Pressures of Christianity 01 the Blind Man of John 9: — Harry Deutchman

John 9: The Blind Man and the Work of God

Now, John, the ninth chapter. Unless I read the whole chapter, I'm sure you're acquainted with it. But the Spirit of God, as we keep reading the Word, not merely a few verses, will begin to implant in our minds and hearts, and at the same time condition us in the Word for what his mind will be in the message.

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night cometh when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he hath thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sin.

He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him, that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he.

Others said, He is like him. But he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? And he answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.

And I went, and washed, and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind, and it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day.

Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They said unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.

But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked him, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind?

How doth he now see? His parents answered them, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind, but by what means he now seeth, we know not. Or who hath opened his eyes, we know not. He is of age, ask him, he shall speak for himself.

These were Spake's parents, because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age, ask him.

Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he is a sinner or no, I know not. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see.

Then said they unto him again, What did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear. Wherefore would ye hear it again, and will ye also be his disciples?

Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple, we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses, as for this we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why, hearing is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.

Now we know that God heareth not sinners, but if a man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began, was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind?

If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? Jesus said unto them, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe, and worship him. O blessed Spirit of God, who conceived in the womb of the Virgin, the Son of God come into flesh, we pray thee, as thou hast anointed him at his baptismal, so we pray thee that now, after having raised him from the dead, glorify him for which purpose thou hast been sent.

We would see Jesus. Thy people have not come, O God, to be entertained by a personality. Thy people did not come necessarily because they had nothing else to do. Thy people came with purpose. Thy people came with expectation.

And thy people have said, My expectation is from the Lord. And thy servant feels destitute, and he also is here as a receiver. May the Lord Jesus Christ be magnified. We ask it in his name, and for his sake.

John's Prologue and Christ as the Light

Amen. This Gospel of John has a prologue, and the prologue is found in chapter 1, verses 1 through 18. The prologue is divided in three things pertaining to the Lord Jesus Christ. In him there is life revealed, and we see that in verses 1 through 5.

In him there is love expressed, and we see that in verses 14 through 18. In him there is life displayed, and we see that in verses 6 through 13. Light is displayed here in chapter 9, but in chapter 8, light is introduced.

And when you notice chapter 8 and verse 12, then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Just as a parenthesis, our Lord, according to Jewish history, went in by the West Gate.

It is called par bar in the book of 2 Chronicles. And as he went in early in the morning, according to John 8, very early in the morning, there he was, there he was teaching the people. The sun rose from the east.

There was no impediment to block that sun. And as the sun from the east hit the west, it was at that time that the Lord said, I am the light of the world. He that believeth in me, though he walk in darkness, yet shall he have the light of life.

So right here in chapter 8, light is introduced. But in chapter 9, we see blind eyes are opened to see that light. That's why the Apostle Paul said to the believers in Ephesus that the eyes of your understanding might be opened.

And here a miracle is performed. Eyes were opened to see it. For in the ninth chapter of John, verses 6 and 7, we read, When he hath thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle. And he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sent.

Christ was the sent one. He sent this blind man to a pool which is by interpretation called sent. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. You know, something is missed, because in about the 14th century, a man took the scriptures, he divided them into chapters and verses.

In the Old Testament, it was done by a rabbi, a great man, and he took the Old Testament, divided it into chapters and verses. But if the chapter and verse was not there, here's what you would read in John, the eighth chapter, verse 59.

Then took they up stones to cast at him. But Jesus hid himself, went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

A marvelous thing. He was rejected in one area, and as he passed by, he saw another sphere of operation for the glory of God. You know, it would be wonderful if you and I do not have to listen to a psychiatrist who will jumble our thinking and tell that our parents were to blame for the things that bother us now.

The only way to forget your trouble, your anxiety, your pressure, is being rejected in one place, seeing an opportunity in another place, and for the glory of God, get busy right there. I said to my wife when I came out of the hospital recently, I said, honey, my solution is to be amongst people, especially God's people, and to completely forget myself.

