 So beginning at verse 1, John chapter 9, reading just the first two verses or rather the first twelve verses, as Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth and his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who's sinned? This man or his parents, that he was born blind? And Jesus answered, neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day, the night is coming, but no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had said these things, he spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and he said to him, go, wash in the pulis loam, which is translated, sent. So he went and washed and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, is not this he who sat and begged? Some said, this is he. Others said, he's like him. He said, I am he. Therefore they said to him, how were your eyes opened? He answered and said, a man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to the pulis loam and wash. So I went and washed. Then they said to him, where is he? He said, I don't know. And so the healing of the blind man, John records in his gospel seven specific miracles in this particular miracle that is recorded for us in chapter nine is the sixth recorded miracle that John has in his gospel. When you read the Bible and you read your gospels, you're going to note that the healing of the blind is recorded as his most frequent healing, which is interesting. Why would Jesus heal the blind as often as he did? Because you see various times in scripture that he did that. Well, in the Old Testament, the healing of the blind is associated with God. In the book of Psalms, Psalm 146, verse eight, it says, the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. It's also a work that is associated with their Messiah. Isaiah 42, six and seven reads, I the Lord have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand. I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles to open blind eyes to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. This was a what is called a messianic passage. It's a prophecy related to what Messiah will do. And God says there in Isaiah 42 that he is to open blind eyes. And so we know God opens the eyes of the blind and Messiah is associated with the opening of the eyes of the blind. On one occasion, John the Baptist was in prison and while in prison, he sent two of his disciples to speak to Jesus and he told them to ask Jesus, are you the coming one or do we look for another? And Jesus's reply was intended to communicate by what he said that he is Messiah. In Matthew 11, four and five, Jesus answered and said to them, go and tell John the things which you hear and see, the blind sea, the lame walk. Leppers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. Go and tell John the things which you hear and see, the blind sea. All of this is associated with Messiah. So this is another one of those miracles recorded in the Gospel of John intended as evidence that Jesus is that Messiah. And so as we look at verse one, Jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blind from birth. This is one of those miracles we're about to see that is unsolicited. It's Jesus who saw the man. Obviously, the man was blind and could not see Jesus. And as Jesus sees the blind man, Jesus moves to do something for him. Why? Because he's the one who seeks to do that. In Luke 1910, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. And Jesus initiates on behalf of this man a miracle. And that reveals something to us about Jesus. Because even when we are blind and in sin and cannot see him, he still sees us. And that ought to be something we are very blessed to know. We did not see him, but he saw us. We didn't even know we needed him, but he knew we did. And we didn't seek him out. He sought us out. The scripture says there's none who seek God. No, not one. It's God who seeks the lost. And Jesus came to seek and to save that which is lost. And so when people say, well, I was in sin and I found Jesus, I'm not quite sure that he was lost. I think it's the other way around. You were in sin and he sought you out. And this is what we see here with this blind man, Jesus seeking him out. And so as this is taking place, notice his disciples and how they respond to this. Verse two. So they see this man blind from birth. His disciples ask him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents said he was born blind. So they look at this with more like curiosity. There's a curiosity. They have a theological question. Who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind? So it's not compassion that is motivating them. It's rather curiosity. And they ask a question that's theological in nature. Who sinned? They've connected sin with sickness, as was fairly common in the Psalms. Psalm 103 versus two and three. Notice what it says. It says, bless the Lord, O my soul, forget not all his benefits. And it goes on to speak of his benefits who forgives all your iniquities. And the next line who heals all your diseases. And so the Jews associated naturally sin with sickness. And so that's the heart of their theological question. Who did sin this man, his parents, that he was born blind? There's sin and there's sickness. And they're associating that because that was a common belief. There was a rabbinic saying there is no death without sin. There is no suffering without iniquity. And that's where their mind is at the time. So who sinned this manner as parents that he was born blind? You see, during this time, some believed it was possible to actually sin while in the womb. That's an interesting thought. And some of you mamas who were carrying your baby