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Sermon Title “the Light of the world” Mark Nicolle, parish member Church of the Good Shepherd, Pitman NJ. March 26, 2017 – 10 AM Service Lectionary: Year A: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; Psalm 23; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41

…Good EVENING/morning. …let us pray…

Holy Spirit, teach us truth, Reveal to us Jesus. Amen. …please be seated.

Well, IT IS CLEARLY Lent… the SEASON of REPENTENCE, and LONG Gospel READINGS…

(Mother Susan, can I get an AMEN!?)

AS WE move through Lent, the gospel readings JUST KEEP getting longer… and ON PALM SUNDAY,

it’s…off the charts…

We are really getting our money’s worth With Mother Susan PREACHING,

AND READING these long gospels!

But as you can see, She is catching a LITTLE break this MORNING…

But not to worry…For this week… YOU will ALL be getting a LITTLE DISCOUNT.

<pause>

Today’s Gospel is about BLINDNESS…

NOT JUST PHYSICAL blindness…

John is ALSO speaking to another kind Which IS, In some ways,

MORE INSIDIOUS than physical blindness.

John is teaching us…THAT THERE IS… (if you will forgive me…)

MORE to blindness than meets the eye!

<pause>

Those attending the diocesan convention several weeks ago, received from our Bishop, Chip Stokes, A HEAVY DOSE OF

“KNOW YOUR STORY, LIVE IT BODLY”

This is the new “mantra”, if you will, of our diocese,

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You will find a short video ABOUT IT on our diocesan website… It has to do with looking at scripture…

Looking at the stories in the Bible, to understand OUR OWN story…

And knowing who are we, IN Jesus Christ?

And then, it’s about boldly living that story… About taking action to live out our baptismal covenant.

I’m sure there will be more about this coming from the Diocese…

Now, WITH THIS MAN BORN BLIND in today’s Gospel…. I think we see a GREAT example of

“KNOW YOUR STORY, LIVE IT BODLY”

And what I want to do this MORNING Is explore what that means for each of us.

As we consider TOGETHER John’s thoughts on blindness

We should all ask ourselves… “where do I find MYSELF……in this story?”

<pause>

Now, before I begin with the man born blind, I want to quickly point out something

That is ALSO important to OUR story, BUT IS EASY TO MISS.

In today’s Gospel, John GIVES us

yet another glimpse into the loving nature of our God…

a glimpse………into the loving nature of Jesus Christ,

WHO, in ALL of these LONG Lenten gospels, IS always direct and challenging WITH the central character

YET consistently loving, patient and gentile.

We saw this two weeks ago with the seeking Pharisee Nicodemus,

And, last week with the Samaritan woman at the well

Next week, we will see this with Martha and Mary, As they experience the death of their brother Lazarus.

And Today, we see it with this man born blind.

Jesus is DIRECT, CHALLENGING, YET LOVING, PATIENT, and GENTILE.

It is my sincere hope that we can all say,

“yes, THAT JESUS IS a part of MY story”

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OK, I just had to point that out…

that was for free………….., and that’s on TOP of today’s discount…

<pause>

I think today’s Gospel CONTAINS the greatest testimony for Jesus Christ

that you will find ANYWHERE in the Bible

After the blind man is healed by Jesus, He finds himself in a bit of turmoil, And that is putting it lightly… In reality, his whole world has been turned up side down. …So much for 20/20 vision.

Some of his neighbors don’t recognize him or believe him

His parents, out of fear, Throw him under the bus to the Jewish leaders,

And the Pharisees, God bless their hearts, Put him through the ringer with the most ridiculous interrogation, that results in him being essentially, excommunicated, thrown out of the synagogue, thrown out of his faith community!

NOT REALLY the best day!.....I’m sure NOTHING he bargained for…. When Jesus was slopping mud on his eyes.

Yet in the midst of all that, This man, God bless HIS heart, Steps up to the plate With the most beautiful, simple, and theologically sound example of “knowing his story, and living it boldly”. …Bishop Stokes would be proud! Upon getting grilled by the Pharisees, including THEIR claim that JESUS is a sinner, The man born blind makes this statement...

“I do not know whether he is a sinner One thing I do know, That though I was blind, now I see.”

