Kaleo San Diego Church

John 9:1-41: "As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' 3 Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.' 6 Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?' 9 Some said, ‘It is he.' Others said, ‘No, but he is like him.' He kept saying, ‘I am the man.' 10 So they said to him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?' 11 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.' 12 They said to him, ‘Where is he?' He said, ‘I do not know.' 13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 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.' 16 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. 17 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.' 18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?' 20 His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.' 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.' 24 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.' 25 He answered, ‘Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.' 26 They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?' 27 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?' 28 And they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.' 30 The man answered, ‘Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 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. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.' 34 They answered him, ‘You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?' And they cast him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?' 36 He answered, ‘And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?' 37 Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.' 38 He said, ‘Lord, I believe,' and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.' 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ‘Are we also blind?' 41 Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, "We see," your guilt remains.'"


INTRODUCTION

Over the last several weeks we've been looking in the Gospels and, in some ways, building a biography of Jesus. Our hopes have been to encounter Him as we eavesdrop into conversations He had with various people: people that are proud, broken, marginalized, some without power or resources and others with all the respect and honor you could ask for.

We've been asking God, by His Spirit, to paint these portraits upon our hearts so that we can see Him clearly with the eyes of our hearts.

As we've been looking at Jesus, we've come to see His compassion as He looks with tender eyes at those whom we would normally pass by or ignore.

Two Kinds of Seeing

It's possible to miss Him and the Scripture teaches that there is more than one kind of seeing. This is why Jesus says in Matthew 13:13, "seeing they do not see." We can read about Jesus and see Him in one way while being blind to him in another way. This is because we have two kinds of eyes; we have the eyes of our head and eyes of our heart. This is why the Apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of the Ephesian saints would be enlightened (Ephesians 1:17).

The kind of seeing that brings us close to Jesus at the core of who we are comes through the eyes of our heart, not our head. We're called to "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). To taste Him and see Him beyond mere physical senses requires that we experience Him at a heart level. In other words, we take Him in beyond just an intellectual assent or verbal acknowledgement of who He is. Even the demons have an understanding of who Jesus is, but can not taste and see Him.

Different Kinds of Blindness

Just as there are different kinds of seeing, there are also different kinds of blindness. Jesus' great enemy, Satan, labors feverishly and without end to try to hinder and blind us from "seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ" (2 Cor. 4:3-6).

2 Corinthians 4:3-6: "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."

Satan's greatest desire is to obscure the glory of Christ found in His gospel. We can rattle off facts about Jesus and even confess Him as our Lord and Savior, but if Satan can keep us blinded from the light of the gospel with Jesus as a nice concept but not real to our hearts, he is perfectly content to let us be as religious as we want.

I would even argue that though Paul is speaking of those who don't know Jesus at all, there is a kind of blindness that still occurs for each of us, a blindness that keeps us from seeing the light of the gospel more clearly and keeps us from sensing the beauty, wonder, and glory of Christ.

The Cause of our Blindness

What causes us to develop spiritual cataracts? What causes our eyes to grow dim and cloudy to the gospel? The Scripture uses a word for something that we worship that isn't God. It's called an idol.

Psalms 135:15-18: "The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. 16 They have mouths, but do not speak; they have eyes, but do not see; 17 they have ears, but do not hear, nor is there any breath in their mouths. 18 Those who make them become like them, so do all who trust in them!"

We construct these idols with our thoughts or through our efforts. We both make them and trust them. They become our ultimate security, the thing our life depends on for satisfaction. They become our greatest hope or our greatest pleasure. They are the things with which we fill our minds and hearts.

People, things, reputation, security, comfort, pleasure and power all become idols to us and it isn't enough to get them. Once we have them, we'll fight to keep them with everything we have because we know if we lose them, we lose ourselves. They become the hope for our soul and the foundation for our life so that we can keep on living with some sense of meaning and purpose.

Yet those who make these idols become like them. We become blind and our hearts grow dull, and our eyes close more and more to the beauty of Christ until He is just a hazy, colorless figure in the distance.

What we're hoping these stories will do is bring Him into color and focus so that we can love Him simply for who He is. Jesus' gospel is our only hope to bring Him into color and focus and restore our sight.

Let me retell the story and let's see if you can pick up on any clues that would help you to see the ways in which these various characters are blind as well as how different Jesus is.

