The MESSAGE for October 22, 2023
A Case Planned In Heaven
John
9:1-41
Live Broadcast
By: Pastor, Rev.
Dr. Cullian W. Hill
Greater Concord Missionary Baptist
Church
In John’s gospel, they, the Jews, have asked
question after question, not wanting answers, but only to argue:
“Where is thy Father?”
(John 8:19), “Who art thou?” (John
8:25). “Will he kill himself?” (John
8:22), “Whom makest thou thyself?” (John
8:53). They had called him a liar (John
8:13), an illegitimate son, (John
8:41), a Samaritan (John
8:48), a demoniac (John
8:48,52). Finally, they had taken up stones to make an end
of him (John 8:59)
and who were they? The world has forgotten their names.
In this section we see him confounding the Jews,
(John 9:1-41).
First, we see the Lord delivering the blind man, (John
9:1-34). Their violent display of hostility in the temple
did not deter him. It only led him to give them another
demonstration of His deity, a deity they rejected and would
continue to reject until at last they had Him nailed to the
tree.
So, we begin with the case. (John
9:1-5). “And as Jesus passed by, He saw a man which was
blind from his birth (John
9:1). Something about this poor man’s need arrested Jesus.
His was a congenital disease, the only one recorded in the
gospels. The man was born blind. He had never seen the light of
day, the silver gleam of Galilee, or a sunset over Carmel. He
had never seen a daisy, a bird, a human face, he had grown up
from babyhood through boyhood to manhood, in the impenetrable
darkness of the totally blind. This case was also debatable, (John
9:2-3a), the disciples wanted to know: “Master, who did sin,
this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus said,
“Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: The supposition
was that all such disability was the result of sin. The Lord
swept those suggestions aside. This man’s blindness was not
punishment for sin. The Lord does not say that no human
disabilities are the result of sin. He says that such was not
the case in this man’s life. There was a higher cause. It was a
deliberate (John 9:3b-5)
case, planned in heaven with a specific divine purpose in mind.
Its first was to reveal God’s touch
(John 9:3b) in a
human life: “That the works of God should be made manifest in
Him.” No matter how contrary appearances may be from limited
perspective, we must take our stand on a threefold proposition:
God is too loving to be unkind; He is too wise to make any
mistakes, He is too powerful to be thwarted in his infinite
purpose. Doubtless, many people questioned the goodness of God
in the face of this man’s congenital disability.
On the surface of things, he seemed condemned to
a life of blindness and beggary, robbed of much that adds ease
and pleasure to life. This man’s blindness was the touch of God
in his life-not punitive not arbitrary. It was part of a plan
unknown to anyone but God and His Christ, a plan intended to
bring Christ into this man’s life and ultimate praise and glory
to God. It was also intended to reveal God’s timing,
(John 9:4) in a
human life: “I must work the works of Him that sent me while it
is day; the night cometh, when no man can work.”
In other words, this man’s blindness was timed by
God to coincide with the Lord’s earthly ministry. Perhaps part
of eternity will be devoted to unraveling for us some of the
marvels and mysteries of God’s ways. “He made known His ways
unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel” (Psalm
103.7).
The children of Israel could not see beyond their
circumstances; it was because they did not know God as well as
Moses knew Him. Moses could see farther than they. They could
see only the what of their circumstances; Moses could the why.
The Lord Jesus lived His moment by moment in
conscious cooperation with the known will of His Father. He
understood the reason for this man’s disability. It had been
planned to coincide with the Messiah’s earthly ministry. John
now begins to describe the cure and tell us how the man was
healed, John (9:6-7).
First came the clay,
John (9:1). He spat
on the ground, made clay, and placed it on the blind man’s eyes.
The command “go wash in the pool of Siloam”. He went away and
washed, and came back seeing. The miracle happened. He saw; he
was healed; his voice in testimony and praise of the one who had
given him sight.
There was a mixed reaction to the miracle. Those
acquainted with the man could hardly believe the evidence of
their own eyes. “Is not this he that sat and begged?” The man
who was blind, was blind no more. The man who begged, begged no
more. This is he. How were your eyes opened? A man that is
called Jesus made clay and anointed mine eyes. Where is he? “I
know not.” He did not know who he was or where he was. All he
knew was his name: Jesus!
The discussion in Jerusalem swirling around the
blind man’s cure soon came to the ear of the Pharisees. Jesus
had performed this miracle on the Sabbath (John
9:14). What sayest thou of Him, that He hath opened thine
eyes? He is a prophet.” (John
9:17) So they summoned the man’s parents. “Is this your son,
who you say was born blind? Yes, he is our son and yes he was
born blind. We cannot tell you how it is he can now see. We
don’t know how it happened or who made it happen.” Ask him. he
is a grown man he can speak for himself. Then again called they
the man that was blind, and said unto him, we know that this man
is a sinner.” “Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not; one
thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” (John
9:25) “Once, I was blind now I see.”
It is hard to refute a testimony like that. “What
did he to thee? How open he thine eyes?” They kept on needling
him, but he was not intimidated by them. “I have told you
already and ye did not hear: Wherefore would you hear it again?”
Then they reviled him, thou art His disciple. They abused him.
They looked with disdain at the man before them. Their lips
curled with scorn.
Such a miracle worker could have come from only
one place-heaven. Jesus knew all about this man. We can picture
him, thrilled with novelty of being able to see, yet at the same
time bewildered. He looked up and saw the blue vault of heaven
and fleecy clouds on the sky. He has never seen that before. He
had never seen the temple all agleam with gold; he had never
seen the birds fly; he had never seen a human face before. What
a variety of faces there were!
But I must close this message. Why did those
Pharisees refuse to acknowledge Jesus? And who exactly was He?
Where could He be found? What did Jesus look like? Jesus heard
that they had cast him out of the temple. Jesus found him. Jesus
said unto him, “Doth thou believe on the Son of God? (John
9:35) As Son of God he was co-eternal, co-equal with the
Father; he was worthy to be worshiped as God over all, blessed
for evermore. Jesus revealed himself: “Thou hast both seen Him
and it is He that taketh with thee” (John
9:37)
That voice; he had heard it before and he knew
its authority, truth, and power. “Lord I believe,” and he
worshiped Him. I am come into this world, that they which see
not, might see; and that they which see might be made blind. The
blindness of the nation of Israel toward Christ, epitomized by
these Pharisees, was real. It led them to murder their Messiah.
“Blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of
the Gentiles become in”, (Romans
11:25) The Lord’s presence in the world was a great divide (John
9:39). Separating believer from unbelievers.
Pastor, Rev. Dr. Cullian W. Hill