And it works. It works. It works. And therefore, he did not lick his wounds. He did not feel morose. He did not feel vengeful. He passed by. They wouldn't have life. He was going to give it to one who was blind.

Suffering, Sin, and the Purpose of Christ's Work

And he immediately began to worry. But look at verse 2. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, the man or his parents, that he was born blind? There were various schools of theology in those days, and the question of human suffering was interpreted by one along these theological lines and other theological lines, and so in these four of them.

The question was, who is to blame for those who suffer born of their parents? Are their parents at fault, or was it this person who is suffering such hardships? The rabbis, even in the Old Testament, and even in fact, they believed in what is called reincarnation.

What they believed and taught was that the parents must have lived ages past, and as they left the one life, they came in as a child later on and lived another life. Depending on their evil or their good, so will either the blessings or the cursings be upon their lives and their offsprings.

So that's what they believed, a reincarnation, and they taught it. And as they taught it, will you turn with me to Matthew, the sixteenth chapter? And in Matthew, chapter sixteen, we find here a question being asked, and as it is being asked, an answer is demanded.

And in the sixteenth chapter, verses thirteen and fourteen, when Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, others that you are Jeremiah, or Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

In other words, they believed in a former life, and through various incarnations, here he was asking them the question. And the answers that these people gave, saying you're John the Baptist, or you're Elijah, or you're Jeremiah, in other words, they believed in the incarnation theory.

That he lived a life in the past, and so finally becoming reincarnated, and so Elijah is manifested right there before their eyes in the person who is known as the Son of God, or Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.

Then there was another school of thought, and this school of thought taught the fact that there was a law of heredity. And I go back to the book of Exodus, and in the book of Exodus, in the twentieth chapter, we find stated a law of heredity.

And in Exodus chapter twenty and verse five, we read, Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, that is, the idols, nor serve them. For I, the Lord thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and the fourth generation of them that hate me.

I could go on, but enough for us to realize, when they put the question to the Lord Jesus Christ, who did sin, that this man is born blind? Was it in some afterlife, and he's reaping the consequences of it now?

And the Lord said, It's not a matter as to whether his parents sinned or the young men have sinned. Not a matter of that kind at all. I'm not here to explain the mystery of evil. I am here to solve these problems.

This man is blind. It's a field of operation for the glory of God. I am here to remove the cause of his blindness. So we notice, in verse four and five, I must work the works of him that sent me. While it is day, the night cometh when no man can work.

As long as I am the world, I am the light of the world. Might I say, if there is anyone who's a stranger to the grace of God, never, never ask themselves, What shall I do with Jesus? Would care less as to what they did with him.

Might I say, while it is yet light, while the gospel is still being given, there is hope for you. The night comes when no man will be able to work, and the truth will not be presented to you. There is no such thing as a second chance, that if the Lord Jesus comes and takes us home, having heard the gospel in the past, at last you will make up your mind and receive Christ.

No. These present ones who have heard the gospel, rejected it. The word of God tells us that he will send to these people who rejected the truth, after the church is gone, he will send them strong delusions that they might believe a lie.

The Miracle as a Credential of the Messiah

Having said this, let us continue in our study. Verses six and seven. These are symbolisms, the spittle, the clay, the water, or rather the clay and the water. Every time the Lord Jesus Christ performed a miracle, he was speaking to Israel with regard to some factual truth that was spoken of in the Old Testament.

And that Messiah would come to fulfill it. Therefore, each miracle was a proof to the people that he truly is the Messiah. These are the credentials. For instance, we notice in verse six and seven, what about the clay?

The clay speaks of his humanity. What about the water? The water speaks of the word of God. Israel rejected both his humanity, he was God manifested in the flesh, and they also rejected the word of God.

Along these lines, the Lord Jehovah over and over again said that Israel would be in darkness. She would grow in darkness. And we find that, for instance, in Isaiah the forty-second chapter. When you turn with me to Isaiah forty-two.