whenever that baby would kick you and make you uncomfortable, you probably thought they're a sinner for sure. Look what they're doing to me. But they thought it was possible to sin while in the womb. And others incorrectly believed in a pre-existent soul that sinned in a pre-existent state. Some believe that the child could be punished because of the sins of the parents. They believe that the child would be born with a nilness because their parents were being punished for their sins. Exodus 347 reads keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression in sin by no means clearing the guilty. And then they would say visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. So they took that scripture to mean that if I as a husband, my wife, if I sinned that God could punish through the birth of a child that was ill. And that's the theology of their day. And that's what they're really asking Jesus, who did sin? This man or his parents that he was born blind? Well, Jesus answered, verse three, neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. Sickness is not always the direct result of sin. I remember hearing a TV preacher tell a woman who had miscarried that she had miscarried because she had a lack of faith. What a cruel thing to say to somebody who's lost a child in the womb. You see, physical problems can be a result of sin. That's true. It could be the result of sin on the part of a father or mother of the child. That's true. If you're drinking a lot and you're pregnant, smoking, drug abuse, we know that that contributes to the harm to an unborn child. But not all sicknesses that children are born with are the result of the sin of the parent. So Jesus tells his men that this is really an opportunity to show God's power to heal. God is gonna reveal his compassion as he heals this man. And the result he's saying is gonna bring glory to God. Now, later on in the gospel in chapter 11, Jesus says something like this. Martha and Mary sent messengers to tell Jesus their brother Lazarus was sick. And in John 11, verse four, when Jesus heard that Lazarus was sick, he said, this sickness is not into death, but for the glory of God that the Son of God may be glorified through it. And so he's taken this as an opportunity to bring glory to the father. He says in verse four, I must work the works of him who sent me. Well, it is day, the night's coming when no one, no one can work. When he says the night is coming when no one to work, we need to put this in its chronological context and just a few months, Jesus is going to be crucified. So he's saying, I need to continue doing what my father has sent me to do as long as I have opportunity before me. In 1 Thessalonians five, verses five through seven, Paul said, you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then let us not be like others who are asleep. Let us be alert and self-controlled for those who sleep, sleep at night. Those who get drunk, get drunk at night. In other words, we need to be busy about the Lord's business while given opportunity. He says in verse five, as long as I'm in the world, I am the light of the world. As long as I'm in the world, hostility and opposition is growing. My time with you is drawing to a close because this is true. I must be busy doing the work I've been called to do. And so when he finishes saying that verse six, when he had said these things, he spent on the ground. He made clay with saliva. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. He said to him, go wash in the pulis alum, which is translated scent. And he went, he washed and he came back seeing. All right, let's look at what's obvious, the spitting. Okay, it sounds gross. When I read that the first time, not spitting, why would he do something like that? Be honest with you, I was taught not to be spitting in public this and that, but I read in the Bible that Jesus spit. As a matter of fact, when you read your Bible, three times in the gospel, Jesus is spoken of as spitting. Now that's interesting, I'll develop this with you. For example, in Mark chapter seven, Jesus was in a region called the decapolis. Decapolis in Greek means 10 cities, decaholis. 10 cities was on the east side of the Jordan River, just outside of region that is called Samaria. And Jesus was in this region just east of the Jordan and there was a man with a speech impediment that was brought to him in Mark seven, verses 33 through 35, it says that Jesus took him aside from the multitude and put his fingers in his ears and he spat and he touched his tongue and looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, de fatah, which is be opened. Immediately his ears were opened, the impediment of his tongue was loosed and he spoke plainly, he spat. That was, he was doing a miracle in a way to show him what was about to take place, touching his ears, spitting, touching his ears, your ears will be open, spitting, your tongue will be loosed, looking to heaven, God is about to do a work and that's what he was doing for those in our sign ministry, that's what he was doing, he was giving them demonstration through just pointing and touching and all of that, but he spat and that was a symbol of his tongue being loosened. In Mark eight, 22 and 23, he came to Bethsaida and they brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch him. So he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of town when he had spit on his eyes and put his hands on him, he asked him if he saw anything, so he put spit on his eyes, there are those who say that part of that miracle may have been that his eyes were crusty and he put the spittle and in doing so was removing the crust