One Thing I Know
Book of John Chapter
9
Over and over today
we see a certain group of people bound together to hate anything and
anyone who disagrees with their cherished view. In fact they will
entice false witnesses in an attempt to prove the other side is
wrong. Some even claim to be Christian, yet they stand against the
Word of God so this cannot be true.
They stand against
laws put in place by our founders that have seen this nation prosper
for nearly 250 years.
They would take away
every freedom of the citizens just to put forth a socialist agenda
when if the truth is known most everyone of them do these things for
money which still is the root behind all evil!
In our lesson today
we see these same traits in the Pharisee and the hardline Jews in the
day of the Lord Jesus upon this earth.
These people were so
full of pride, they placed their own oral traditions ahead of the
written Word of God that is preserved by the Holy Spirit.
We will see a blind
man, blind from his birth.
We will see a people
so afraid of excommunication from the Temple and their religion, they
will seek peace with these Pharisee at almost any cost.
We will also see our
Savior who is so Omnipotent, that when He put His plan of salvation
together before He created anything, He also placed certain people
into the future, so He could prove who He really is.
We will also see
another miracle by the Lord whose power goes far beyond that of man.
We will also see the
same two groups of people that exist today, the Believer and the
Unbeliever.
*****Joh 9:1 And as
Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Joh 9:2 And his
disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his
parents, that he was born blind?
This man, blind from
his birth could only be a beggar to help support his mother and his
father. Beggars would find their way near the entrance of the Temple
gates in search of those who would show compassion.
Blindness from birth
is a physical ailment that even today cannot be healed. Even
blindness that is caused during a lifetime for many reasons cannot be
healed even though great strides have been made in medicine.
We must also
separate physical blindness from spiritual blindness which can be
reversed in those who are "Born Again"!
The greatest thing
we see is that when Jesus passes by, good things can happen!
Many things can be
said about our Savior, but we should not miss the fact that Jesus was
very bold, but He committed no sin in all His days on earth and we
know that no sin is allowed in Heaven.
The disciples asked
a serious question, but this question was based on Jewish beliefs and
they had already witnessed Christ heal so many.
Was this man blind
because of sin? Physically the answer is no but spiritually, we all
have sin in our lives.
Rom 3:10 As it is
written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Rom 3:23 For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Many even today
believe that all suffering in this life is linked to sin. If we
remember Job, the Lord said Job was perfect in his ways, yet Job lost
everything he had plus all his children at the same time in one long
miserable day.
The truth is we live
in a wicked world and Satan is the person behind all sin.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of
your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
The Lord Jesus came
to break this bondage and set us free and we will certainly see this
once blind man, go free. Just ask him and he will tell you. "Once
I was blind but now I see".
So how did Jesus
respond to this question?
*****Joh 9:3 Jesus
answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the
works of God should be made manifest in him.
Neither had this
man's sin caused his blindness nor the sin of his parents cause this
blindness. It was not so much the will of God that this man was born
blind as it was for this blind man to appear before Jesus on this
particular day in this particular place!
What were the works
of God demonstrated to this man?
Gal 5:22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness,
temperance: against such there is no law.
Eph 5:9 (For the
fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Eph 5:10 Proving
what is acceptable unto the Lord.
We see it was not
just the healing of this man's blindness it was the works of God
which we all share if Jesus Christ as our Savior.
This once blind man
now had the opportunity to show forth these works of God in his own
life and this is what God ask us all to do once we are saved from a
devil's hell.
Jesus Christ came to
this earth to die because He would obey His Father in everything that
He asked of Him!
*****Joh 9:4 I must
work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night
cometh, when no man can work.
Joh 9:5 As long as
I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
We must remember
Jesus Christ came to this world to save sinners. This was His
Father's mission. Jesus was the one sent from Heaven to do the work
His Father had given Him to do. Nothing else He did was nearly as
important as this one thing!
Jesus could have
healed everyone He came in contact with and this would never have
been enough to save this world!
Mat 20:28 Even as
the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and
to give his life a ransom for many.
Even today we have a
work after salvation and it is to tell as many as we can about the
work that Jesus did so that they to, can be saved.
As Christians we are
tied to the work that Jesus has given us to do with Him!
