Blindness and Sight

[0:00] Last year, Michael P. Lynch, who's a professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut, wrote a very influential book, some say groundbreaking book, called The Internet of Us, Knowing More and Understanding Less in the Age of Big Data.

[0:18] And in it, he argues that with the Internet and Google knowing, which is what he calls, that these things aggravate the tendency that people have to be dogmatic and unreasonable in their beliefs.

[0:32] Because the Internet not only makes true information more accessible, it also proliferates false information and rumors. And because there's so much information and so many sources to choose from, and people typically only limit the number of people that they choose to listen to and trust, it forms these pockets of ignorance, tribes, so to speak, and bubbles where people don't interact with each other.

[0:55] And then combine that with the fact that people generally tend to believe things that fit their pre-existing worldview and beliefs neatly, rather than things that challenge those beliefs and make them reevaluate things, it leads to this polarization, division of ideologies.

[1:14] And of course, this is not a new phenomenon. It may have been worsened by the rise of the Internet. But, you know, dogmatism and, you know, ideological stubbornness is a human problem.

[1:27] It's not a Generation Y or Z problem, right? And we see this already in John 9, where Jesus performs an amazing miracle, healing a man born blind.

[1:38] But the Jews, rather than believing in Jesus and then adjusting their faulty beliefs accordingly to what God has shown through Jesus, they remain in their spiritual blindness.

[1:49] They're not willing to budge and change their system, what they believe was true. And as we look at this passage, it warns us about our own blindness and ignorance of our own hearts.

[2:01] And it teaches us mainly that Jesus is the light of the world who gives sight to those who recognize their blindness. And so first, we'll talk about physical blindness of the man, and then we'll talk about the spiritual blindness of the Jews.

[2:17] And then lastly, we'll conclude by talking about Jesus, the light of the world. So, again, if you'd remember the context of this, we remember from chapter 7, this is still during the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles.

[2:31] And it's a feast that was commanded in Leviticus 23, 42 to 43. It says this, You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.

[2:49] I am the Lord your God. So the Feast of Booths was meant to commemorate the Exodus. At the time the Israelites came out of Egypt and God liberated them, they dwelled in the wilderness in tents, in booths during that time.

[3:02] And you might recall also, if you know the Exodus story, that during that time in the wilderness, God led them by day with the pillar of cloud and by night with the pillar of fire with light, it says in Exodus 13 to 21.

[3:16] And so combine that image of the pillar of light in the wilderness along with the fact that the Feast of Booths at this time had rituals using light, involving lamps, big lamps set up in the courtyard, and people dancing with torches at night.

[3:31] And also the reading from Zechariah, which said that the God will shine on them, that he will be the light that shines on the day of the Lord. And with this rich theological backdrop, Jesus says, I am the light of the world.

[3:48] And that's what he said in chapter 8, verse 12, and he says it again in this passage. And then Jesus shows the implications of that truth and by dividing the people who belong to the light and people who belong to the blindness.

[4:03] So let's look with me at verse 1. As Jesus is passing by, he sees a man blind from birth. And then Jesus' disciples ask him, Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

[4:18] And Jesus answers, It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. And we saw earlier in John chapter 5 that some sins do cause sickness.

[4:35] The invalid, Jesus implied, had sin in his life, that it caused his judgment. But we see here that this doesn't mean that every sickness is caused by sin.

[4:47] Sometimes people are sick or disabled for no particular sin, but to serve God's greater purpose, to display his glory. And this is an important lesson for us because all of us are going to experience suffering, and we have already experienced suffering.

[5:02] And that's a great opportunity for us to care for one another and love and serve one another. But it's tempting during those times when we're counseling or ministering to those who are suffering to try to minimize that suffering or to explain away the suffering.

[5:18] So we ask questions like, Well, what do you think God's trying to teach us through this? Because when we do that, when we turn to that, we kind of short-circuit compassion because you're not going to really be compassionate towards someone that you think is just needing to learn a lesson.

[5:35] And you're going to say, Well, it's really a matter of solving a riddle, figuring out what the issue is. And when you finally get it, then you're going to stop suffering. That would be the attitude of someone who thinks that way.

[5:46] But this teaches that that's not how we ought to deal with those who are suffering. Rather, it's the very uncertainty of suffering, not knowing what's going on. That's what truly fosters faith and dependence on God.

[5:58] And sometimes that's how many people suffer. And so by remembering that, then we can be more compassionate toward those who are suffering. Unlike these disciples, assuming that it was something that they had done and causing and exacerbating their guilt, which may already be present.

