John chapter 9, I'm taking the
title for the message from the question that the Lord asked
this man, this blind beggar, who had in a most marvelous,
powerful way been made to see, completely healed by the Lord,
and when he had been cast out of the synagogue, cast out of
Judaism, The Lord found him, as it says in verse 35, and He
asked this man this question, Do you believe, dost thou believe
on the Son of God? Dost thou believe on the Son
of God? Now, I want all of us to personally,
intimately, in our heart, before God, consider this question. I want you to take it personally.
Do you, you, believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? You
know the answer to that question. I don't. You do. You know the answer to that question. Do you believe the gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ? Can you say with the Apostle
Paul, as we read a moment ago, in 2 Timothy, that I'm not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ, For I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day." What has the believer committed unto
the Lord Jesus Christ? Everything. Everything. Everything. Now, you remember
here in this story, the Lord Jesus had found this man. He passed by, as it says in verse
1, He passed by and saw this man blind from his birth, And
the Lord restored his sight, or gave him sight, in a marvelous,
miraculous, powerful way. And when this blind man had received
his sight, and when confronted by the neighbors, And when confronted
by the Pharisees, when they ask him how this happened, they've
never heard of this happening before. This had never happened
in their community before. The Pharisees had never seen
anything like this happen in their community, in their synagogue. When he was plainly and boldly
confronted by many, he plainly and boldly confessed. that a
man named Jesus gave me eyes to see." One thing he says, I know. I
was blind. Now I see. Now I see. The Pharisees, instead of being
thankful unto the Lord, the Pharisees were enraged and angry. You know,
I think they were jealous. I think they were right jealous.
The Lord Jesus Christ had singled this man out, healed this man,
and He did so on the Sabbath day. And they said, that is the
established religious crowd said of the Lord Jesus Christ. As
it says in verse 24, we know, they said, we know this man's
a sinner. This man's a vile, wretched rebel
against God. That's what they said of my Savior,
my Redeemer. And my Lord, this poor beggar, he didn't back down. He knew
that he now sees things he had never seen before. He refused
to change his story. He wouldn't change his story.
He refused to back down and boldly declares that, oh yeah, I was
blind. But now I do see. Now that's where we ended up
last week. So what's going to happen? Verse 26. John 9 verse
26. They said to him again, What
did he to thee? Now he'd already told them. This
man made clay out of his spit, he spit on the ground, made some
clay and stuck it on my eye, told me to go wash in the pool
of Siloam, and I did, and now I see. What did he to thee? How did he open your eyes? He
answered them and said, I've told you already and you didn't
hear. Would you hear it again? Will
you be also his disciple? Again, the religious ask him
what and how. Unbelief is always taken up with
needless questions of what and how. Faith is taken up with him. The Lord Jesus Christ. Saving
faith is always looking unto Him, the author and finisher
of our faith. Saving faith is always coming
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come boldly, He said, to the
throne of grace. Saving faith is always believing
on Him. resting in Him, repenting and
looking unto Him, always coming boldly to the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, to find grace to help in time of
need. Now this man wisely turns the
tables on them, and he starts asking them questions. Look what
he says. Verse 27, he said, I've already
told you. Would you hear it again? Will
you be his disciple? Will you be a follower of this
man?" Believers are. They are His disciples. Believers
do, as His sheep hear His voice, believers do follow Him, love
Him, and rest in Him. Verse 28, look what they say,
they railed on Him. I mean they reviled Him. I don't think they did this in
a nice way. I think they did this in a mean, ugly, vicious
way. They railed on him and they said,
you are his disciple. We'll never be his disciple. You are his disciple. We're disciples
of the law. We know what the law says. Moses
is our leader. We look to Moses for our help. We look to Moses for instruction. We're Moses' disciples. Unable
to deny this notable miracle of grace. Unable to answer him. What did they do? They began
to curse him and despise him. You know, this goes much further
than just this man. Just railing and despising this
man, they railed and despised on the God of this man. As the
healer, the healer of this man, they railed on God, didn't they? You see, the carnal mind is enmity
against God. Always despising God. Thou art His disciples." They,
in a bragging way, in a boastful way, in a self-righteous way,
they say, we're Moses. We're followers of Moses. If
they were really believers of what Moses said, if they were
really believing what Moses wrote, they would bow to the Christ
Moses wrote about, wouldn't they? Look back at John chapter 5.
