THE CURE FOR THE VIRUS
John 9:1-38
YOU ARE A DISPLAY OF GOD’S WORK
1. As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, \”Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?\”
3 \”Neither this man nor his parents sinned,\” said Jesus, \”but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
A. Two types of blindness are dealt with in this text; physical blindness and
Spiritual blindness.
1. We all were born spiritually blind; blind to the light of Jesus Christ.
2. After Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command in the Garden of Eden,
every living person was born in sin and shaped in equity.
3. Jesus deals with the physical blindness of the man first.
B. He was born blind for the glory of God.
1. His blindness was designed by God to show God’s works.
2. The word day represents your life.
3. The word night represents your death.
4. We have a short period of time to do God’s work.
5. We are instruments of God’s glory.
C. The physical blindness of this man was God’s design for his good.
1. Spiritual blindness is a man\’s choice.
2. To get your attention God may give you a physical defect, then
through time cure is to develop your faith in Him.
3. The cure was the beginning of the blind man’s spiritual development.
D. Many times we want to blame our problems on something we have done
or something that was done to us.
1. We can come to the wrong conclusions when all we see is the bad
in our situation.
2. Jesus pointed to the good of the man’s blindness.
3. The good is he was chosen to be an instrument of God’s glory.
4. God’s design for our troubles is to get out attention.
5. God designed our troubles to be our blessings.
LIGHT WAS DESIGNED FOR YOU
V: 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.\”
6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man\’s eyes. 7 \”Go,\” he told him, \”wash in the Pool of Siloam\” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
A. Originally, Man was formed from the dust of the ground, perhaps with
water to make a mold of his body.
1. At the beginning of creation, the earth was formless, void, and in
darkness until God made light.
2. Jesus in the beginning became the light of the world.
3. The God we serve can correct or change anything He
creates to suit His purposes.
4. The ground represents God’s creation.
a. The salvia represents the life He breaths into man.
b. The washing in the Pool of Siloam represents the invitation
to be cleansed of his sins.
5. Jesus sent the blind man to the pool, which represents God’s
command of obedience to be blessed.
6. The word Siloam means sent, therefore it may represent the
sending of Jesus by the Father for His Glory.
7. The Father sent Jesus and He sends us to the pool of forgiveness.
8. Let me suggest that after receiving his sight, he was not saved, but
received the grace of God which would eventually lead to salvation.
YOUR RECOVERY WAS DESIGNED FOR YOU, NOT OTHERS
V:8. His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, \”Isn\’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?\” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, \”No, he only looks like him.\”
But he himself insisted, \”I am the man.\”
10 \”How then were your eyes opened?\” they demanded.
11 He replied, \”The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.\”
A. Sin is like a virus (my conclusion).
1. I did a little research on viruses in defense of my conclusion.
2. According to an article published in the Medical News Today and
reviewed by the University of Illinois;
- Viruses are living organisms that cannot replicate without a host cell.
- They are considered the most abundant biological entity on the planet.
- Diseases caused by viruses include rabies, herpes, and Ebola.
- There is no cure for a virus, but vaccination can prevent them from spreading.
Virus-first hypothesis: Viruses evolved from complex molecules of
nucleic acid and proteins either before or at the same time as the first
cells appeared on Earth, billions of years ago.
A virus exists only to reproduce. When it reproduces, its offspring
spread to new cells and new hosts.
The makeup of a virus affects its ability to spread.
Viruses may transmit from person to person, and from mother to child
during pregnancy or delivery.
4. They can spread through:
touch
exchanges of saliva, coughing or sneezing
sexual contact
contaminated food or water
insects that carry them from one person to another.
YOUR BELIEF IN JESUS IS THE CURE
B. Sin is like a virus, in that we are the host cells.
1. Without a host, sin cannot spread.
2. The Bible says resist the devil and he will flee.
3. The vaccine for resistance is the Word of God through the
power of the Holy Spirit.
C. Notice in the text, the spread of sin (the virus) is through unbelief.
1. His neighbors, friends, and others didn\’t believe the miracle.
2. Just, think if one person could have believed in the miracle, it
could have stopped the spread of the virus.
3. Those who knew the blind man when he was blind, claimed he
looked like him but was not him.
4. Notice the blind man was forced to defend the work of
Jesus, who he did not know.
D. Think of the spread of Covid19, with all the expert knowledge we
have and is made available to everyone.
1. Despite the constant warning by the medical experts, city and state
officials, many people refused to take the recommended preventative
measures to save their lives and the lives of others.
2. Many are in a state of unbelief.
JESUS LOVES YOU IN YOUR RECOVERING STAGE
V:12. \”Where is this man?\” they asked him.
\”I don\’t know,\” he said.
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man\’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore 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.\”
16 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 do such miraculous signs?\” So they were divided.
A. Notice the spread of the virus (sin) came from the top officials and spread
Throughout the population.
1. The top officials were more concerned about politics than they were the
welfare of the people.
2. Unbelief in the Word is the key to the spread of sin (the virus).
3. There was no investigation, but a definite conclusion against the
Word ignoring the proof of the Word.
