God's Work In Us
John 9:1-34 ·October 16, 2022· Joel Passmore
Part of: John
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So this is our second time worshiping together. I said last week that I was going to do just a short little two-week service series on God's people and God's income. Last week, we talked about God's work of ruins. We talked about the mission field being called out to be used by God. What is it like for us? What do we experience? How do we need to depend on God as we are going forward into the world? Today, we're going to talk about God's work in us.
Because God doesn't just work through us, he works in us. We're going to be looking at John 9 today, the entire chapter. We're doing the entire chapter because it goes together. This chapter is, it hangs together. It needs to be read and understood together. It's one story. Now, it's tempting to look at this as a unique event, like a news story or something. Something crazy that happened to someone that one time. But it's not meant to be that for us.
It is meant to tell us what Jesus does in this one man's life. And it's meant to give us a picture of what discipleship looks like. This is a story about how God works in us. God heals a blind man. I'm giving you the quick version here. God heals a blind man. And the very healing that Christ does to him thrusts him into controversy immediately in his whole community. Right? And he immediately has to choose. Is he going to be allied with Jesus? Or is he going to protect himself?
He chooses to align himself with Christ. And it costs him. But through it, through it all, Jesus directs him into greater faith, greater knowledge, and greater worship. So it really is a picture for us of what it looks like to be disciples of Christ. It's not a unique event. It's a cycle that happens over and over and over in our lives if we're following Christ. He heals us. We endure difficulty because we follow him. And we come to him in that difficulty.
We ask him for help. We worship him. And he grows us. It's that cycle over and over and over. This is how God displays his work in us. So, buckle up. It's a long chapter. It's printed for you in the bulletin. It's going to be up here on the screen, maybe. Okay, great. And, of course, you know, your plain old, good old-fashioned Bible is still worth. This is the word of God for us today. It's entirely trustworthy because God is entirely trustworthy.
As he passed by, he being Jesus, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while of his day. Night is coming when no one more. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva.
Then he anointed the man's eye with the mud and said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which means set. So he went and washed and came back to see. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, Is this not the man who used to sit in bed? Some others said, It is he. Others said, No, but he is like him. He kept saying, I am the man. So they said to him, Then how were your eyes open? He answered, The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash.
So I went and washed and received my sight. They said to him, Where is he? He said, I do not know. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now, it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, He put mud on my eyes, and I washed and I see. Some of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.
But others said, How can a man who is a sinner do such signs? And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes? He said, He is a prophet. The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, and so they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked them, Is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?
His parents answered, We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how now he sees, we do not know. Nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is of age. He will speak for himself. His parents said these things because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be the Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, He is of age. Ask him. So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, Give glory to God.
We know that this man is a sinner. He answered, Whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. They said to him, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? And they reviled him, saying, You are his disciples, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we don't know where he comes from.
The man answered, Why? This is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man who won't lie. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered him, You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?
And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man? And he answered, And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Jesus said to him, You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. He said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped him. Jesus said, For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, Are we also blind?
Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no guilt. But now that you say we see, your guilt remains. It's the word of the Lord. It takes me, y'all. Here's the main point of today's passage. God uses flawed people in hard settings to display his work. That's it. If you can remember one thing from today, that's it. God uses flawed people, like you and me, in hard settings to display his work. This story really has three sections. It's got an opening, it's got a rising action section, and then it's got the resolution.
That's how we're going to handle it today. The first section I'm calling healing. This is the man's healing, verses 1 through 7. So Jesus and his disciples, they're out somewhere, they've just left the Feast of Booths, and they see a man born blind. Jesus sees them, actually, but it's the disciples who ask the question. Verse 2, they ask, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? They want to understand it. What happened here, Jesus?
Whose fault was this? Now, this is a misguided question. For one thing, they're completely overlooking the needy person that's right in front of them. This is not the right time for some kind of theology debate for life. There's someone in need right here. For another thing, they assume that there has to be some kind of direct responsibility. So then, there are two choices. It's either him or his parents. It's got to be one of the us. But this is not necessarily true.
The disciples are forgetting that when Adam sinned, it impacted humanity, and it impacted the world that we live in, both things. That's why we talk about living in a fallen world. The whole world now is characterized by both beauty and brokenness. Beauty because it still testifies to God's power and glory. Brokenness because it's marred by things like disease. Disastrous. Disastrous. Death. Things like this man. The condition that he was in. So, give the disciples just a little bit of credit.