[6:14] And so after this mini lesson on suffering, Jesus continues to expound on his claim that he's the light of the world in verses 4 to 5. Read with me. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.

[6:26] Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. And we see in the way Jesus says this, his unique role, because the change in the personal pronouns.

[6:42] Because at first he says, we must work the works of him. So all of us, his disciples included, they have work to do together. But he changes that to say, we must work the works of him who sent me.

[6:54] Jesus is the unique sent one. He's the sent one of God. And we participate in his works only by association, by uniting with him, participating in his work.

[7:06] So we're like, Jesus is a sun in his solar system, and we're like satellite moons, really reflecting his light, doing his work. And so Jesus is the light of the world.

[7:17] But what does he mean that, talking about day and night, and the night is coming, we won't be able to do works anymore. And these are metaphors of light and darkness. And the day refers to the time when Jesus is still here on earth, doing his ministry.

[7:31] And that's the time set aside for him to lay the foundation for the church, to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, that he came to die for sinners, and he rose again for our vindication. And that's the ministry that has to happen while he's on earth, and his disciples partake in that.

[7:46] But the night is coming when after his resurrection, he will be taken away from them. He won't be here anymore. And in that intervening time, until the spirit of God comes as Jesus, when Jesus sends him, that's the night when they cannot do the work.

[8:01] The gospel of ministry does not go forward apart from the spirits, the presence of God with them. And so, and then John will speak more of the Holy Spirit later in chapter 14 and 16.

[8:13] And so having taught his disciples what it means that he is the light of the world, Jesus then proceeds to heal the man blind from birth as kind of an acted parable of what he is teaching.

[8:26] And so read verse 6 and 7 with me. Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which means scent.

[8:43] So he went and washed and came back seeing. The manner in which Jesus performs his miracle, I think, is significant in a couple ways.

[8:56] The first is that Jesus is taking the dust of the ground, the dirt, and he's forming mud and then he's anointing the man's eyes. And that's reminiscent of God's creation in Genesis 2, 7, where dust is taken from the ground and God forms humanity with the dust from the ground.

[9:15] And so there may be a slight allusion to that. God is, Jesus is doing the work of recreation, healing, restoring the work of creation that his father started, the word, and he was involved in creation, of course.

[9:28] And then secondly, I think that it's, and that first point, I think, is made also more plausible by the fact that Jesus had already described himself as the Lord of creation earlier in chapter 5, who works on the Sabbath day even as his father works on the Sabbath day.

[9:43] He doesn't rest because he's a sovereign God who sustains creation. So just as the father works on the seventh Sabbath day to sustain creation, the son works on the Sabbath day to recreate, to bring about the new creation.

[9:56] And so having already made that connection, this connection, this parallel seems more plausible. And secondly, I think it's intended to be understood in a metaphorical way, is that by anointing the man's eyes with mud, he's suggesting, or it's showing, really, demonstrating the man's spiritual blindness, his sin as well that blinds him.

[10:19] And I think the metaphorical significance is seen in him sending the blind man to the pool of Siloam. And that's significant because John notes that the name of the pool means sent.

[10:36] And Jesus said earlier that he is the one who was sent, right? That he was the one who was sent by the father. And remember, this is during the Feast of Booths, which also had the water ritual where the priest took water from the pool of Siloam, marched to the temple, and poured it out on the altar and saying that the living water shall flow out from Jerusalem as it was prophesied in Zechariah 14.8.

[11:00] So then, remembering this, then Jesus anoints this man's eyes with mud and then he goes to the pool of Siloam, which means sent, and he washes his eyes and becomes, he is restored to sight.

[11:13] So then Jesus, the sent one, is the source of that living water. And when you've washed and you're washed with him, washed by him, that's when we're also restored to spiritual sight.

[11:23] And that's something that Jesus is seeking to teach in this metaphor. And so, the blind man follows his instructions and returns with his sight restored.

[11:38] Verses 8 to 10 capture the people's astonishment. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, is this not the man who used to sit and beg?

[11:49] Some said, it is he. Others said, no, but he is like him. He kept saying, I am the man. So they said to him, then how were your eyes opened?

[12:01] And the man's answer is simple. The man called Jesus, made mud, and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.

[12:15] And naturally, the man's neighbors, as we would be also, are very interested in meeting this person with extraordinary ability. And so they ask, where is he? But he replies, I do not know. And so this is the physical healing of the blind man.