Retelling the Story

A little over 2,000 years ago, a God-fearing Jewish couple was celebrating the birth of their beautiful son. In this culture at this time, having a child was a particularly special joy that your entire family, friends and neighbors celebrated with you. To have a son was a man's way of passing on his heritage, identity, work, and family leadership. A child was a way of validating yourself and demonstrating God's blessings upon your family. As a Jew, you would have grown up hearing "children are a gift from the LORD and a reward" (Psalm 127:3) again and again. You can imagine the plans this father had for his son, for his family, and for their future.

At first, this baby acted like all other babies. He cried, he nursed, and he wiggled just as he should. But after a few weeks, a concern began to grow in the mother's heart. She began to notice that when she would pick him up, or get closer to his small basinet, he wasn't looking at her. His eyes sort of wandered off in the distance not focusing on anything. She would wave her hands, lean close to him so that he could see her, but there was no response. When she was supposed to be bonding with her child by looking into his eyes, she sensed that he wasn't looking back at her.

Day after day she prayed and hoped this was only a temporary ailment. Blindness was not uncommon, but to think her son would be born blind was unbearable to even imagine.

After several months, her family, her friends, and her neighbors, who not long ago rejoiced over this gift, began thinking to themselves and then murmuring to one another what no mother wanted to hear; her baby was a curse for something she or her husband had done. The father, wanting to protect his child from the comments of cruel humanity, developed a sharp edge about his personality. He would lash out at anyone who dared to linger a bit too long at his son. The mother, however, crumbled under the social shame and lingering guilt that drove her to blame herself for sinning in such a way that God would punish her so terribly.

The baby grew into a young boy who began to feel the stares, though he couldn't see them. He developed a heightened sense of hearing, and could easily pick up the cold whispers of the other children as they kept their distance from him. He was missing out on a world created by God filled with colors and beauty. His parents struggled to try and explain concepts to him. They tried to tell him of the incredible size and brilliance of the Temple. They attempted to describe a beautiful sky with white clouds, birds soaring, and the colors of flowers. But he had no memories of such things, no pictures in his mind. He could feel the stone, but it just felt cold and flat. He could sense the heat of the sun, but all that meant was that his skin became warm.

The young boy became 13. At an age when boys became men and took on their fathers calling, he realized that his only hope to contribute to the family was to beg. His parents fought the idea. His fathers' hands had kept him safe and they didn't want to let him go. Begging would only bring more shame upon them. But eventually he was old enough to be a man and figured he'd better become good at something sooner rather than later since this was how he was going to grow old.

At first his parents took him to the gates of the city where he was able to sit and beg as passersby walked along the road. But like everything in his life at this point, he set a routine. He knew how many steps it was, when to turn, not to walk too fast or too slow so that his steps were perfect every time.

What was hardest for him was not the begging, but the way he was treated by those who walked by. Insults, mocking comments, and occasional thieves would find a way to continuously remind him of his inability to care for himself, let alone defend himself. He felt helpless, hopeless, and day by day a little less of him was left. He loved to hear stories of strong heroes. He would get lost in his imagination as he wondered what it would be like to be strong, fearless, admired and respected. His heart would soar as he would hear the stories of Daniel in the lions' den, or of Moses standing up to Pharaoh, or Sampson knocking down the pillars. Then people would respect him and his parents. Maybe then he could get a good job and take care of his family. Maybe then a woman would love him. Maybe then he would know what it was like to feel the tender hand of someone who thought he was more than just wasted space. Of course, none of this was possible because no woman would marry someone who was blind and no one wanted to hire a "project" as an employee.

Just as quickly as these dreams would enter his mind, someone would chase them away with their calloused comments. And this day, as he sat with his highest aspiration and purpose being nothing more than getting enough money to eat a meal and eek out his meager existence, a group of men began to gather around him. At first he sensed just one man who didn't say anything to him. He could sense Him looking at him, but was silent. Then he heard other footsteps and could feel their shadows blocking the sun. He began to grow uncomfortable. Sure enough, someone asked their teacher a question; "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" If he had a silver coin for every time he heard that question asked about him or his parents growing up, he would be wealthy beyond comparison.

"An object!" he thought, "Nothing more than an invisible object! Do they think I'm deaf too?" as he pulled his arms and legs closer to himself as a way of withdrawing. He struggled with a feeling of both guilt and anger. Guilt because of the possibility he or his parents had sinned and anger over how these statements eventually drove his parents and himself to utter shame. Though disgusted by their insensitivity, he didn't have the courage to say anything. He began to think like those who judged him. He harbored deep inward anger and hatred towards men like this. But, he would do what he always did, sit there and say nothing, then walk home with a little less of himself.