John chapter 5. Do you remember what the Lord
said of this same ground? How can you believe which receive
honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from
God only? John 5, 44. Do not think that I will accuse
you to the Father. There is one that accuseth you,
even Moses, whom you trust. John 5, 46. For had you believed
Moses, you would have believed me, because Moses wrote about
me. Moses wrote about the Lord Jesus
Christ. To him give all the prophets
witness. Remember in Luke 24, when the
risen Lord met those two men on the road to Emmaus, and they
were sad and sorrowful, because the Lord Jesus Christ had just
been crucified? And he said to them, Don't you
know that the Son of Man must be crucified? He must be raised
again. And he began to preach the gospel
to them, beginning at Moses, and expounding unto them in all
the Scriptures the thing concerning himself. Moses wrote about the
Lord Jesus Christ. All the way back in Genesis chapter
1, 2, and 3. He wrote about the woman's seed
that would bruise, crush the serpent's head. And that, again,
is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. You remember back in
chapter 8, John chapter 8. They not only said, we're followers
of Moses. You remember John chapter 8?
You remember how they bragged about being Abraham's children? They said, verse 38, the Lord
said, I speak that which I've seen with my father, and you
do that which you've seen with your father. And they answered
and said unto him, Abraham is our father. And the Lord said,
if you were Abraham's children, you would do the work of Abraham.
You would believe me. Abraham believed the gospel.
And then they said unto him, Verse 41, they said, then said
they to him, we be not born of fornication. We have one father,
even God is our father. We're Moses' disciples. We're
Abraham's children. Wait a minute, God is our father.
Pretty braggy, isn't it? Pretty boastful, isn't it? Look
what he says to them. Verse 42 of John 8. The Lord
said unto them, if God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came
from God, neither came of myself, but he that sent me. Why don't
you understand my speech, even because you cannot hear my word?
You're of your father, all right." Look what he said in verse 44.
The devil. The devil's your father. The
devil's your daddy. And then, lest of your father
will you do, he was a murderer from the beginning, a bold dot
and a truth, because there's no truth in him when he speaks
a lie. He speaks of his own. Well, he's a liar. and I'm the
father of it." Oh, we're Moses' disciples. We're Abraham's children. God is our Father. He rebuked
them every time, didn't He? They didn't know Moses. They
certainly didn't know Moses' Savior. They certainly didn't
know Abraham's Savior. Because you remember in John
chapter 8, our Lord said to them, Abraham rejoiced to see my day,
he saw it and was glad." Abraham's hope of salvation is Christ.
Moses' hope of salvation was the Lord Jesus Christ alone. God did speak unto Moses. Look
at verse 29, back in our text. We know they said that God spake
unto Moses. As for this fellow, this sinner,
we know not from where he originates. God did speak unto Moses on more
than one occasion. I'm thinking of one occasion
that's recorded in Exodus chapter 3, when the Lord spake unto Moses
out of that bush that burned and was not consumed and said
unto him, I am that I am, and the Lord Jesus Christ identifies
himself as the I am of God. I am the way, I am the door,
I am the light. They did not know the Lord Jesus
Christ like Moses did. They did not know the Lord Jesus
Christ as Abraham did, because Abraham and Moses had no hope
of salvation but Christ alone. Christ only. The Pharisees did
not own him as the Christ. Matter of fact, they said of
him, this man's a sinner. This man's a sinner. Now, beginning
at verse 30. The man answers the charges that
they rail on him with. Verse 30, 31, 32. Verse 33. Wherein
is a marvelous thing. Herein is a marvelous thing. and that you know not from whence
he is, and yet this man's opened my eyes." Verse 31, We know that God heareth
not sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth
his will, God heareth him. Since the world began, it was
not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born
blind. Verse 33, If this man were not
of God, he could do Nothing. Notice these plain and powerful
arguments this sinner makes to these who were so steeped in
religious pride, so blinded by prejudice, so blinded by their
malice and hatred, so full of self-righteous dung manure that
they refused to see, they refused While herein he says a marvelous
thing, a glorious miracle has taken place that has never been
done since the world began. Moses never made a blind man
to see. Abraham never did this. As a
matter of fact, if you look at the last part of John chapter
10, John the Baptist, a great preacher and prophet of God,
in John chapter 10, verse 41, many resorted unto him and said,
John did no miracle. But all things that John spake
of this man were true, and many believed on him." John was a
great prophet of God. He identified, behold, the Lamb
of God. John never did one miracle. He was a preacher of the gospel,
but he never opened the eyes of one that was blind. Now here's
