Let us turn to God's Word. In
the end of the chapter that we read, John chapter 9, and reading
again at verse 39, And Jesus said, For judgment am I 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? Jesus said unto them, If ye were
blind, ye should have no sin. But now ye say, We see. Therefore
your sin remaineth. The text is found there at verse
39 at the end of this remarkable chapter where Christ had performed
a notable miracle in giving sight to a man born blind. This is how the chapter concludes
then, Jesus said, for judgment have I come into this world that
they which see not might see and that they which see might
be made blind. As I said it was a very real
and notable miracle that the Lord Jesus Christ performed on
this man, the man that was born blind, blind from his birth.
We are told how Christ in verse 6 spat on the ground and made
clay of the spittle and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with
the clay and said unto him go wash in the pool of Siloam which
is by interpretation sent, he went his way therefore and washed
and came seeing. And now the Jews are made to
take account of these things. They ask him in verse 10 now
were thine eyes opened? 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 my sight. They then speak to the Pharisees
because this remarkable miracle had been performed on the Sabbath
day and so the Pharisees then summon his parents and they answer
in verse 20 we know that this is our son and that he was born
blind but by what means he now seeth we know not or who hath
opened his eyes we know not he is of age ask him he shall speak
for himself and now the man does speak again there at verse 25
He answered and said, whether he, referring to Christ, whether
he be a sinner or no, I know not. One thing I know, that whereas
I was blind, now I see. Christ then gives sight to a
man who was blind, and not only blind, but a man who was born
in that sad condition. He had never seen all the days
of his life. But of course, as you know here
in John, the miracles are clearly stated to be signs, that is the
word that is used throughout John's Gospel is translated miracle,
but literally the word that is used means a sign, this beginning
of miracles, this beginning of signs. Did Jesus in Cana of Galilee
and manifest his force His glory, the sign, the miracle points
to the glory of Christ. There are spiritual lessons to
be deduced from these various miracles that Christ performs. And so he concludes the chapter
with the words that we read as our text. Here is the significance
of the miracle. For judgment I am coming to this
world that they which see not might see and that they which
see might be made blind. Now he speaks of judgment, for
judgment am I come into this world. Of course, we are not
to understand this in the sense of the great day of final judgment. The Lord Jesus is speaking of
his first coming, why he was in the world at that particular
time, for judgment. And yet, what do we read here
in chapter 3 and verse 17? God sent not his son into the
world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might
be saved. What was the purpose of his coming?
It wasn't in the way of condemnation that he came. He came surely
to be that one who is the great saviour of sinners in chapter
12. The Lord speaks of the purpose
of his coming. There at verse 47, If any man
hear my words and believe not, I judge him not, for I came not
to judge the world. I came not to judge the world,
but to save the world. What then are we to make of this
judgment that he is speaking of in the words of our text?
For judgment am I come into the world? Well, we have to remember,
of course, that even in the course of his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus
Christ is ever exercising a ministry that is very discriminating and
very separating. Do we not see that here in this
ninth chapter of verse 16, what happens as a result of the miracle?
There at verse 16 some of the Pharisees said this man is not
of God because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said
how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles and there was
a division among them. There was a division among them
because of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's not
the only occasion when we read of Christ's ministry causing
there to be some division amongst the people, some difference of
opinion. Again in chapter 7 and verse
43. So there was a division among
the people because of him. His very presence, his person,
causes there to be this difference of opinion. And again, another
example in chapter 10, here in chapter 10 and verse 19, there was a division
therefore again among the Jews for the saints, the things that
he says. causes there to be these differences. Christ's ministry is very much
a discriminating ministry, and much of his preaching, as you
know, was in the form of parables. Why was it that Christ spoke
in that particular fashion? What was the purpose of the parables? Well, we're told, are we not,
that by means of the parables there was a revealing of the
truth to some, But at the same time as some were revealed the
truth through the parables, there was also a concealing of the
truth to others. Matthew chapter 13 is the great
chapter dealing with parables. Read through Matthew 13, it's
full of parables. But there also we read what the
purpose of the parables was. Matthew 13 verse 10 The disciples
came and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He
answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
it is not given. It is given unto you to know
the mystery, but to them it is not given. Verse 13, Therefore
speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not,
And hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them
is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing
ye shall hear, and shall not understand, and seeing ye shall
see, and shall not perceive. This is the judgment, you see.