Just as the blind man was about to stand and start counting his steps home, the Rabbi said something which shocked him. He said, "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 it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." What did He mean? He had never heard such a comment about his blindness. He knew he was a sinner and that every man was a sinner. He knew that that's what the Day of Atonement was for, to cleanse us from our sin. But this was a different kind of answer. One that made him feel for the first time that maybe God had a plan for a greater good in all his pain. Maybe God wasn't just some far off God that only scolded us unless we did our duty. But how is it that works of God could be shown off in a man that had less use than an animal that at least did what it was made for?

Then this teacher did something else that is hard to explain, He spit on the ground and made some clay and He smeared the clay over the blind man's eyes and then told the man to go to the pool of Siloam and wash it off. The blind man didn't know what caused him to believe the Rabbi but he did as He asked. He had such authority in His voice. So off he went to the pool and began to wash off the clay from his eyes.

As he began to open his eyes he felt something that he never felt before. Pain in his eyes! He almost refused to believe what was happening. "Am I....seeing??!!" he said. "How could this be happening? I can see!"

Those around the pool could tell something was happening. But the man was having a hard time looking at people for the first time. The shape of their faces, their expressions were nothing like anyone could have explained. He had to touch them to make sure they were real.

He immediately went back to where the teacher was, but He was gone. His neighbors were amazed and started to ask him questions. They were shocked and confused. They even thought that he only looked like the blind man. They knew something was happening. They asked how this happened and all the man could say was that this man name Jesus opened his eyes.

They brought him to the Pharisees to show them and to see what they would say. But when the man came before the Pharisees he could tell that something was wrong. Instead of being happy that God had done such an amazing work and falling on their face in worship to such a gracious and loving Father, they had a look on their face that he didn't understand until they started to speak. Then he knew that the face they were making was one of judgment and hate. He had never seen what hateful words looked like on someone's face before. It's enough to make you wish you were blind again.

They kept questioning him about what happened, so he told them again. Then they started to argue with each other about who this man was. He didn't know Jesus personally, other than His voice. He couldn't really tell them much about Him. Then they asked him who he thought Jesus was. He told them that he thought He was a prophet of God. But they refused to believe his story or listen to his answers. Instead, they went to get his parents.

At a time he wanted to leap for joy, he had to restrain himself when he heard his mom and dad's voice and realized he was seeing them for the first time. But he knew their tone of voice. It was trembling with fear. He had never seen what fear looked like and to see it on his parents face was almost too much to bear. For the first time he was looking at his mom. He remembered as a boy tracing her face with his fingers and trying to see her with his hands. It was all he could do to hold himself together. He looked down at his father's hands, the hands that had protected him for so long, and now he wanted to protect his father from the Pharisees' faces.

They didn't care about him or his parents. All they wanted was to find something wrong with the man named Jesus.

They began to ask his parents questions. Was he their son? Was he really born blind? His whole life he'd lived wishing everyone would believe he could see, now he had to convince them he was blind! His parents grew more afraid and told the Pharisees to ask their son. They were concerned because the Pharisees had already started to throw people out of the Synagogue if they claimed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. They would excommunicate anyone that made that claim, and that excommunication meant the end of that person, their relationships and job. To get kicked out of the Synagogue was a horrible thing to go through. It would almost be better if you were dead.

To watch them put his parents through this angered him. He knew something was wrong with what they were doing.

So when they turned their questions back to him, this time he was prepared to face them. They began to ask again about Jesus. He said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know though I was blind, now I see." But they kept asking. So he responded again and said, "I told you already, and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples? Jesus must be from God. No man has ever done such miracles to a man born blind. If Jesus were not from God, He would not have been able to make me see." This made them angrier and they did what he knew they would do, they called him a sinner and threw him out of the Synagogue. It's odd being thrown out of a place you could never go to in the first place.

So there he sat. He was alone, yet He could see. He was afraid of the cost of sight. Yet strangely, he was looking forward to what God would do next. If what Jesus said was true, God was doing works through him.