his argument. If this fellow that you say is
just a mere sinner. If this man be just an imposter,
a blasphemer, if this man is demon-possessed as you say, you
remember they said of him, he has a devil. If this man is an
imposter and a blasphemer and demon-possessed and not of God,
how could he do such a miracle? Almighty God would not use this
man to do such a marvelous thing to heal me if he were not of
God. But seeing the Lord Jesus Christ
is a worshipper of God. Seeing the Lord Jesus Christ
did do the will of God. If any man be a worshipper of
God and doing the will of God, he said, he will be heard. Was
the Lord Jesus Christ a worshipper of God? Oh, yes. He said, I've
glorified thee on the earth. Was the Lord Jesus Christ doing
the will of God? Do you remember what He said
in John 6? I came not to do my own will, but the will of Him
that sent me. This man did worship God perfectly. This man did do the will of God
perfectly. This man was heard of God. Let me show you an example of
that. Turn to John chapter 11. When
the Lord stood before the grave of Lazarus, who'd been dead four
days. And the Lord commanded them to
take away the stone, you see John 11, 41. Then they took away
the stone from the place where the dead was laid, and Jesus
lifted up His eyes and said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou
hast heard me, and I knew that Thou hearest me always. He always heard of the Father. This is our Mediator. This is
our Substitute. This is our Savior. One who worships
God. One who does the will of God.
One who has the ear of God. For He is Almighty God. See what he's saying here? If
this man were not of God, he could do nothing. Since the world
began, it was never heard that a man opened the eyes of one
that was blind." He must be more than just a mere man. Certainly
this man is sin of God. Certainly this man is God. Look at verse 34, "...they answered
and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sin." And
do you teach us? Who are you anyway? You're an
educated, unlettered, ignorant, blind beggar. We're the established
religious crowd. We've been to the school of Gamaliel. We've done the law. We've got all these pedigrees,
all these degrees. We're somebody, you're nobody,
and you teach us. You know, this blind man knew
far more than they ever knew. This blind man had already confessed. He is the prophet sent of God.
Do you remember verse 17? This man had also confessed.
If this man, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, if he were
not of God, if he was not sent of God, he couldn't do these
miracles. You see, he knew far more than
they did, didn't he? they began to rail on him. You
are a despicable, vile sinner and you teach us. You were born
in sin and dare to teach us. You are a nobody from nowhere,
on nowhere street." This is always the attitude of the Pharisee,
isn't it? I'm just a little bit better than you. I know just
a little bit more than you. And look what they did to him.
You remember what they threatened to his parents? They had already
written an agreement, and I'm sure it was posted in every synagogue. If any man confesses Jesus of
Nazareth to be the Christ, he's going to be cast out of the synagogue. You know, to the Jew, it was
such a fearful thing. They feared that almost as much
as they feared dying, being cut off. from Judaism, being cut
off from all the temple worship. They dreaded that. They did exactly
what they said they would do. They did cast him out because
he confessed this man to be somebody special. This is more than just
casting him out of their presence before this ecclesiastical court. They cut him off from the temple
service. He wasn't allowed in the temple grounds. They cut
him off from attending his own synagogue. He was no longer allowed
to go to any church synagogue service. They condemned him and
cut him off from his own family. His own family wasn't allowed
to even see him again. They cast him out. They condemned him to eternal
ruin and destruction. They said of this man, there's
no hope for him. They said of this man, he's a
reprobate. They said of this man, he's ripe
for hell. That's what they said. They cast
him out. You get the idea here? They cast
him out because they despised the God that he owned. Well,
what's going to happen? Look at verse 35. And the Lord
heard, that they'd cast him out. Now as the God-man, as God he
knows all things, but as the man he heard, of course he knew
as God, but as the man he heard that his friend, the one he had
healed, was cast out. And when he found him, he found
him cast out, he said unto him, Dost thou believe See verse 35,
"...thou believest on the Son of God." The Lord found him cast
out. Probably, don't you think that
this man was a little bit cast down too? Don't you know that
he felt, boy, nobody loves me now. My family's kicked me out. My church has kicked me out.
Everybody's turned thumbs down on me. I have nobody. You know,
he was cast down, wasn't he? And the Lord found him. The Lord
passed by, and the Lord healed him. You know, this is exactly
where the Lord finds us when He finds us, when He crosses
our path. He finds us cast out. That's where He found you. Cast
out. Think about this. This casting
out happened. When did this casting out happen?
