Gospel of John - Personal Testimony Part 2

       

Personal Testimony - Part 2

“I was blind and now I see!”

John 9:24-34

Day two - The man blind from birth has been discovering the wonders of eyesight. The vibrancy of life all around him, the visual amazement to the many colors among the noises that have impacted his life. And now he was called again not to testify about the incredibleness of vision and life that had now been gifted to him by Jesus, but to collude in an attempt to deny the One who gave him sight. Let’s look at the text, “They called the man back a second time—the man who had been blind—and told him, “Give credit to God. We know this man is an impostor.” He replied, “I know nothing about that one way or the other. But I know one thing for sure: I was blind . . . I now see.”

The Pharisees were still divided on the miracle of sight given to the man blind from birth, even after they had tried to coerce his parents into admitting that the man wasn’t really blind and alienate them from the synagogue. The man was giving credit to God by giving honor to Jesus, to whom God the Father had glorified, for doing the works of God. This was the “bone of contention” with the Pharisees, not only were upset about breaking the Sabbath rules, their hardened hearts and spiritual blindness wouldn’t let them see and understand the Messiah had come, just as Isaiah had written about the spiritual blind, “Render the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, and their eyes dim, otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” Isa. 6:10 

The man who could now see responded to the accusations of the denial of Jesus by the Pharisees. He gave an honest answer, for he still had not seen the One who healed his eyes, but he knew he had been blind and now he saw with clarity the wonders that God had made.

Application - In the midst of a fallen world, many still question the legitimacy of the works of God by the name of Jesus. They look for ways to discredit the miracles to luck or the abilities of man. They see Jesus as an imposter or usurper. Yet God is still working among those in whom the world has cast away. When God restores and revitalizes the life of a person, the personal testimony of the person and the evidence of a changed life cannot be denied. Truly Jesus is the way maker, miracle worker, promise keeper, and the light in the darkness, and our personal testimonies should herald it to a lost world. 

Now the Pharisees tried to go back to the forensics of the case. Let’s look at the next portion of our text, “They said, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ ‘I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?’ With that they jumped all over him. ‘You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.’ The man replied, ‘This is amazing! You claim to know nothing about him, but the fact is, he opened my eyes!’” MSG

In frustration and denial more than anything else, the Pharisees wanted to backtrack to the physical explanation, the mud and water. But the man answered their two questions, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” with two questions. “I’ve told you over and over and you haven’t listened. Why do you want to hear it again? Are you so eager to become his disciples?”

First, the man was frustrated but also in awe of the inability of the Pharisees to listen. He had already stated for their record the account of the physical healing, the application of street mud mixed with saliva and the cleansing of water at the pool. The ”what” question was evident. The answer to the “How” question was coming.

Second, Now he got down to the real change that his new eyesight had given him. Jesus was the Messiah! He had an encounter with the miraculous works of God, and in his heart he had eagerly decided to be a follower, a disciple of the One called Jesus. He expressed this to the Pharisees in the form of a question to them so that they would all have to answer personally, just like he did. “Are you so eager to become his disciples?”

With that the preceding erupted into pandemonium. The Pharisees seething from the questions posed by the man responded with venomous anger, “You might be a disciple of that man, but we’re disciples of Moses. We know for sure that God spoke to Moses, but we have no idea where this man even comes from.” 

The Pharisees had earlier told Jesus, “We are Abraham’s descendants.” Now they added, “We are disciples of Moses.” And in their surety and rationale, they were disciples by rendering their lives to the following of the written laws from Moses, those spoken by God to Moses, and the oral laws of their own interpretations of the laws of Moses and the daily litany of rules for everyday life. To all of this, Jesus had already addressed this with them earlier when He said, “But do not think I will accuse you before the Father. Your accuser is Moses, on whom your hopes are set.  If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me…Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?” 5:45-46, 7:19

In all of their rebuttal to the man’s response, they claimed that they didn’t know where Jesus had come from, though Jesus had told them plainly, “For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will.” Jn. 6:38

Application - Evidence is of great importance in establishing the truth, especially first-hand evidence and undeniable evidence. In the lesson last week, we looked at these facts. Yet even with personal testimony and the evidence of the miraculous works of God, people will still question the validity of the truth of God’s Word and work. God’s Word is absolute truth. It needs nothing to enhance it, support it, or verify it. It stands forthright and inerrant. For God’s work, it is the one thing that is undeniable and will stand as evidence of the attributes of God: Omniscient, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent. 