And in Isaiah forty-two, what do we read there? Isaiah chapter forty-two, look at verse six and seven. And I, the Lord, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will give thee for a covenant of the people for a light of the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Look at verse sixteen. I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not. I will lead them in paths that they have not known. I will make darkness to light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

And there he came. And he was there. He opened the eyes of the blind as an object lesson to prove that he was their Messiah. And they were still in darkness because they refused him who came in the flesh.

Him, he who is the light of the world, and they would not have his word. I speak the words that I received of my Father. You rejected them. Another will come in his own name. Him ye will receive, and that is the Antichrist.

Opposition from Society, Religion, and Satan

Immediately as his eyes were opened, the Inquisition took place. And immediately, as soon as an individual believer who is born in trespasses and in sin, as soon as there is that relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, as soon as he accepts the Son of God, he becomes a member in that body of which Christ is the head.

There is the union, and through it comes the communion. As soon as that takes place, an Inquisition. I shall never forget one evening at the Church of the Open Door, where the Viola Bible School was located, and I was a student.

There was a group of Jewish fellows. They asked me my name, is that you? Yes. And they made a circle around me. They tried not to look inspicuous, and gradually walked me away, I being in the center. It so happened that another student was on the alert, came over and said, is anything wrong?

And they began to disperse. As soon as the eyes are opened, immediately there is an Inquisition. For this reason, behind all the forces of this world, there are two. There is God and Satan. Satan always challenging God.

He taking up the gauntlet and showing that he could never be defeated at any of his purposes. And it is Satan's business to keep an unregenerated man away from Christ. But as soon as God overrules and the Spirit of God rules that individual to the Son of God, immediately there is an Inquisition to undermine the individual and cause him to fall away.

And that's what took place. When you notice in verses 8 and 9 of John 9, and we notice right there that the Inquisition took place from society. And right there we notice in verses 8 and 9 these statements.

The neighbors therefore, and they which before had seen him, that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he. Others said, He is like him. But he said, I am he. Why was there such confusion?

Why did it seem that they did not recognize him? Why question it? One day our Lord went to the synagogue of Nazareth, and as he went, he spoke to them. He said, I came to bring them out of the prison house.

He came forth to the podium. The scrolls were opened. He purposely chose Isaiah, the 61st chapter. And there he quoted, to open the eyes of the blind. And when the people heard these words, they wondered at the gracious words which proceeded from him.

But conviction soon evaporated in questioning. Is not this the carpenter's son? They tried to degrade him. They tried to laugh him to scorn, so that conviction would not win the day. And as they scorned him and ridiculed him, their conviction was quickly evaporated.

So these people, Jesus was a hated name, and they were trying to get rid of any conviction because of the miracle, and that's why all the questions were cast in their mind and cast at this one whose eyes were opened.

When society could not pull him down, the enemy will use religion. And as he uses religion, we notice in verses 13 and 14, they brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind, and it was the Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

The name of Jesus was a hated name. For in verse 11 you will notice, he answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay. Now this young man received his sight, and as he received his sight, he could have made the best of both worlds.

He could have had his sight, and he could have had the adulation of society as well as religion. But the man, the young man, was an honest man. He was without guile, and he spoke the truth as he knew it.

Didn't exaggerate it, didn't embroider it, didn't go off into a marvelous speech to make a platform for himself because of the miracle that took place, did not make himself the object of awe and wonder.

He was simply said, A man who is called Jesus, a hated name. He could have buffered the whole thing and not suffered such persecution. But as soon as he mentioned that despised name, immediately the fury began.

And I want you to notice something here. That a blind man made no reference to Christ sitting on the ground. Look at verse 11. And he answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.

And I went and washed, and I received sight. Why didn't he mention that he spat on the ground? Because the man did not see it. He was blind. And that's why I believe in the veracity of the word of God.

I believe it's true. I believe with my whole being and by God's grace will stake my life on it. Because what it says was experienced in my own life, in my soul, for salvation. And what that young man said, he made clay and he forgot the spittle.

No, he didn't forget it. Why? Because he didn't see it. And that's why it is the word of God. It tells it as it is. So having noticed it, let us go on to verse 17. And in verse 17 they say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him that he hath opened thine eyes and he said, He is a prophet?