In Adam? Adam was cast out of the presence
of God. Cast out of the paradise. In Adam all were cast out. In
Adam all sinned. In Adam all died. That's where
God found us. Cast out. Cast out dead in trespasses
and in sin. And he passed by. It was a time
of love. He found us cast out like that
polluted infant, cast out in His blood to the open field,
left alone and cast out with nobody to care, nurse, love,
wash, or supple, and He passed by and He said, live. Live. It's a time of love. That's what
God does for us. When He calls us out of darkness
into His marvelous light, He finds us cast out. Oh, we may
be steeped in religion, but we're still cast out. We may be full
of self-righteousness, but we're still cast out. And He comes,
and He does the work of grace in our heart. The Lord Jesus
Christ, you see, my friend, He receives sinners. He justifies
them by His grace. He justifies the ungodly. But God who is rich in mercy
for His great love wherewith He found us even when we were
dead and in sin. Passed out. And yet He passes
by. Aren't you glad He didn't pass
by and just look the other way? He passed by on purpose. and saved us with His grace.
You see, it says in Matthew 11, 19, the Lord is called a friend
of publicans and sinners. This man is just one of many
whom the Lord came to save by His redeeming grace. This is
a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that the
Lord Jesus Christ came to save the cast out sinners unto Himself. It says over here in Luke 15.
I want you to turn and read this one. Luke 15. Luke 15. The Pharisees, they complained
more than one time, more than one occasion. In Luke 15 verse
1, Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners were
to hear him. These were the cast out, the
castaways. And the Pharisees and scribes
murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners. And He even eats with
them, fellowships with them. On another occasion, turn over
here to Matthew chapter 9. On another occasion, the Pharisees
complained when He went home with a publican named Matthew.
And it came to pass in Matthew 9 verse 10, While Jesus said
it, meet in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came
and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto Him, Why does your master eat with publicans
and sinners? When Jesus heard that, He said,
They that behold, need not a physician, but those who are blind, sick,
in need. Go ye and learn what that meaneth.
I will have mercy, not sacrifice, for I am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners. Sinners to repentance. Any sinners here this morning?
The Lord Jesus Christ, my friend, died for the ungodly, those who
were cast out. Cast out. Now, think about this.
Look at verse 35 back in our text. Verse 35. Look at this. The Lord found him cast out,
and He said unto him, verse 35, Dost thou believe on the Son
of God? Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He did not ask
him, well, how about your experience now of being able to see? How
good is your vision? Do you really see things really,
really good? Well, what's it like? He didn't
ask him about his experience. He didn't ask him, well, have
you been circumcised? You know how important it is
to be circumcised to keep that Abrahamic covenant. He didn't
ask him about circumcision. He didn't ask him, have you attended
all your synagogue meetings? He didn't ask him if he kept
the law from his youth up. He didn't ask him all these needless
questions. He asked him one thing, do you
believe on God the Son? That's the question. That's the
question. Now how many times have you been
baptized? Now, how many times have you joined the church? This
blind beggar knew that the Lord was a prophet. He knew that this
one was the Son of God. But he did not know the Lord
Jesus Christ as Almighty God until he had a revelation of
God to his heart. Nor did he trust the Lord Jesus
Christ as God his Savior, the God of his salvation. Because
look what he says in verse 36. He says, He answered and said,
Who is He? Who is this Son of God? Who is
this Son? Tell me! Tell me who He is! And I'll believe on Him. Boy,
I tell you, this man is, just tell me, just tell me. Yeah,
I want to know who He is. You see the anticipation of faith? The willingness of faith? You
just tell me who He is. Boy, I'll believe. And He told him, Thou hast both
seen Him, and it is He that talketh with thee." Oh, my soul. Tell
me who He is. You know, you cannot believe
in one in whom you have not heard about. It's impossible. I've
stood here in this pulpit for almost 20 years, preaching to
you and trying to tell you who He is that you might believe
on Him. That's what I do every service
when I come. I tell you who He is. I tell you what He has done.
I tell you where He is now. Seated at the right hand of God.
Tell me who He is. I done told you. May God grant
and give to you faith to believe the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You see, true faith. True faith. The faith of God's elect. He's
not born of miracles. This man had a miracle, didn't
he? I mean, he was blind. Now he sees the blue sky. He'd never seen that before.