My paraphrase.., “I am the LAST person you want to ask

about the spiritual credentials of this man Jesus,

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but I DO know… THAT THE difference HE HAS made in my life is REAL!” “I can see!!”

HOW I wish that I could be…so CLEAR and SIMPLE and BOLD when it comes to telling my story…

when it comes to telling others how Jesus Christ has impacted MY life!

NOW, when you take a step back from this And add it all up, This blind man’s story COULD sound

an awful lot like ours…

This man has not been to seminary, he does not understand theologically who Jesus is,

and, at this point in the story, he has never actually “seen” Jesus.

This ALREADY sounds pretty familiar to me…

He DOES know that this Jesus, Who I am sure he had heard about,

sought HIM out, and made a profound difference in his life.

He knows that Jesus anointed him, albeit with mud, AND, the knows that by being obedient to Jesus’…

by following his instruction to “go and wash”… he can now see.

I would suggest to you That this man’s experience

is the experience of OUR baptism! It is the reality that Our baptism points to.

“though WE were blind, now WE see.”

Not physical blindness, but the blindness of our hearts…

…the blindness of our sinful nature.

I would suggest to you, that in some way

this blind man’s encounter with Jesus Christ is OUR story.

<pause…switching gears to Theology>

Now……John offers us, today, SOMETHING ELSE in this gospel account

that I ALSO hope will enlighten each of us about “OUR STORY”!

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And THAT “SOMETHING ELSE”, IS……….a little dose of GOOD THEOLOGY!

<pause>

OK…Theology…for some of us, kind a scary word…

let me share with you my FAVORITE definition of a theologian…Which…

…I have STOLEN from one of my favorite bible teachers, a gentleman by the name of Randy Harris

NOW…In order to define a theologian, I first have to define what a philosopher is…

A philosopher…is a blind man in a dark alley looking for a black cat that’s not there.

A theologian…is a blind man in a dark alley, looking for a black cat that’s not there, BUT THINKS HE’S FOUND IT

<pause>

BEFORE Jesus addresses the blind man AND heals him IN THIS STORY, HIS disciples ask him,

“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,

that he was born blind?”

Now, there is a FANCY TERM for their thinking, For “their “theology” if you will, (THEIR BAD THEOLOGY)

that drives them to ask JESUS this question.. and that FANCY term is DEUTERONOMIST theology…

WHICH BASICALLY HOLDS THAT, “if you're suffering,,,

then it must be because you disobeyed and if you're prospering,

it must be because you’ve been obedient.”

This thinking was prevalent in that day, And unfortunately, you will sometimes find it…EVEN today

And Jesus immediately, dispels that notion with THIS reply to their question,

“neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works

might be revealed in him.”

Now Jesus is not saying that the blind man and his parents are perfect

that they are not sinners, because we know, as both Isaiah and Paul ECHO each other…

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“ALL have sinned and gone astray”… All have fallen short of the Glory Of God.

The blind man and his parents like all of us, ARE sinners.

But Jesus IS saying that their sin is not the cause of the man’s PHYSICAL blindness.

Now that feels PRETTY GOOD!!! For the most part, I LIKE THAT that answer from Jesus!

Because in my 21st century “progressive” thinking I don’t WANT to blame

this blind man OR his parents for his blindness…

But at the same time, I am not TOTALLY satisfied.

With that answer from Jesus.

Because………. it ALSO KIND OF sounds like God made this man be blind all his life Just so that Jesus can come along and be the hero And God gets the credit for being a good God.

That bothers me.

FORTUNATELY, I DON’T THINK THAT IS WHAT JOHN, OR JESUS, FOR THAT MATTER,

ARE GOING FOR HERE….

And I THINK the Apostle Paul can help us… I think Paul can shed light on what IS going on here…

The 8th chapter of his letter to the Romans, Is the best “chapter” Paul ever wrote,

In that chapter, He talks about how creation has been subject to frustration

And how all of creation is groaning As in the pains of childbirth…in eager anticipation

of the coming fullness of God’s glory Which is his Son Jesus Christ.

And Paul explains that despite that frustration, And through that pain,

“IN ALL THINGS” God works for the good of those who love him

and are called according to his purpose”

No matter what the circumstances God can “crawl inside” them

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And redeem HIS creation.