Growing in Faith Under Pressure

The word was openly challenged. Now it was the young man's faith that was challenged. And beloved, here I am. Balaam's ass was really wise. God has more control over that ass than he has over our human heart.

That ass only opened its mouth when God opened its mouth. And that ass shut up when God was through with him. But we who have the privilege of being servants don't know when to shut up. We are told at school, get up, speak up, and for goodness sakes, shut up.

Otherwise the climax is an anti-climax and then it will end in a perplex. And after the perplex, you've got your audience moving out, not wanting to hear anymore. So here we notice, first the miracle was challenged, now his faith is challenged.

Why did I bring this message? And there will be succeeding ones. Beloved, you and I are older than the younger generation. I will soon, in a few months, also be collecting. Hooray, social security. All that will come to pass.

It will come to pass. But I want you to notice one thing. You and I, as God's people, if we are not consistent in our walk, not consistent with the word that we believe, there will be no treasures. The only treasure you will feel is the waning away of the communion that has been broken.

But if you are faithful to the word of God, in 1974, you and I, besides having rheumatism and whatever might plague us, we're going to have treasure here. And that's why I brought this message. Tonight is a young man under pressure.

Another night, there will be an old man under pressure. Another night, there will be a nation under pressure. Pressure, pressure, pressure. And might I say this, for my mother used a pressure cooker, it was well done.

And so we know this right here. His faith was challenged, but you know what happened? Under pressure, he grew in apprehension. My most glorious times were the times when I was broken. The times when my mother and sister set out.

The times when even Christian society set out. The times when I didn't know where to wander. Those were glorious times. Why? Because I was cast on Him. We should always thank God for those things that causes us to be cast on Him.

Because our whole system in this country is geared from the cradle to the grave of being taken care by the government. But here he was under pressure, and he grew in apprehension. Look at verse 11. First he called Him a man, and not having seen Him after the miracle took place, for Jesus conveyed Himself away, under pressure, in verse 17, he calls Him, at the end of the verse, a prophet.

Under pressure, after they cast Him out, he worshiped Him, according to verse 35 and 36, as the Son of God. He went from man to prophet to the Son of God. Do you know what our trouble is? It is true. We are to bear one another's burdens, for when we do so, we are become conditioned to bear another man's burdens, another brother's burdens, our beloved.

There is a difference between bearing them up in prayer, helping them in every way. But if you and I try to shield each other from all these pressures and persecution, do you know what will happen? The cocoon that should go through a process before the butterfly comes out is usually torn, because we want to somehow or other see what is in there, and it can only come out through the process and pressure that has to take place.

We are not to overshadow and protect all the time people from their pressures. I know it sounds hard-hearted, but my bitterest feelings were to Christians who I felt downed me, Christians who felt that they could not help me when I felt I needed help.

In retrospect, I thank God for every child of God who ignored me when I felt they should have stood by me. That's why the Apostle Paul said, I was pressed out of measure. Now, to continue, I want you to notice these verses.

Look at verse fifteen, and in verse fifteen of this chapter, then again the Pharisees. And would you notice verse seventeen, and they say unto the blind man again. And in verse twenty-four, then again called they the man that was born blind.

Then in verse twenty-six, and here we read, unto him again. It was again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again. And they wouldn't let up until they whittled him down, and he stood, and the Lord Jesus Christ was glorified.

Pressure. They could not discredit the miracle, they could not discredit his faith, so Satan now had another tool. And look at nine twenty-two, and in verse twenty-two, these were Spacus' parents, because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

And they represent, his parents represent a large class of people who are afraid of religious leaders, those in authority, very much afraid of them. But child of God, listen, he who fears God never fears man.

Someone said to me, a Jewish person said to me, do you know one of these days you're going to get it, they may even kill you if you keep this up. And I took the words of another, and I said, I have already died.

And so here, his own parents think of a society, religion against him, and those who bore him, his parents who loved him, who nurtured him, he thought surely they would stand by him, and they did not, because they were afraid of public opinion.

