When a blind beggar encountered Jesus, his vision was miraculously restored. But that's not all that happened. Today on Truth for Life weekend, Alistair Begg points out how this once hopeless and helpless man's life was completely transformed. We'll learn from his example what a genuine response of faith looks like. Yeah.
We're going to read from the Bible again from John's Gospel and from chapter 6 tonight. Verse 25. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here? And Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, you're looking for me not because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
On Him, God the Father has placed His seal of approval. Then they asked him, What must we do? to do the works God requires. Jesus answered, the work of God is this, to believe in the one he has sent.
So they asked him, What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert, as it is written, he gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.
Sir, they said, from now on, give us this bread. Then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never grow hungry. And he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me.
and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life.
And I will raise him up. At the last day.
Okay. Amen. And our text for this evening is, Then the man said, verse 38. Lord, I believe. and he worshipped him.
O Lord our God. You have known about this day and about this evening. And so our trust and our confidence is in you. as we turn to the Bible now. Teach us, Lord, we pray.
For Jesus' sake. Amen. I wondered. Would it be wrong to suggest? That we could somehow pry in, as it were.
to the communion of Jesus with his Father. Given all that he has revealed of himself in the Bible. Is it wrong for us to think that we might get an inkling of something of what passed between God the Son. and God the Father In the exercise, Of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because when we read the Bible, when we read the Gospels, It becomes clear That a large part of Jesus' life was directly related to his communion with his father.
That from the very outset of things, the disciples are perplexed because they can't find Jesus. And when they finally locate him, they discover that he has been out and he has been spending time in prayer with his father.
Some of the prayers of Jesus Uh we know. because they're recorded for us in Scripture. For example, what we refer to as his high priestly prayer in John 17. is an insight. It gives us an inkling of the communion between son and father.
We also have, as he approaches Gethsemane and indeed find him in Gethsemane, speaking to his father in a way that is then disclosed for us in the record of the Gospels. Lord, if you are willing, let this cup pass from me. But nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. And what is essentially a prayer from the cross when he says to his father, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And with those instances, we can speak with clarity because we have the text before us.
But it is not about those things that I'm wondering. It is about the undisclosed times. It is about the occasions in which Jesus, at the beginning of the day, committed his day to the Father and went out to do the Father's will. It is that kind of thing I found myself wondering about. Jesus beginning the day, presumably saying to his father, Father, thank you for a good night's rest.
Thank you for the gift of this new day. Thank you for another day in which to serve you, in which to do your will. Father, you know that I have come to do your will. And I do know that your will is That all who look to me may have eternal life. That all who believe in me may have eternal life.
And I'm going out into this day, Father, and I'm going to meet a lot of people. And I warn you, Father. to guide me. to prompt me You have poured out the Spirit upon me at my baptism. enabling me and quickening me.
And I want you to help me to know those with whom I should spend time and those with whom I should stop and talk and the others that I should simply leave and keep moving past.
Now, for us to think in those terms may be unsettling. But as I say, I think it's all right to do. And when we think in those terms, we then have confidence in recognizing, and this is why we read from John 6, the perspective of Jesus in looking out on the prospect of his ministry. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven.
He is the Messiah from heaven. He is the Son of Man, as we saw this morning, not to do my will, but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. Father, I commit the day to you. I'm going to join the rest of the gang now, and we're off into the day.
Now look at the beginning of John 9. as he went along. He saw a man blind. from birth. And the disciples made this man the occasion of a stop.
He perhaps saw the way in which the disciples looked at the man. And he then was able to respond to the question that the disciples asked. of the man. And This is a rather mind-blowing point. But the incident in John chapter 9 False within the great panorama of God's redemptive purpose from all of eternity.
That this moment in time with a man born blind and what is an apparently inconsequential stop at the middle of the day or the commencement of the day is part of the fulfillment of the promise of God to Abraham that through your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. It is part of the great Ongoing consummating purpose of God to put together a company of people that no one can count from every tribe and nation and language and people and tongue. It is part of the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus as He recounts it here in John chapter. Chapter 6.
So that although we have looked at John chapter 9 in a kind of atomized way, in a way that has not only picked it out of the the surrounding chapters of John, but indeed has picked it out of everything. I have the opportunity to remind you tonight. That this is in the unfolding drama of God's Redemptive purpose. And what a chapter John 9 has proved to be. I certainly have learned a lot from it.