He didn't expect what would happen next. He was still adjusting to having sight, and thinking of all of the things that he wanted to see, when he saw a man walking towards him. This man carried Himself with such poise and confidence, yet you could tell in His eyes that He was humble. He thought He was heading toward the Synagogue when He stopped to talk to him.

He asked him if he believed in the Son of Man. What a great question. He had heard that a Messiah was coming and would be called the Son of Man from the book of Daniel, but he didn't know who this man was so he asked him to tell him who it was so that he could believe in Him. But as he asked he began to piece together where he had heard this voice before. Almost at the exact time this man told him that He was the Son of Man and that he had now heard Him and seen Him, he immediately realized this man was Jesus. He cried out "Lord, I believe."

His body almost involuntarily fell to its knees and he began to worship the Messiah. Jesus had come to give him more than physical sight. He came to give him spiritual sight, eyes of his heart to see the beauty of God's Savior.

As he lay on his face worshipping, he heard Jesus tell the Pharisees of their blindness. He heard Jesus telling them of their sin. How ironic that the very ones who spoke so loudly against Jesus, claiming he was a sinner are the very ones that God will judge and hold accountable for their sin of self-righteousness. The man who can now see prayed that one day the Pharisees would see too. They are the blind leading the blind, and he knows from experience, they will all fall into the same pit.

STUDY

As we've mentioned, the miracle is a door to a greater truth. Jesus heals not only to care for someone, but to demonstrate a deeper meaning behind the healing. The healing is not the main point of the story; why Jesus is giving sight is what is most important.

There are different ways in which blindness of the heart manifests itself in this story. These types of blindness affect both the believer and unbeliever because the problem is a gospel problem. It would be good to identify with one of the groups, or like me, you may identify with a couple of them.

Who are you in this story? Let's dig a little deeper.

Different types of blindness in this story:

1-Blindness to Others

Verses 1-2: "1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'"

This story is similar to what he did with the widow Nain who lost her son. What is the first thing Jesus does? He looks at the man and instead of seeing a problem, sees an opportunity for God's glory.

How can we tell Jesus was looking intently? Because it was long enough to cause the disciples to stop and begin asking questions about the blind man.

What look do you think Jesus had on his face when staring at this man? The one most attributed to him, compassion. This look of compassion sets up the entire story about physical and spiritual seeing. Jesus is going to restore this man's sight, so Jesus begins by looking.

How do the disciples respond?

• Instead of looking upon the man with compassion, they see him as an object and begin talking about him right in front of him.

• Instead of seeing him as an image bearer of God, a man, they see him as a theological puzzle, a knot to be untied, an object for discussion.

• Instead of seeing this man with hope for redemption, they see his situation as hopeless and unchangeable.

• Instead of seeing this man as an opportunity to glorify God, they see him as an opportunity to glorify themselves (they aren't blind, so they haven't sinned).

• The disciples see a completed tragedy and wonder who the villain was; Jesus sees a story half-told with the hero soon to be revealed.

• Instead of touching him, they keep their distance.

• Jesus defends him; they blame him or his parents.

• Instead of getting involved and providing help, they just act religious.

• Instead of being effective ministers of grace and truth they are ineffective.

Yet this isn't reserved for the disciples. We daily are blind to people and often treat them as objects. Have you ever been treated like an object? What did it feel like?

Grace and I watched a movie last night called At First Sight with Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino. Val Kilmer's character, Virgil, is blind but through an operation has his sight restored. In one scene they are walking along a street in New York on the way to Mira's apartment and he says to her, "What is that lump on the steps?" She responds by saying, "A homeless person." Virgil responds, "Why did you just walk by without doing anything?" She says with a look of embarrassment, "Some things you choose not to see." What she's admitting is that she's chosen to be blind to others.

This is why over 40 times we're told in the New Testament that Jesus looked at someone. Often the pattern is that He looked, had compassion, and then acted.

We have a tendency to look and treat people like objects. Telemarketers who call my house at 8:30, rude phone salesman at kiosks in the mall, cashiers who ignore I'm there when I walk up, laborers, and any number of people we bump into every day can be put into a category without even thinking about it as we treat them like just an object.

We are blind to people when we are more concerned about our agenda or question than we are about people or a person. What causes this kind of blindness? An over inflated view of our self-importance. We think we're the center of the story so anyone we come into contact with is entering into our world rather than us entering into theirs.