This is the ministry of the Lord Jesus. It discriminates, it separates. There is a revealing to some,
there is a concealing from others. And so it is not only in the
Lord's own ministry but in that of the apostles and through the
whole day of grace. How the gospel divides between
men. There are those who hear the
gospel and the truth is revealed to them and they believe these
precious doctrines but these things are hidden from others.
Oh how solemn it is, the sovereignty of God. When we see it here,
you see, in this particular chapter, we see the difference between
the Pharisee and the man born blind. And what is the difference?
It's the difference between a self-righteous man and a man who is best described
as a sensible sinner. What does Christ say to these
Pharisees at the end? If ye were blind, If ye were blind, sensibly blind,
conscious of your blindness and your ignorance, ye should have
no sin, for I would have taken that sin away. But now ye say,
all that self will of themselves, ye say, we say, therefore your
sin remaineth. And so I want as we concentrate
on verse 39, just to consider these two headings. First of
all to say something with regards to the self-righteous, the Pharisee
who is so prominent in this chapter. And then in the second place
to look at this man that was born blind, who we see to be
a sensible sinner, a saved sinner. First of all then, the the self-righteous. Jesus said, For judgment am I
come into this world that they which see not might see, and
that they which see might be made blind. 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?
or they understand the significance of what he is saying, Are we
blind also? Jesus said unto them, If you
were blind you should have no sin, but now you say we see,
therefore your sin remaineth. How these people just think so
well of themselves, they think that they see, they think that
they are so much superior to others. We are the people. We
know the truth. Stand by thyself, they say to
others. Come not near unto me, I am holier
than thou. That is the spirit of the Pharisees,
how hard they are, how they would cast out any who were the followers
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why the parents of the
blind man who received his sight were so afraid to say too much
when they said to the Pharisees ask him he shall speak for himself
we're told in verse 22 these words make his parents because
they feared the Jews for the Jews had agreed already that
if any man did confessed that he was Christ, if any confessed
that Jesus of Nazareth was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. And that's what they did with
that man. Verse 34. They answered and said unto him,
Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us,
and they cast him out. Now look at the margin, if you
have a margin. It says they excommunicated him. They put him out of the
synagogue. No more he is to be treated as a Jew. He is to be
treated as a heathen now. He is cast out. He is rejected. That's the force of the language
that is being used by these self-righteous Pharisees. Or they think themselves,
you see, to be so much better than others. They Imagine that
they are the men who keep the law, they keep the law of the
Sabbath. And this man has been healed on the Sabbath day and
the healer therefore has transgressed their interpretation of the Sabbath
day. They are so self-righteous, they
know the answers, they know everything. Now remember that Paul, the Apostle
Paul was once a Pharisee, He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees,
he was the son of a Pharisee. He was scored at the feet of
that great Jewish teacher, Gamaliel. And how the Lord has to humble
that man and he speaks of this, he speaks of what he was, does
he not there in Philippians chapter 3? Verse 4, following this is, so
I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man
thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh,
that is trusting in himself and what he is by his birth and by
his education, what is made of himself, if any other man thinketh
that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more circumcise
the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
and Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law of Pharisees.
All these Pharisees, they were the great champions of the law
of Moses concerning zeal, persecuting the church, touching the righteousness
which is in the law blindness. This is the spirit of the Pharisees. He so followed himself. and so
full of what he has made of his lot. And we see, do we not, something
of the same in the parable that the Lord Jesus Christ told concerning
those two men who go to the temple. They go to the temple, we are
told, at the hour of prayer. And the one was a Pharisee. And the other was a publican,
one of the most despised of men in Israel, a publican, a tax-gatherer,
working for the occupying Roman forces. And not only serving
Rome, but feathering his own nest, that's what the publicans
did. They were extortionists. They
took more from the people than Rome required of them. And they
were greatly despised. And here's one, and he's the
pharisee. the most respected of individuals,
and the other is the publican. You know the parable that Christ
tells there in Luke 18 at verse 9, and the following verse is
his parable, his parable unto certain. Here is the purpose
of the parable you see, certain which trusted in themselves,
that they were righteous and despised others, that's the pharisee.