We see that here with this man born blind. When Jesus heals this man of his blindness, He is redeeming His creation.

God works in all things, to redeem a hurting world, to reconcile the world to Himself.

And he does this……….through his Son Jesus.

And so it is important for us to understand That Jesus is not saying that the man’s blindness is good,

and he is not saying that God caused him to be blind, (I DON’T BELIEVE THAT!) but he IS saying that despite this man’s condition,

despite his circumstances, God can work inside this dark situation

and bring light.

Because, Jesus IS the light of the world, And he can open the eyes of the blind. Indeed, he can open OUR eyes to OUR blindness.

No matter the circumstances of OUR lives, God can work through his Son Jesus To REDEEM and to RECONCILE.

THAT, is what is going on here… AND THAT, IS relevant to OUR story… and THAT is good news!

<pause>

To finish this MORNING I want to fast forward

To the very end of this Gospel account

After the blind man is “cast out” by the Pharisees, Jesus seeks him out again, They meet “eye to eye” for the first time And Jesus reveals to the man who he really is

And He finishes by saying the following, with the Pharisees NEARBY… HEARING every word…,

“I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see, MAY SEE,

and those who do see, MAY BECOME BLIND.”

And right on cue, the Pharisees, bite on this hook line and sinker.

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“Surely, WE are not blind, are we”? They ask Jesus.

And like every good shoe salesman Jesus basically says…my paraphrase, “if the shoe fits, wear it”.

“if you WERE blind you would not have sin, But now that you say, ‘we see’,

your sin remains”.

Two Sunday’s ago, Mother Susan spoke to us about the use of metaphor by Jesus…with Nicodemus…

talking about the Spirit, and the wind.

And He is using a similar approach here…Jesus is using metaphor…

In the Physical realm, the blind man knows he is blind,

and so he can be healed

In the spiritual realm, the Pharisees do NOT know they are blind,

and so cannot be healed.

Jesus cannot say to these Pharisees, “go and sin no more”,

because they choose to close their eyes, they remain BLIND to their own sin.

<pause> This Lenten Gospel Indeed, The entire season of Lent Asks us to examine ourselves,

to examine our lives. It asks us to consider our own blindness

The blindness of OUR own self righteousness

And It asks us to affirm the proclamation of Lent Which is also the proclamation of our baptism To repent, and, as Jesus tells the man born blind

Whom He has anointed with the dust of the earth, To “go and wash”…

Ye, To be baptized.

I will close with the words of Jesus

to the Church at Laodicea. You MAY have heard them from me before

As we approach the alter this MORNING to receive the body and blood of Jesus…

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as we come to “eat with Him and He with us”… allow THESE words of Jesus

to prepare your heart…to know your story, and live it boldly.

Jesus says to the Church…(Revelation 3:17-20)

“You say I am rich; I have acquired wealth

and do not need a thing.

But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

I counsel you to buy from ME gold refined in the fire,

so you CAN become rich, and white clothes to wear

so you can cover your shameful nakedness, and salve to put on your eyes,

so you can see. Those whom I love

I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.

Here I am, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears my voice and opens the door,

I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Now, I would suggest to you, THEOLOGY……GOOD theology, is ALWAYS good news…

I would suggest to you that in one sense, the ENTIRE GOSPEL…

the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ IS ALWAYS OUR story…

Now, THERE IS SO MUCH going on in this reading today…

Now, in addition to the GOOD theology in this gospel account,

there is also, almost by definition, a lot of BAD theology,

kind of light and shadow thing… hard to have one with out the other.

Just the fact that there is argument and division amongst the Pharisees tells us that.

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And NOT JUST with Jesus… WHICH IS USUALLY THE CASE,

But amongst themselves…

And just as in the Church today, Whenever you find division

You’ll probably find BAD theology.

In OCTOBER, were read the parable of the Prodigal Son, Which mirrors this same message.

The prodigal demands, and then squanders his father’s inheritance.

He then comes FIRST to himself, and then to his Father admitting his sin…

he recognizes his “blindness” if you will… and repents, and is forgiven. He is welcomed into the loving arms of his Father.

