The Blindness of the Self-Righteous

Transcript

GR 371
9/14/1980
The Blindness of the Self Righteous
John 9:24-41
Gil Rugh

John chapter 9 in your Bibles. John's gospel and the 9th chapter. We've been focusing attention on the miracle of the healing of a man born blind. He had been blind from birth. The entire ninth chapter of the Gospel of John is given over to a discussion of this miracle and its consequences and result in different lives. The first seven verses record the actual miracle where Jesus confronted a man who was begging for his food. He was a blind beggar, been blind from birth. In biblical times there were not many provisions for people with such needs, and so he sought his living in this way. Jesus explained His working on this point as necessary to accomplish God's purposes. "We must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no man can work. And while I am in the world, I am the light of the world." And He proceeded to demonstrate Himself as the light of the world by giving sight to this man who was in physical darkness. The point being, of course, that spiritual light is what is being demonstrated. That will be the point to which the chapter builds.

On healing this man, it makes an impact on a variety of people in the city of Jerusalem. In verse 8 the neighbors are presented to us, and their amazement of seeing him with sight, able to see now. And he told them that Jesus had healed his eyes. He is then in verse 13 taken to the Pharisees, and the Pharisees are confronted again with a dilemma. Here is a tremendous miracle performed by a man whom they refuse to recognize and acknowledge as sent from God. And in verse 16 they are divided over him. Some say He cannot be from God because He violates Sabbath traditions. Others say He must be from God because He does tremendous miracles. And the Pharisees have that division. He can't be from God, He violates our religious traditions. He must be from God,
He does tremendous miracles.

So they question the blind man, and they are still not satisfied so they call the blind man’s parents in verse 18. Verses 18-23 you have the testimony of this man’s parents, and they acknowledge first, that he is their son; second, that he was indeed born blind. But they are unwilling to testify to the fact that Jesus did the healing. They are unwilling to repeat what their son has told them about how the miracle was carried out. Their motivation is fear. In verse 22 and verse 23, the Jews have already decided that anyone who acknowledges Jesus as Christ will be excommunicated from the synagogue. This meant not only cut off from religious activity, but also from all social involvement because the social life of the nation was inseparable from the religious activity. And to be a Jew in Israel, cut off from the synagogue meant that you were socially ostracized. An amazing thing. Here are parents who have a son born blind. Now has been given his sight by Jesus Christ and they are more concerned with their social standing in Israel than they are with the tremendous miracle that has occurred in their son's life. So they are unwilling to be identified with him in his claim that Jesus did the miracle.

The Pharisees are now even more confused. Here is the man with his sight. His own parents testify that he was indeed born blind. So in verse 24, they call the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner." And what we have in verse 24 is an acknowledgement on the part of the Pharisees that a tremendous miracle has occurred—a miracle that only God could have done. Their encouragement now is to give God glory for this miracle. Jesus couldn't be the one responsible, we know He is a sinner. I think this is the most subtle attack that this man faces. It is harder to be strong and firm in presenting Jesus Christ when people are putting their arms around you saying, ’Oh yes, we understand. We want to be your friend.’ These Pharisees are saying ’Oh, it’s wonderful, the miracle God has done in your life. We are rejoicing with you and we want you to give God the glory for what He has done. But Jesus isn't to receive any credit. He's just a sinner. We know that.' And this blind man, now, has the option to say 'Oh yes, it is wonderful. God did a great miracle. Perhaps Jesus didn't do it. He put mud on my eyes and sent me to the pool, but these are the religious leaders and they say He's just a sinner. Maybe it was just a coincidence.' He has the chance to give God the glory for the miracle and still be accepted in Israel. Often the way our resistance as believers is broken down. For those whom we oppose with the Gospel, those who oppose the Gospel of Jesus Christ, want to put their arm around us and say together that we can praise God for what He is doing. But we don't have to make Jesus Christ the focal point.