They trust in themselves that they are righteous and they despise
others. Two men went up into the temple
to pray, the one a Pharisee, the other a publican. The Pharisee
stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank Thee that I am not
as other men are extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. I fast twice in the week I give
tithes of all that I possess and the publican standing afar
off would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven but smote
upon his breast saying God be merciful to me a sinner I tell
you this man went down to his house justified rather than the
other for everyone that exalted himself shall be abased and he
that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Or the ministry of the
Lord Jesus, how discriminating, you see. Now he separates between
men. Notice what he says concerning
that Pharisee. He speaks of his works. He speaks
of his works. I fast. I give tithes. All he wants to speak of is his
own doings, the things that he is doing. It all centres in himself. He considers himself so much
better than others. I am not as other men. That's
what he says. I am not like unto this publican. He spots the publican. He is
so different to the publican. All friends, we need to be wary
of that self-righteous spirit. More than that we need to beware
surely of the subtlety of sin or the subtlety of seed. We can
compare ourselves to the pharisee. Can we not come in the spirit
of the pharisee though we are disowning the pharisee? And do
we do that sometimes? We are guilty of it. I am not as that pharisee we
say. I am not like that man. He doesn't
acknowledge his sin. I'm always confessing my sin,
I'm not a pharisee. Or that man talks so much of
his merits, the good things that he does. Oh Lord God, I would
never presume to do such a thing as that. Oh, we need to be warious
of being puffed up. puffed up in a sense with our
gospel notion. The Pharisee is puffed up with
his fancied merits. He thinks he's done something
meritorious, something good. And yet we can be so like him
because our heads are filled with gospel notions. We have
right thoughts, right understanding in a sense of what the gospel
is and what the way of salvation is, and yet we pride ourselves
in that. As if we were tied to something. And what are we betraying? We are betraying that very spirit
of the Pharisees. Jesus said unto them, if ye were
blind, ye should have no sin, but now ye say we are certain.
Therefore your sin remaineth. Oh God, deliver us from any manifestation
of a Pharisaic or self-righteous spirit to think some way or other
we are better than others. I've heard it in evangelical
reform circles, you talk to people and they don't seem to realise
what they're saying, they like to tell you what they've done.
What I've done. I've done this, I've done that,
I've witnessed to that person, I've witnessed to the other person.
I've talked up so many conversions by speaking to people, all you
know what I'm like. I've heard them say it and these
are people who are so much respected in some circles. And yet what
is it they are doing? They are manifesting that spirit
where they talk of themselves and their doings. Who is the
man who goes to his house justified? The man who can only plead for
mercy. God be merciful to me a sinner. Or that spirit of the publican. Look at the man and look at the
penitence that we see in all his actions. He stands afar off.
He stands afar off. He cannot come near. He feels
his utter unworthiness even to be there in the temple of the
Lord. And he has such a penitential hand, he takes his hand and he
smites his breath. Why? He would strike at his very
heart. He feels the sin that is so deep
within himself. He has a penitential hand. He
has a penitential heart. He has penitential lips. What
is the language of the man? God, he says, be merciful. God,
be propitious. It's the same word, you know,
that is used in John, in John's first gospel in regards to the
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, the propitiation for our sins.
Oh, the Lord Jesus is that one who bore the wrath of God, that
was the sinner's deserve. And this poor republican wants
to know that his sins are forgiven. That God in Christ is pleased
to accept him. He doesn't speak of himself,
you see. He doesn't speak of his doings. He speaks of Christ.
He speaks of the person, the work of Christ. Well, let us
look in the second place at this sensible sinner as we see him
in the chapter. Jesus said, for judgment have
I come into this world that they which see not might see. That they which see not might
see. Now the man was born blind. As Jesus passed by he saw the
man which was blind from his birth. Here we see a man He was a sinner
from birth. Is he not the same man that David
speaks of when he describes himself as a sinner? Behold I was shapen
in iniquity, says David. I was conceived in sin. Or this
man was a sinner from his birth and the sensible sinner is that
man who is aware that he was born into this world a sinner
He understands something in an experimental way of that awful
truth of total depravity. He's learnt it. He's not just
learnt it in his head. He's been made to feel it in
his heart. God has taught him. He is completely impotent with
regards to spiritual things. He cannot see a thing spiritually. It is God's work though. God's
work. to give physical sight, God's
work, to give spiritual sight. And that's what we see. Remember
the mini-course, the sign. His disciples asked the Lord,
Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born
blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath
this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should
be made manifest in him. Or it's the work of God. It's
the work of God to save those who were born dead in trespasses
and in sins. And isn't this miracle a great
sign of that work, that spiritual work that God does in the sinner's
soul? Verse 5 Christ says, As long
as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Here is that
one who gives light to those who are in darkness. As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat
on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed
the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him,
Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sent.