I hope that some of you have too. And the event of the healing of this man and what follows from it. is remarkable. I found myself sitting and saying, How did Jesus find this man? And then, how did Jesus leave this man?
And in considering how he found him and how he left him. There is actually The description of how Jesus finds Men and women in their lostness. And how he then leaves them as sheep that have been found.
Now, we don't know the amount of time that is involved in John chapter 9. We don't know whether it's a day or a few days. We're not told. But whatever the period of time is, think with me just for a moment as we review chapter 9 about what has happened to this man. Think of how he was when Jesus addressed him.
He was helpless and he was hopeless. He was a blind man and a beggar. Consider the fact that Jesus sought him out. Consider the fact that Jesus asked him to do something which was so strikingly dramatic. that there must have been something in the very authority of Jesus' voice that caused the man to allow this stranger whom he couldn't see to spit on the ground, to make a paste and to rub it on his eyes.
And then to be prepared at the word of this stranger to go and wash off the mud. Consider the fact that he was made the object of God's supernatural intervention in that his sight was restored. And as a result of that, he then was given the opportunity to go back to his neighbors and to his family and to appraise them of this traumatic thing that had happened. He was severely tested as a result of this. by the neighborhood community.
He was denied the support of his parents. who refused to answer the question and passed the buck. As a result, he was cast back afresh on the mercy of God. When challenged again by the religious authorities, he confounded them by his answers. And as a result of that, he was reviled by them and then thrown out by them.
He is then sought out again by the Saviour. And he is taught by Jesus. And as a result, he falls at his feet. in devoted worship. And it is there.
That we leave him. That's where the Holy Spirit finally draws this. Picture to a close. Begins the picture at the outset of the chapter with a man in all of his hopelessness and his helplessness. and ends the picture, leaves him.
where this man will always and ever be. As a worshiper, of Christ the Messiah, the Savior. The king. Because actually, that's where that man is tonight. You understand that, don't you?
That having died, he has been ushered into the company of those, having come to eternal life, a life which begins in the now and leads to the then, having been ushered into the reality of that, he now takes his place in that company in Revelation 7. Who are worshiping the Lamb, who are declaring that salvation belongs to the Lord our God and to the Lamb who sits on the throne. He perhaps knows now, although I can't say with certainty. That he is actually one of the early fulfillments of the statement made by Jesus to another lady that he sought out in John chapter 4. When she asked a question concerning the nature of worship, whether in Gerizim with the Pharisees or in Jerusalem with the Jews, and remember Jesus' amazing statement, he said, that's really not the issue, madam.
It's not about geography. The time is coming and has now come when those who worship the Father will worship him in spirit and in truth, for those are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
Now, again, remember in the morning he prays to his father: Father, I'm going out today seeking worshipers. The blind beggar is addressed, and the blind beggar's life is changed, and the blind beggar's mind is taught, and what does he become? A worshipper? In fulfillment of the direct purpose of God. God is seeking those who will worship Him.
And as we think of the nature of this whole progression. It certainly speaks to us concerning not only the dimensions of what it means to come to Jesus, but also what it means to live in Christ. When it says here that the man inquired, who are you that I may believe? We said this morning, quoting Carson, that mature and knowledgeable faith. is far more a consequence than it is a condition.
of that decisive entry into the promises of God. And for however long this man would have lived, he would have grown in a knowledge and in an understanding of who Jesus is. And if you have recently become a Christian, if you have, like this man said, Lord, I believe, and have become a worshipper of God. Then as you are growing in grace and in a knowledge of Jesus, you will be learning the main things of the gospel. And as you think, you're beginning to put the immensity of the picture together.
That being God In His infinite mercy, Jesus came and took upon himself our nature. And he lived as a man amongst men and women. You have been learning that his life was unique. that he was absolutely perfect. That by his death he dealt with sin.
That he took upon himself the sin that he had never committed. He was numbered with the transgressors. He died the righteous for the unrighteous to bring us to God. You've been learning that the Father accepted the sufferings of Christ. as the propitiation for all who believe in Him.
And you've discovered that tonight Jesus sits enthroned in heaven as the ascended king, and it is from there that he will come a second time. not to bear sin. but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. And if you have begun to get a modicum of that. if you have begun to grasp the smallest part of that.
Then you will understand why it is that the man cast himself before Jesus. The Greek verb is proscunial. It is the same word as in John 4. It is the same word as in Revelation 7. And they cast themselves and their crowns before him, declaring, salvation belongs to our God.