This work involves a
delivering from darkness, in fact from the power of darkness which is
of the devil.
Col 1:12 Giving
thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light:
Col 1:13 Who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into
the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14 In whom we
have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Individually we only
have the time from our own salvation till the day we die to do this
work.
We should remember
that for every sinner that is saved this world becomes a little
brighter, but the truth is that as every Christian goes on to be with
the Lord this world becomes a little darker.
The Bible says:
2Ti_3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving, and being deceived.
In other words our
world is becoming darker every day. There are more who are going home
to be with the Lord than there are new "Born Again"
Christians each and every day!
This blame goes to
the apostate church who no longer reaches out into this wicked world!
In other words Jesus
is coming soon!
1Co 7:29 But this I
say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that
have wives be as though they had none;
1Co 7:30 And they
that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though
they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
1Co 7:31 And they
that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world
passeth away.
We should understand
that Christianity is a set of godly principles not a set of laws. It
is how we apply these principles to our own life and reach out to
others, so they can get the opportunity to choose that makes us
Christians.
We are not bound by
laws because we are bound by "Grace"!
Eph 5:16 Redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.
Eph 5:17 Wherefore
be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
Jesus Christ was the
Light of this world when He was in it! It is now the Church that is
to be the light of the world and the light of the church is growing
dimmer!
All those who choose
to come out of this darkness can only do so thru Jesus Christ for it
is Jesus Christ who is the power behind the Church through the Holy
Spirit!
And again Jesus
displays the power of God.
*****Joh 9:6 When
he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the
spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
Joh 9:7 And said
unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by
interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and
came seeing.
If we remember the
woman at the well. We know that it was no accident that Jesus just
happened to stop at that well that day. It is the same on this day
with this blind man. It was no accident that Jesus just happened to
see him this day.
On this day Jesus
would prove that He was truly the Light of this world by giving sight
to someone, who never had sight, who had spent all His years in
darkness.
We know that Jesus
is not afraid to lay His hands on anyone even the diseased!
Jesus could have
very easily have just spoken and the sight of this man could have
been restored but Jesus chose a different method on this occasion.
What we can believe
is that Jesus created a remedy to heal this man of blindness.
What is "faith?
Heb 11:1 Now faith
is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not
seen.
By using the spittle
and the mud that came from it and by following the exact directions
given to him by Jesus, Jesus offered this man a chance to have
"Faith" and then that same "Faith" to grow.
You see, we not just
to believe on Jesus with all our heart, but we are to believe on the
work Jesus did for our salvation.
You see if this man
had just gone home to wash he would have remained blind!
It is really not so
important to have physical sight as it is to have "Spiritual
Sight"!
When we believe and
obey the things of the Lord, it is only then that we can get the
blessings!
Rom 8:3 For what
the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the
righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit.
We should understand
that God has His ways of doing things and our job is to obey, knowing
that whatever God does is the right thing for Him to do at that time!
Rom 9:14 What shall
we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid!
God has every right
to dictate to us the terms of His righteousness!
God says He will
have mercy on whosoever He will have mercy on and this is His choice!
God also says He
will have compassion on whoever He decides to have compassion on.
Our faith must be
centered on the fact that God will never be unrighteous in His
decisions. God will always do the right thing.
Now we may not
understand why God does certain things, but God does not owe us an
explanation for the things He has done.
God has given us all
the information that we need in His Written Word, but God also has
given us the opportunity to come to Him face to face and discuss
these things with Him in our prayers.
If God cannot be
swayed by prayer, then He would never have given us the opportunity
to pray.
God will never
change anything that goes against His Written Word but the things
that do not affect His Word, do not change His plans, and do not go
against His Will are things He is willing to discuss, if we have
enough "Faith"!
If the Lord is
willing to pray for our success, then He certainly is willing to give
us things to meet our needs and many things we have ask for!
It seems like
everything that Jesus did was known by the Pharisees and the hard
line, Jews in very little time.
Today we would say
that someone was stalking the Lord at all times.
*****Joh 9:14 And
it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
Joh 9:15 Then again
the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said
unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
At this time these
hardline Jews did not know for sure that Jesus was involved but we
had better believe that they were pretty certain that He was.
