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"I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD" |
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He looked at me and said, “Oh, nothing.” I walked away, bewildered, thinking, “Well, I guess he’ll find what he’s looking for!” So many people are like this boy. So many people go through life looking for - nothing. They act like they are looking for something, but they have no idea what! They bustle about, persistently living… for no reason. If you were to ask them the purpose of life, they’d likely stare at you blankly and say something like, “the purpose of life is to live.” Or, “life is about making the most of it.” Many people consider living an end in itself. In our society today, we try so hard to stay alive, but we think so little about what we are alive for. What are you living for? Is there something or someone worthy of your life? Is there something or someone who IS an end in itself or himself? This morning we continue our series “Satisfied by the Great I Am.” Whatever our need, Jesus answers, “I AM.” If we are bold enough, let us ask: “What is the purpose of life? Is there anything or anyone worth living for?” Jesus will answer, “I am.” We don’t want to live for a lie. We want to live for what is true. We want to live for the purpose for which we were created. This, after all, is the only way we’ll find fulfillment. So what is truth? In the Bible, truth is often referred to as “light.” And it makes sense. When we don’t have light, we are confused. In complete darkness, we can see nothing. We don’t know where we are or where we are going. Darkness is scary, for it is unknown. But it is said of Jesus in John 1:4: “In him was life, and that life was the light of men.” And Jesus says of himself in John 8:12: "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." In light we can see. In light we know where we are. In light we know where we are going. In light are living in reality – in truth. Jesus says, “I am the light.” In John chapter 9, Jesus performs another miraculous sign. And remember, a miraculous sign is more than just a normal every day miracle… a miraculous sign points to something greater than the miracle itself. This morning we are looking at the miraculous healing of a man born blind. Please make yourself comfortable and enjoy John chapter 9, word for word, from the movie “The Gospel of John.” (VIDEO) In this passage, we see Jesus giving physical sight to a man born blind. But we see more than that. We see the story of a man’s journey from spiritual darkness to spiritual light. We see a man’s journey in discovering the truth that Jesus really is “the light of the world.” Not only do we see his journey to spiritual light, we also see some important aspects of our own journey into spiritual light. Jesus is the great “I AM,” and he satisfies our need for truth – for spiritual light – for he is “the light of the world.” What can we do to satisfy our need for truth? We are going to look at three things that we can DO so that we can truly SEE: The first thing we need to do is: Submit to the truth you already have. We read in verse 7 of our passage: "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing." Notice that the blind man is not given any promise of healing. He is given very simple directions, but they are going to require a significant commitment on his part to obey them – the Pool of Siloam was located on the southern end of the city, likely quite a distance from where he was at the time. Imagine all of the questions that he might have been asking himself as he walked: “Who is this guy that he puts mud in my eyes?” “Why am I obeying this guy?” “Who does he think he is, anyway?” But he obeyed. He had a straightforward command from Jesus, and he decided to obey. How often do we find ourselves in the same place? We know exactly what Jesus wants us to do in a situation. We know exactly how he wants us to live. But we approach God with this not-enough-information-attitude. “Gosh, Jesus, you are asking me to do something pretty difficult… it is too uncomfortable… show me how this is going to work out… I want more details before I trust you.” Faith acts on the simplest command, despite the unanswered questions. If we want to grow in our relationship with Jesus, we must do the same; we must trust and obey (for there is no other way… right?) Remember Psalm 119:105? “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” God’s word is not a powerful search light that illuminates the path a mile ahead of us; it is a lamp to our feet. God often gives us just enough light to take another step of faith. That’s what the blind man did, and it is what we need to do, too. Submit to the truth you already have. Obey. And the second thing we need to do to be satisfied in Jesus, to truly SEE, is this - We need to: Expect persecution. Unfortunately, many people are more committed to comfort than they are to truth. We want to be committed to truth, but when the truth makes life difficult, we walk away. Jesus did not tell his followers: “I am the light of the world, and whoever follows me will never have trouble.” He did say, “I am the light of the world, and whoever follows me will never walk in darkness.” There is a big difference! Following Jesus often is not easy. It may be uncomfortable. It may be painful. It may even be deadly. But Jesus does challenge us with the reality that Truth is more important than comfort. He is more important than worldly pleasures. He is worth suffering for. He is even worth dying for! Jesus says: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” And in Mark 8:35-36, we read Jesus’ words: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Notice that in our passage this morning, the healed blind man grows in his knowledge spiritual truth (of who Jesus is) as he faces more and more trouble from the religious leaders. The more he is persecuted, the closer he is to understanding who Jesus really is. Because Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders were especially upset. Notice what happens as they begin to interrogate the man. His first response in verse 11 is: “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it in my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash.” But in verse 17, just a few verses later, we read: Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet." And then notice in verse 33, after more cross-examination, he replies: “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." And then the Jewish leaders throw him out of the synagogue! And we read in verse 35: Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." And finally, in verse 38, interacting with Jesus, he says: "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped Him. Do you see the progression here? Isn’t it cool that the more the blind man is questioned, the more he journeys to faith in Jesus, eventually coming to the point of worshipping him?! First, he is: “The man they call Jesus.” Then he is: “a prophet” Then he is “from God.” Then “The Son of Man.” And finally, the used-to-be-blind-man is calling him LORD and worshipping Him! Don’t misunderstand what I am saying: just because we have trouble or persecution doesn’t mean we are necessarily going to grow closer to Jesus. Trouble will do one of two things for you: One option is to let trouble turn you away from God. When following Jesus gets too tough, many people aren’t as interested in truth as they once appeared to be. But the other option is to follow the healed blind man’s example and let trouble bring you forward in your journey of conviction that Jesus is the light of the world. Which will you choose? It is a sad truth, but most people in this world are not following God! We are wise to accept this fact and determine to follow the narrow road even though it is the unpopular one. And as following Jesus becomes less popular, we ought to grow in our resolve to not stray from His path. And lastly, the third thing that we need to do to SEE is this: Earnestly seek God’s intervention. Notice what Jesus says in verse 39: "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." The message here is quite clear, and it is straightforward to put into practice: Ask God for help. There are many people who think they can see just fine, and therefore they never ask for God’s help. Jesus says these people will become blind. Others, though, recognize their own blindness and humbly seek God for light, and God reveals himself to them. It is obvious which ones we want to be, right? We want to be people who recognize that we need light from Jesus! When we ask Jesus for spiritual eyes so we can see, he heals us and let’s us see. When Jesus says, “I am the light of the world,” he means it. He is THE light. There is no light without Him. Jesus is the deciding factor between light and darkness. If you have Jesus, you have truth and live in the light; if you don’t have Jesus, you don’t know the truth and you live in darkness. And Jesus isn’t the kind of light that you have to work for. You don’t have to get a graduate degree in Theology to understand and know Jesus as the light. All you need to do is come to him and ask. Are you living in truth? Are you satisfied by the light of the world? Don’t go through life not knowing what you are looking for! Don’t waste you life thinking that the purpose of life is just to “make the most of it.” Don’t waste your life thinking that the pleasures of this world are worth living for. Don’t waste your life living a lie. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” Purpose is found in Jesus. Life is found in Jesus. Truth is found in Jesus. Fulfillment is found in Jesus. Satisfaction is found in Jesus. Jesus, after all, is the Great I AM Let us come to him, and see. Let us pray. |