Enlightened

Seven Signs is the name of our series on the seven miracles of Jesus and the gospel of John. He calls them Signs. Hey everybody, my name's René, I'm one of the pastors there at Twin Lakes Church and guess where I am? I am in Israel. I'm here to film a new series on Simon Peter and also to lead a tour group from Twin Lakes Church. But we figured as long as I'm here, why don't I deliver the message to you this weekend on location because I am at the site of the sixth of the seven sign miracles in the gospel of John. I am at the pool of Siloam. This is the spot where Jesus healed a man who had been born blind. It is in the middle of a busy city, the city of Jerusalem. So you are gonna hear traffic noise and all kinds of stuff, honking horns probably behind me. This would have been a busy city in Jesus' day too.

Now let me just describe this location to you because it's so amazing. The exact location of the ancient pool of Siloam as it existed during the time of Jesus was a mystery until June of 2004. In fact, skeptics said it never even existed, that the writer of John's gospel absolutely made it up until just a few years ago, workers were repairing a leaking sewage pipe under the street around here and they unearthed two stone steps, these stone steps. And archaeologists came running and they kept digging and digging and digging and they excavated a massive pool with steps leading down into it, much of it still buried underneath an orchard on private property so that part can't be excavated but they were able to excavate this part. It has three tiers of stone stairs down into what was a huge pool. It's amazing, I mean, this was a sensation. This is the pool of Siloam in John's gospel and it upended people's understanding of the gospel.

In fact, Princeton professor James Charlesworth said this, watch this, scholars have said that there wasn't a pool of Siloam that John was using a religious conceit to illustrate a point. Now we have found the pool of Siloam exactly where John said it was. At a gospel that was thought to be pure theology is now shown to be grounded in history. So I think that's pretty cool. Now, by the time of Jesus, this was probably used as a pool for ceremonial cleansing as people went up to the temple mount. In fact, take a look at this drone shot. It was at the foot of a majestic road leading right up to the temple. And when you look at it from the air like this, you can see that green section of a garden in a rectangular shape. We now know that was all the pool of Siloam. It sits at one of the lowest spots in Jerusalem. So rain flows down and silts it up with mud constantly. And after the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans, nobody cleaned it anymore. So this huge pool filled up with dirt and mud and then plants started to grow and so it disappeared. And the location was lost.

And so the moral of the story in the Bible is, clean your pool. No, that's not really the moral of the story. Let's see what this is really all about. I'll tell you this story and then I'm gonna draw out three principles for you and me to practice today. I love this. And remember, everything I'm reading about happened right here on these steps where I'm sitting. It just kind of gives me goosebumps to even read this story to you. So the gospel of John chapter nine, starting in verse one. As he, Jesus went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents, but he was born blind. Really they're asking, why is this person suffering? And that's a question we've all asked at some point in our lives. Why is God allowing suffering?

Now, the way that they ask this question reveals that the disciples had apparently been taught or had come to believe that injury, disability, bad luck is linked to sin, sort of like bad karma. And a lot of people to this day think this, whether they think it through or not, what they believe is something like human suffering must be the direct result of human sin. But the disciples were wrong. Now, biblically, there is a link between suffering and sin. It's just not the link that most people think. Watch this, Jesus says, neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. Now, notice very carefully, Jesus doesn't say suffering is never a result of sin. He says, this man didn't do anything that caused this sin and his parents didn't do anything that caused this sin.

In fact, you could put it this way, sin always causes suffering but suffering is not always caused by sin. Sin always causes suffering. You reap what you sow in general. But you can't take that and say, oh, if anybody is suffering, then they must have done something to deserve it. God must be getting at them, they must have sinned. That's ridiculous and it's not biblical. Quick diversion, Cliff notes on the Bible's teaching on suffering. First, we live in a broken world. God made the world perfect, but when we humans sinned and rebelled against God, it broke and so bad stuff just happens now. But good news, God is going to fix the world. Our world is not what it once was, but it is not what it will be. And the resurrection of Jesus is sort of a preview of that.

In the meantime, God redeems every hurt. One day God removes every hurt. And in the meantime, God redeems every hurt, uses it for something good, like in the case of this man. And that brings me back to this story. Remember the disciples are asking, whose fault is it? And Jesus is saying, let's not talk about fault, let's talk about frame. Let's reframe this as an opportunity for God to do something great. And it's that kind of reframing that makes all the difference whenever any of us experience suffering. So Jesus says, "As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." That's the key sentence to the story, right? I am the light of the world.