They're looking at the situation, and they know that something's not right. And that is the correct response. They see the man, and they recognize this is not the way picture's supposed to be.
It's an example of our broken world. God says, in Romans 8, that creation groans for its redemption from its bondage to corruption. And that we groan with it. The disciples are groaning. Now, when they're groaning, they ask a really insensitive and this kind of question. But they're still groaning. They want something to be done. And yet, there is hope. God is sovereign, and he is in control, even over a broken world. So, this is what Jesus wants to redirect them towards.
He says, guys, hold on. You're off on the wrong foot already. It's not that. Stop thinking about whose fault it is. I want to tell you about the purposes of God. What God is going to do through this. Verse 3. It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. He points to them in an entirely different direction. Rather than think about fault, think about purpose, he's saying. God intends to use this man.
The man's blindness is a stage that God has set. And is going to perform something that's dead. Remarkable and miraculous. He's going to work in his life and display his power and his glory. And that's exactly what he does. Now, one reason I love this story is that I was also born with something that doesn't work right. I've been a stutterer ever since I could speak.
If you don't know what stuttering is, it's when the muscles that are used for speech somehow don't work properly. There's kind of a breakdown or something. And when there's a breakdown and stuttering begins to happen, you tense up a little bit because it's uncomfortable. And you want to kind of force your way through it. And so then it gets even worse because the tension actually makes the breakdown even worse.
At times in my life, it's been pretty debilitating. Anybody here in middle school? Raise your hand if you're in middle school. Okay. So, middle school was one of those times. Particularly seventh grade. When I was called on in class, I couldn't get anything out. Nothing. There would either be just silence as I was hung up on that first sound. Couldn't even make the muscles work. Or something would come out, but then it would just kind of keep repeating.
It happened all the time. It was a brand new school. I would ride the bus to school and I would be sweating through my clothes already. Just thinking about what I was going to happen on that day.
It's a lot better now, but it's not gone. Jesus didn't make mud and put it on my tongue or something. I still struggle with my speech sometimes. But I learned what this man learned, that Jesus sees me, that he cares for me. When I was ashamed, God was my safe hiding place. When I was modest, I learned that he never rejects me. The works of God began to be displayed in me as I trusted and believed what he said about me instead of what other people say about me.
And I learned that he intends to use me. So I like the story because I kind of identify a little bit with the man. What he endured was far worse than me, probably. But I still identify a little bit with him. And maybe you can too. Maybe there's something in you that doesn't work right. Maybe there's some part of you that feels chronically broken. Like everybody else is easy and for you it's not. Maybe there's some part of your story that is just difficult and you're waiting for healing on that.
Maybe you feel overlooked. Like this man probably was. Maybe you feel like Jesus can't use you. Well, I want this passage to be a reminder to you that no matter how you were born, no matter how sin has impacted you and your frame, God can display his work in you. He can do something in you. He intends to do that. In fact, sometimes it's those particular areas of brokenness, of hurt, where God does his greatest work. Brokenness is a stage to show off God's work.
And here in John 9, Jesus sets that into motion. He spits, he makes mud, puts it on the man's eyes. There's lots of ideas why he did something so crazy, but he did it. Can you imagine this man walking down the road? I don't know how far he had to go to get to that pool. It was some distance. It was at least across town. He's already blind. Now he looks like a fool. But he obeys. He trusts Jesus, even though he can't see yet. He's following. He's going.
When he tries it off, he blinks his eyes and he can see. An adult man sees for the first time. But the display of God's work in him has only just begun. Because here's what happens next. He gives his step to him. Now, try to imagine this. A man blind from birth has gone someplace, been healed, and he's all by himself. He's coming back into town. For the first time, he can see what his town looks like. He can see the faces of his neighbors. He can see his parents.
He's seeing all this for the first time. And what greets him? Not a celebration, but controversy. Questions. Suspicion. The very fact that he was healed thrusts him into a firestorm of controversy. This is such a unique miracle, people can't believe it. His neighbors are the first ones to question him. There's even a debate about his identity. Imagine being so different because you've encountered Jesus that people do a double take. They don't even think it's you anymore.