This man has courage, and in verse 25 he responds and says, "He therefore answered, 'Whether He is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.'" This man does not up to this point yet know for sure who Jesus really is. That will come later. He is unwilling to enter in to an argument with them over the person of Jesus Christ. But he says that one thing you must confront—I was once blind, now I see. That's the issue at hand. I was blind, now I see. You note. He will not join them in denying Jesus Christ. I was blind, now I see. That's his testimony. I can testify to you the work that Christ has done. Even though I don't understand a lot about His person at this point.

Verse 26. They failed to intimidate him. He has not backed off from his position, and here he sits. So the Pharisees, 'What are we going to do?' Let's go back to point one. "They said therefore to him, 'What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?'" Now you note where they're focusing attention again. Let's go back around and talk about the details of the miracle. But these are inconsequential. It does not matter whether Jesus put mud on his eyes and sent him to the pool of Siloam or whether Jesus told him to jump up and down four times and clap his times, whether he told him to walk four circles and shout four words, or what He did. The significant thing is that Jesus healed his eyes. The Pharisees are grappling for something to discredit what has happened, and the blind man realizes what is going on, the man who had formerly been blind.

And in verse 27, he answered them, "I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?" You've got to admire this man's courage. He didn't get it from Mom and Dad! We saw that in verses 22 and 23. He realizes what the Pharisees are doing. They are not interested in the miracle that has occurred. They are solely interested in discrediting Jesus and His ministry. So they say, Tell us the story again. And he realizes, there's no point in telling them again. It will do no good, so he tells them, 'I told you already and you did not listen. You weren't paying attention.' Now that took courage! Here is a man who has spent his life as a beggar, confronted by these austere, solemn, mighty, powerful, religious leaders in the nation and he is telling them they don't pay attention! You weren't listening. That's what he is saying— you're not interested in my story. You're really not interested in what happened to me. You're not really interested in what Jesus has done. And he's right, because as we saw earlier, they've already made up their minds that anyone who acknowledges Jesus is going to be excommunicated from the synagogue. How can they consider the evidence? They have already made up their mind and rejected Him.

He really lays it on at the end of verse 27. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you're interested in becoming His disciple too, huh? Now you talk about hitting them in the nose! These Pharisees, so full of hatred of Jesus Christ. Now this man stands and says, Maybe you'd like to hear it again so you can become His disciple, huh?

Now, when all else fails, resort to verbal abuse! Verse 28. "And they reviled him." Now that really gets to the issue, doesn’t it? If you can’t do anything else, ridicule him! You can’t deal with the fact that he was blind and now he sees, you can’t change the fact that Jesus is the One who did it, so let’s call him names. It becomes childish, except it’s so serious. They reviled him and said, "You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses.” You know what they're doing? They're retreating into their religious traditions. You say you’re a disciple of Jesus, and he has implied that at the end of verse 27 when he says ’You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?’ This man, ‘I don’t know who He is but I know what He's done and I'm following Him, even though I don't know much about Him.’ We follow Jesus. We know who Moses was.

Verse 29. "We know God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from." In other words, we know that God sent Moses. God sent Moses to represent God. What they’re saying is that we don't know that God sent this man so we follow Moses. Now they really don’t—only in a superficial way because Jesus said that if they really believed Moses they would be Him because Moses wrote about Him. But they are retreating into their religious traditions. Did you ever present your testimony to someone, share with them how Jesus has saved you, presented to them the good news of salvation by faith in Christ, and they tell you, 'Oh, but and they fill in the blanks. I’m a such-and-such. I belong to this church. We have our own religion. We worship in this way.' What are they doing? They are retreating into their religious traditions. They are backing up into where it is secure, and it is always secure. These Jews have been Jews all their life. They have been raised in these traditions. And now they say, oh we follow Moses. They want to back up where it's more secure. They’re not dealing with the issue of who is Jesus Christ? But we follow Moses. It doesn't deal with the problem of the miracle at all. And we know where Moses is from—God sent him, but we don’t know anything about this man. Did God send Him? Well, that’s the point! Did God
send Him? Evaluate Him! Could He do this miracle if God didn’t send Him?