His older brother, however, is the Pharisee. He has always followed the law…the rules of his father’s house

And is completely BLIND to the true condition of his heart

His own self righteousness. The blind man does not worship Jesus because he healed him. He worships Jesus when Jesus reveals to him who he is…the son of man, the messiah. Now, the fact that Jesus had healed his blindness helps him with that belief, but in and of itself, that just tells the former blind man that Jesus is OF God…a prophet, not that he is God, the messiah.

Jesus does not “strike down” the Pharisees…he is open to dialog, although he does not mince truth. He is very open with Nicodemus…very gentle yet direct. You see, the Pharisees should have been the ones MOST ready to see Jesus for who he was, they had the background, the education, the desire to be aligned with God, the zeal to live Godly lives. And when he finds one like Nicodemus, he gently engages, he gently instructs, and appeals to his heart. The same with these Pharisees…yet they were blind!!

Jesus sets them straight by explaining, neither…he is blind so that the glory of God might be revealed.

OK, that theololgy already has me feeling better about things. Jesus also lays a little more theology on them with his words about being the light of the world…that Paul echoes for us in the epistle this morning…pretty good stuff for anyone who is living in darkness.

But it’s also a signal that Jesus is about to do something here…

So, in clear violation of the Sabbath, Jesus proceeds to do the work of healing…he spits in the dirt, makes some mud and puts it on the blind man’s eyes with instructions...go and wash. And he does, and, he is healed of his blindness.

Praise the lord…right?

Not so fast…instead, this act of mercy that brings Glory to God…sets in motion a series of dramatic commotion that would make the most dedicated “drama queen” proud.

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The Pharisees don’t like it.

The begin the most ridiculous conversation with this man, who now sees, and with his parents and friends, as they exhibit what true blindness really is. It is ironic, that this man, who has not even yet met Jesus eye to eye…who gives the most pure witness about Jesus which is theologically outstanding. If we could but learn this one thing from him. If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, the Pharisees are…to some degree…insane, and I might add, inane.

Folks, we all suffer from blindness. We all live in darkness, and it is Jesus, it is only Jesus, the light of the world, the true light, as John says to open his Gospel, that gives light to every person.

The beauty of the theology in this Gospel account is that it comes from a man who has been touched by Jesus, in a powerful way, but has never “laid eyes on him”. It seems ironic to me that Jesus cures blindness in a man born blind, and still the man has never laid eyes on him.

There is so much going on in this gospel, so much “theology” flying around…some of it good, some of it bad. so many different things…

when I first read it… I felt like a kid in a candy store.

Right off the bat, you have the question from the disciples…who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind. (you know, usually the preacher has a really tough passage of scripture to explain, but this is the opposite…Jesus shares some good, but unexpected, news with them…that neither sinned, but that God’s works might be revealed in him)

You have Jesus making a statement about the night and the day, and about him being the light of the world...

You have this fascinating healing, the spit, the mud, the washing in the pool of Siloam

Than you have the impact of this healing on the blind man’s life…no one believes him, that it was he that was blind.

Then you have the Pharisees interrogating him…questioning how a man who does not honor the Sabbath could have healed him…yet he is healed…letting their tradition, their theology blinding them fromS the truth. This denial resulted on division. So went back to the source, and still did not like the answer (“He is a prophet”). So they went to his parents…who proceeded to, out of fear, throw their son under the bus. So they ask him the same question again…and got the same answer…(that, by the way, is the definition of insanity…doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result).

This man then proceeds to make the most powerful and enlightening theological claim, and in so doing, insults the Pharisees, (speaking of Jesus), “I do not know whether he is a sinner, One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” Do you also want to become his disciples? Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know here he comes from and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. Never since the beginning of the world has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

After this…what can they say…not much…so they start with the ad hominem attacks..., “ you were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?” And they drove him out. Ex communicated, thrown out of the synagogue.

Some of you know about my father, he is 91, he is in a nursing home in Huntsville Alabama…he has had both legs amputated in recent years, and he has a good bit of dementia. I get to visit him 2-3 times per year. He has

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good days and less good...days where he is very responsive, closer to “normal” interaction, and days that are “less normal” …not much interaction at all. Now, my father was a long time choir member in the Episcopal Church. Very similar to our parish, the post communion hymns were a staple…I started singing some of my favorite hymns…breath on me breath of God, and I got him to sing a long with me. He really connected and seemed to enjoy that.