that was causing his eyelids to be shut, but it doesn't say it in scripture, but there are the commentators who point that that may be a possibility as he's about to open his eyes, but he spit on his eyes. And it's interesting, when he asks him if you see anything and he says, I see men as trees walking in Jesus' ministry at the second time and he was able to see clearly. Now why saliva? And also why verse six? Why dirt that's made into clay? Saliva and clay, why? Well, during that day, this is interesting and I made sure on this, there's more than one source that points this out, that some believed at that time that saliva, your spit, they actually believed was medicinal. Some rabbis considered saliva to be a valid treatment for blindness. Since the people of that day had a high view of saliva's healing properties, Jesus used spit to communicate his intention to heal. Those being healed would have interpreted Jesus' spitting as a sign that they were soon to be cured. Now dirt mixed with saliva made clay. Why that? Because man was created from the dust. So that would encourage the man to understand that God, Jesus, was doing a creative work in the way that Adam was fashioned from the dust. They would associate the dirt with the dust that man came from. And so the spit was medicinal, the dirt was creation. So by tying the spittle with the dirt, making it clay, using it as a salve on his eyes, it was a picture of healing, that's what he was doing. So as he does this, notice verse seven, he said to him, go wash in the pool of salom. Salom, the word salom, is translated scent. So he went and he washed, came back seen. When we go to Israel, we go to this pool. They've uncovered this pool, they've discovered where this pool is. It's just southeast of the city of Jerusalem. Spaiwood is called the city of David. It is a place where when you read your Old Testament, you'll read about Hezekiah's tunnel. And Hezekiah built a tunnel in just the way that he built the tunnel when they were under a siege and all of that, it's an amazing story. And so they would get water from what is called the pool gihon. And it was deep enough for them to draw water and it was used as a water source. And so he sends them to this place called the pool of salom. We always go and we always have this Bible study there at the pool of salom. And hopefully one day, if you haven't been to Israel, you'll go with us and you'll see this for yourself. But it's called scent. That word scent literally is ascending out. And it speaks of a gushing forth of water. And that's the picture that you have here. You're going to this particular place with a lot of water. But I want you to notice that Jesus gives a simple command. It's the only requirement for him to receive a healing. Go and trust me. And this guy really doesn't really know exactly who this man is who's speaking to him at that moment, but he says go. So Jesus has just referred to himself again, verse five, as the light of the world and that he had already said in chapter eight, verse 12, I am the light of the world. He once again refers to himself here in chapter nine, verse five, as the light of the world. And so what we have is the light of the world sent a man who was sitting in darkness to wash that he might see. And so what happens? In verse seven, he went. And he came back seeing. Obedience goes a long way in the kingdom of God. He could have said no. He could have wondered, why are you rubbing clay in my eyes? He could have wondered a thousand and one things. I think you and I would have, I would have wondered what this all about. But he rubs this in his eyes and he says go. And it's a little bit of a walk from where Jesus is at that moment to where he has to go. Then he has to come back. And so out of obedience. And let me say this to you very briefly. Some of the greatest things that the Lord will do in your life always will begin with simple obedience. Always know that the great things that God wants to do begin with simple obedience. Just doing the simple thing. This church where we're at right now, 38 years of history began as a simple thing. Having a Bible study with a group of people. God always begins with small things in your life that require obedience. What is he saying to you now that you need to do? And you know you need to, but you just haven't. What has he told you? In this case is go to the pool. All you need to go and wash. I don't need to go. Why would I have to go? Why should I go? Who are you to tell me to go? But he did. Listen, when the Lord places something on your heart and says do this, do it. You will blow your mind at the things that God will do through simple obedience. In the case of this man, he receives his sight. He came back seeing. Can you imagine that? He was born blind. He walked to the pool, lined. He gets the water, washes his eyes like we saw a moment ago the baby seeing for the first time. Can you imagine what that would be like? Could you imagine that? I can't. I can't imagine what that would be like. The things that you do right now, by the way, this amplifies this miracle. The things that you're able to do right now are coming because you have developed with your eyesight. You don't know it. I don't know. It came early in our life. A relationship between you and distance. You developed perspective because you had the opportunity as someone who sees to learn what distance is, what proximity is and everything in between. You learn certain things about seeing by being able to see. But you don't have depth perception if you're blind. You don't have that. That's something that has to be given instantaneously. In the case of this