Listen to what Max Lucado writes about one particular man who was blind:

For 51 years Bob Edens was blind. He couldn’t see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first time, Bob Edens had sight.

How many of us in here this morning have ever had to place a blindfold on and have a friend lead us somewhere? (Black Arrow way seeker) That is not the best position to be put in.   And that is exactly what it is like for thousands of people who are blind.

Imagine for a moment what it would be like never to see a sunset. Never to see the faces of  those you love. Imagine for a moment never to see the birds who sing, or the colors of the flowers.

 

Someone once asked Helen Keller, who had been blind since the age of nineteen months, if blindness were the worst thing that could befall a person. She answered that the worst thing that could befall a person was not to lose their sight but to lose their vision.

As a child, Helen Keller had lost her hearing and sight yet was able to lead a beautiful life to complete college and become an author and lecturer. This happened because someone (Annie Sullivan) was able to break through her silent, dark world & teach her how to communicate.

 

She was able to lead a very beautiful life of helping others despite her limitations. In spite of great obstacles she had a sense of purpose and vision in life.

 

Today, we’re going to talk about blindness. In the Bible, there are two kinds of blindness – one kind is the physical kind, the kind that we think of when we hear the word “blind.” But there is another kind of blindness in the Bible, spiritual blindness.

 

What is spiritual blindness? You’ll understand it better as we study our Gospel lesson for today. But for now, I’ll give you a short definition of spiritual blindness. Spiritual blindness is when a person is not able to see who God really is.

 

Spiritual blindness is not believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Savior of the world. Spiritual blindness is when you are unable to see all the good things about God that God wants you to see – that’s spiritual blindness.

Today we are going to see how Jesus Christ can heal a person, not just of physical blindness, but also of spiritual blindness.

 

 Look at the question that the Pharisees asked in our text (v40) “what? are we blind too”. It is possible to have our sight and yet be blind to what is going on around us.

                                             

In our text this morning I see 3 things that will cause us to be spiritually blind.”

 

ü      1. The Disciples of Jesus were blinded by judgment.

ü      2. The Neighbors were blinded by skepticism!

ü      3. The Pharisees were blinded by their religion!

How do we know that? Look at the question they ask when they walked up on the man? "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

This was a common belief among the Jews of that day. The disciples faced a theological problem. Believing that sin directly caused all suffering, how could a person be born with a handicap?   Therefore either this man... sinned in his mother’s womb or his parents sinned

 

So, for the disciples to ask that question was not out of the ordinary. However, in order to ask a question like that you have to think a few things about yourself. I’m sure the disciples thought:   

- If sin caused things like that, then you must be alright with God because you are alright. No physical probems…I’m OK.
- If someone had something wrong with them, then they must not be alright with God.

 

We may not believe today when we see a handicap or illness in a person that God is punishing them or their parents. We have been educated to know that sickness and disease for the most part is a natural cause of sin in general, not merely a punishment for personal sin.

 

However, we are sometimes blinded by judgment. The Disciples saw in the blind man a theological debate, and Jesus saw in the blind man someone in whom the work of God could be made known. Are you Tempted to judge?  

 

Let’s bring this into our present day.   When you hear of the fact that most homosexual men die in their early 40’s because of aids, are you tempted to say, “That is what they chose, That is what they deserve”.

When you see a teenage mother struggling to raise her child alone, are you tempted to say, “She have known better,  she should have waited until she was married.”

When you see the effects of alcoholism & drugs in the lives of people, are you tempted to say, “They chose that, they don’t deserve any better!”?

ILLUS: There was once a little boy who excitedly told his mom that he had just measured himself and he was six feet tall. Mom was a little skeptical, so she asked him to measure himself again while she watched.

She discovered the problem when the boy took out not a 12-inch, but a 6-inch ruler. He had calculated well: he was six-ruler-heights tall – he just had the wrong ruler, the wrong standard

We often fall into the same problem ourselves. We often judge ourselves by a very different standard than even the one we judge others by.

It is so much easier to sit back and debate the theological ramifications of bad decisions that others make. It is much harder to see how you can make a difference in the lives of people who are hurting because of a bad decision they made in life.

 
It is easier to judge then to heal & to help. We should not let judging others blind us from the fact that we are to be instruments of healing.

                                               
From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures declare that we are living in a broken world, a fragmented world, a world which is not what it was meant to be.

 

The Prophet Isaiah predicted that in messianic times various signs would occur. Is. 42:7 the Messiah would “ open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.”