Paul spoke of the truth and righteousness of God in the gospel and God’s revealed works of creation to an ungodly and wicked world, so that even if they deny the righteousness that comes by faith, they cannot deny the testimony of His creation, which is plainly evident to all. Jesus’ testimony is true, and the surety of the gospel : the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is sound evidence of the works and power of God. We may not see God, but the evidence shows that Jesus is the truth, the way, and the life.

Last, the man has the final word in the answering of the Pharisees questions and interrogations. Let’s look at the rest of the text, “It’s well known that God isn’t at the beck and call of sinners, but listens carefully to anyone who lives in reverence and does his will. That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of—ever. If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.” They said, “You’re nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!” Then they threw him out in the street.” MSG

The man, though blind all of his life, understood some simple concepts about God. God is not a sugar daddy, or is He manipulated by our whims and wishes, nor beholden to our beckon calls as sinners. God is holy and just “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.(Ps.34:15-16), God knows the heart of man “If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Ps.66:18,  “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous.” Prov.15:29 ,” And surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear .But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Isa.59:1-2

The man now boldly proclaims “That someone opened the eyes of a man born blind has never been heard of—ever. If this man didn’t come from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.” 

In the innocence of a childlike faith, not only have the man’s physical eyes been opened but now he sees with spiritual eyes as well. He had answered their questions with integrity and boldness. For only God could have done all of this, with man all of this is impossible. (Matt. 19:26)

And now the final verdict from the Pharisees, “They said, “You’re nothing but dirt! How dare you take that tone with us!” Then they threw him out in the street.” MSG

It is amazing how theologically correct their response was, even if it was done in slander and malice. For they all knew that man was formed from the dirt, and to the dirt man’s body will return at death. In the Pharisees’ vile rage towards the man and malice towards Jesus, they threw the man out into the streets. For it was from this same dirt Jesus used to open his physical eyes, it was now by the Holy Spirit that the man received the eyes to see the Son of God.

Application - Jesus said we must believe like a child, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Our faith in the works of God, and in Jesus Christ are based on faith. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Heb.11:1) Today, we cannot see Jesus, yet He is still “...the truth, the Way, and the Life, and no one can come to the Father except by me…Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed… And, “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. (Jn. 14:7, 20:29, 1 Pet. 1:8) 

Like all men, we are all sinners. We have fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) We also know that God knows everything about us, and we cannot manipulate him by our words, lives, or works. As Jesus said to the disciples, “...this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 9:3 God’s works are done for his purpose, plan, and glory. We cannot do anything to earn or deserve his salvation or the miracles. God sent His Son into the world so that “…that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn.3:16b) 

Just like this man, God desires that all men would believe in His Son for salvation. “This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (1 Tim. 4:2, 2 Pet. 3:8) 

He believed in Jesus though he hadn’t seen him yet, stood through the ridicule and slander as one who believed that Jesus was sent from God and he was the evidence of the works of God through Jesus. Today,   “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Rom. 10:8-10

Even if the world casts us out for our personal testimony and the evidence of the works of God in healings and salvation through our faith in Jesus, we can stand firm on the truth, and walk in the surety of being created new through the power of the Holy Spirit. 

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis

I am developing a new webpage on Spiritual warfare. Please give it a look. I’m adding answers each week to questions that pertain to our time today.  Thank you

http://uss-warfare3.webnode.com