[12:29] And in doing so, Jesus proves himself to be the light of the world who also heals spiritual blightness. And the ensuing confrontation with the Jews further demonstrates this. And so the amazed neighbor, as they bring the man to the Pharisees or the Jews, the Jewish leaders at the local synagogue level, and they probably didn't have any malicious intent, even though it turns sinister.

[12:53] And so they come, they are just seeking some insight, you know, because something happened that was clearly amazing and had some spiritual importance. So they wanted to ask the local authorities, spiritual authorities, what to make of all of this.

[13:07] And so they say, but there's a hint here of a brewing conflict because it's noted by John that now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

[13:21] Now, you might recall from chapter 5 that even though the Jews were very particular about observing the Sabbath, the actual command in the Old Testament was quite general.

[13:33] It was simply a command not to work. But on top of that, the Jews had accumulated many traditions, a tradition of the elders that specified exactly what constituted that work.

[13:45] And one of them was for doctors or for physicians, healing, applying certain medicines. And only exception to that rule was when it was a life-threatening circumstance, which clearly this was not.

[13:58] I mean, this man has been blind for all of his life. But so their indignation is Jesus, if you really are from God, if you really observe the law of God, then why can't you just wait one day?

[14:09] Just wait one day. Why are you doing this now? Right? So that's their objection. And so some of them prematurely conclude in verse 16, this man is not from God for he does not keep the Sabbath.

[14:24] They're so sure that the Sabbath is the law of God and that they're so convinced of their own interpretation of the Sabbath, they can't fathom the possibility. They can't understand that Jesus is actually from God.

[14:36] But others at this point are not so sure. They say, how can a man who is a sinner do such signs? And there was a division among them. And so this group gives greater weight to the miracle itself.

[14:49] The fact that that demonstrates that Jesus is indeed from God. But they're unable to agree and so they bring the man again, they ask him and force him to take a side.

[15:00] Verse 17, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes? And then he replies, he is a prophet. So the man is not about to get involved in the debate about the nuances of Sabbath keeping.

[15:15] He simply knows that a work of God was done in his life. And so he testifies that Jesus must be an extraordinary agent of God, a prophet of God, which is, you see a progression already.

[15:26] In the first conversation he had, he said, oh, the man named Jesus did this. Now he says he is a prophet. There seems to be no lack of, you know, eyewitnesses and testimonies about this man's miracle.

[15:42] But the Jewish leaders are still not satisfied. Verses 18 to 19, it says, the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight and asked him, is this your son?

[16:00] Who you say was born blind? How then does he now see? So, they're involving their parents in the investigation because they think that these neighbors who had seen him get healed might have been mistaken.

[16:14] I mean, maybe they didn't know how he looked. Now that his eyes are open, he looks very different. Maybe he had very big eyes, right? So, okay, well, let's get the parents. There's no way they're going to mistake this man for someone else, right? The parents will surely know whether this is the right man.

[16:27] And so, they ask him, is this your son? And then secondly, like, they don't believe that the man was blind from birth, right? So they, because, I mean, how would he know?

[16:37] He didn't know when he was a baby. Maybe he just remembered, as far as they can remember, he was blind, but maybe he wasn't born blind. So he asks the parents, was he the one that was born blind? And then finally, they ask him, they ask the parents also, and how then does he now see if that's all true?

[16:56] And the parents answer in the affirmative to the two questions. Say, is this your son? Yes, it is indeed our son. And the second question also, yes, indeed he was born blind. We can attest to that.

[17:07] But they dodged the third question. They say, but how he now sees, we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes.

[17:19] Ask him. He is of age. He will speak for himself. And John tells us in a parenthetical note that this is because they feared the repercussions that the Jewish leaders had agreed.

[17:30] And in a later time, after Jesus' death and resurrection, there will be a more widespread concerted effort to root out followers of Christ from the synagogues. But already, it says, John here, far long before Jesus' death, already there is at the local level an effort to root out people who are following Christ.

[17:48] So his parents said these things, it says in verse 22, because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. And so they say, they deflect the question to their son.

[18:02] He is of age. He means old enough to bear legal testimony. Ask him. And so they call the man back again. Second time, it says. And then, you would think that they'll have a different line of questioning, but they have the exact same line of questioning.

[18:17] And they ask him this time, but when they ask this time, it's less a question, it's more a presumption. They're settled already in their judgments. So in verse 24, they ask forcefully, give glory to God.