One of the commentators says the ultimate reason for the decline in Christian worship must always ultimately be a failure to recognize and experience the redeeming work of Jesus. I think that is absolutely dead on. You can talk all you like about style of worship, whether you're singing accompanied or unaccompanied, whether you're singing in the 21st century or the 14th century, whether you are singing Gregorian chants or whether you're doing it antiphonally or whatever in the world you are doing. But if you are in Christ You understand that worship is a reflex action, that praise is a genuine reality. And he said, Lord, I believe.
And he cast himself down in obeisance. And when you have men and women, who do not understand what it is to praise. Who do not understand what it is to throw themselves down, as it were, at the feet of Christ, you are dealing with a group of people who do not understand. Who Jesus is, or why he came, or certainly they have lost sight of it along the journey. Oh, I Congregation of God's people.
If they are in Christ, Must, must. be a worshiping, praising congregation. And the decline in worship in the 21st century is because of the ascendancy of man and the diminution of God. Because we are stuck on ourselves and our expectations and our hopes and our dreams and our affirmations. And it is not all about us.
It is all about God. And it is not all about you and the songs you want to sing, or about me and the songs I want to sing. It is all about God and getting glory to His name. And when I think that God, His Son not spirit, Send him to die, I scarce can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing, he bled and died to take away my sin.
Then Sings my soul. But not until then. If you are not a worshipper, Check to see whether you are a believer. Check to see. whether the first part of the sentence is yours.
because the absence of the second part is directly related to the absence of the first. Lord. I believe in you. And then He worshipped him. You're listening to Truth for Life Weekend with Alistair Begg.
Alastair will return to close today's program with prayer in just a minute. Here at Truth for Life we believe that as God's Word is faithfully taught, His Spirit is working to teach and train us, as well as to comfort and offer direction in hard times. That's why we're passionate about teaching what the Bible says, what it means, and why it matters. Our prayer is that God by His grace will move people from merely having an interest in religion. to enjoying a relationship with Jesus as a genuine worshipper, like the man healed from blindness in today's message.
As we learn today, when Jesus saves us it should result in genuine worship and a desire to tell others about Him. Have you ever wanted to share the gospel with someone, maybe even planned out what you'd say, but when they resisted you found yourself retreating to avoid conflict?
Well today we're offering a free audiobook that will help you engage in differences of opinion with kindness, courage, and with truth, so that relationships can be strengthened rather than damaged. The book is titled The Art of Disagreeing. the author and pastor Gavin Ortland points out the eternal danger of rejecting Jesus, and why everyone needs to hear the Gospel. He'll teach you skills to engage in effective conversations. For example, you'll learn how to sympathize with others' perspectives, how to listen effectively, and how to be persuasive and use sound arguments.
You'll also learn how to be sensitive and respectful so you can gain understanding and build trust. The Bible commands us as believers to tell others about the good news of salvation in Jesus.
So, if you've ever found yourself shrinking back from sharing God's truth out of fear of an argument, Here's a book that'll give you skills, compassion, and gospel courage. And again, it's free. Download the Art of Disagreeing audiobook for free from Truth for Life Today. Visit truthforlife.org slash disagree.
Now here's Alastair. Father. We ask that you will take what is of yourself and write it in our hearts. whatever is extraneous or Irrelevant, unclear, untrue. You just banish it from our recollection.
I pray for some who came this morning. And they never knew what they would be up against or what they would find. They just have one question running through their heads right now. And they're personalizing, they're saying to themselves, do I believe in this Jesus? And I pray, Lord, that That they will either tonight Today.
Trust in Christ, turn from their sin and trust Him. Or that as they talk with friends and Family members. that they might come to believe in Jesus. And we pray.
Now those of us who are able to affirm our belief in Jesus may become these worshipers. It's only knowing ourselves to be lost that we understand what it means to be found, to be helpless, to understand what it is to be made strong, to be sinful, to understand what it means to be. Set free. And then since it is a day of good news, Surely we wouldn't keep the good news to ourselves. Help us then.
to go out and tell the world that Jesus is alive. and that he seeks and saves those who are lost. For we pray in his precious name. Amen. I'm Bob Lapine.
Thanks for studying the Bible with us. Is it possible we could be spiritually blind like the Pharisees? Join us next weekend when Alastair challenges each of us to take an honest look at our own response to Jesus' teaching. The Bible teaching of Alastair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life. Where the Learning is for Living.