Now the blind man responds and begins to give them some teaching. Verse 30, "The man answered and said to them, ’Well, here is an amazing thing! That you do not know where He is from and yet He opened my eyes.'" Isn't that remarkable! Doesn't that make any impact upon you! You don't even know for sure where He came from and yet He made me to see. Now. Theological discourse for the benefit of the Pharisees. The blind man, formerly blind. Been a beggar all his life, and now he's going to give a theological lesson to the Pharisees who prided themselves in the minutia of their religious knowledge.

Verse 31. "We know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God fearing and does His will, He hears Him." Now I like the way they say 'We know this,' because the Old Testament Scriptures support it. "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me....The prayer of the wicked is an abomination to God." So we know that God does not hear sinners. They would have to agree to that from the Old Testament Scriptures.

Alright, the other side. "If anyone is God-fearing and does His Will, God hears Him." That's good theology. If we ask anything according to His will, He does it. Anyone who is God-fearing, a believer, walking according to the will of God, he has whatever he asks of God. Good theology for these Pharisees.

Now. Verse 32. "Since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind." This is a totally unique miracle. Moses never gave sight to a blind person. Never, anywhere in Old Testament Scriptures is it recorded that anyone ever gave sight to a man that has been born blind. This is a totally unique miracle! Incidentally, I believe it remains unique down until today. All the talk that goes on about healings, I have yet to confront any situation where someone born blind, grown up in that condition has now received sight.

My wife was reading an article to me from a magazine where a man was demonstrating that he had the gift of healing, and he healed hundreds of people. He confronted this person who among other afflictions had been born blind and he prayed for them. Know what happened as a result of that prayer? That person could sleep better at night. That demonstrated he had cured him of the affliction of sleeplessness, but he was still blind. This is a totally unique miracle here. This hasn’t been heard of, the man says. So the conclusion, in verse 33, "If this man were not from God, He could do nothing." I mean, the miracles, the works that He is doing are so overwhelming that if it were not God working in Him, how could it be done? And what he is telling them is, you don’t know where He is from and you won’t consider the evidence which points to the fact that He is from God. So, at the end of verse 31, "If anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him" then it follows that if this man were not from God, He could do nothing. Now can you find anything wrong with that discourse? Is it not biblical, is it not a challenge to these religious leaders to consider again who Jesus really is? You know what they say? You've got a point there. We haven’t really been true to our theology. No! What do they say in verse 34? "They answered and said to him, 'You were born entirely in sin, and are you teaching us?"' And they kicked him out.

That really dealt with the issue, didn't it? Their response to that theological lecture. You were born entirely in sins. How do you think they were born? What do their Old Testament Scriptures say? What did David say? "In sin did my mother conceive me. I was a sinner from conception." But you see, they have a different idea of themselves. We are more righteous than you are. We are more holy than you are. Could you, an old beggar, give us, the Pharisees, theological insight? The nerve! And they kick him out of the synagogue. Now that's the way to deal with the problem! They still haven't answered the question, How could Jesus do such a miracle? So here is a man whose only crime has been his blind eyes were made well, and he testifies that Jesus did it. And for that, he is kicked out of the synagogue. Why? Because they cannot grapple with it. They are driven to either totally reject Christ, or to acknowledge Him. No one here has made any attempt to discredit the miracle, any successful attempt. The Pharisees have given up on that. They simply remove the man because he won’t change his story. But if he changed his story, it would be a lie. But they would be more comfortable with a lie.

"You were born entirely in sins and are you teaching us?" So what have they done? They have retreated into their religious traditions. Now they retreat into their spiritual superiority. We are better than you are. Ever try to witness to a religious leader—pastor, teacher, rabbi, priest, a man in this position who is not a believer? If you have, you know something of the arrogance that you confront. How could you know anything about this? You're just a common layman. We study those things in seminary, in our theological school. You really don’t understand the issue. You're being taken in by the emotion of these things, but you don't really perceive. In other words, you're down here and I'm up here. How dare you try to tell me what the Bible says!
As though they have all knowledge, but they really haven't dealt with the issue have they? Not at all! No one so hard to reach as a religious person. No religious person so hard to reach as a religious leader. I'm not saying every religious leader is not saved, but I'm simply saying that when they are unsaved it is very difficult to reach them. There is a self-righteousness that characterizes a person in this position. It's not true that none are ever saved in that position. Some are, but they are the exceptions.