[18:31] We know that this man is a sinner. So they're saying, in effect, the verdict is out already. We know this man is a sinner. So fess up. Confess that this man is indeed a sinner, that he didn't do what you claim he did.

[18:48] And the man, it turns out, is not as cowardly as his parents, so he responds humbly, yet boldly. Whether he is a sinner, I do not know.

[18:58] Well, one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. The man admits that he is not a religious expert, and he defers the question of Jesus' righteousness to the religious leaders and authorities.

[19:14] But he's not going to compromise his integrity and tell them that what actually happened didn't happen. And this interchange illustrates the power of personal testimony, doesn't it?

[19:29] It doesn't matter how learned or authoritative these Jewish leaders are. They can do nothing to dispute this man's simple testimony. One thing I do know, that I was blind, but now I see.

[19:42] See, the man is not ready or equipped to debate the fine points of theology with the Pharisees, but he can say with utmost confidence, I once was blind, but now I see because he has experienced it, because he has tasted and seen God's grace and experienced it in his life.

[19:59] And that's the same for all of us. You might not know the Bible or theology as well as a pastor or a seminary student. You might not have any training in apologetics to talk to unbelievers or skeptics, but every single one of us, every single one of you, if you are a true Christian, know God and have experienced God and therefore with utmost confidence like this man, you can say, yeah, I once was blind, but now I see.

[20:25] You can share your experiences. And it's not unlike, you know, if there's, imagine, I'm sure all of us have a doting parent or you've seen one in your life or a doting grandparent you've seen in your life, right?

[20:36] I mean, don't grab anyone that will listen and talk about every cute or weird thing that their granddaughter or son or their child has done, right? I mean, they don't need, they're not waiting for your permission to talk about them, right?

[20:48] Amen. Yeah. And in the same way, an avid reader, when they're really immersed in a good novel, they're going to talk to their friends about it, whether they've read it or not. It's natural for us to share what we're passionate about.

[21:00] It's natural for us to witness to what we care about. And why not the gospel of Jesus Christ? Why not the greatest news in the world that Jesus came to die for our sins and that He saved us?

[21:11] Why not tell people that we were once prideful, arrogant, living in our own way, and yet God came into our lives and humbled us and showed us His grace? Why not tell people that I once was addicted to porn or to alcohol and God delivered me from these sins and these vices?

[21:30] Why not tell people that, you know, I once was a prideful man and I once was selfish with my means and materialistic, but God changed me and He's taught me the value of generosity and of treasuring up my treasures in heaven.

[21:45] I once was blind, but now I see and there's nothing people can do to contest that. It is your story.

[22:00] It's what God has done for you. And juxtaposed to this formerly blind man's simple, honest testimony, the Jewish leaders ensuing cross-examination is really an embarrassing sham.

[22:17] So they ask in verse 26, what did He do to you? How did He open your eyes? But by this point, the man realizes this is not an even-handed jury.

[22:29] They already have a prejudgment and they're not really asking Him sincere questions. It's not unlike a lawyer who's cross-examining a witness, a witness whom he already knows is telling the truth, yet he still scours the witness and asks all kinds of questions just to find a loophole and to make him trip in his own words and contradict himself so that he could invalidate his testimony.

[22:51] They're doing something that's not unlike that, continuing to ask this man these questions. And so the man, knowing this, responds, but he's not as deferential as he once was.

[23:03] So he says in verse 27, I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?

[23:15] That's, I mean, the sardonic, there's definitely an edge to that question at the end. And it's obvious that the man pricked a sensitive spot in the Jewish leaders' egos because it says in verses 28 to 29 that they reviled him saying, you are His disciple but we are disciples of Moses.

[23:37] We know that God has spoken to Moses but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from. So some of you might remember from chapter 7 what the Jews said in chapter 7 and this is flatly contradicting what they said in chapter 7 because in chapter 7 Jesus was telling them that He comes from the Father in heaven and that they were saying that no, we know exactly where you come from.

[24:01] You didn't come from the Father. And now they're saying we have no idea where he comes from. So they're just using what's expedient to argue against the claims of Jesus, to discredit Jesus.

[24:13] At first, but what's interesting is in an ironic way what they're saying is true on both accounts because on one sense they do know exactly where Jesus came from, that He was born of Mary and that He was raised in Nazareth.

[24:29] They know that. But in another sense they have no idea where he comes from, that He was actually born in Bethlehem as the promised Messiah, that He was born of a virgin and that He came from God the Father.