The green grass. He'd never seen that before.
He'd never looked into the face of his mother. He'd never seen
his father, never looked into his father's face. But true faith
is not born of miracles. True faith is not born of experience
or feelings. This man had feelings, and boy,
he had an experience, didn't he? True faith is not born of
experience. True faith is not born of feelings.
True faith comes by hearing the Word of God, the Gospel of God. Tell me who He is that I might
believe on Him. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of Truth. Look at verse 37. The Lord reveals
Himself to this man. Thou hast both seen Him, and
it is He that talketh with thee. The Lord gave this man, right
now He gives him spiritual sight. He gives this man right now spiritual
life. He raises him from the dead.
Gives him spiritual eyes to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He
commanded the light to shine in his heart, and now he sees,
he understands, and he knows who the Lord Jesus Christ is.
You remember the experience, the story of the woman at the
well? In John chapter 4, she said, when the Messiah has come,
He'll tell us all things. And the Lord said, I that speak
to thee am He. I am that I am. This is exactly
how the Lord deals with us. Everything that happened to this
man was to bring this meeting with the Lord on purpose. And everything that has happened
unto us in our life in the past was sent of the Lord to bring
us to meet Him in saving mercy, to bring the gospel unto us,
and to grant us life and faith in Christ Jesus. It's no accident
you just didn't bump into the gospel one day. God sent you
a gospel preacher who told you who He is, Almighty God. And God granted you faith to
believe. You see, the Lord Jesus Christ
is the Alpha and the Omega of salvation. The steps of God's
people are ordered of the Lord. He orders our steps and He crosses
our path on purpose. God's own purpose and grace given
to us in Christ Jesus. Well, how do we know this man
believed? Look at verse 38. He said, That's how I believe on the Son
of God. Tell me who He is. Okay, I done told you. I believe. And He worshipped Him. How do
we know He believed? Because He worshipped Him. He
worshipped Him. He worshipped Him. Lord, I believe. This is a work of grace. Faith
is a gift of God, not of works which any man should boast. Lord,
I believe. And the fruit of grace is this.
He worshipped Him. He worshipped Him. He worshipped
Him. If any man be a worshipper of
God, and doeth his will, he heareth Him. He worshipped Him. Do you
remember from John chapter 4, the Father seeketh such to worship
Him in spirit and in truth? Paul describes what true worship
is in Philippians chapter 3. He describes what true worship
is. We worship God in the spirit,
we rejoice in Christ Jesus, What's that third thing? And I know what it is. Have no confidence
in the flesh. That's what it is. We are the
true Israel. Worship God in the Spirit. Rejoice
in Christ Jesus. No confidence. No confidence
in the flesh. Got confidence in Him. Now, in
closing, let's get personal. I done told you who He is. Do you believe on the Son of
God? Is the Lord Jesus Christ all
your hope before God? You know the answer to that question.
It's a good hope through grace. Is the Lord Jesus Christ all
your justifying righteousness before God? You know the answer
to that question. Is the Lord Jesus Christ the
only ground and foundation of all your pardon, salvation and
redemption before God? You know the answer to that question.
I'm not asking you if you're one of the elect. I'm not asking
you if you're sure for heaven as if you're already there. I'm
not asking you if you feel that you're saved. I'm not asking
you how many times you've been baptized. I'm not asking you
have you joined the church. I'm not asking you have you had
a religious experience. I am asking you, dost thou believe
on the Son of God? Is He all your salvation? Can you say in your heart, in
Him dwells all the fullness of a Godhead bodily, and in Christ
I stand complete? Ye with Paul count all past religious
experience as dung, rubbish, garbage, that ye may win Christ
and be found in Him? He's my righteousness, He's my
hope, I'm asking you, do you believe the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ? I do. He's all my hope. He's all my salvation before
God. Those who do believe, they do
worship Him. Those who do believe, do rejoice
in Him. Those who do believe, find all
their confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who do believe
by the grace of God, they do love Him. Own Him, bow to Him,
and confess Him. You remember what Thomas said
over here? I'll let you go with this. Turn over here to John
chapter 20. I like this confession. This
is a confession of a believer, Thomas. Some call him Doubting
Thomas. He's not doubting here. John 20, you see verse 28, Thomas
answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. That's a good confession. He's
my Lord. He's my God. Dost thou believe on the Son
of God?