That's a lot of change. Something to pray for. This is the first opportunity the man has to speak, and he does not let the opportunity pass him by. He says, I am the man. I am the man. This is not a brag. He's saying, no, no, it's me. They ask for his story, and he tells it. He says, I received my sight from the man called Jesus. The man called Jesus made mud and anointed me, and I can see. So the neighbors, they're not happy about this. They bring him to the Pharisees.
The Pharisees are the religious authorities. They question the man, and he again tells the story. When they learn that the healing happened on the Sabbath, trouble starts. They get incensed. Some of them feel like the law of Moses had been violated, and so Jesus can't be the person from God that he claimed to be. Now, really, in case you don't know, it really was their misunderstanding of the law of Moses that was violated. It was not really the law of Moses.
It was their misunderstanding of it. Jesus had given them another sign of who he was. The book of John is all about these signs, and this one should have been so clear to these men who were steeped in the Old Testament. They knew what the Word of God said. Two prophecies in Isaiah say that God's redemption would be shown by the blind receiving sight. We read one of those earlier. Two prophecies. Imagine you're going on a trip. So kids, imagine this.
You're in the car. One of your parents puts in the destination of the GPS, but they put in the wrong destination. So you're going the wrong way. Maybe not totally the wrong way, but you're going wrong enough. And you see a sign that is labeled, a road sign, a label for where you're trying to go. And you just blow right by it. Because you're like, your parents are like, no, the GPS says keep on going. If you put in the wrong destination, and you trust that thing, you're going to drive by sign after sign that says, this is where your stop is.
That's exactly what's happening with the parents of you right now. They're blowing right by all these signs because they're like, nope, our GPS says this, but they have gotten it wrong.
Now they can't decide among themselves, even with all of their learning and study, so they ask the man. They put it to him, verse 17. So they say again to the blind man, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes? Another opportunity to speak. Now what does the man say? He is a prophet. No longer just the man called Jesus. He's a prophet. Next, his parents are interrogated. They feel threatened. They are threatened. To be put out of the synagogue, it's kind of hard for us to imagine that it would be a very terrible punishment.
Not only would they lose the place where they worship, they would be ostracized from the community. They would be basically blacklisted from the community. Kind of a mark would be put on them that they would live for the rest of their lives. So when push comes to shove, their parents are like, you know what? Why don't you ask him? Let him speak for himself. They say as much as they can without getting in trouble, and then they turn it back to him.
Thanks, mom and dad. So they bring the man back in. In verse 24, they say to him, give glory to God. Let me know this man is this better. Now that means, tell the truth. Tell the truth. We have already made up our minds. There is no way he healed you. Tell us the truth. This is the climax of the story. This is the moment when the man is faced with his biggest child of the Adam. And what does he say? You have to imagine this. It's like a courtroom.
They are fiercely interrogating him, yelling at him. Basically telling him, this is your moment. God is here. You have to give glory to him by telling the truth. Don't lie. Because he's going to judge you, and we're going to kick you out of this place.
He says this. Whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know. That though I was blind, now I see. Wow. What an amazing reply. How bold. For someone that earlier that day was begging at the side of the room.
How simple, yet how profound. He doesn't get distracted by their intellectual hang-ups. Do you see that? He just goes right by. You know what? I don't even know about that. I just want to tell you, again, what my story is. This is how Jesus has healed me. Listen, church, you don't have to have all the right answers to everybody's questions. You can see here, sometimes they don't even want the right answers. They don't have ears for the right answers.
They may have ears for your story. Even if you don't know the right thing to say to answer their questions, if you have encountered Jesus, you have a story. You have a story to tell. Sometimes we need a little practice to think about what our story is. Maybe it's not quite as vivid and clear as a blind man receiving sight. But if you belong to Jesus, you have a story of how he has impacted you and changed you.
And when you don't know how to answer someone's question, you can say, I can tell you what Jesus did for me. You can testify about that, about his work in your life, about who you would be apart from his merciful love, of who you are now because of his intervention.
Sadly, this answer is not what the Pharisees are looking for, right? That's not the answer they were wanting. And they ask him again for the details. They must be feeling like fools at this point. And the man makes them look like fools. The man realizes that their whole interrogation is a charade. They aren't impartial at all, and so he calls them out with a delicious bit of sarcasm. I've told you already, you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you also want to become his disciples? Oh man, I bet he had a smile on his face when he said that. And now the claws come out. The Pharisees have had enough. They scorn him. They brag about themselves. We are disciples of Moses. But then they slip up. Verse 29, they say, as to this man Jesus, we don't know where he comes from. Now for the first time, the healed man says something without being asked a question. This is the first time that he takes the initiative and says something.
