blindness. Was it something the blind man had done, or was it the sin of the parents.

What is the source of all illness in the world?

It is sin! Death did not enter into the world until after Adam and Eve had sinned. They were in a perfect environment. Therefore, sickness did not enter into the world until after Adam and Eve had sinned.

So, all sickness is actually caused by sin.

And some sickness is caused by the sins of parents. For instance the suffering of baby with AIDS might be caused by the sin of the parents.

And some sickness is caused by our own sins. A person who habitually overeats, smokes or abuses alcohol can bring about sickness to his body.

But as Jesus will indicate in the next verse, not all sickness is caused by some specific sin.

Vs. 3 – God had a purpose for this man’s suffering. There was no specific sin that caused his blindness.

The purpose of the sickness was that the works of God would be revealed in him.

Beloved there are times when we suffer illness or other problems so that the glory of God may be revealed in us! Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4

Vs. 4 – In the original language, the word “I” is “we”. Jesus is saying to His disciples, “We must work the works of him that sent me.”

I feel that that the word “We” is still in effect today.

We must work the works of the Father. That’s what Jesus has given us to do. John 14:12-14

While we are alive it is “day”.

The night of death is coming when no man can work.

Whatever good you are going to accomplish must be accomplished before you die. And you don’t know when that will be.

Vs. 5 – At this point Jesus was still physically in the world.

He was the light of the world.

And as light illumines, so did Jesus.

Question – Is Jesus still the light of the world?

Of course He is! How does He shine today?

He shines through His Word.

He shines through His Spirit.

He shines through us! Matthew 5:14-16

Now we are going to see Jesus at work in the life of this blind man. We see the Light at work.

JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S EYES – Vss. 6-12

Vs. 6-7 – Why did Jesus make mud, put it on the blind man’s eyes and tell him to go wash? Couldn’t he have just spoken a word or touched Him and achieved the same?

Of course he could have!

We do not know for sure why Jesus did it this way. Perhaps he was testing the blind man’s faith as God did with a certain leper named Naaman. Naaman was told to wash himself in the Jordan River 7 times. He did and He was healed.

Whatever the reason, Jesus is God, and can go about the healing process anyway He sees fit!

The blind man went to the Pool of Siloam and washed.

It wasn’t long before he was back and seeing.

Vss. 8-9 – The man caused an immediate stir. People who are blind often look blind. They look different. He looked different because he was no longer blind.

Some asked if this was the man who used to sit and beg.

Some said, “Yep, that’s him!”

Others said, “Nope, he just looks like him.”

The former blind man left no doubts.

He said, “I’m him!”

Vss. 10-12 – Of course, the people asked the obvious question, “What happened!”

The man answered them by telling of the man named Jesus who had made clay, put it on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.

They wanted to know where Jesus was. The blind man didn’t know. Jesus had left. And remember that the blind man hadn’t seen Jesus as yet.

Jesus still gives light to the blind today.

When a sinner comes to the point of being convicted of his sin and of his need for help, Jesus is opening blind eyes through His Spirit. John 16:8-10

When you and I as Christians see things which we hadn’t seen before, we are being given Jesus’ light through the Holy Spirit.

When you and I as Christians walk in His light, we will deal with sin in our lives. 1 John 1:5-7

JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S MIND – Vss. 13-34

Vs. 13 – Evidently some Pharisees had been appointed to have jurisdiction over certain religious matters. The man was taken to them.

Vs. 14 – Here is the issue. Jesus had done this healing on the Sabbath day. The Pharisees considered it a violation of the Sabbath to heal someone who is sick.

Many rules and regulations concerning the Sabbath had been added to God’s law. It was man’s law, not God’s that Jesus had violated.

Vss. 15-16 – The former blind man told what happened and there was an immediate debate over the Lord Jesus.

Some said, “This man is not from God. He broke the Sabbath!”

Others said, “How can a sinner do miracles like this?”

Vs. 17 – They asked the opinion of the blind man. His eyes were opened enough for him to see that Jesus was at least a prophet.

Vss. 18-22 – The Jews were not ready to concede that Jesus had worked a miracle. They were thinking that maybe it was a hoax.

So they brought in the man’s parents. They asked questions.

“Is this your son?”

“Was he born blind?”

“How is it that he now sees?”

The parents answered.

“Yes, this is our son.”

“Yes, he can now see.”

“But we don’t know how it happened.”

(They lied because they did not want to be excommunicated from the synagogue.)

“Our son is of legal age. Ask him!”

Vs. 24 – They brought the man who had been blind back into the proceedings.

They told him to give God the praise for the healing. “Don’t give credit to Jesus because we know that He’s a sinner!”