[24:42] So what they're saying, they're saying contradicting themselves but ironically they're telling the truth on both accounts. And so the man now is in disbelief about the Jewish leader's stubborn refusal to accept his testimony and then he scoffs at them in verses 30 and 33.

[25:00] why this is an amazing thing. You do not know where He comes from and yet He opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, God listens to him.

[25:14] Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. So the man is really appealing to even their integrity because he doesn't say I know that God doesn't listen to sinners.

[25:33] He says we know that God doesn't listen to sinners. We Jews, we all know this. You know this. So their roles have really been reversed.

[25:44] So the pupil, the one that should be sitting under their instruction is now teaching these men of authority, of religious leaders. And he adds that no one could have opened to someone who was born blind, who was blind from birth.

[26:02] And this is significant because there are few instances in the Bible in the Old Testament of blind being healed but those were not people who were blind from birth. And in all of Jewish records there is no record of a man born blind being healed.

[26:17] So this really is the only one. And so what he's saying is quite true. And even according to modern medicine it is much more difficult usually to heal people who have been born with blindness. It's more complex than someone who turns blind usually due to cataracts or something like that which is just with a cataract surgery you can remove.

[26:34] And so the Jewish leaders here can't stand being lectured by a man whom they consider beneath them. And so they resort now to a personal attack on the man's character.

[26:45] Verse 34, you were born in utter sin and would you teach us? And then they cast him out. Now that's a really low blow from what we know about the man because he was born blind.

[26:59] So there was probably already an area that's something that he's heard growing up. You were born blind because someone sinned because maybe your parents sinned or your sinned. You were born in sin.

[27:10] And so they tell him you were born in utter sin. And ironically, as they do that, as they accuse this man of being born in utter sin, they inadvertently concede the point that they've been arguing.

[27:26] So I guess this man was born blind after all. He was. And Jesus healed the man that was born blind. And they kicked the man out of local synagogue.

[27:38] But as it says, Jesus says in Matthew 5, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Because though the man has been cast out, he is now found by Jesus.

[27:51] Though he is rejected by one community, now he is accepted by a new one, the community of God. You see this in verse 35. Jesus heard that they had cast him out.

[28:02] And having found him, he said, do you believe in the son of man? So knowing that this man's faith is not yet complete, Jesus takes initiative to seek him out, to find him from among the crowds.

[28:14] And then he asks him, do you have faith? Do you believe in the son of man? And so the man had gone from saying that Jesus, the man named Jesus did this for me, to saying that he is a prophet. And now we see his profession after this.

[28:29] And when Jesus says the son of man, he is not saying that he is merely a son of man, that he is just a man. But he's referring to this cosmic figure in Daniel 7, who is the ultimate representative of God among men.

[28:41] In Daniel 7, he speaks of one like a son of man who approaches God and receives from God sovereignty, glory, and dominion, and authority. And then Jesus is saying that he is that son of man, the ultimate son of man and representative of God among men.

[28:57] And because he has unique access to God, he's uniquely able to reveal God to the people. That's why he doesn't say he is a son of man, he is the son of man.

[29:07] The word became flesh, the son of God who became the son of man. And the man asks, he wants to know, who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?

[29:18] And then Jesus tells him plainly, you have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. Isn't this passage so beautiful?

[29:29] It weaves together just that metaphor as well as the literal spliness and sight in such a seamless way. And he has now seen him. This blind man has seen the Savior, seen Jesus, literally, physically, and spiritually.

[29:46] So the man responds in the only sensible way we can after such an amazing revelation. Verse 38, he says, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him.

[29:59] Now it goes from the man named Jesus, the prophet, to the Lord, God whom he worships. He finally recognizes Jesus for who he is.

[30:13] And this is amazing because the man who was blind from birth now sees, both physically and spiritually, but the Jewish leaders who have had sight their whole life are spiritually blind through and through.

[30:27] And that's the irony that John's trying to convey. They are so sure of their own system, their own worldview, their own religion, yet forgetful even of the numerous promises in the Old Testament.

[30:38] For example, in Isaiah 42, 7, that the Messiah would come to open the eyes that are blind. The Savior that they've been waiting for is right in front of their face, yet they fail to recognize him because he doesn't fit their agenda and presuppositions.

[30:54] So Jesus comments in verse 39, For judgment, I came into this world and those who do not see may see and those who see may become blind.

[31:09] Those who do not see are those who admit their blindness, who humble themselves and cling to God. Those who see are those who arrogantly deny their spiritual blindness.

[31:23] Those who think they see, they don't see. And Jesus said he's the light of the world and as we know, light does illuminate, it brightens, but light also always casts a shadow.

