Scripture: John 9:13 - 34
13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath.
15Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."
16Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
17Finally 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."
18The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. 19"Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"
20"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself." 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
24A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."
25He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"
26Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
27He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"
28Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."
30The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
34To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.
First Service introduction:
[Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain, must have been a pretty direct fellow. A Boston businessman well known for his ruthlessness once announced to the writer, "Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments aloud at the top."
"I have a better idea," replied Twain. "You could stay in Boston and keep them." Moody Bible Institute's Today in the Word, September, 1991, p. 32.
There is a flipside to this little story. The Pharisees were strict keepers of the 10 commandments plus another 603, but their strict observances left little room for compassion and mercy. They were obsessed with rules and regulations – to the point of separating themselves from the general populace. They became very hawkish, and they did not offer much grace.]
Second Service introduction:
[On the outskirts of a small town, there was a big, old pecan tree just inside the cemetery fence. One day, two boys filled up a bucketful of nuts and sat down by the tree, out of sight, and began dividing the nuts.
“One for you; one for me. One for you; one for me,” said one boy. Several dropped and rolled down toward the fence. Another boy came riding along the road with his bicycle. As he passed, he thought he heard voices from inside the cemetery. He slowed down to investigate. Sure enough, he heard, “One for you; one for me. One for you; one for me.”
He just knew what it was. He jumped back on his bike and rode off. Just around the corner he met an old man with a cane, hobbling along. “Come here quick,” said the boy, “you won’t believe what I heard. The devil and the Lord are down at the cemetery dividing up the souls.”
The man said, “Beat it, kid; can’t you see it’s hard for me to walk.” When the boy insisted, the man hobbled to the cemetery. Standing by the fence they heard, “One for you; one for me. One for you; one for me.” The old man whispered, “Boy, you’ve been tellin’ the truth. Let’s see if we can see the Lord.” Shaking with fear, they peered through the fence, yet were still unable to see anything.
The old man and the boy gripped the wrought iron bars of the fence tighter and tighter as they tried to get a glimpse of the Lord. At last, they heard, “One for you; one for me. That’s all. Now let’s get those nuts by the fence and we’ll be done.”
They say that the old man made it back to town a full five minutes ahead of the boy on the bike.
The blind man must have realized that he was dealing with some nutty people. The problem he encountered, though, was self-righteousness.]
A self righteous stance tends to see things based on law rather than grace (verse 16).
Law is about dos and don’ts
Grace is about mercy and forgiveness
A self-righteous stance tends to call a good thing a bad thing (verses 18 and 24).
My way is better or best
A compromise is rarely offered
Belittling and demeaning and criticizing are often committed
Denial becomes a mindset
Borders on blasphemy (blasphemy is calling a work of the Holy Spirit
evil (Mark 3)
A self-righteous stance tends to see oneself better than others (verse 34).
This is the ultimate perversion
The classic example is how the Pharisees treated the blind-man.
A self-righteous person does not need the help of a savior
Who was really blind here? Will the real blind man please stand up! The Pharisees were blind. The blind man could now see. The law prevented the Pharisees from seeing good; the law created a holier-than thou attitude.
Let’s hear what Paul had to say about this theme. He wrote about it in Galatians chapter three:
(Gal 3:1 - 6 NIV) You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Have you suffered so much for nothing--if it really was for nothing?
Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Preacher and author Frederick Buechner commented: The trouble oftentimes with religious people is that they try to be more spiritual than God himself. There is not place for self-righteousness in Christianity. “Self” implies that we can be good enough on our own. Jesus came because it is impossible to be good enough. He knew we needed a Savior. How about you – do you know you need a Savior?
Let’s pray!
Lord, if there is anyone here who has not made you their personal Lord and Savior, please help them to pray right now: “Lord, I need a Savior. Please come into my heart and forgive me of my sins. Help me to live for you. Guide and direct me all the days of my life. Amen.”
Be sure to tell someone if you prayed that prayer. And all of us, be sure to share the good news with your kids and grandkids. There is no greater gift.
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