We cannot, we cannot, we must not trust in the arm of flesh, whether it's unsafe flesh or safe flesh. We should thank God for brethren who come to one's aid, but we should do not so. And so his family did not stand by him.

Let us have no confidence in the flesh, as the Apostle Paul said. Look at verse 25, and in verse 25 the force of it is, I cannot believe what you say of him. And then it goes on progressively, I refuse to believe what you say of him.

So what happened? Verse 28, Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. If Moses was living, then he'd repudiate them, his disciples. And so there are those, and thank God amongst the Baptists there are children of God in the body of Christ.

Amongst the Presbyterians, in spite of it, there are children of God in the body of Christ. And yet some call themselves Baptists, some Presbyterians, but if the originators of these movements, godly men who had a fear of God and proved it by their life, if they should be living now, they would repudiate you.

And so we are not his disciples, we are Moses' disciples. Then I want you to notice this. This young man lived according to the little life that he had. Why did the Lord convey himself away? Why, on the other hand, in the beginning, did he not take him by the hand, knowing that he was blind?

He might trip, hurt himself, before he got to the Pool of Siloam. Why not guide him, help him along? Why say, go, without any help, and then getting out of the way? That is the Son of God. Because what God wills comes to pass under the most difficult circumstances.

And he went. And this young man had very little life, and as he had little life, he moved and lived according to it. And the little life that he had, being faithful to that life, he was going to be given more life.

But the Lord Jesus Christ refused to give him more life until they cast him out. Why was he waiting until they cast him out? We shall soon see. The Lord never revealed himself in his highest glory until he was cast out.

Coming Out from Organized Religion

And I want you to notice, as he was cast out, it's a picture for you and for me with regard to organized religion. In the by and large, and in spite of organized religion, the Spirit of God draws men and women, boys and girls, to a saving knowledge of Christ.

But, what does organized religion do? It takes Christ, it dissects him, it begins to dilute him, and as he's diluted, they take so much of him, to push him in their program so that it would have a religious base.

Therefore, in verse 35, they cast him out. In 2 Corinthians, we read there in 2 Corinthians 6, verse 17, Wherefore, come out from amongst them. Here the young man was cast out. Paul is telling those who are in organized religion, or whatever they were following, that was not of the Lord Jesus Christ, come out from amongst them.

And you know it's very difficult. I'm a social creature. You know, I like to look nice. I like to be accepted. I like to be charming. I like to think I have a poisonality. I like to think all these things, and I like people to like me.

I want them. My ego is held, distressed, and I will not be frustrated if they accept me. And when it says, come out from amongst them, I say to myself, to whom shall I go? And the answer is right there in verse 17, and I will receive you, saith the Lord.

How marvelous! They cast him out. And as they cast him out, Paul says, come out. And if we refuse to come out from organized religion, in the book of the Revelation, we read in Christendom, as it is seen in the layout of the You are neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm.

And because you are not hot and you are not cold, but lukewarm, I will spew thee out of my mouth. And may the Lord help us to come out, for we are living in an age, this time especially, when the truth from the false is being divided.

And so, we notice they cast him out. And as they cast him out, the last thing that happened was this. Organized religion cast out a man who was blind, whose eyes were open. But does that mean that that ends the day?

No. It was not organized religion that cast out the young man. It was the young man who cast out organized religion. And out he went. And as he was booted out, I want you to notice this. When he was booted out and he came out, immediately upon that, our Lord Jesus Christ then gives him full life.

He reveals himself. But I ask you, why is it that your fellowship, your relationship, is not vital and vibrant? Why is it that you cannot say, no matter what, Jesus Christ the Lord be magnified, and by his grace, if it means death, so let it be?

Why is it you are guided by your religion, who mentions the Lord Jesus Christ as a mere ribbon to give it credence, rather than knowing the person himself? And because communion is broken, is the reason why your testimony is not vital concerning him.

Anything that is worthwhile has a high price, and it goes to the highest bidder. And if I say, Lord Jesus, here is my life, he says, here is what you have for laying down your life. Oh, I'll tell you, Christianity is not a soft religion.