man, that miracle is amplified. He didn't have to learn depth perception. It was a total healing. He went, he's blind, he washes his eyes, he came back seeing. He saw, he's able to walk instead of walking like, because you don't even know what it feels like until your foot, he was able to walk back and he's doing so. That just amplifies this amazing miracle that took place with Jesus and this man. And as he comes back, notice what happens. Verse eight, the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, they're blowing the mind. It is not this he who sat and begged is, some said, this is he, others said, he's like him. They're arguing in front of him and picture that. Now there's humor in scripture. You have to just look for it. They're arguing and he's standing there watching them. This is he, not, it's not him. This is he, that's not him. That they're arguing, they're arguing and he finds this, it's me. And there's a bit of humor though, you might not think it's funny, I do. And he's saying, it's me. And so he steps in and he tells him, I am he. I am that one. Yes, you're more blind than I was. It's me. How were your eyes opened? Immediately that question comes. This isn't done. These things don't happen. How were your eyes open? He answered verse 11, a man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to the police, hello, I'm in wash. So I went and wash and I received sight. He gives a testimony. I know little of him. I'm sure you're like me and no little of him also. All I know is this, his name is Jesus. He made clay, he told me to wash. And now I see, here's something for you. You might want to market it in your heart if not on some notebook. You don't have to be the greatest theologian in the world to have a testimony. When I first got saved, I said this more than once and I still to this day say it. You've heard me, if you come to this fellowship over the years, you've heard me say it. I once was blind and now I see. Sometimes that's all you know. Sometimes that's all you know. I didn't, you know, I couldn't talk to you about theological issues. I couldn't even pronounce some of the books of the Bible. I didn't even know how many books were in the Bible. I didn't know, what do I know? I, all I, and that's what I was like with my friends. That's what I was like with my friends when I first got saved. And they'd say, you can't, blah, blah, blah. And they'd tell me, they try to argue me out of being saved. They brought their doubts and tried to invest them in my faith, which is what happens. You come home after getting saved and you talk to a friend or family member, mom or dad, whomever, and they may not, you know, kill the fatted calf. They may be upset because you came to faith in Christ. They may be mad because we've always worshiped God in this way and now you're saying that your way of, no, you're wrong and you were once this and you'll always be that. You hear those things. Some of you have. My brother said things like that to me. A lot of you heard the same kind of thing. You can't change. You're just in a fad. You're just doing something right now because other people are doing it. You'll be back to what you used to be. So I didn't have a theological construct yet. I didn't know how to defend my faith. I wasn't able to present the gospel. What do I know? And I would say, all I know is this. I was blind. But now I see. I was lost. But now I'm found. That's a testimony. Don't let anybody argue you out of it. You know you were blind and you know you were lost. And others might say, oh, you weren't as lost as you think. How would you know you're not in my skin? You don't know how I felt. You didn't hear my cry. You didn't know my tears. You don't know my story. How do you know? And the fact is they don't. But you do. And God does. And once I was blind and that's what he's saying. All I know is this. I'm no theologian. You're gonna see him get in a theological argument in just a moment by the way. But he says, all I know is this. There's a man I've never seen by the name of Jesus who gave me an order I didn't have to keep. But I did. Who put clay on my eyes, which I didn't have to receive. But I allowed it. And I followed what he said. And I went to a place, Bola Salome, you all are familiar with it. And I came back seeing. I was once blind. But now you're arguing about whether I'm that blind man. I'm standing before you, able to see. Are you gonna try and argue me out of the healing? God has done for me. And that's what's taking place here. A man called Jesus made clay annoyed in my eyes, said to me, go to the Bola Salome wash. I went and washed. I received sight. Well, verse 12, they said to him, well, where is he? I don't know. I was blind. I've never seen him in my life. He could be standing right next to me for all I know. But why are they saying that? Well, they wanna arrest him. So, verse 13, they brought him who formerly was blind to the religious leaders, the Pharisees. It was a Sabbath. Jesus made the clay open his eyes. The Pharisees also asked him again, how he received his sight. And he said, he put clay in my eyes. I washed and I see. And so they're confused about this miracle. They need a religious pronouncement. Jesus is a rabbi. So the people naturally are gonna take this question to their rabbis. What are we to make of such a miracle? Should we honor this man, Jesus? Should we mistrust him? What are we to do? Well, notice verse 14, it's the Sabbath. So Jesus once again is violating their understanding of the Sabbath and its rest. And the controversy concerning that is renewed. So the Pharisees in verse 15 asked him again, how he received his sight. And it