The disciples were thinking about what caused the blindness. Jesus shifted their attention away from the cause to the purpose. “That the works of God might be displayed” Don’t be blinded by judgment.

 

 

What happened when this man returned to the people who knew him?
The neighbors and those around were skeptical of what had happened.
In their defense, it would have been hard to believe what they were seeing.

 

Verses 8-12 record the various reactions of the blind man’s neighbors to his healing. Some thought he looked like the one who used to sit and beg. Others positively identified him as the same man. Still others objected saying that this only looked like that blind man.

 

In response, the healed man insisted, “I am the same man.” Finally realizing that the person who once was blind had received his sight, they asked, “Who healed you?” The former blind man testified to the healing power of Jesus by recounting the story of how he had been healed!

How many of us in here this morning struggle with skepticism? I will be the first one to raise my hand.  There are many strange things happening in the spiritual realm today…. They are a lot of false prophets out there.

                                                 

I am skeptical of what some people claim. There are people who claim to have healing powers from God, to that I am skeptical. There are people who claim to have a special revelation from God, to that I am skeptical.

 

As spiritual adultery increases in the church, false prophets will flourish as highly sought after speakers, and as Christians accept more of these false teachings indiscriminately, many will fall away, believing in a phony "faith".

 

I believe God, in His grace and longsuffering, is allowing some of this  to test true believers.  I believe that God is allowing this last days test for Christians to see if they will love the truth ... or go running after myths.  When He comes, will He us faithful?    I am skeptical about much of what I see today……  

However, the one thing we should never be skeptical of is the power of Jesus Christ and the truth of the Gospel message.

Take a look around your world. Odds are there is someone you know or love and you really wonder,  can  he/she ever be reached by the gospel message? Listen to what the Bible says about the Gospel:

Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

Through the power of God, this man’s life was changed forever. The same thing can happen today if God’s people will quite being skeptical of the power of the Gospel and preach it to everyone we come in contact with.

The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. It is time that we as God’s people believe that and preach that to the relative we don’t think will ever respond, to the neighbor who seems unreachable. To the co-worker, to those around you on a daily basis.   

My point is this, have faith in the power of the Gospel, it can and it will change lives. Don’t let skepticism keep you from seeing God work.      Don’t be blinded by skepticism or by judgment…….

What is religion? Religion is a system of beliefs. Defined as “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, esp. when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.”

What happened when the Pharisees were confronted with the man who was born blind but now sees?
- They debated the fact that the man was blind at all.
- They said Jesus must be a sinner because he healed on the Sabbath.

You know it is easy to sit back and point the finger at the Pharisees for using their tradition and religion to remain blind to the work of God.

 

Jesus condemned the Pharisees and Sadducees many times in His preaching and teaching. Why? Because they were more concerned with their traditions and religious practices than they were with God.
This is the kind of Righteousness That God Rejects

 

 

What are some of the traditions that we have that could cause us to make the same mistakes the Pharisees made?
Church attendance,   Church positions, soldiership, works, wearing a uniform…… tithing…….  Family heritage in a Christian family… 2^nd, generation Salvationist…..    (good things indeed, but is Jesus Lord)

Here is one thing that we can be sure of,  the Bible is clear on. No one is going to be saved because of the church they attend, or the postion they hold, or what they wear and what the works they have done or what they have given……. who related to, it doesn’t matter.

The only way that someone is going to be saved is through a life changing, transforming personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And the Bible says that we are saved by the grace of God, not the tradition, expectations of others and religion of man.

We cannot allow our tradition and religion to blind us. God can and will do things differently than what we may think or believe!

How, much more enjoyable would it have been for the Jewish leaders to praise that work.   In the same way, we should learn to celebrate the work of God, even when it is done differently than what we are used to.

APPLICATION:
Are we blind? Well, if our lives are controlled by: Judgment
Skepticism, Religions Pride Then we are blind, not physically but spiritually.

However, We can learn from the Blind man. How did he respond in all of this? He told everyone who judged “One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

Maybe, this morning you have come in here blinded by hopelessness. Blind to the mercy of God, Blind to the truth of salvation, blind to sin, blind to worldly conditions, blind to the fact that God hates sin,

You don’t know where to find the answer, but it seems as though you are wandering through life blind. You don’t know what you need, but you know you need something.

Jesus is there for you. He wants you to respond like the blind man in faith and accept Him as Lord.