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John 9:8-11 A CHANGE THE NEIGHBORS CAN SEE

 

Introduction:

 

      In our previous text Jesus gave sight to a man who had

been born blind.  Our text today shows that this brought

about a change in the man which even his neighbors could

see.

      To be technical, the man did not get saved at the time

that he got his eyesight.  But the change which came to him

when he received his eyesight pictures to us the kind of

change that comes in the life of a person when he does get

saved.

 

I.  Some changes that came to that man after he received his

      sight

 

      V. 8, "The neighbours therefore, and they which before

had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that

sat and begged?"  The blind man had been sitting just

outside the main gate of the temple when Jesus anointed his

eyes with a spit and clay salve.  Jesus then instructed the

man to go to the Pool of Siloam and wash.  It was there at

the Pool of Siloam that he gained his eyesight.

      John does not tell us where he went after he received

his sight.  But wherever he went, he came in contact with

people who knew him.  Perhaps some of them knew him and his

family.  These would know him well and be able to recognize

him without any doubt.  Others must have known him only

because they saw him frequently at the gate begging.  But

many of them had seen him so many times that there was no

doubt in their minds as to his identity.  Still others were

in doubt as to whether it was the man they had so frequently

seen at the gate begging.  But all who recognized him or

thought they recognized him were greatly surprised to see

him some place other than the gate.

      I can just envision two of them walking along together

and one nudges the other and says, "Say, see that man over

there.  Isn't that the blind beggar who usually sits outside

the gate?"

      They were all pretty much in a state of shock.  There

was that man who obviously could see whom they knew -- or

had reason to think they knew -- had been blind from his

birth.  Were their own eyes deceiving them or was this

really he?

      V. 9, "Some said, This is he..."  Some of those who saw

him knew instantly that this was he.  They knew him well.

They had seen him many times and they had seen him recently.

There was no shadow of a doubt about who he was.  They knew

that he had been blind and they knew that he was not blind

now.  They had no explanation, but they knew that was the

man and they knew that he was a changed man.  This was

definitely the man, but there was a definite change in him

now.  He had not only once been blind; he had always  been

blind, but now he could see.

      I am not sure of all the changes that had so suddenly

come to his life, but I am sure about some of them.  I am

sure that there was a new smile on his face, there was a new

expression of joy in his voice, and there was a new energy

in his movements.  There was also a renewed interest in

everybody he met especially in people he had previously

known.  There was a renewed interest and everything he saw.

There was a whole new outlook on life.

      (V. 9), "...others said, He is like him..."  There was

such a drastic change in the man that some of the people who

saw him were not certain of his identity.  They knew that it

looked like him, but he certainly did not act like him.

They were not accustomed to seeing him any place other than

sitting at the gate or perhaps going to or from the gate.

But now he was not at the gate.  He was moving about and he

was not being led.  It looked just like the beggar, but they

were not at all certain that he was the beggar, because they

could just not imagine him moving about at will and being

able to see.

      He must have seen them staring at him and perhaps he

heard some of them talking about him because he spoke up and

settled the question of his identity.  (V. 9), "...but he

said, I am he."  "Listen, I am that beggar.  I am that blind

beggar that you have seen so many time sitting outside the

gate.  I am he."  Perhaps he may have added, "I know you

find it hard to believe.  I find it hard to believe myself.

But it's true.  This is me."

      V. 10, "Therefore said they unto him, How were thine

eyes opened?"  They wanted to know, "Hey, what's happened to

you man?  The last time we saw you you were down at the gate

begging.  What has happened to you?  How is it that you can

see?"

      V. 11, "He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus

made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to

the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I

received sight."  Can you imagine how happy he was to answer

their question?  He was very glad to explain as best he

could what had happened to him.  To put it in a nut-shell,

his answer was simply this, "A man that is called Jesus..."

"A man called Jesus" that is the answer.  I can see because

a man called Jesus gave me my sight.

      He, of course, went into a little more detail.  Jesus

anointed his eyes with clay and told him to go to the Pool

of Siloam and wash.  He did and now he could see.  But even

he could not explain just how Jesus did it.  The one thing

he did know was that Jesus did it.  Jesus gave him his

sight.  He had never been happier than he was at this time.

He was most happy to tell that Jesus had given him his

sight.

      There would be other changes yet to come.  He had been

forced to sit at the gate and beg from the people as they

passed by.  Pretty soon he would be looking for a job.  He

would have to learn how to work because he had no

experience.  But he would learn and he would, no doubt, be

glad to work.  He would be happy that he could see how to

work and that he was given opportunity to work.

 

II. The parallel between what happened to this man and what

      happens to one who gets saved.

 

      But now let us see the parallel between what happen to

this man and what happens to a man who trusts in Jesus

Christ and gets saved.

      Just as that man had been physically blind all of his

life, even so the unsaved person has been spiritually blind

all of his life.  He has been a sinner all of his life.  He

has inherited his sin nature from his parents, who inherited

it from their parents and-so-on all the way back to Adam.

