ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS: BLIND VISION
March 9 , 2011
JOHN 9:25 - “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!”
THE STORY
A blind man minding his business has a life changing encounter with Jesus. As esus and his disciples are walking along, they notice a blind man and ask if the sin of the man or the sins of his parents is the cause of his blindness. Jesus answers the disciples by saying that “…this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him…”
Jesus makes mud and rubs it into the man’s eyes, sends him to the Siloam River
The man’s vision is restored. As he goes around town, people begin to talk about his ability to see and begin to question how he was healed. He is taken to the Pharisees to be questioned since this all happened on the Sabbath. The Pharisees did not want to believe that Jesus did this and did everything to call him a sinner because he dared to heal a blind man on the sacred Sabbath. As the man is continuously being questioned, he gains a boldness and certainty about the source of Jesus’ authority and boldly shares it with the Pharisees. In their anger and disbelief, they throw the man out because since he was born as a sinner he has no right to teach them.
A blind is physically able to see while a group of physically good vision is spiritually blind and is unable to see the truth when it’s right in front of their faces.
HOW WAS HIS LIFE TRANSFORMED AFTER ENCOUNTERING JESUS?
The life of the man was changed physically and spiritually. First for the first time since birth he was able see all of God’s creation for himself. I can’t imagine how different of a life this man was beginning to enjoy. If that was all that happened to him, this would be an encounter he could not forget.
His spiritually life was also transformed. The boldness with which he spoke in the presence of the Pharisees was evidence that he had a strong belief in the man who was responsible to open his eyes. As a result of the healing of his physical vision, his spiritual eyes were also opened.
WHAT LESSONS CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS ENCOUNTER?
· Sometimes just being in the path of Christ gives us a chance to have a life changing encounter.
· It’s not easy to comprehend the mysterious ways in which God operates. (v2)
· God uses our personal trials and tribulations so His work might be made known.
· When we’re so deep in our own beliefs of the truth, we become arrogant of others who present a true version of the truth different from ours. (v30 -33)
· There’s no limit to how low someone will go to discredit you when they don’t agree or believe in what you’re doing. (v24)
· No false prophet can discredit your experience with Jesus. It’s not an encounter that can be taken away.
· You can’t preach the truth to someone who is “holier than thou”; they’re more holy than you are to receive it.
· Our eyes can be opened to see all the world has to offer yet still blind to whom God is and is doing in our lives.
· When church and society makes an outcast out of you, Jesus is out looking for you and wants you to know he’s there for you.
· Easier for a blind man to see Jesus for who He is than for a legalistic, religious know-it-all to brush his knowledge aside to believe God.
FINAL WORD – WHAT CAN WE APPLY IN OUR OWN WALK FROM THIS ENCOUNTER?
“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!”- John9:25
The Pharisees had their own agenda. They go to extreme measures to discredit Jesus and have people believe that he is not who he has proven himself to be. In spite of many miracles done in their presence and around them, they continue to be blind to the truth.
Many will come to try to discredit who Jesus is in our lives but what stands any encounter with a person of Pharisian descent is our encounter with Christ. It doesn’t matter what denomination a person says, or what color one may say Jesus is, or by what actions we must do to be saved. To paraphrase the blind man, I don’t care what you think He is or not but one thing I know He is the Jehovah Jireh that provides when least expected; the Jehovah Nissi that stands ready to protect us against all enemies; and the Jehovah Shamma that is ever present in our lives.
Next Week: The Man Blind From Birth (John 9)
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