John 9:1-41, The Spit of Jesus by John

The Spit of Jesus
John 9:1-41, Read vv. 1-7

1. Did you think the title for this message, the Spit of Jesus, was some sort of typographical error?
2. It's not. I believe it is vitally important for the whole human race to realize that everything about God is wonderfully pure, right and powerful.
3.We tend to think spit is disgusting and dirty, but nothing about God is unclean or disgusting.
4. God is all-powerful, and He is capable of acting however He chooses to accomplish His will.
(1) I don't think of a single time Jesus healed anyone in exactly the same way, do you?
(2) God is infinite, and He needs never repeat Himself.
5. Jesus healed a man's vision by taking dirty, dusty street dirt and mixing it with His own saliva!
6. I want us to see ourselves in this portion of Scripture.
(1) We may see ourselves born blind, or...
(2) We may see ourselves as once being blind, and now thankfully seeing.
7. Consider this...

I. This Man Was in an Awful Condition Even for that day!

1. He was born physically blind in a spiritually blind society. The Jewish society was almost completely oblivious to his presence; so much so that v. 8 says his neighbors and those who had seen him begging did not even recognize him!
(1) How would you like to be a grown person and no one except your parents could recognize who you were! That was this man's condition. To all the people around him, he was a nobody.
2. Have you thought about what it means to be blind?
(1) It means you cannot see the glories of God's creation!
(2) It means that you live in a world of eternal darkness.
(3) It means the only way you can read anything is by Braille or perhaps talking books.
(4) TV would be better than nothing. You could close your eyes and listen to a drama, but you would miss the action! Try closing your eyes when an action program is on and see how much you miss,
(5) If you want a greater challenge, try to eat a fresh, crisp green salad with your eyes shut! (I'll admit, I sometimes have trouble keeping my dignity eating a green salad, and I can see)!
3. If you were blind, how would you know when you had an injury? Only by the pain you felt, right?
(1) If you bled, could you stop it?
(2) You couldn't apply a bandage very well. I've tried doing that in the dark. It's tough!
(3) You certainly would not be able to help someone else who was injured, at least not much.
4. These are just a few facets of blind life. There are many, many more!
5. We know this man was mature, probably in his 30's at least, because in v. 21 his parents said he was "of age," and they considered a person an adult when they were about 33.
6. Now, you may not be physically blind like this man, but this man was also spiritually blind, and you may be, too.
7. How can we know he was spiritually blind?
(1) He admitted he didn't know Jesus.
(2) He obviously knew Judaism pretty well because he was able to argue with the Pharisees, and win, and they were well trained in the art of debate.
(3) Are you spiritually blind??? Let me put it another way, do you know Jesus? If you haven't committed your life to Him, you are just like this man who was blind from birth physically and spiritually.

II. The Pharisees Were in Worse Shape than the Blind Man.

1. In v. 41 Jesus told the Pharisees, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains."
2. The blind man admitted he was both physically and spiritually blind.
(1) Jesus healed his eyes, and he admitted it to the Jewish leaders.
(2) But he also plainly told those Pharisees he did not know who Jesus was. He considered Him a prophet, not the Son of God!
3. The Pharisees saw themselves as the elite of their culture, and in their society they were, but Jesus said they were not even spiritually close.
(1) They claimed to be Moses' disciples!
a. Let me stop right there for a moment.
b. It's easy to think you are a disciple if you choose to keep only the commands you want to follow.
c. A true disciple follows all of God's commands whether he likes them or not!
(2) People try to follow Jesus the way the Pharisees did.
a. They claim to love Jesus, but they hate black, yellow, red, poor, intelligent, or someone else that Jesus says is their brother!
b. I John 3:15 says, "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him."
4. God loves all of us, and all of us, no exception, who really love God, have God's love in them.
5. That love passes from God through every Christian to everyone else!
6. The Law is a tutor, or a schoolmaster, to lead us to Christ, Galatians 3:24.
(1) The Pharisees claimed to live the Law!
(2) In Matthew 23:13, Jesus said, "Woe unto you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to!"
6. Anyone who keeps the major teachings of the Law will find Jesus because that's where the Law leads.
7. The Pharisees also thought they were disciples of the Law.
(1) They thought they were the top of God's crop!
(2) They thought anyone who disagreed with them could not possibly be right.
(3) Jesus told them how wrong they were!
8. I'm afraid there are many today that believe they are Christians because they belong to the church, they don't curse, beat their wives, or husbands, and such things as that.
9. Do you know you can ride in an automobile that doesn't even have a motor in it? The problem is, you can only go downhill!
10. Trying to be a Christian without Christ is like trying to drive a car without an engine!

III. Jesus Healed this Blind Man.

1. He did not heal anyone who could see.
(1) That sounds strange doesn't it?
(2) If you were blind from birth, and no one told you that you were blind, you would not be conscious you weren't like everyone else, would you. That's right, isn't it?
2. Healing this man was Jesus' way of showing these Pharisees just how blind they were.
(1) It's true, they did not learn the lesson!
(2) Instead they said that this man was "steeped in sin from birth!"
(3) They accused Jesus of having a demon, and of performing miracles by the power of Beelzebub!
(4) They were totally unwilling to admit they were wrong!
3. Now let's be sure to note that this man wasn't just healed of physical blindness.
(1) Jesus healed him spiritually, too.
(2) His whole life was changed in a moment because he wanted to know Jesus!
(3) I think it is important to note that Jesus looked him up after his healing because he was willing to be spiritually whole.
4. We need to know God goes as far with us as we are willing to go!

Conclusion:

1. This man we have been talking about had a physical problem all his life until he met Jesus.
2. The Pharisees who led the people of his community were in just as bad condition, and they did not have any physical problem. That alone made them feel as if they were blessed of God.
3. They were actually hell bound, and they thought they were on the road to heaven!
4. I believe they were in worse shape than the blind man because they were not seeking God!
5. Jesus healed that man physically.
6. He sought him out later and healed him spiritually!
7. He did not heal the Pharisees because they did not want to be healed!
8. Perhaps you've missed the way to Jesus.
9. Perhaps your teachers have misled you.
10. Like this man Jesus healed, you can still come to Jesus from wherever you are, and you can do it right now!
11. The question before you is: Are you willing to be healed spiritually by the Lord Jesus?