gives him another opportunity to testify of God's goodness to him. And his testimony remains consistent. He simply says what he said before. So verse 16, therefore some of the Pharisees said, and here's where they get mad. This man's not from God because he doesn't keep the Sabbath. But here's your theological problem. Others said, how can a man who's a sinner do such signs as a division among them? The law of Moses forbids work on Shabbat on the Sabbath. That's true. But the work that is forbidden has been referred to as unnecessary work. There are things that are necessary. And works of mercy on the Sabbath are allowed. In Matthew 12, nine through 12, when he had departed from there, he went into their synagogue. He, oh, there was a man who had a withered hand. They asked him, saying, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? That they might accuse him. He said to them, what man is there among you who has one sheep? And if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, we'll not lay hold of it and lift it out. Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it's lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Jesus wasn't breaking the Sabbath. He was fulfilling it. He was doing acts of mercy on the Sabbath. So they're arguing about that. Now notice, others say, how can a man who was a sinner do such signs? And that created a division. And so here's the argument. If Jesus is a sinner, how is it possible for him to do these works? You see, deceivers might perform works, yet nothing really good could be performed by a deceiver. And so this is an argument concerning their understanding of scripture and a miracle. And so the answer to this is found in the nature of the work. His signs are pointing people to the true God of Israel. Even as Nicodemus had said, remember Nicodemus who came to Jesus by night and we know that thou art a teacher. Come from God for no man can do the works that thou doest, unless God is with them. So that is something that they understood. People were being pointed to God by his works. And what this is doing though, is this creating what is called a division or a schism. It's a division. It's a difference that makes a separation. So they're becoming separated over who Jesus is here in verse 16. So in verse 17, they said to the blind man again, what do you say about him? Because he opened your eyes. And so now the man has an opportunity to give a little bit more of a testimony. He's a prophet. What do you say about him? He's a prophet. Well, they asked him saying, never say to him, but the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them saying, is this your son who you say was born blind? And how then does he now see? We'll look at that in a second and develop that with you. Well, the Jews didn't believe him. This went against everything they believed. They refused to believe him. They were convinced that Jesus was a deceiver. And so the result of this is continuation of argument. Now they're saying, you know, why should we speak to this guy when his parents are amongst us? We'll just go in and question mom and dad. And so they ask in verse 19, is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? Listen, put yourself in the parent's place for a minute because you're gonna see something interesting in terms of the response to this. Your baby has grown to manhood. I want you to think. Some of you understand this because perhaps it's something you do. And maybe something you do. You take care of somebody. Some people, that's their job. Some people, that's their duty. You take care of somebody. When a baby is born and they bring the baby to you, I can tell you what every parent I know who's ever told me anything, I can tell you what they do. You know what I did? I looked at it closely. I wanted to make sure it had 10 fingers. I just did. You got the cute little foot. One, two, three, four, five. Okay, since okay. You do that. You look at them to see if they're physically okay. Not that you won't love the baby regardless. You will let your baby. But you do that. You just look. You hold it and you look at it. Wow. That an ugly little thing you are, but you'll grow out of it. Give it to the mama. Do something with this. But your baby's born blind. You have friends who had a baby born right around the same time you had your baby. And your baby crawls, but bumps into things. Has to learn things that babies with sight don't have to learn. You take the baby by the hand and you have to step them through rocks and obstacles and sometimes you're sitting and you're watching other parents with their babies. And their babies are playing. They're doing whatever games children play. Your baby will never really be able to do that. And it doesn't mean that the baby can't be outstanding out of a variety of other things. But some of the basic things that you would have liked to have been able to see your child do. The child can't do it. It's not because it's a bad child. It's because the baby can't see. So you make a lot of adjustments in your life as you're raising this child. The baby's never even seen your face. The baby knows your voice. The baby knows your smell. The baby knows your touch. But the baby has never looked in your eyes to know who you are, sight to sight. And I don't care what a great mom or dad you might be. There's just that sense like I wish they knew my face, who I am. It's just there. That's a real thing. You adjust to it. You adjust to what you have to adjust to. And you can live with it and you don't see it as quote unquote the handicap that others might. Because this is us. This is our reality. This is what we do. We can do