Vs. 25 – The man was not about to debate whether Jesus was a sinner was not.

But no matter what they said about Jesus, the man knew one thing, “Once I was blind, but now I see.”

Vs. 26 – They were still looking for a way to discredit Jesus, so they asked him again what happened.

Vs. 27 – I think the man was being sarcastic. “You’re asking me so much about Him. Do you want to be his disciples?”

Vs. 28-29 – That set the Pharisees off.

“You’re his disciple. We’re the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t where this guy came from.”

Vss. 30-33 – Now we see how completely Jesus had opened this man’s mind.

“This man’s opened my eyes, and you don’t know where He came from! That’s amazing.”

“We know that God doesn’t hear sinners.” He was right, according to Psalm 66:18.

“Since the beginning of the world, such a miracle hasn’t been performed. If this man wasn’t from God, He couldn’t do this or anything else.”

Jesus had given light to this man’s mind.

And let me tell you, when our minds grasp the things of God as this man did, it is because Jesus, the light of the world, has given light to our minds through his Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:15-16

Vs. 34 – The Pharisees were so incensed at the man that they excommunicated him from the synagogue.

Remember, when we have light from Christ in our minds, we are not always going to be accepted or popular.

JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S HEART – Vss. 35-39

Vs. 35 – I’m sure the man was hurting and confused. He had received a great miracle, and instead of the religious leaders rejoicing with him, they persecuted him and excommunicated Him.

When Jesus heard what had happened, He found him.

And when we hurt Jesus will find us.

The man was ready for a heart decision.

Jesus had given light to his eyes.

Jesus had given light to his mind.

Now it was the heart’s turn.

When we come to Christ for salvation:

Jesus opens our eyes to see our sin.

Jesus opens our minds to understand what Christ has done for us in His death, burial, and resurrection.

Jesus opens our hearts to faith.

Jesus asked him:

“Do you believe on the “Son of God”.

Vs. 36 – “Show me who it is Lord, that I may believe on Him.”

Vs. 37 – “The one talking to you is this person.”

Vs. 38 – He believed and worshipped.

Whenever a person believes it is because Jesus, through His Spirit, has opened His heart.

We have no capacity to believe except by God’s help. Ephesians 2:1, John 3:3, 6-7,

My friend, perhaps Jesus is talking to you this morning.

Perhaps he is showing you that you need to place your faith in Christ alone as your Savior. Perhaps he is giving light to your heart! If so place your faith and trust in Him right now.

And Christian anytime you are at a point of making a right decision to do the right thing, I believe that Jesus, through his Spirit is giving light to your heart. John 16:13

Make sure that when the Lord gives light to your heart that you are obedient.

JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S EYES

JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S MIND

JESUS GAVE LIGHT TO THE MAN’S HEART

He will give you light as well if you ask.

(This message may be used as an individual sermon or as part of the series.)

MATTHEW 9:23-27 – STORMY WEATHER

LIFE OF CHRIST #24

We all face trials and troubles often. It is what Cole Porter called “Stormy Weather” in a song that he wrote.

There were a couple of times when the disciples faced storms on the Sea of Galilee.

As we look at this story about literal storm, we also learn lessons about the figurative storms that cause trials and troubles in our lives. Let’s see what lessons we can learn this morning about stormy weather.

STORMY WEATHER IS BEST FACED WHEN JESUS IS IN THE BOAT

Vs. 23 – Think of the boat as our lives.

Although God is present everywhere, there is a special sense in which God is present in our lives. When He indwells us, He has taken up special residence inside of us. John 14:16-17

God the Holy Spirit dwells inside of the Christian.

He is there to guide us, protect us, keep us, teach us, and comfort us.

And God has promised the Christian that this presence is unending! Hebrews 13:5-6

You have heard people say, and might have said yourself, “I wouldn’t want to face this problem without the Lord!”

How true! If God is willing to take up residence in our lives through his Holy Spirit it would be dumb not to avail ourselves of His presence.

When you trust Christ as your payment for sins, you are what the Bible calls, born again, by the Spirit of God. And God the Holy Spirit takes up residence in your life. Romans 8:9

If you have truly trusted Christ as your Savior, you have God’s presence in your life no matter what the storm may be. Make sure that you have Christ in the boat that is your life!

STORMY WEATHER RESULTS FROM OBEDIENCE

Vs. 23 – The Lord Jesus entered the boat. The disciples followed Him into the boat. It was the Lord Jesus who decided where they were going. Luke 8:22

The disciples ended up in a storm on the Sea of Galilee because they were following Jesus in obedience.