The Scripture says that all have sinned and come short of

the glory of God.  The lost sinner has never known what it

is to be free from sin.  He has always committed sin from

his earliest youth.  Some of the things he has done stand

out in his memory as being especially bad.  They linger in

his memory day after day.  They really get next to him.  To

use a figurative expression, "They eat his lunch."  He just

cannot shake them.

      Just as the blind man sent to the Pool of Silaom to the

waters which were "sent" from a spring outside the walls of

the city, even so the lost sinner must go to the Lord Jesus

Christ in order to be saved.  He must go to the One who was

sent from outside this whole world.  He must go to One who

was sent from heaven.

      Jesus is the Son of God who was sent to earth from

heaven.  He as sent to the Cross of Calvary to give His own

life as a sacrifice for lost sinners.  He must repent of his

sins and place his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to save

his soul.  There simply is no other way in the world for him

to get saved.  Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the

Life and no man can get to heaven except by Him.

      Then when the lost sinner repents of his sin and trusts

in Jesus Christ for salvation there is a great change that

comes in his life.  There is a change that takes place down

on the inside of his very being.  He is born again.  The old

wicked, sinful, depraved spirit is totally gone and there is

a complete new-born spirit which dwells within.  The old

spirit constantly desired to sin and do wrong, but the new

spirit which is born within desires to do only that which is

right.  The old flesh nature still desires to sin, but the

new-born spirit desires to do right 100% of the time.

      This change which takes place down on the inside when

one places his faith in Jesus then produces a change in the

outward conduct.  For one thing, he stops going to the old

places that he to which he used to go.  He stops going to

the honky-tonks and nightclubs.  He stops going to the wild

parties where there is drinking and drugs.  Instead of going

to the wild party or honky-tonk on Saturday night he goes to

Sunday school and church on Sunday.  He, or she, stops

swigging the booze and smoking pot, popping pills or however

else one uses drugs.  He stops looking for ways to get into

fights and trouble.  He or she stops shacking up and starts

living a clean decent godly life.

      He stops telling the filthy jokes and using God's name

in vain.  He stops telling lies and starts telling the

truth.  He stops trying to hear and repeat all the gossip

and starts telling good things about others.  He stops

taking that which belongs to somebody else and starts seeing

how much he can do to help somebody else.  He stops being

cruel and unkind and starts dealing kindly toward others.

      I do not mean that these changes come all at once.  They

should.  They should all come right after the person gets

saved and some of them do come immediately.  But some of the

old ways are difficult to overcome and it make take some

time for all these changes to come.  But the Holy Spirit,

who indwells the new-born spirit starts working to bring

about all these changes and more the very instant one gets

saved.

      As time goes by these changes begin to be seen by the

neighbors.  There is mighty change that comes in the life of

the saved person.  There was a drastic change that came in

the life of Saul of Tarsus, who had persecuted the

Christians at Jerusalem and all Judea.  He actually started

to Damascus in a foreign country to persecute Christians

when he got saved and pretty soon he was telling everybody

about Jesus who had saved his soul.  This is as it should be

with every person who gets saved.  Every saved person should

be very happy to tell others about Jesus Christ who saved

his soul.  Just as that blind man was anxious to tell others

that Jesus had given him his eyesight, even so we ought to

be anxious to tell others that Jesus has saved our soul.

      I think that you know that there is still room for

improvement in the life of everybody who is saved.  There is

in my own life and I am sure there is in your's.  What I am

going to ask of you this morning is that you renew your

effort to bring about the changes in your life that you know

you should make.  Maybe you have tried before and have

successfully made some of the changes, but you have not yet

been able to make all the changes that you know you should

make and that deep down inside you ought to make.  I am

going to ask you who are saved to lean on the Lord to help

you to make the changes that should be made in your life.

 

III.  A special word to the unsaved

 

      But I do not want the unsaved to misunderstand what I am

saying and think that you can get to heaven by making

changes in your life.  Salvation is not of works.  Ephesians

2:8-9 says that salvation is by the grace of God through

faith.  It is not by doing good works.  It is received as a

gift of God and by the grace of God when one trusts in Jesus

Christ for salvation.

      If you are unsaved, then I am going to ask that you come

and place your faith in Jesus Christ to save your soul.

Just as Jesus gave physical sight to that blind man, He can

give spiritual sight to you who are lost in sin.  He can

save your soul and take you to heaven.  Won't you come to

Jesus this morning and place your faith in Him to save your

soul.

      Then after you are saved, you should find it a lot

easier to make some changes in your life that are needed.

You will be able to make changes in your life that you are

totally unable to make as an unsaved person.  You will make

changes that will surprise your neighbors and even surprise

you.  You will make changes that will bring good to your

life and to the life of those about you.  You will make

changes that will bring honor and glory to God.

 

Conclusion:

 

      What unsaved person will come this morning to Jesus and

trust in Him for the salvation of the soul?

      What saved person will come this morning and present

yourself for membership in this church and to live for

Jesus?