No one had a cure
for blindness at that time and neither do they even in our day! This
was a miracle that could not be denied!
This man was blind,
and He could not have described Jesus, at least His physical
features.
According to the law
of the Pharisees, not the Law of God it was a violation of the Law to
cause this man to see on the Sabbath.
We can certainly see
just how ridiculous this was.
All this man knew
was that some man had put clay in his eyes and when he washed at
Siloam, he had also washed away his blindness.
This man was full of
joy that he could see. and these Pharisees wanted to dampen his joy
and change it into breaking the law which deserved stoning, but the
fact is this man had only taken a bath and rejoicing did not break
any law.
We may never know
how many Jews were stoned to death for breaking Jewish traditions
that were actually against the commandments of God.
The truth is that
the works of God cannot be matched by mankind!
Act 5:38 And now I
say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this
counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:
Act 5:39 But if it
be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to
fight against God.
Again this man that
was once blind had not seen the Savior and in reality, the faith that
he had was not saving faith at this time.
*****Joh 9:16
Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because
he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a
sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
Joh 9:17 They say
unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath
opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
Notice it was not
that Jesus did not keep the Sabbath, Jesus did not keep those
traditions passed down from generation to generation from the time
these Jews had returned from Babylon.
Traditions are not
the same as the laws of God and we know that Jesus was free from all
sin.
Traditions are the
same as adding to the Word of God which is sin in itself.
Rev 22:18 For I
testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this
book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him
the plagues that are written in this book:
Rev 22:19 And if
any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the
holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.
These men were not
divided by traditions they were divided by the truth!
In that day, to be
named a prophet was the highest office that a man could hold. A
prophet was still considered to be a voice from God!
Even in this great
honor Jesus was still considered to be no more than a man.
These Pharisees just
said that no miracle had occurred because this man could not have
been blind.
*****Joh 9:18 But
the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and
received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had
received his sight.
We should understand
that every Jew that studied the Scriptures would know that restoring
sight to the people would be a sign of the Messiah.
Not only physical
blindness but spiritual blindness.
Isa 29:18 And in
that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of
the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.
Isa 29:19 The meek
also shall increase their joy in the LORD, and the poor among men
shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
These people could
see Jesus as a lot of things but until they saw Him as their Savior
then they did not really know Him!
This has not changed
today.
We should understand
that all those who put any faith in Jesus as the Messiah were
ex-communicated from Judaism and in most cases, they would lose their
job and any source of income.
So when these
parents were questioned they confessed that this was their son and
that he had been blind from his birth, but they were not willing to
say much more than this.
Their son was more
than 30 years old, so he could speak for himself
*****Joh 9:24 Then
again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God
the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.
Since these Jews
could no longer doubt the blindness of this young man they then
decided to put an end to his testimony.
We certainly need to
give God the praise every day that He allows us to live but until we
recognize that Jesus, the Son of God is God then our praise falls far
short for everything that is not of God is of the devil.
So our question that
we need to answer is, "just who is my God"?
It is Jesus Christ
who is God of the Bible and He is certainly no sinner!
Most Jews have never
progressed any further than this today. They reject the Lord Jesus
Christ as God along with most of our world.
This man who was
once blind had only one answer for them.
*****Joh 9:25 He
answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one
thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
We could say a lot
more of these Pharisees and we will, but we must also admit that God
will test us and many times this test will come right after we have
been given a great blessing.
When we do not give
God the credit for the good things in our life, we will certainly
blame Him for the bad things which are of Satan!
God will test our
faith from time to time!
When asked we must
never be ashamed of our Lord.
Mar_8:38 Whosoever
therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous
and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed,
when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
We should have
enough "faith" that we do not deny the truth of our
salvation nor the truth of the Scriptures.
If we have a
personal experience with the Lord, we will know it, and this is our
testimony!
When we are
questioned by high authorities God will cause the Holy Spirit to give
us the answers!
Luk 12:11 And when
they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers,
take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye
shall say:
Luk 12:12 For the
Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.
God will never leave
us especially in our most difficult times!
We should also
consider that almost a whole chapter is taken up with is one miracle,
so it would be good if we spent some time studying these words and
the Lord's intent.