Now, Jesus doesn't go on to explain that. He goes on to prove that. Next verse, "After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. Go," he told him, "wash in the pool of Siloam." This word means sent. And so the man went and washed and came home singing. Now again, this man washed right here, came down these steps somewhere and washed in this pool. And it's interesting, John says, "Siloam" means sent. Why that detail? Well, it's a play on words because this man, though he's unaware of it at the time, is being sent by Jesus on a mission. Watch this, 'cause here's where it gets really good. The plot thickens here.

Verse eight, "His neighbors," and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Well, isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was. Others said, "Nah, he only looks like him." You know, they can't believe it. But he himself insisted, "I am the man." "How then were your eyes opened?" they asked. He replied, "The man they call Jesus." Now stop there, I want you to notice, all he knows so far is Jesus' name. Who did this to you? I don't know. That guy they called Jesus. That's where he starts, just with that information. So remember that. "The man they called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. And so I went and washed and then I could see. Where is this man?" they asked him. "I don't know," he said. He's like, "I don't know where he is, 'cause I was blind." Remember?

And I love this. You'll see this guy's sarcastic sense of humor emerge as the story goes on. "They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind." Now, the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. And that's kind of like dun dun dun because Friday sundown to Saturday sundown, that's Sabbath. And Moses' law taught that that's a day of rest. However, remember that we've seen in this series that here in Jerusalem, those days, a super rigid sect had gained authority in the religious world, the Pharisees. So this miracle is a problem because this man is healed, yeah, that's great, but on the Sabbath. And by the way, do you think Jesus kind of accidentally healed him on the Sabbath? Do you think he was like, "Wait, it's Saturday? I thought it was Thursday?" Not a chance. Jesus did this to prove a point.

Watch this, the plot thickens. "Therefore, the Pharisees also asked him," the man, "how he had received his sight." And the operative word there is how. What do they mean, how? They don't mind that he can see. They wanna know how because in their eyes, Jesus might have broken like four separate rules. First, they said it was forbidden to heal on the Sabbath because that's work and you're not supposed to work on the Sabbath. The rule specifically, in fact, said, "If you find somebody with a broken leg, you can keep it from getting worse, but you cannot make it any better." And so what they're asking is, how did you come to get your sight? Did it involve work? Did somebody heal you? Because that's wrong.

Second, their laws specifically stated, "You can't use spit." This sounds funny that there's a specific instruction that spit could not be put on somebody's cut or wound, including your own spit, on your own wound because spit could be medicinal and the use of medicine was forbidden on the Sabbath day because that's a form of work. Therefore, putting spit on a wound is forbidden on the Sabbath. Third, they heard that Jesus spat on the ground and they were asking if this was true because their rules were, "It's okay to spit on pavement or rock because that wouldn't make mud, but spitting on dirt violated the Sabbath because that made mud and making mud is work and work is forbidden on the Sabbath." And then fourth, of course, he told this man to go and wash and so he's making him work. So there's all kinds of possible prohibitions that were being broken here.

And you can see how with all of these perplexing and complicated regulations, they'd corrupted the beauty of the Sabbath day. And now people were almost afraid of the Sabbath when it started, right? Oh no, it's the Sabbath. I'm gonna get in trouble. I'm gonna break some rule. The Sabbath was meant to be a gift from God to us for us to unplug, get some rest. But it had been made into this religious oppression. Their religious system had gone toxic. And of course, that's always the danger in any religious system. So they're asking, "How did this happen exactly?" Well, he put mud on my eyes. "Yes, that broke the Sabbath," the man replied. "And yes, I washed, so I guess that broke the Sabbath. And now I see." He's like, "Guys, I think you're burying the lead. I think you're missing the plot here, losing the point, I can see."

Well, some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner perform such signs?" So they were divided. And then they turned again to the blind man. "What have you to say about him? What was your eyes he opened?" And the man replied, "He's a prophet." And so notice he has grown spiritually. First he only knew his name. I think it was that guy they called Jesus. But now his eyes are continuing to open, his spiritual eyes. Verse 18, "They still did not believe that he'd been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. Is this your son?" They asked, "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that he can now see?" "Well, we know he's our son," the parents answered. And we know he was born blind, but how he can see now, again, the question about how, or who opened his eyes? "We don't know. Ask him. He's of age. He will speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, those oppressive religious leaders, who'd already decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.

Those parents sound like any people living under an oppressive regime, right? They know the truth, but they're afraid to say the truth publicly. They are scared to death. Next verse, "That was why his parents said, 'He's of age. Ask him.'" So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind, give glory to God by telling the truth. Now that's an official oath that they're putting men kind of like in a court of law when they say, "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?" That's what they're saying here. Give glory to God by telling the truth. And then they say, "And here is the truth we want you to say. We know this man is a sinner." Kind of a classic Orwellian move, right? Tell the truth. Here's your script. But this man doesn't go by their script. He is so unafraid. I love this guy.