For the disciples, their question was more important than this man. When ideas become more important than the content of those ideas, something is wrong. When a person becomes nothing more than a project to work on or an object to look at what we're doing is keeping our distance while remaining a posture of being religious. One way to do that is by talking about such problems or people but never actually touching them.

It's one thing to notice someone in need, it's another to stop and talk with them. That can be scary. What if they ask for help and interrupt our schedule? It's as if we're afraid their blindness might affect us while not realizing all along that we're the ones who are blind.

When we take the time to have compassion, something of that person's problems comes to us. Some of his pain touches us. It takes time and as we said a few weeks ago, it's inefficient to our oh-so-important schedules. We have to come to see every person as having intrinsic value and dignity by the sheer fact that they've been created by God and are image bearers, even if that image has been marred. CS Lewis puts it like this:

There are no ordinary people. You've never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization, these are mortal and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. It's a serious thing to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to, may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship...Next to the Blessed Sacrament, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses.

-C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

If I were there, having these stories in hand, I would have judged the disciples for their lack of compassion, and then I would have broken my arm to pat myself on the back. I would have felt justified in laying into them and telling them how insensitive they were. But Jesus doesn't do what I would have done. He doesn't rebuke or shame them; He simply answers their question while doing something about it.

Wow! He never seems to quite get in step with how I act. Thankfully, there is grace for the disciples' actions and grace for those who judge those who judge!

2-The Blindness of confusion

Verses 8-12: "The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?' 9 Some said, ‘It is he.' Others said, ‘No, but he is like him.' He kept saying, ‘I am the man.' 10 So they said to him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?' 11 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.' 12 They said to him, ‘Where is he?' He said, ‘I do not know.'"

I don't want to linger too long here, but I think this is an important point. We can be blind to Christ because of confusion, an inability to understand how Jesus can really change someone, let alone change us! Many professing believers have a great difficulty understanding how change occurs through Jesus (the gospel) and do not connect how change could be possible for them.

Sometimes this confusion is just a part of sanctification in that a person simply needs to grow. For these people we need to give them great grace and patience and model for them how change occurs by grace.

For others this confusion is self-inflicted. There is a subtle and yet accepted virtue promoted in our culture which masks itself as humility but is actually a form of self-deception. We think if we don't think things through we're more authentic and real. We use statements like, "I don't know about all the stuff, I'm a simple, but I've learned..." There is a real arrogance there, an arrogance that masks itself behind feigned humility. The person does have a view, they do have an opinion, they have thought it through, but it just happens to be their thoughts rather than thinking God's thoughts after Him.

It is one thing to be confused about Jesus and His gospel; it's another thing to stay confused because you're unwilling to move beyond where you are today. If God has planned that we are to be conformed to the image of His Son, then this is going to require a rewiring of our thinking, a rewiring of how we see things, a rewiring of our entire worldview.

Those of us who continually have problems with the same theological questions but do not take the time to really work it through and think them out, are not really looking for answers as much as we are using our confusion as an excuse to remain the same. Confusion can be used as a stroller to keep us as babies instead of maturing in the Gospel.

If I'm not changing, and I can use the excuse of "not getting it," then in some ways I feel like I'm off the hook to change by grace.

The gospel is simple but it's not simplistic. It requires that we think through its implications in every avenue of our lives.

What keeps us from taking the time to get into others' lives and open up and receive what is taught? Pride? Embarrassment that we don't pick things up quickly? Or can it be a grudge we're nursing against God and we know that if we dig too deep it's going to come out?

Either way, comfort and peace become our ultimate. We prefer not to go deeper because it means our comfort will be disturbed. We want the peace Christ brings, but we want to bypass thinking through how to get that peace. We'd prefer an ignorant peace to an active one, a surface peace to one that is deep and lasting.

3-The Blindness of self-righteousness

Verse 34: "They answered him, ‘You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?' And they cast him out."

Under their open-ended questions and veil of piety, the Pharisees are trying to get the man to say something negative about Jesus. They want the man to judge Jesus because they despise Him. But the man asks them if the reason they keep asking him these questions is because they secretly want to become His disciples. His comment strips away all pretenses of civility and piety and they lash out at him and at Jesus. When they say, "we don't eve know where he comes from," they're not saying they don't know from what town he came from, but that Jesus was a bastard.

The man's response causes an ugly reaction from the self-righteous and blind Pharisees: "How can someone born blind, obviously steeped in sin dare to teach us. We're smart, morally upright, good and powerful." They throw him out of the synagogue so that he would be ostracized.