Have you ever
noticed that those who insist that they always know everything in
most cases know less than we do?
This is because we
have the Holy Spirit living within us and He does know everything!
We should also
notice that we are never given the name of this man because names are
not as important to God as is the soul!
We may never know
all we want to know about our Savior until we get to Heaven but the
"One Thing" can know is, that we have been touched by the
Lord Jesus Christ and we are saved from a sinners Hell!
Rom 5:1 Therefore
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord
Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2 By whom
also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and
rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
As the questions
kept coming to this man, he actually became bolder.
To open the eyes of
some one, who was blind is a true miracle even in our day!
*****Joh 9:32 Since
the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one
that was born blind.
Joh 9:33 If this
man were not of God, he could do nothing.
Sometimes we over
look, the wisdom of those who have faced great trials in their life.
There is no one even
today who can heal blinded eyes of such a man as this one, though
much progress has been made. No one but Jesus and those Apostles He
gave some power to, could do the things that only God can do.
Miracles such as
these died out with the Apostles. This does not mean that God is not
still in the healing business because He still does these things
every day. They just go unnoticed or some foolish man will take the
credit for what God has done.
Even more than these
miracles this man also received "Spiritual Sight".
It is only the Word
of God that can cause light to shine where darkness once ruled.
Psa 119:105 NUN.
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
We need to have good
preachers to teach us the Word of God, but the fact remains that most
souls are led to the Lord by the preaching of the Gospel.
We must understand
that no eye is ever opened to see Jesus, except by Jesus!
Until we clearly see
Jesus we will wander aimlessly in this world!
This man that was
once blind could now clearly see the opposition to Jesus who was
certainly of God!
This man knew that
Jesus was not a liar.
This man knew that
Jesus was not a deceiver.
This man knew that
Jesus was not an evil man.
This man knew that
Jesus was exactly who He said He was!
This man knew these
things and he had not yet seen Jesus face to face!
*****Joh 9:35 Jesus
heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said
unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
Joh 9:36 He
answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?
We must understand
that Jesus wants a close personal relationship with each of us.
We must not be
fooled, Jesus Christ is the God of the Bible and Jesus will accept
all those who are cast out and rejected by society!
It is also obvious
that Jesus sought this man, so he could clearly understand what had
happened to him.
Act 8:37 And Philip
said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he
answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
Rom 10:9 That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.
Rom 10:10 For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.
Rom 10:11 For the
scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
Rom 10:12 For there
is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord
over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Rom 10:13 For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
We must believe that
Jesus is who He says He is!
*****Joh 9:37 And
Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that
talketh with thee.
Joh 9:38 And he
said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him
It is not so
important to know who we are or what we do for a living, as it is
important to know who Jesus the Messiah is and what He has done for
us!
We must also
understand that is more important to know why we love Jesus, than
just to say we believe.
If we cannot believe
all the promises of God, then how can we say we believe His Son!
The very moment we
realize these things is the very moment we should ask the Lord to
move into our heart. It must not be put off!
Without these things
our worship is fruitless!
As this man was cast
out of the Temple, we must cast out all our vain hopes.
We must cast off our
carnal thoughts.
We must submit to
the will of God!
Jesus does not have
to be in front of us for us to talk to Him!
We must understand
that the only foundation of the Church is the Lord Jesus Christ!
1Pe 2:7 Unto you
therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be
disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is
made the head of the corner,
1Pe 2:8 And a stone
of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at
the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
How are we saved?
When we give ourselves into the hands of God the Father, fully
dependent upon for all His things!
We can only do this
through and by His Son and His Son is Jesus!
Jesus will never
return to claim those who have rejected Him in the Church Age. Jesus
has already paid the price for everyone who has ever lived!
Heb_10:26 For if we
sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth,
there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
If the Holy Spirit
lives within us:
1) We will remember
the means of our "Faith".
2) We will highly
esteem Jesus Christ.
3) We will have the
Holy Spirit within our souls.
4) We will enjoy the
peace and comfort of the Lord.
5) We will be filled
with the love of God for the Church.
6) We will be
subject to the authority of Christ Jesus, the Son of God.
If we love the Lord
and though He already knows those who love Him, we must still tell
Him that we love Him!
Amen
Let's Pray!
