Sermon nuggets Fri June 13, 2008
Theme- Spiritual Blindness
Verses John 9:35-41 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."
37 Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."
38 Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"
41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (NIV)
Blinded by Ignorance vs 35-41
I saw a play that deal with this subject called the Lamp at Midnight. It was a biographical play about the physicist Galileo in the 1600s. Galileo worked long hours studying what he observed in his telescopes. He plotted the stars, and carefully researched what was occurring. To his surprise he discovered the data revealed that the sun was the center of this galaxy, just as Copernicus suspected over 100 years before him, Galileo showed how the planets revolved around in ellipses, like lopsided circles. And there were periods when the moon was actually closer to the earth and periods that the earth was closer to the sun. All these astronomical theories we accept as fact today. But there was one problem in Galileo's day. The Catholic Church taught God was perfect in all things, and everyone knew that the perfect geometric figure was the circle, not an ellipse. Since man as the center of God's activity Earth therefore must by the center of the universe. In other words Galileo's discoveries did not fit in the church's theology. Bishops were called, the Pope was even asked to look into the telescope and see for himself.
Some officials thought Galileo had painted spots on the other end to confuse them. But theology superseded a man's notions, regardless what he saw in the telescopes. They made Galileo recant his discoveries and banned his books during the inquisition. They refused to see the wonders of the heavens and the further glories of God because of pride. They were not humble enough to admit they were wrong.
It wasn’t until this decade that Pope John Paul II apologized in 2000 for that sin.
That is no different in Jesus day or in our day. Some are not the least bit interested in the facts only in how they might win their argument. They cannot admit wrong, that is an admission of weakness.
Ignorance and the refusal to be open to truth kept them spiritually blind.
There are times when God doesn't fit into our preconceived ideas we must be humble and admit that God's ways are not always understood by mankind. We must never take pride of our understanding. It is hard to admit that our understanding is limited. It is hard to admit that we don't know it all. But there is knowable truth. Jesus is the light. Faith is found in Him and Him alone. There are the truths of the Bible that are stated clearly and plainly and repeatedly, believe them strongly.
Paul Stookey, of Peter, Paul and Mary fame sang in one of his songs, “Passing conversations where they mentioned your existence, and the fact that you had been replaced by your assistants. The discussion was theology and when they smiled and turned to me, all that I could say was, ‘I believe in you.’” All the blind man could say, was "once I was blind, but now I see."
If I were to pick one most common mistake people make in misinterpreting the Bible it is taking a verse or portion out of context. Many pick a verse here and there and fail to read and understand each verse in relationship to the previous verses and the following verses. Lots of cults will try to quote the Bible to you, but if you read those verses for yourself and study what goes before it and after it, you will save yourself lots of errors that are floating around.
How do we correct these blind spots in our eyes, our spiritual eyes?
I believe it is the desire to know and look to the light, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus turned to the man having revealed himself now to Him, Do you believe in the Son of Man? "Who is he sir that I am believe in him? Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you." Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him. This miracle was greater than the first. Jesus healed him and now spiritually for the first time in his life he could see. There are some who are blind but who see Jesus. There are many that think they can see, but are blind to Jesus. That is also what Jesus told the Pharisees. They see only the law, they see only other men and women around them, they see only pride of their theology and that keeps them from seeing Jesus.
Pastor Dale