this. We're successful at it. It's our life. But in the back of your mind you say, I would want the baby to be able to see. And that baby from an infant grows to be a toddler, grows to be an adolescent, grows to be a young man. And has learned how to navigate, learns the life. He's there. He finds his way to where he's going. He's able to do that. He's overcoming whatever obstacles that he has to deal with. But now he sees. And you're there. Put yourself there for a moment, please. And you're looking at your son who has never even seen your face. And you're watching him as the religious leaders and people are arguing with him. Wouldn't your paternal or maternal instinct, wouldn't it kick in? Would you want to stand between that child who is now able to see? Wouldn't you want to be rejoicing, holding him, crying with him, saying, oh, what do the parents do? This is what amazes me. What do the parents do? Because they're being put on the spot. Again, verse 19, is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? And the religious leaders are speaking to you and you respond, verse 20, his parents answered them and said, we know that this is our son. And that he was born blind. But, verse 21, by what means he now sees, we don't know or who opened his eyes, we do not know he is of age. Now notice that, ask him, he'll speak for himself. Okay, I want to slap mom and dad. That's your baby. Why are you not defending him? Why? Why are you not shoulder to shoulder with him? With your arm around him? Any father I know, every father I know. If someone was coming against my kid, as old as I am, I still get in front of him. I still do. Why? Because I'm the father. That's my baby. You want to get to him, it won't be that hard, but you have to get through me. Maybe I can delay it for a while, so he gets away. That's what I'll do. I'm not a young man anymore. But they don't do that. Ask him, he's of age. In other words, we're pulling out. We're not going to defend him. We're not going to stand with him. That's what amazes me. That's what amazes me. Why did you do that? They abandoned him. Why? I'll tell you why. Because they feared being excommunicated. Because if they were associated with someone who is breaking the Sabbath, or involved in something that they could be religiously charged with, they could be kicked out of the synagogue, and they could be refused to enter into temple services. And their religious life meant more to them than the healing of their son. They didn't want to be banned from the synagogue. Why? Because being banned from synagogue in their sight was being cut off from God himself. And so they were not willing to stand for their son. They weren't able to do that. They wouldn't do that. It says in verse 22, his parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed that he was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue, and they knew that. So verse 23, verse 23, therefore his parents said, he's of age, ask him. So verse 24, they again called the man who was blind and said to him, give God the glory. We know that this man is a sinner. So the frustration is mounting by the moment. The blind man is gonna be getting direct. They're getting direct, but the blind man will be direct also. And they're basically saying, we are your religious leaders. We are convinced that he's deceiving the people. You need to trust us as we're telling you this. And so they said, look at this, this man's a sinner. So give God all the glory. Well, he answered verse 25, whether he's a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I know, though I was blind, now I see. Not to me again, that I have to be careful how I say some things because I could say it wrong. Your theology and your understanding of God develops over time. We know that. The more you study the word of God prayerfully and put it into practice, the more you begin to know God and his ways. When you first get saved, as mentioned a moment ago, I was blind, now I see. Over time, as you're in Bible studies, like those of you who come regularly to studies, you go through the gospel, you learn certain things that perhaps you didn't know before. It helps you in your understanding. You begin to trust the Lord more. And as your understanding is growing, your faith is growing, as your faith is growing, your trust in the Lord is now being put to test. And oftentimes, you have opportunity to trust him for something he comes through, shows you he's there, your faith. But that takes time. It takes time. Don't give up and don't lose heart. It takes time. Sometimes the Lord will give to you a lesson in faith by a seeming absence of his presence. It's not that he departs, it's that he's given you an opportunity to learn what it's like to walk in the dark and not to need him there in the sense of always dragging you, but giving you opportunity to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. And you learn some things as you go along the path and you discover certain things. All you need to do is read your Bible and you see that God appears to Abraham and ministers to him and then years of silence. And then he again opens the door and speaks to him. And I started learning that a long time ago that there may be times of silence because in the times of silence is when I've learned to trust the Lord even though I don't see him or hear him. But I know he's there and that's how you grow. That's how you grow. And you don't know that at first. You think that, no, you're supposed to hold my hand every moment. But how come it says I walk through the valley of the shadow of death? How come? Because you do. And you learn that he's with you but you learn