B. You should not take someone’s opinions as the truth, when they are
Not supported with facts.
1. If you have questions, about the Word, you should do your own
investigation of the Word.
2. The previously blind man said I am the one that Jesus healed.
C. Don’t let no one destroy your testimony about Jesus.
1. The devil will take what you know is true about Jesus and
classify it as a magicians trick.
2. We have to open our eyes and see the good before we can see
Jesus.
YOUR TESTIMONY BUILDS YOUR FAITH
V:17. Finally 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.\”
18 The 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?\”
TELL YOUR STORY AND TELL IT AGAIN
V:20. \”We know he is our son,\” the parents answered, \”and we know he was born blind. 21 But 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.\”
A. Look how God develops our testimony through the unbelief of others.
1. The more you defend what Jesus did for you, the more your faith
grows in Him.
2. At first the previously blind man responded that it was Jesus who
cause him to see.
3. On further questioning. he responded that Jesus was a prophet.
4. You are your own best defense against doubters.
a. Some times those closes to you want back you up.
b. The previously blind man’s parents wouldn’t back him
up for fear of their own situation.
5. You have got to tell your story and tell your story over
again about Jesus.
MOVE FEAR ASIDE WITH LOVE AND SOUND MIND
V: 22. His 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. 23 That was why his parents said, \”He is of age; ask him.\”
A. Notice how your opinions can severely affect the thoughts of others.
1. What you say about Jesus has power beyond you.
2. You can have a negative effect on others or a positive effect.
3. You have to decide if the Word is important enough to you,
to tell others about Jesus.
4. You have to determine if you love others enough to tell them.
about your Jesus.
B. His parents let their fear stop them from giving God praise.
1. His parents let their fear stop them from expressing their
gratefulness to the God who gave their son his sight.
2. Look what the Bible says;
Matt 10:33
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before
my Father which is in heaven.
3. The question is, do you want the consequences of not pleasing
God to please man?
GIVE GOD GLORY IN THE FACE OF OPPOSITION
V:24. A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. \”Give glory to God, \”they said. We know this man is a sinner.\”
25 He replied, \”Whether he is a sinner or not, I don\’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!\”
26 Then they asked him, \”What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?\”
27 He 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?\”
A. There will always be someone who criticizes you for your beliefs.
1. But you never know who is standing on the sidelines hearing
your testimony will come to belief in Jesus.
2. At your own risk, you must always tell the truth about Jesus.
B. Giving glory to God never comes in a lie.
1. You cannot make people believe what they refuse to believe.
2. It takes courage to stand on the truth in the face of opposition.
SPEAK THE TRUTH AND BE SET FREE
V:28. Then they hurled insults at him and said, \”You are this fellow\’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don\’t even know where he comes from.\”
30 The man answered, \”Now that is remarkable! You don\’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.\”
A. Notice how confident the previously blind man became as He continued
to testify for Jesus.
1. There are religions that teach part of the Old Testament and
none of the New Testament.
2. The Old Testament is filled with miracles performed by God through
hands of ordinary faithful men.
3. This previously blind man had not read the Old Testament but had
heard the Word taught by the same men who were insulting him.
B. The Pharisees knew the Word, but they refused to give
Jesus credit for being the Word.
1. The previously blind man held on to his testimony as proof of the
Word taught to him by his accusers.
2. The Pharisees became angry that they could not convince the
previously blind man to deny what he knew was the truth.
ASK GOD TO SHUT DOORS TO SAVE YOU
V:34. To this they replied, \”You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!\” And they threw him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, \”Do you believe in the Son of Man?\”
36 \”Who is he, sir?\” the man asked. \”Tell me so that I may believe in him.\”
37 Jesus said, \”You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.\”
38 Then the man said, \”Lord, I believe,\” and he worshiped him.
A. Jesus is not concerned about your social status.
1. Jesus did not address the issue of the physical sighted man
being thrown out of the Synagogue.
2. Jesus closes the door to places He does not want Christians to be.
3. Jesus did address the accusations of the man being called
a sinner.
4. You should not hang around people who refuse to believe.
B. Jesus is concerned about your spiritual welfare.
1. Let me suggest that all that the previously blind man
went through was to get him prepared to accept Jesus as
his Lord and Savior.
2. Had the previously blind man been born with his
physical sight, he may not have received Jesus,
3. Jesus shows Himself into your life when you need Him.
4. To be a Christian you need to be rejected from the world
to gain heaven.
C. Worship the Lord in spirit and truth
1. God is better to us than we are to ourselves.
2. His plan for us includes trials and tribulations which leads to
our salvation.
3. Every day see the goodness of God and worship Him
Do you want a virus which kills or a life with Jesus who saves?
In summary:
YOU WERE BORN TO GIVE GOD GLORY
YOU WERE BORN IMPERFECT TO BE MADE PERFECT
YOUR IMPERFECTIONS WERE DESIGNED TO DRAW YOU TO GOD
GOD LOVES YOU ALL THE WAY TO PERFECTION
Rev. M. Mitchell