Of course, being obedient to God as a Christian and following Jesus’ leadership in our lives is the right thing to do. Luke 9:23-24

Following Jesus after trusting Him for forgiveness does not mean that it will be an easy life. In fact, we will have storms. 2 Timothy 3:12, James 1:2-4

The storms that Jesus leads through will make us strong and mature. And I’d rather follow Jesus in the middle of a storm than to not follow Jesus. Being in the center of the Lord’s will is always the safest place to be.

But you’ll also face storms if you’re not obedient to God.

Would you rather face storms being in the center of God’s will, or out of God’s will? Which makes the most sense?

STORMY WEATHER IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS

Vs. 24 – I don’t have to tell you how dangerous storms can be. Just consider last year’s tsunami and hurricanes Ivan and Rita.

This storm was a very violent storm, and even seasoned fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James, and John were having trouble with it.

The storms of life which we face are also dangerous.

Sometimes we will be in physical danger because of persecution, accidents or illness.

Other times we are in emotional danger with our “storms” threatening to overwhelm us with fear and/or depression.

Other times we are in Spiritual danger, with Satan’s attacks challenging us to give up or to sin.

And this verse alludes to another danger. We might be concerned because in the midst of the storm God appears to be asleep. He does not seem to be responding to our problems during the storm. He seems to be silent.

Our Lord Jesus was able to sleep because He had a human body that got tired. He was also able to sleep because, being sinless, He had a clean conscience. He was also able to sleep, because He quietly allowed Himself to rest in the hands of His loving Heavenly Father.

If you are doing what is right before the Lord, confessing your sins as a Christian, and striving to live for Him, don’t panic when God appears to be asleep. He’ll show Himself to be very much alive at just the right time.

STORMY WEATHER INVOKES FEAR AND PANIC

Vs. 25 – When storms come we tend to fear. And sometimes when storms come we will go into a panic. The situation seems to be absolutely hopeless!

Humans tend to be fearful. If we didn’t tend to be fearful, God would not have put so many verses in the Bible telling us not to be afraid. I’ll just give you two samples, but there are many more “do not fear” verses in the Bible. Psalm 27:1, Isaiah 41:10

We tend to fear and worry about what might happen but hasn’t happened.

We tend to fear and worry about the future.

We tend to fear and worry about the opinions of others.

We tend to fear and worry about our children, our parents, our spouses.

Then comes the times our problems are so real to us that they tend to overwhelm us. We hit the panic mode.

Yes, many fears are justified. But there is a proper way to handle fear.

These seasoned fishermen were literally in over their heads and they knew it, coming to Jesus in panic.

STORMY WEATHER REQUIRES PRAYER AND FAITH

Vs. 25 – The disciples awoke the Lord Jesus.

Their anxious prayer was an indication that they had come to the end of themselves, and that they had at least a little faith that Jesus could help.

I personally think that they waited too long to ask Jesus for help. The moment things got a little stormy, I think they should have come to Him.

We are like that. If things seem to be just a little stormy or troublesome, we’ll just worry over it and try to solve it ourselves, instead of bringing it to God right away.

But when problems get full blown, we come in a panic with a little, but not much faith that God can help. Philippians 4:6, James 1:5-8

Vs. 26 – Note that Jesus did not rebuke the disciples for waking Him up. Like I said, I feel that He would have welcomed being woken up sooner.

Notice our Lord’s calm rebuke in the midst of the storm.

He was not in a panic. He’s totally under control. He can even take the time to rebuke the disciples before He did anything. He is master of the situation.

Let’s remember when we give our stormy problems to God He is not in a panic. He can solve the problem leisurely if He chooses to. There is no reason to get in a dither or bent out of shape.

STORMY WEATHER REVEALS THE GLORY AND POWER OF GOD

Vs. 26 – Jesus said the word and there was perfect calm. It was like there had been no storm. There was no rocking of the waves that normally follow a storm. There was perfect peace.

When Jesus speaks the Word there is perfect peace.

Sometimes the problem totally disappears, but more often than not the place where the greatest miracle has occurred is inside of us.

We are at peace.

God has calmed the ragging in our souls.

Vs. 27 – The disciples were absolutely amazed! The Lord Jesus had done what they had never seen before. A human being told the storm to cease and it did. The winds obeyed Him! The waves obey Him.

They had a new appreciation for the power of Jesus!

They had a new appreciation for the glory of Jesus!

And when Jesus calms our storms, we too, should have a new appreciation for the power and glory of the Lord Jesus.

We should be amazed!

We should be filled with praise and worship.

We should be ready to trust Him when an even bigger storm comes.