Now, I credit my parents with leading me into a relationship with Jesus Christ. They are the ones that made me realize that being a Christian was much more than being a church member, much more than just attending worship…that Jesus Christ is alive and that I needed to decide “who do I think Jesus is…do I want to have a relationship with him. They made me realize that it was OK to think of Jesus in those terms…so that when God “found me” What a debt of gratitude I owe…

There’s always a miracle, or a healing And then there’s whole lot of talking and dialog.

One big thing…

Today’s Gospel is about many things, a lot of good and bad theology “flying around”. I would ask you to focus on one thing. Blindness…that is clearly front and center…the main topic. There are two types of blindness present…physical and spiritual…and he uses the one to teach about second. He uses that one to give glory to God and recommend the second. Jesus is the light of the world.

It is only in Christ that we see…he is the light of the world…if you are not in Christ, you are blind. Indeed, there is no light apart from Christ.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE BE REMINDED OF OUR BLINDNESS…WE ARE BUT DUST, AND UNTO DUST WE WILL RETURN…WE ARE BLIND BEFORE BIRTH, WE WILL BY PHYSICALLY BE BLIND AGAIN…WHEN WE RETURN TO DUST. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT WHEN WE RESPOND TO THE LIGHT OF CHRIST, WHEN WE ARE IN CHRIST, WE are LIGHT.

Last week, we heard about the woman at the well…Jesus cut through a lot of bad theology and changed that womans life

This week, we have heard about the man born blind…and he changes this mans life, and completely changes this mans life…

Next week, we will hear about the raising of Lazarus from the dead…talk about changing someone’s life.

In all three of these accounts, Jesus shows compassion, deep caring, but at the same time, he is focused on one thing…giving glory to God, glory to his Father in heaven.

This is year A…in the lectionary…the Gospel accounts during lent, are not only long, but they have Jesus focusing on a particular person…and in so doing, he shows us compassion and teaches us incredible theology.

First, I love the theology

Second, I love the testimony

yet this theology comes from the most unlikely character.

Of all the characters in this account…we have we have the Pharisees

In these Gospels, we see Jesus showing great compassion, they read like excerpts from a novel, detailed accounts of Jesus getting involved in the lives of the people…usually the lowly…real people with real problems…like you and me.

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Last week, the Samaritan woman at the well, next week, the sisters Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus who is sick and dies, and this week, a man born blind. In these stories, we see the compassion of Jesus, we see the teaching of Jesus, and we see Jesus as the light of the world.

This morning’s readings as a whole talk about two things…the two consistant threads…the first is ANNOINTING, and the second is LIGHT.

Yet there is an urgency…our lifetime, for that is the time that the body of Christ, us, are in play in the world. We have been sent to represent the light of Christ to the world…it is God who opens eyes, indeed, it is God that opens hearts, but it is us as the body of Christ, Notes from other documents…

Who sinned, this man or his parents…that he was born blind? “it is not that they sinned, but that the works of God might be made manifest in him. (God works in all things…he is always ready to make his works manifest in us)

It is day…Jesus is with us and he is the light of the world. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

He is healed with the mud from Jesus spittle…from the dust of the earth…Jesus creative power.

Like Elijah in the old testament with the Syrian ruler…go wash…just do it.

Greeted with dis-belief.

Jesus sought out the blind man, not the other way around.

Law without Grace is like clay without saliva…Ceasarious. John 324-5

Search Parameter: the man born blind commentary

Jesus’ words recall Isaiah’s: the blind receive sight (Isa 29:18, 35:5, 42:7, 42:18) while the seeing are blinded (6:10, 42:20).

The blind man received sight physically; this led him to see spiritually as well. But the Pharisees, who claimed to possess spiritual sight, are spiritually blinded. The reader might recall Jesus’ words to Nicodemus in 3:10, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things?”

In other words, to receive Jesus is to receive the Light of the world, to reject him is to reject the light, close one’s eyes, and become blind. This is the dire sin of which Jesus had warned before (8:21-24). The blindness of such people is incurable since they have rejected the only cure that exists.