Or the Lord sends him, you see. He went his way therefore and
washed, and came seeing. Now see the connection between
what Christ is saying in verse 5 and then what follows in verses
6 and 7. As long as I am in the world,
Christ says I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken,
why the miracle is a sign. It is pointing to something far
greater than the receiving of physical sight. It is pointing
to this, a man who receives spiritual sight. And this, I say, is the
great work of God. Christ is the one who works that
spiritual sight, who works that saving faith in the heart of
this man when he is cast out by the Jews. We read verse 35,
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and
when he had found him. Oh, the Lord! He finds those
who are cast out, those who are rejected. When he had found him,
he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered
and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus
said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh
with thee. And he said, Lord I believe,
and he worshipped it. Now what is happening here is
that the Lord himself, he is working spiritual faith, he is
working faith, saving faith in the heart of this particular
man. He comes to this, you see, he
has that faith that he is, as Paul says in Colossians 2.12,
of the operation of God. This man has faith of the operation
of God, not like the Pharisee who makes himself a religious
man. No, he has faith that he is of the operation of God. Doesn't the Lord say back in
chapter 6, this is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom
he hath sent. And friends, what a work of God
it is. Oh, what a work it is. Ephesians 1.19, we read of the
exceeding greatness of His power to us who do believe. How many
times have I said, dear friends, it's not just His power, it's
not just His great power, it's the exceeding greatness of His
power to us who do believe. And it's according to the working
of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised
him from the dead. All thy dead men shall live. Together with
my dead body shall they arise says the Lord Jesus. And this
is what is happening here in that passage from verse 35 to
verse 38 where the Lord finds the man. and speak to the man
and speak to him in such a fashion that he is brought to this Lord
I believe and he worshipped him now how how is it that God produces
such a faith in the heart of a man how does God work this
faith well let me mention two things first of all are we not
here reminded of the importance of the hearing the hearing of
faith and then also that other sense, the seeing or the sight
of faith. This is the way God works faith.
There is the hearing of faith. Look at what happens in these
verses. When the man asks, Who is he
Lord that I might believe on him? What does the Lord say at
the end of verse 70, verse 37? It is he that talketh with them. Who is he Lord? that I might
believe it is he that talks. He speaks. He is the word of
God. He is the word of God incarnate. He is God's manifest in the flesh. He speaks the words of God and
what works they are. So, he is the one who is talking
here, talking with this man. And you know, if any of us have
faith, that is true faith, saving faith, we are those who have
heard the voice of Christ. Christ has spoken to us. We've heard something more than
the words of a preacher, we've heard the word of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That was certainly the case with
those at Ephesus. Paul tells them there in chapter
4 verse 20, you have not so learned Christ, if so be you have heard
him and been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus. They heard
Christ, they were taught by Christ, and it is only Christ who can
speak faith into the soul of the sinner. We must all be those
who learn of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ never went to Ephesus,
we know that. Ephesus in Asia Minor. Christ is sent to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. His ministry during the days
in which he is here upon the earth. He is confined to Palestine. He never goes, never goes into
Turkey as we would call it now. And yet, what does Paul say?
You have not so learned Christ, if so be that you have heard
Him and been taught by Him. Have you heard Him? Have you
been taught by Him? It is the mark, is it not, of
His sheep. My sheep know my voice. That's what the Lord says. How
do they know His voice? They hear His voice. They hear
Him. He comes, He speaks to them.
My sheep hear my voice. They refuse the voice of the
higher beings, the stranger they will not follow. Or they are
very discerning. My sheep hear my voice and I
know them. And they follow me and I give
unto them eternal life and they shall never perish says the Lord
Jesus Christ. All faith comes, how does faith
come? It comes by hearing. and as we come to hear the Word
of God, and as we recognize the importance of the ministry of
the Word of God, it's God's own appointment, it's God's ordinance,
the office of the ministry, the preaching of the Word. But friends,
now we are to be those who come with this desire, this prayer
that we might hear Christ, to see beyond man, to see Christ,
that request of the Grecians, so as I said, we would see Jesus. To see beyond the man, to see
Christ, to hear the voice of Christ. So then faith cometh
by hearing. And hearing by the Word of God. But remember what we are told
concerning those Hebrews. In Hebrews chapter 4, the Word
preached did not profit them. Not being mixed with faith in
them that heard it. God's word is profitable. That's
what it says. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable. For doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of
God may be perfect, truly furnished unto every good work is profitable.
But sometimes profitable for reproof. or for correction, or
thank God. Sometimes when you come under
the word and the word cuts and it makes you smart in your soul
because the Lord is here and there's that work of the Holy
Spirit, there's that convicting work going on. It is to reprove
or to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, of judgement.