Now he is excommunicated from Israel. And it says "They put him out." That's the same thing they talked about at the end of verse 22—"They agreed that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." He is excommunicated. He is cut off. You ought to write—I have a little break between verses 34 and 35—you ought to write in there, "Praise the Lord." Best thing that could happen to him, to be kicked out of his former religious situation. One of the things that hangs over many people is what hung over the parents of this man. If I trust Christ, what do I do with my church? I might have to leave my church. Best thing that can happen to you is to get kicked out. Cut off from the former way, the former religions, the former traditions, and start new and start fresh. They kicked him out. So here's a man who has been excommunicated from Israel. His sole crime is to have his blinded eyes made well by the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ

Verse 35, "Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him He said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'" Having been excommunicated from Israel, Jesus now goes and finds him. For the first time, this man gets the privilege of seeing Jesus. The last time He confronted him he was a blind beggar. He went and washed his eyes and when he came back, Jesus was gone. Now Jesus seeks him out again, knowing that he had been cast out of the synagogue. He has had the opportunity to stand and testify concerning the work of Christ. Now he needs information concerning the person of Christ. Who He is. Christ says, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" King James Bible says "Son of God" but it should be the "Son of Man" here—that's the emphasis that should be carried. "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "He answered and said, 'Who is He, Lord that I may believe in Him?'" This blind man, remember, was raised in Judaism.
He had been saturated with the traditions of Judaism. We know that from the condition of his parents, in verses 22 and 23 and the importance the synagogue played to them. Now when he is asked if he believes in the Son of Man, he knew who was being talked about. Remember back to Daniel chapter 7—turn back there quickly. Daniel chapter 7 gives us a history of the empires of the world, and they culminate when Jesus Christ Himself sets up an eternal kingdom. Begins in verse 9 where the Ancient of Days sits and He is described and the glory of that setting. We have to pick up with verse 13. Daniel 7:13. "I kept looking in the night vision, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One looking like a Son of Man was coming." That’s the background for that expression that Jesus uses so repeatedly of Himself. Son of Man, denoting His identification with man, but He is also the Eternal God. That's the background for Jesus saying "Do you believe in the Son of Man." That One that Daniel talked about in his prophecy? The one who comes to the Ancient of Days, is presented before him, to him was given glory, dominion, a kingdom, that all might serve him, etc. In other words, do you believe in the Messiah of Israel?

Back in John chapter 9. The blind man does not know that Jesus is the Son of Man. Remember he started out by saying He was a man, and I think He was probably a prophet. He knows no more about Jesus at this point. Now if He was a prophet, perhaps He could tell the blind man who He is so the blind man could believe in Him. That’s the flow of the discussion. "Jesus said to him (in verse 37) ’You have both seen Him and He is the One who is talking to you.’" You're looking at Him. He’s the One who is speaking with you. "I am the Son of Man; I am the Messiah of Israel." The man who had formerly been blind recognizes immediately the truthfulness of the statement because verse 38 records, "Lord, I believe." And he proves it—"He worshipped Him." Remarkable! The faith of this man. He knows the work that Christ has done, and as soon as it is revealed to him who Jesus really is, He does not hesitate for a moment to place his faith in Him and worship Him. A clear presentation of the deity of Jesus Christ. In the Revelation of Join, the last book of the Bible, John falls down and worships an angel and he is rebuked for it when the angel tells him to "Worship God." Here, the blind man says "I believe you are the Son of Man, the Messiah of Israel" and he bows down and worships Him. I believe it’s at this point that this man really, truly experiences salvation. He had to know not only what Christ had done, but who Christ was. Not only that He was the One who could heal blinded eyes, but He was the MESSIAH who was healing blinded eyes! And when he knew something of the person and work of Christ, he believes and worships Him and experiences salvation through faith in Him.