[31:37] And Jesus is the light of the world and when you turn to him, you receive light, you receive sight, you're able to see, but when you turn from him, you enter into the shadow, the darkness.

[31:50] That's the judgment Jesus is speaking of. The division that happens wherever he goes because as the light of the world shines, a division happens. Those who dwell in the shadows and the darkness and those who dwell in the light.

[32:04] And as he's saying this to this man he has healed, there are some Pharisees who are eavesdropping and so they come to him and they object. Well, are we also blind?

[32:16] blind? They're getting hotter now in their questions. But they can't fathom the possibility that they're spiritually blind. We are the children of Abraham.

[32:28] We have the law of Moses. We are the faithful among God's people. Are we also blind? And because they do not admit their blindness but insist that they can see, they do not open themselves up to the light of the world and remain in their guilt.

[32:52] That's what Jesus says here. If you were blind you would have no guilt. But now that you say we see, your guilt remains. And let me ask you this question this morning. Are you also blind?

[33:06] Because perhaps you consider yourself a believer but you have blind spots in your understanding of God and his will. Maybe you're so absorbed in your own life that you give little thought to God's plan and will for you.

[33:21] Maybe you have so aligned yourself with the spirit of the times our ever-changing culture that you find it impossible to make room for a God who demands sacrificial and often counter-cultural commitments.

[33:36] Rather than letting God and his word search you and judge you you search and judge God's word. You take what you like about God and his will and whatever fits your agenda and assumptions and then leave the rest.

[33:54] Then you are not very different from these Pharisees. who are oblivious to their own blindness. Pastor Tim Keller at a church in New York says this, if your God never disagrees with you, you might just be worshiping an idealized version of yourself.

[34:17] Forsake the idols of yourself in this world and when you face the sneers and the jeers and the persecution of the culture and you're cast out of their circle of respectability, know that God himself will seek you out.

[34:30] He will find you and you'll find a new community and family of God. Some of you have not yet made a decision to follow Jesus and to believe in him.

[34:42] Perhaps you consider yourself a smart logical person and you're so convinced of your intelligence and rationality you can't bring yourself to accept the unverified existence of the supernatural.

[34:57] But when you say that you can't believe in something unless it's empirically proven, you're making a claim that itself is not empirically proven. Who says that empirical proof is the only kind of proof, is the only valid criterion for belief?

[35:15] Perhaps you consider yourself a pretty good moral person and so you can't bring yourself to accept the humiliating proposition that you're a sinner in need of a savior, that you are blind spiritually, and that you need the light of the world.

[35:30] But on what exactly is your sense of morality based? Your understanding of human rights? Who gets to define that?

[35:42] Apart from God, where is the proper basis, authority behind morality and human rights? perhaps you think of yourself as a spiritual person.

[35:53] I've met many people like this in Cambridge. Maybe you feel that you're very in touch with the energies, the spirits, the forces of nature. you're so convinced of your own spiritual enlightenment that you can't bring yourself to accept the exclusive proposition that spiritual life and salvation are found in Jesus Christ alone.

[36:19] But let me ask you, how do you know you're interacting with the Spirit of God and not other spirits? What makes you so sure that your spiritual compass is healthy and functioning properly?

[36:32] I hope I can just sow a healthy doubt in your mind if this is you this morning. Just maybe there is a possibility that God has higher moral standards and expectations than you do.

[36:45] Just maybe there is a possibility that God knows things that you simply don't know and can't hope to understand. Just maybe there's a possibility that your understanding of the spiritual world is incomplete and inadequate.

[36:59] I adjure you this morning, don't be like the Pharisees who were so assured of their sight that they remained in their blindness. Jesus is the light of the world who gives sight but only to those who recognize their blindness.

[37:17] And the light of Christ shines most brightly in the death and resurrection of the Son of God when He lays down His own life to atone for the sins of people like us.

[37:29] So turn to Him. Look to that light. Believe in Him this morning. And when you do that, when you open up yourselves to the light of the world, you will see that He makes sense of both the beauty and brokenness of this world, the good and evil in this world and the natural and the supernatural in this world.

[37:48] This is what C.S. Lewis was speaking of in his famous statement. I believe in Christianity as I believe that the Son has risen not only because I see it but because by it I see everything else.

[38:03] Jesus is the light of the world who gives sight to those who recognize their blindness and it's only by His light that we can truly see.

[38:14] Let's pray together. Thank God. Thank you.