that by walking, right? And so your faith grows. Don't get discouraged. Don't get discouraged. Many believers get discouraged very easily. He didn't deliver me instantly, therefore there's no God. He didn't learn your lesson instantly. You learn it over time. And then later on, you say, that's what you wanted to show me. I didn't realize that there were other parts of this puzzle that you were gonna be putting together in your time, in your way, so that you could make all things beautiful because you make all things beautiful in your time because all things do work together for the good of those who love God who are the called according to his purpose. So you gave me an opportunity to taste of the sour because you were preparing me for the sweet. Now I get it. And that's called faith that's growing. So you're not a theological whiz the moment you get saved, but you do have a starting point. I was blind and now I see. And this guy's a sinner. Give God the glory. You can't possibly be a Christian. You know, these Protestants are wrong. They don't know. And that was what I was hearing. I don't know what you heard. They don't know these things. They don't have the truth. They don't have a direct line to God. They don't have those things. That's what I was hearing. And all I know is that, you know what? I was an Elki, an alcoholic. And now I'm not dependent on alcohol anymore. All I know is that I was a druggy, an angry, a liar. Great qualifications for pastoral ministry. All I know is I was blind. But now I see. And that's what's going on right now. They're trying to argue him out of what God has done. And so, verse 26 again, they said to him, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered, I told you already. And you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciple? That gives us the inference that he's aware of what it means to be a follower of Christ, by the way. And it gives to us a sense that he has made a choice that he would follow Jesus himself. Do you also want to be a disciple? Verse 28, they reviled him and said, you are his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses. As for this fellow, we do not know where he's from. And so now they're getting real upset. They get angry. They take out their anger on him. We don't know where he's from. He has no credentials. We know the authority of Moses. This man has no authority. And now this, I love this man's answer. Verse 30, why this is a marvelous thing. That you do not know where he is from, yet he's opened my eyes. Now, now he's the theologian. We know that God does not hear sinners. But if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, he hears him since the world began. It has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. We don't appreciate how direct and how bold that is. These people have the authority to kick him out of synagogue in the Jewish religious belief of that day. They think that separation from God. But this man is saying, a line has been drawn in the sand. I'm on the side of the Messiah. I'm on the side of Jesus. It's a marvelous thing that you don't know anything about him. And then he gives this theological answer to him. And that to me is very direct. And he's basically saying, I marvel at your unbelief. Your blindness in the face of evidence is staggering. In Mark chapter six, verses five and six, Mark records something very interesting. He could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. There's two times in scripture that Jesus marvels. So word marveled is applied to Christ two times. One is when he marvels at the faith of a man. The other time is when he marvels in the face of unbelief. He marveled at their unbelief. How something could occur right in front of them, but they would willingly convince themselves that it just isn't so. And that's what's taking place here. When he says, we know that God doesn't hear sinners. In verse 31, the statement needs clarification. We know that on the one hand, sin does make a separation. Psalm 66, 18, if I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. Proverbs 15, 29, the Lord is far from the wicked. He hears the prayer of the righteous. Proverbs 28, verse nine, one who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. A man who willfully, a woman who willfully remains in sin and disregards what God says in his word, while the sin makes that separation, that sin has to be confessed, repented of, rejected, and then your sins are washed away and now your prayers can be answered. So on one hand, he's saying something that is theologically true. God doesn't hear the prayers of sinners. And I'll go a little further than that. There are people, I've heard their testimonies and so have you who have said, well, I don't believe in God because I asked him for something and he didn't give it to me. Well, the first prayer that God does answer from a sinner is God forgive me a sinner. So in a theological way, no, God does hear that prayer. God hears a prayer of sinners because that's how you got saved. You were a sinner. If God didn't hear the prayer of a sinner, you wouldn't be saved. So the first prayer that you know for a fact that God heard is when you said, God be merciful to me. And so as a general rule, when somebody is not living for Christ, they cannot pray according to the will of God. Their prayers are an abomination to the Lord. You need to be right with God so that as a son or daughter, you can enter into the throne of grace and obtain mercy in your time of need. You have to have that sin you shoot dealt with. So in one way, there's truth to that on another way. Now, wait a minute. If he doesn't hear the prayer