He replied, "Whether he's a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know, I was blind, but now I see." And that right there, that is one of the greatest models of how to be a witness as a believer. What an example. You know, some people are understandably afraid about sharing their faith or even being open about being a Christian because what if they ask me questions about that, I don't know the answers to. Be like this guy. You don't have to know the answers to everybody's questions. You just have to be able to say, "I once was blind, but now I see. I once had crippling anxiety, but now have peace. I once was an addict, now I'm sober. All I know is Jesus is working in my life, man." Like this guy.

Next verse. Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" Again, it's about the what, the how, and they're totally missing the point. They're still focused on the minutia of how Jesus technically might've broken the Sabbath law. He answered, "I've told you already, and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?" And then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciples. We are disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, you don't even know where he comes from." Now that's a mistake, because at last they're admitting there's something they don't know. These know-it-alls, you know, who have all the answers. They're like, "We don't know where this guy comes from." And this very clever, healed man seizes on that.

The man answered, "Now that is remarkable. You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes." Like, wow, how could he operate without you geniuses supervising him? We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. He's saying, "Guys, nobody's ever done this. This is a historic moment happening right in front of you, and you're arguing about whether Jesus signed the right waiver?" If this man were not, watch this, from God, he could do nothing. So do you see how his spiritual eyes keep opening? First, you remember he said, "I don't know, there's this guy they call Jesus." And then second, when they say, "Who do you think this guy was?" He says, "Well, I think he's a prophet." And now he says, "I think he is from God. He is sent from God." First, this man got sight, and then he got insight.

And what I love about this is none of his insight comes from actually listening to the teachings of Jesus or hanging out with the followers of Jesus. He's getting all this listening to the opponents of Jesus. This totally reminds me of a time that I was in Romania with a TLC Global partner, Connie Fortunato, and I was chatting with a pastor who way back in the day had been imprisoned in the communist days when Nikolai Ceausescu was the dictator there simply because he was a Christian pastor. And I had to ask him if Christianity was so oppressed and persecuted back in those days in Romania, how did you ever hear about it and become a Christian? And he said, "Well, it's kind of funny. In high school and college days," he said, "the teachers kept criticizing Christianity and warring against it. And in their arguments against Christianity, he said, "I kept thinking I like what Jesus is saying better than what these guys are saying."

And he said, "Then one day at the end of several weeks of this criticism of Christianity, the professor said, so if there is anyone who is a believer still, I would like them to dare to stand up in class right now." And he said, "In that moment, I realized I'm a believer in Jesus because of the arguments against Jesus that I've been hearing during this class." And he said, "I stood up." And he said, "One other person in class stood up as well." And he said, "The professor looked at me because I'd been a straight A student and said, you, how could you possibly believe this garbage?" Now remember, he had never been in a church or read a Bible in his entire life, except for what he'd heard from the opponents of Christ. And here's his answer to the professor. Listen to this, this is great. If God exists and God came to earth, and if that God is all loving and all powerful, then he would do and say exactly what Jesus did and said. And he said, "What's more, we sinful humans could never make this guy up." And so he said, "Yeah, I choose to believe. In fact, who's better to believe in than this Jesus you've been introducing me to?"

Well, he got kicked out of class just like the man in this story. He comes to faith in Jesus through an argument about Jesus. He's just putting two and two together. Well, to this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth," implying that's why you were born blind. How dare you lecture us and they threw him out. But immediately it says, "Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. And when he found him, he said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'" And when Jesus uses that phrase, "Son of Man," that's the term that the prophet Daniel gave to the Messiah. He's saying, "Do you believe in the Messiah? Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him." And Jesus said, "You have now seen him. In fact, he's the one speaking with you." And I think Jesus is not saying just, he's standing right in front of you. He's saying, "You have now seen him. Your spiritual eyes have been opened."

And then the man said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him. He comes to believe and worship. Now, let me wrap this story up with three quick observations for you to take home today. Here's how this story changes your life. I mean, it's just a great story, right? But here are three takeaways for me. Number one, don't let suffering crush you. It will grieve you. It will hurt you. It will humble you, but it needn't destroy you. Jesus was able to use this man's disability, his hurt, his suffering to glorify God and turn it around for something good, something inspiring. And Jesus can use anything in your life. He can redeem any pain. It's not necessarily that he caused it. He doesn't have to cause it. Remember, we live in a broken world. Stuff's gonna happen, but he can redeem it and do something with it.