This may be the worst kind of blindness, because it is the kind of blindness that tells us we can see. It is delusion and very difficult to come to grips with. To admit we've been relying on our own morality, our own education, or our own good reputation to save us is difficult to swallow. But it's what we do and we're closer to the Pharisees than we may think.

Let's think about this:

What are some of the good qualities of the Pharisees? They believe in the Bible, the supernatural, in God, in morality, in civil order, in Law, in family. They are religiously active and zealous.

What are some of their negative qualities? They are judgmental, hypocritical, inwardly bitter, can become hostile towards outsiders, not welcoming, exclusive, finger pointing, etc.

What are some of the good qualities about conservative evangelicals? The same as the Pharisees.

What about the negative qualities of conservative evangelicals? The same as the Pharisees.

A good indicator of whether or not you're closer to a Pharisee than Christ is by your response. Does it irritate you to have such a comparison made? Are you infuriated that I would dare pick on conservatives?

Our judging of others is really nothing more than our own struggle to be accepted in the "inner ring." We have to have others to judge; we have to have villains who are "out" so that we can feel "in." Judging others helps us feel justified.

But let's be careful. Did you find your heart becoming disgusted at Pharisees and conservative evangelicals? Did you look down your nose at them and find yourself frustrated at their description? Then welcome to the club because it is the same root of self-righteousness resident in you as is in the Pharisees and conservatives.

We often respond in judgment towards people who judge us. Sometimes we even tell them they're judgmental and so we continue the judgment and repayment cycle. Our anger towards those who are judgmental feels good because we feel justified. Yet this is exactly what those who judge us feel as well. Judging breeds distance, shame, guilt, or anger. Grace and compassion brings hope, restoration, and loving action that is up-close.

Can you think of ways you judge your spouse? How about your friends? How about others at Kaleo? How about the parents of kids that don't seem to listen to adults? How about self-righteous people? How about people who always seem to be down or sick? How about people who whine? How about people who always seem to have a fake smile because everything is just blessed!? How about the way she dresses? How about the way he worships? How about the car they drive? How about the place they live? How about those whose kids are in public education? How about those who homeschool? How about those who believe in natural childbirth only? How about those who don't? You see, we can't get around the simple truth that we judge and critique so often that we don't even notice it. Right now, during this message, I'm sure I've solicited a few critiques and judgments myself. Just know that my wicked heart has done the same.

We're in this together and our only hope is the One who took judgment upon Himself so that we no longer have to be enslaved to self-righteousness. Jesus bore our judgment so that we don't have to. Jesus lived our perfect life so that we can admit we haven't and rest in what He's done for us. So many of us are laboring and are heavy laden and He wants rest for our souls. But it has to come by grace in what He's done, not what we do.

If someone says they can see, they're probably blind. If someone has come to see they're blind, they're starting to see. It's gospel irony.

So how do we get out of the blindness of others, the blindness of confusion, and the blindness of self-righteousness? By doing what the blind man did.

The blind man didn't need convincing that he was blind. He knew it. He understood that he couldn't see. Do you? Have you come to admit that you're blind? Do you see it? If you can't, you're still blind. If you can see you're blind, you can see!

But it isn't just admitting you're blind. It seems commendable in our culture to admit you're not perfect and a mess. It's more than just being aware of and admitting you're blind. You also have to admit that you can't fix yourself. You can't give yourself sight. You can't heal yourself. Do you believe that or are you still trying on different glasses and hoping that one of them will bring light to your darkness? Jesus promises that He's the light of the world. He's the hope for all the blind.

Have you come to see your blindness? Have you come to admit that you can't fix yourself? Then throw yourself into the pool of living water, who is Christ Himself. Trust that His light can chase away the darkness that has kept you blind to Him, to yourself, and to others.

Jesus saw this man was cast out and went looking for Him. Jesus knows that you've been cast out. He's come looking for you today. But someone has to be cast out in your place. Jesus was taken out of the city; He was cast out of the city of man so that you can be brought into the city of God. Jesus was blinded by death itself, so that you can have the light of life. Jesus took your shame and guilt and exchanged it for His glory. Jesus took all of the sum totals of the judgments made on you and bore them. Even the judgments of others who have piece by piece robbed you of yourself. Even the judgments you've made on others.

 

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