of a sinner, then how did I get saved in the first place? Because I was a sinner when I said, God be merciful to me because I am one. And so there's a little bit more in that than meets the eye. So he says again, we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone's a worser of God does his will, he hears him. Since the world began, it's been unheard of that. Anyone opened the eyes of one more blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. And so he's right about that. If he were not from God, he could do nothing. But notice how they respond under the conviction they answered and said, you were completely born in sins. So that goes all the way back to the first verses here. They believe that he was a sinner that was born blind because of the sins that had occurred somehow in his life. And he said, you were completely born in sins and are you teaching us? And they cast them out. They blame his blindness on his sins and then they cast them out of the synagogue. They did exactly what the parents were concerned would take place. They were excommunicated. When I got saved and I'll close with just a little bit of a thought. And then next week we get together, we'll get back into verse 35 and conclude. But again, and I go back to this because a lot of times I like to take what occurs in scripture and remember how God revealed that through personal things and you get saved and you speak to somebody that has professed to be a Christian for a long time. And the first thing they wanna do is instruct you on why you're wrong about what you believe. And they wanna point to the sins that you've committed. Who are you to tell me how to live for God? I've known you, my brother was that way and others too. What gives you the right to tell me to live good, a good life when I've known you for a long time? You're a liar and you're a thief and all those other things. What gives you the right to tell me how to live? Anybody ever hear anything like that? I did. I even as a pastor of all these years there are still people who feel that way about me when I share with them. It gives you the right to tell me that. It's because our sins are our pets and we like to collect them and keep them because they give us pleasure, we enjoy them. And when somebody actually says something that that pet's gonna kill you, we don't like to hear that. It's like that woman who found a baby raccoon and she brought it home and she thought she could domesticate it by giving it milk and letting it sleep next to her on her bed. She treated it like a puppy or like a cat. It became her pet. And the raccoon is a little as cute, it's all of that. She would put her face against the nose of the raccoon and baby it the way I've seen people do with their dogs. And one day she did what she'd been doing for several months, the raccoon had been killed. And growing into adulthood and she put her face next to his face and with his claws he ripped her skin open. Because you don't domesticate wild animals. You don't. You may think that you can make this raccoon into a pet like a dog, but it's a wild animal by nature. And at a certain point when it matures to a certain area of its adulthood, you are not that cute little thing that kisses it goodnight. You become an enemy and that's what happens. People don't understand that. We think we can domesticate our sins. We think we can live in compliance with them and enjoy them because they don't harm us because after all there are pets. That's not true. The wages of sin is death. And sin makes a separation. And here we are trying to cultivate a good relationship with sins that we consider acceptable. When in fact the only good sin is the dead sin. The sin that is tacked to the cross with Jesus Christ. Which when it's been placed on him as our sin offering sets us free to live for God. And so sin always is a terrible task master. So what we do is we receive from the Lord forgiveness we who are blind now we see and we tell others that the others will say to us who are you to instruct us? I know what you're like I grew up with you. So it takes time sometimes. In my case my sister Madeline came to faith the same day I did. She just went to bed and said whatever you did for him my brother please do for me and she got saved that night. My mom and my dad about three weeks later gave their hearts to Christ. My brother Frank about two and a half years August 4th 1974 gave his heart to Jesus Christ. And then my sister Rebecca in Easter of 1998 gave her life to Jesus Christ. And a lot of that had to do with them watching me because I got changed I was blind. Now I see and they watched me. My dad was very impressed with the change. That's why three weeks into it he gave his heart to Christ. My sister Madeline believed instantly I mean immediately and she went to bed after I shared with her what happened she said whatever you did for him do it for me. Becky decided to pursue the world until 1998. My brother continued pursuing the world until 1974 because they thought that I would go back to being blind and same is true with you guys. There are people who watch you and they're expecting you to return to what you once were. You're that dog that's gonna return to the vomit you're the pig who's gonna go back to the mud that you were washed from and I'm not a dog and I'm not a pig. I'm new in Jesus Christ I'm a new creation and those things are passed away and that's how it works in the kingdom of God. That's how it works. You were totally born in sin in your instructing us. Yeah because you can't deny what God did in me. No matter how you develop your theology to try and deny it you can't. I was blind and now I see.