The worst thing of all is to sit under the word impassive,
to feel nothing. or with those friends who want
faith to be mixed with what we're hearing. It did not profit those
Hebrews not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. How does the Lord communicate
this faith in faith to the man? He hears the voice of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It is He that talketh with thee,
says Christ. And He said, Lord I believe.
or when the Lord speaks you see why he speaks faith into the
soul Lord I believe and he worshiped him for then I said two things
not only the hearing of faith but also the seeing or the sight
of faith and we have it here again at the beginning of verse
37 Jesus said unto him thou hast both seen him and it is he that
talketh with us Now the man saw him, he had never seen before,
till Christ performed this remarkable miracle, he was born blind. But though born blind, he is
privileged to see with his physical eye the Lord Jesus. This is what Christ does, spat
on the ground, made clay of the spittle, anointed the eyes of
the man who was blind and said go wash in the pool of Siloam.
He went his way therefore and washed and came seeing. He actually saw the Lord Jesus
Christ with his physical eye. But not only does he see Christ
in the flesh, more than that more than that sight he also
is given spiritual sight to see just who this man is just who
Jesus of Nazareth is and so he recognises him to be God manifest
in the flesh he says Lord I believe and he worshipped him Not only with his natural sight,
he is favoured now with the eye of faith. He believed the Lord
Jesus Christ, he worshipped the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is he
looking to? Why is looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of his faith? That's what he is doing when
he sees Him. He is looking to one who is the author and finisher
of his faith. And this is why Christ came into
the world. as he says here in the text, for judgment may come
into this world that they which see not might serve. He is one
of those who did not serve, who knew his ignorance, who was made
aware of his sinfulness, he had such a sense of his need. And
this is why Christ came for such a man as this, that they which
see not might see, and then on the other hand that they which
see might be made blind. Oh, how discriminating, how distinguishing
is the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And friends, how important
it is to look to ourselves and to examine ourselves. It's such
a personal thing. Look again at the words of the
Lord Jesus, At the end of verse 35 he says, Thus thou believe
on the Son of God. Now observe what he says, the
beauty again of our authorised version, where we see quite clearly
that he speaks in the singular, the singular pronoun. Thus thou,
thus thou. Always a very personal word,
Christ is speaking quite specifically to this man upon whom he has
performed this notable miracle. Dost thou? It was William Tiptock
who says, real religion is a personal thing. It is a personal thing
and it comes to us even tonight. The Lord says to me, the Lord
says to you, dost thou believe on the Son of God? And again,
The language is interesting because the preposition, more literally,
is, Into dost thou believe? Into the Son of God. This is what faith does, you
see, there's such a union with the Lord Jesus Christ, such a
spiritual union. That's the force of the language,
believing into the Lord Jesus Christ. And we have it there. in the hymn 234 and verse 3 but he that into Christ
believes what of its faith has he in Christ he moves and acts
and lives from self and bondage free He has the Father and the
Son for Christ and they are now but one. Or there is that union
you say, that living union. Yes, there is an eternal union.
In the covenant the elect were chosen in Christ, they were committed
to him as his own seed before the foundation of the world,
but how necessary to have that realised in time and to come
to that living faith, to believe into Christ, to know that we
are one with him, that he is all our salvation. To be found
in him, to be found in him, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness of God which is by faith. And there
we have the testimony of a man who was once a Pharisee. such
a self-righteous man, and yet there, wonderfully saved by the
sovereign grace of God, all that he had before, what does he say
there in Philippians 3? He counted it but wrath and refuge,
his one desire to be found in Christ. Oh, dost thou believe
in the Son of God, or to be able to come with this man born blind,
and to say with him, Lord I believe, and he worshipped. And then Jesus
says, for judgement am I coming to this world that they which
see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind. We have the two characters. We
have the Pharisee, the self-righteous man, And though we might be those
who are delivered from the fancied merit of these Pharisees, they
fancy that they had something meritorious, but God preserve
us from being those who have our own foolish notions, gospel
notions. How different is that? Hardly
any difference at all between that and the fancied merit of
the pharisee to think that somebody can ask because we have a certain
knowledge. The one thing needful surely is that we have that saving
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not identified then with
the pharisee, but we are identified with this man born blind who
worships the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord be pleased. to grant
his blessing upon his word. sins forgiven is manifestly passed
from death and sealed in air of heaven. Hymn number 351.