I remember Dave Dravecki, the famous San Francisco Giants pitcher who had to have his arm amputated. We've had him speak a couple of times there at Twin Lakes Church. He once told me, "If God appeared to me and said, 'Dave, I'm gonna give you a do-over, you can go back if you want and live your life with two arms and have a long baseball career, I wouldn't do it.'" He said, "I have found so much fulfillment in reaching people in ways I never could have if I still had two healthy arms." Amazing. Okay, number two, don't let opposition scare you. You know, you might feel afraid to say anything about your faith at work or in your family or in your neighborhood or among your friends or something because you're afraid they might challenge me. They might question me. And some of their questions, "I don't know the answers to, you don't have to know all the answers." This guy was attacked and challenged and questioned aggressively. So what does he do? He goes, "Hey, I don't know all the answers. One thing I do know, I was blind and now I see." Again, that's what a witness is, just saying what you've witnessed Jesus do in your life.

Remember, you are the world's greatest authority on what Jesus has done for you. Somebody once said, "A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with only an argument." You can stand on your experience of what God has done in your life. There's nothing people can say against that. And then number three, don't let arrogance blind you. Don't let arrogance blind you. And that's really the whole point of this story. Like Jesus said in verse 39, "For judgment I've come into this world so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." He's saying the people of all the religious training, they're blind to what is happening because they claim that they can see. And then some of the Pharisees say to Jesus, "Are you saying that we are blind?" And Jesus says this, "If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty of sin. But now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains." That was their problem. They claimed they could see so they couldn't really see.

Jesus is saying there's something much worse than physical blindness. And that's a blindness that comes from arrogance. There is a blindness that comes from pride. I mean, for example, I think famously of the ocean liner, the Titanic, right? I mean, its captain and his crew sailed arrogantly into a field of dangerous icebergs, even though they were repeatedly warned why. Well, in their pride and the ship's invincibility, they were blind to the dangers, to the truth. Are you blinded to truth by your own arrogance? And before you say, "No, not me," wait, I am convinced that that's kind of the default mode of all of us, kind of being know it all, kind of assuming we know the best.

I mean, for example, I'll tell you where I'm applying this to my own life. Maybe you can apply this too. Are you blinded by your arrogance when it comes to your approach to scripture? Do you approach scripture with kind of a religious arrogance? Oh yeah, I know all about this already. I got this all figured out. My tidy little system, my theological school of thought. What you're saying basically is, "Oh, God could never surprise me. I've got God figured out." Tell you something, if you've gotten to a point where you could say, "God could never surprise me," you know, that's where these Pharisees were at. This man couldn't be from God because we didn't expect that. We've got God figured out. We got him in a box. That's arrogance. You got to leave room in your life for God to surprise you.

Or do you have a kind of cultural arrogance? Kind of like, "Yeah, I read some influencers' opinion on social media, so that is now my opinion on whatever issue. And anybody who disagrees with me is wrong. No matter what the Bible says, I side with my cultural leaders, my influencers." No, man, we need to stay humble. We need to stay open to being shown where we are blind on any issue. You know, what Jesus is saying in that last verse is, there's no shame in having blind spots. Everyone has them. The shame comes when you claim you have no blind spots. You have nothing really to learn. You and I need to learn to ask God to open our eyes every day. He is able to help us see. But only if we admit that we do not see.

If we always think we can't see, if we're always right, always confident that we don't need any help, then we're only stumbling on into blindness and we miss the joy of enlightenment from Jesus, the one and only true light of the world. You know, I saw a video the other day of a man in the Philippines who had been blind for 20 years, but he had an operation and almost instantly his sight was restored. And somebody was there to capture that moment. With a cell phone video, I want you to take a look at this and listen to how he keeps giving glory to God. When I saw this video, I thought that must have been what the scene was like when this man finally, not only received his sight, but then saw Jesus and bowed down and worshiped.

Shalom, shalom. Shalom, shalom. My Lord, thank you for opening our eyes. Oh, hallelujah. Wow. Wow, I love that. That kind of joy must have happened somewhere right here on these steps to the pool of Siloam. And I pray that as we take some time to close and worship right now, that that happens to you. That the eyes of your heart are enlightened to see what Jesus Christ did for you. That he saved you from the guilt of your sin. That he promises you a resurrection and restoration and reunification. Man, if you see that, if the eyes of your heart are open to that, like this man, you will say, wow, amazing grace. I once was blind, but now I see Jesus, I worship you. Let's pray together.

Lord, we just pray right now that you will open our eyes. Thank you that you came into the world to be light in our darkness. And we ask in these last few moments, and then every day, bring us to the place of opened eyes. We admit we don't know how to solve all our problems. We admit we don't have all the answers. We admit we have major blind spots. And so all we can pray is help us Lord, like this man to grow in sight and insight, and then to worship at your feet. In Jesus name, amen.