And he absolutely destroys the position of these so-called experts. He says in verse 30, why this is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. Basically, he's saying, well, who has more authority? The man who healed the blind, or the guys who can't figure out even where he came from?
Verse 33, if this man were not from God, he could do nothing. Now, that's his microphone. This is more than just an impressive takedown. This is a growth in his confession of Christ, right? The man called Jesus. A little bit later, he's a prophet. A little bit later, he is from God. This process of being pushed and interrogated has deepened his alignment with Jesus. His clarity about who Jesus is. This is the work of God in us, loving the approval of God more than we fear the rejection of people.
Loving the approval of God more than we fear the rejection of people. The man chose to align himself with Jesus and tell this story, and it cost him. The Pharisees threw him out. He's lost credibility, family relationships. He's lost his synagogue, and much of his community has turned against him. But the day isn't over yet. Something else has. Let's talk about the man's worship, starting in verse 35. In every act of costly discipleship, there is Jesus with you.
There is Jesus to receive you. When you're feeling hurt, when you're feeling the cost of following him. Jesus knows the man's allegiance has cost him nearly everything. He goes to find him. Jesus goes looking for him, because he wants to call the man deeper. Verse 35, do you believe in the son? The man answers again, and who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? He wants to know. He's been through a lot that day. He still probably hasn't even seen the face of Jesus.
Remember, Jesus sent him away to get his sight back. He comes back into town. Jesus is nowhere to be found. He doesn't even know what Jesus looks like. He wants to see the face of his healer. He wants to know. He's eager to believe. But he still doesn't understand who Jesus is. So Jesus makes it clear. You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. Now what a sweet relief it must have been to hear that. Lord, I believe, the man says, and he works with them.
What an amazing resolution to this story. What a day that this man has had. Here, too, he displays the work of God to a changed heart. He's worshiping Jesus for the first time. He's lost much that day, but he has gained far more. Jesus concludes here with some words that are meant to be an explanation and a warning. The light provokes a response. When the light turns on, people respond. People are judged by their response. Either they're humble and they're needy, and they come towards the light, or they're arrogant and they're self-righteous, and they pull away from it.
The Pharisees still scoff, still clench their teeth. It's at the very end of the story, but there's a humble man, prostrate before his Savior, worshiping Jesus. And he now sees in more ways than one. The man's been changed, and his new life has now begun. Jesus intervened in this man's life, and the man trusted him.
I'm going to close with a story, a different story, a true story, about a block of marble. Some time ago, there was a block of marble sitting in a stone yard. It had been set apart to be shaped into a sculpture, but things had not gone according to plan. One sculptor started on it. He did some work on it for two years, and then he stopped. He gave up. It sat there for ten years, and then another sculptor tried. He worked on it for a couple of months, and then he quit.
Why did they give it up? Because the stone just had too many problems. For one thing, it was a very odd shape. It was very large, but it was very narrow and tall. There was not much room to kind of work out a design. The bigger problem was that the stone itself was of very poor quality. There were cracks. There were problems in the grain, which meant that as you were carving it, it would break in odd places. It made it unstable. It made it hard to sculpt.
It made it prone to error. After the second sculptor abandoned it, it sat outside in a courtyard in all kinds of weather. For 25 more years. Finally, in 1501, another sculptor said, You know what? I can work with this.
He was only 26 years old, and he worked on it faithfully for three years. Do you want to see what he made? Let's go ahead and show him, Grace. This neglected, flawed, abandoned piece of stone became the most impressive sculptor ever to be made by man.
Do you know why? Because it was in the hands of a master. It was not the stone. It was the sculptor. It was in his hands. Don't believe the lies that you were too flawed for God to use you. Don't believe him.
God has a purpose for you. No matter what brokenness you have endured, the master has a purpose to display his works in you. But it takes chiseling. It's difficult. It's painful sometimes. But he's faithful. He's faithful to us. His steadfast love never ceases. Church, put yourself in the master's hands. Trust him. Follow him. Trust his purposes for you and behold how he will display his work in you. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.
Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me. Stay with me.