The care with which the evangelist has drawn his portraits of increasing insight and hardening blindness is masterful. Three times the former blind man, who is truly gaining knowledge, humbly confesses his ignorance (12, 25, 36). Three times the Pharisees, who are really plunging deeper into abysmal ignorance of Jesus, make confident statements about what they know of him (16, 24, 29). The blind man emerges from these pages in John as one of the most attractive figures of the Gospels. Although the Sabbath setting and the accusation against Jesus create a similarity between this miracle and the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda in ch. v, this clever and voluble blind man is quite different from the obtuse and unimaginative paralytic of ch. v… . The blind man’s confutation of the Pharisees in verses 24-34 is one of the most cleverly written dialogues in the NT.94

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David Guzik..

John 9:1-41 paints a picture of how Jesus heals blind souls. o We are all spiritually blind from birth o Jesus takes the initiative in healing us from blindness o Jesus does a work of creation in us, not reformation o In this work, Jesus calls us to be obedient to what He commands o Jesus commands us to be washed in the water of baptism o We become a mystery to our former associates, not even seeming to be the same person o We display loyalty to Jesus when we are persecuted, boldly and plainly testifying of His work in our lives and confounding others o We pass from little knowledge to greater knowledge, and this brings us to greater worship and adoration

o We never know the name of this man born blind. Jesus is the important One; a true disciple is content to remain anonymous if his Lord gets the glory

Copyright Statement These files are copyrighted by the author, David Guzik. Used by Permission. No distribution beyond personal use without permission.

Bibliography Information Guzik, David. "Commentary on John 9:4". "David Guzik Commentaries on the Bible". http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/guz/john-9.html. 1997-2003.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. . . .He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." (John 3:16, 36)

The man asked Jesus who is the Son of God that he could believe in Him. There can be no question that Jesus asserted His deity and position to the man. Jesus said to the man he had seen the Son of Man and it was He who was speaking to him. The man both spiritually and physically was seeing Jesus the Christ and He savingly believed on Him. The man response was perfect evidence of true salvation, in that He immediately worshiped Jesus. This man though not formally trained was instructed enough in the matters of God to know that one only worships God. To worship any other that God was blasphemy. Always the man whose eyes are spiritually opened to who Jesus is will bow before Him. The man's earlier statement to the Jewish leaders now takes on great significance when he said, " . . . whereas I was blind, now I see." (John 9:25b)

"And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?" (John 9:39-40)

Jesus' instructions to the man was not done in private as verse 40 shows. Listening on the side lines were some of the Pharisees who heard Jesus' words. For their benefit Jesus stated that He had not come to bring judgment, but to open the eyes of the spiritually blind. It is amazing that for days now the religious leaders had railed on Jesus, belittled and humiliate Him, but He in His mercy and grace explains to these men He had not come to judge them unto condemnation, but to show them the truth. Once again their response exposed their true spiritual condition. With indignance and pride they asked Jesus were they too blind?

How often does one see the blindness which causes those false religious leaders and cults to be offended when the truth is presented. In their pride they considered themselves to be far superior to other men as the knowledgeable spiritual leaders of the Jews. Their position in their minds put them far beyond any self examination or possibility of being in error. The illustration fits perfectly that is

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often heard that if a rock is thrown into a pack of dogs the one who is hit is the one who howls. Clearly, truth had struck home and they lashed out in a vain defense.

"Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth." (John 9:41)

Jesus candidly responded that, "yes" they were blind. He explains that because they denied they were sinners they were guilty of their sin. This presents another vital part of how salvation is received. Only the person admits to being a sinner will see the need for forgiveness and God's mercy. The self-righteous and confident in their worthiness of God's favor, thus they see no need of grace. Jesus had just told the man who was healed that salvation was by faith in Him as the Son of God. The Pharisees denied Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God, and their unbelief was vividly apparent . Thus their denial of His miracles and message being of God, showed the hardness of their hearts and therefore their sins could not forgiven. God cannot save the unrepentant.

NOTES

1 Chuck Barbee, The Dreadnought’s Return: The Last Commission of BB-62m The USS New Jersey, (20/20 Segment, www.barbeefilm.com/bb-62.ahtm, 6/1/2005.)

2 Randy J. Harris, The Passion Of The Christ, CD # 2 - (Church of Christ in Pitman, NJ, July 2005)

3 NIV translation, John, Chapter 6

4 Randy J. Harris, The Passion Of The Christ, CD # 2 - (Church of Christ in Pitman, NJ, July 2005)