The principle is the same today. For a person to experience salvation, he must know something of the person and work of Jesus Christ. He must know that Jesus is the Son of God who came and died on a cross, was raised from the dead and believe in the person and work of Christ. And at that moment, salvation occurs. Forgiveness of sins transpires. That's what is involved in salvation. Do you know who Jesus Christ is? Do you know what He has done? Do you believe Him? Now there's a word of summary

Now there's a word of summary in verses 39-41 which Jesus gives, and it includes more than just the man who had been blind here. Beginning with verse 39, "Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into the world that those who do not see may see, that those who see may become blind.'" A paradox seemingly, a contradiction. But note how it begins. "For judgment I came into the world." Look back in John chapter 3, verse 17. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world." You note John 3:17 says that Christ didn't come to judge the world. And John 9:39 says "For judgment I came into the world." One passage says He didn't come to judge, and another passages says He came to judge. Both are true. Note how John 3 goes on. "God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.
He who believes in Him is not judged. He who does not believe, has been judged already because He has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." The very fact that Christ came brought judgment because men now are obligated to respond to Him—either positively or negatively. So He didn't come to judge, He came to provide salvation. But by the very fact that He came to provide salvation, judgment occurs because there are those who don’t believe in Him. And for that, they come under condemnation, judgment, because they choose darkness rather than light. They choose their sin rather than the Son of God.

Back to John 9. "For judgment I came into this world that those who do not see may see, that those who see may become blind." Now He elaborates this because the Pharisees raise the question. Somewhere, perhaps between verses 38 and 39, the Pharisees have gathered. And in verse 40, "Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, ’We are not blind too, are we?'" So you see, the chapter now has made the transition and focuses in. The Pharisees realize that He is talking about spiritual sight and spiritual blindness. They know they have physical sight. They say, "We are not blind too, are we?" Implying a negative answer. No, you are not. They think they see, spiritually speaking. They realize the point Jesus is making is a spiritual one. And Jesus' answer is very strange. "Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say 'We see,' your sin remains."' Strange, He takes them at their word. They claim to be able to see. They claim to be able to have spiritual sight and spiritual understanding, and that very fact prevents them from coming to the One who could give them true sight.

In other words, a self-righteous person cannot be saved. The beginning point is to recognize you're a sinner. The worst possible person to witness to in all the world is a self-righteous person. When you're talking to someone who does not even acknowledge their sinfulness, you cannot even begin. I'd rather talk to a drunken bum in the gutter than I would a self-righteous person. You cannot begin with them because they are convinced they are alright. And the beginning point is to be convinced that you are a sinner and you're not alright before God. But no, we see.

This happened on another occasion. Back up to Matthew chapter 9. Again,the Pharisees are the ones involved and they are critical because He is eating with sinful people—people they would class as outcasts, sinners. So they ask at the end of verse 11 of chapter 9, "Why does your teacher eat with the tax gatherers and sinners? But when He heard this He said, ’It is not those who are healthy who need a physician but those who are ill. Go and learn what this means, I desire compassion and not sacrifice for I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.’" I've come to reach sinners, but who are sinners? Well, in the final analysis as God presents it, there are none righteous, no not one. But He can’t call the self-righteous, and the truly righteous wouldn't need it. But there are none of those. So the same kind of idea. They perceive themselves as righteous. They perceive themselves as seeing spiritually, and Jesus says there is nothing He can do to help them. And they did have certain sight. They had the Old Testament Scriptures. They had been confronted with the greatness of the person and work of Jesus Christ. They couldn’t say that they didn't know. They had heard the testimony of the blind man. They weren't without knowledge.

Look in John chapter 15. John chapter 15, verse 22. "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen Me and hated Me and My Father as well." In other words, His coming has been a dividing line. It cannot be escape. ’I have come, I healed the blind man in your presence, and yet you still claim to see and reject Me. Your sin remains.' So you note the seeming contradiction in verse 41 of John 9. "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see; ' your sin remains." Since you claim to have spiritual sight and won't turn to Me for salvation, you're still in your sins. So here's the blind beggar who has received forgiveness and cleansing, and here are the Pharisees—self-righteous and lost in their sin. Jesus Christ stands right in their presence and He is unable to save them because they are unwilling to acknowledge their sinfulness. They are unwilling to believe in Him. What a situation! What a tragedy that our own self-righteousness... How do you see yourself? Have you ever really come to realize that you are spiritually blind, in spiritual darkness? That you are guilty before God as a sinner, under condemnation? Have you ever come to really recognize that? You say, I was baptized, I was confirmed. I’ve come to this very church for years.

All non-issues. You can retreat into your religious convictions, your religious traditions. You can retreat into calling names saying, Oh you're fanatics; you’re narrow-minded, you're bigots. But the issue still stays the same, doesn't it. God says you're a sinner. Jesus Christ says He's the Son of God who came to provide salvation. Those are the issues. Have you ever come to recognize that you are a lost sinner and that Christ died for you? Have you ever come to believe in Him as your Savior? Not religious traditions. Nothing else. Him! That's when salvation occurs.

You know there's a remarkable parallel as you would expect through John chapter 9 with the new birth, even the drawing of this man to the point where he does believe in Jesus Christ. It's the way the Spirit works in drawing men today. He's brought you here so that you could hear, and you are in the same position that these Pharisees were if you're not a believer. You have heard the tremendous miracle that Jesus Christ has done. You have been confronted with the evidence of the power of the Son of God at work. Now all you will do is decide to believe or refuse to believe, but the evidence has been presented. Will you believe it? Do you recognize that who else but the Son of God could do such a miracle? And the Scripture goes on to reveal that He not only healed the eyes of the blind, He not only raised the dead, but He died on a cross to pay the penalty for your sin, for my sin. He was raised from the dead as God's testimony and proof that He accomplished salvation by dying for us, so that whoever believes in Him is passed from darkness into light. We are transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. The kingdom of His Son.

Those of us who have experienced that, I wonder if our testimony is as strong as the blind man's. So many people claim to come to trust Christ, but they are so intimidated about what it might cost, what their parents are going to say, what the people in their former churches are going to think. I wonder, if you have ever given your testimony that clearly? Once I was blind, now I can see. That was true of me. I was spiritually blind, now I have spiritual sight. And you know who did it for me? Jesus Christ. I came to believe in Him, His work, His person. I believed that He's the Son of God, He died on a cross for me, was raised to life for me. And at that instant, I received spiritual sight. I became a child of God, and I am destined for eternity in His presence.

There's not a person in this auditorium that will escape the inevitable. You have been confronted with Jesus Christ. You have no excuse. You have no reason. Will you believe in Him? Have you believed in Him? If not, why not? Let's pray together.

Father, how we praise you for such a wonderful Savior, a Savior who sought us out when we were blind beggars in sin. Father, in spiritual darkness, unaware even of His presence. Yet in love He sought us, He reached out. And Father, He's cleansed us, forgiven us. He's given us sight. Lord, we praise you for that work He did on our behalf. We praise you that the One who accomplished that work was none other than your eternal Son.

Lord, I pray for those who are here this morning who have yet to believe in Him. Perhaps they are very religious, perhaps they are faithful attenders of this local church. Lord, whatever their situation, yet perhaps they have failed to see themselves as you see them, as those who are lost in their sin. Lord, I pray the Spirit might do that gracious work in their heart this morning to cause them to see themselves as you see them, not righteous but sinful. But Father, may they see Jesus Christ as the One who in love died for them. May they believe in Him and experience new life.

And for those of us who have, Father, may we be encouraged and challenged by the testimony of this man to step forth to announce to others that we were blind but now we see that Jesus the Christ has made us whole. He has forgiven us, cleansed us by simple faith in Him and His finished work. We'll praise you for all that is accomplished, for we pray in His name