The Soul Of A Man

the awakened soul of man john 9:1-5jesus performed miracles in order to meet human needs. but he also used those miraclesas a “launching pad” for a message conveying spiritual truth. finally, his miracles werehis “credentials” to prove that he was indeed messiah.more miracles on blind persons are recorded than any other form of human sickness. infact, i am told that in the united states somebody goes blind every twenty minutes.the man we meet in this chapter was “born” blind; he had never seen the beauty of god’screation or the faces of his loved ones. when jesus arrived on the scene, everything changed,and the man was made to see. however, the greatest miracle was not the opening of hiseyes but the opening of his heart to the savior.

it cost him everything to confess jesus asthe son of god, but he was willing to do it. as i have studied this ninth chapter of john,i saw a truth that caused me to realize that one of the reasons that we have so many churchmembers that are no longer serving and committed to the cause of christ, is that they probablyhave never been saved, but have only had an awakened soul.this message was never intended to cause you to doubt your salvation, but to realize whereyou are in christ jesus. therefore, look with me today at the story, and the example ofan awakened soul. the problem develops from the very start ofchapter 9, as seen in verses 1-2, “now as jesus passed by, he saw a man who was blindfrom birth. and his disciples asked him, saying,

“rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,that he was born blind?” beggars usually congregated near the entrances of the templearea. so probably jesus was about to enter the temple when he saw a man who was blindfrom birth. this is the only case reported in the gospels where someone healed had beenafflicted from birth. seeing this man jesus’ disciples asked, “rabbi, who sinned, thisman or his parents, that he was born blind?” the disciples were probably thinking of thewords recorded in exodus 20:5 where god had said, “...i the lord thy god am a jealousgod, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourthgeneration of them that hate me.” but this scripture here in exodus had to do with idolatry,and not just being guilty of sin, for we have

been told in ezekiel 18:20, “the soul thatsins shall die. the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall thefather bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and thewickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” this is what paul meant in romans 14:12 whenhe said, “so, then, every one of us shall give account of himself to god.” page 1the question of the disciples reflects the idea commonly held then, as now, that illnessis connected with sin. the book of job should have already answered this false idea. ofcourse, all sickness generally is related to the evil principle at work in the universe,but the bible does not teach that all sickness and bodily suffering is the direct cause ofsin in the life of the one suffering. let

me hasten to say that unconfessed sin indeeddoes open the door to satanic attacks in the form of sickness, as seen in 1 corinthians11:30, “that is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.” but thatscripture in no way indicates that all sickness and/or suffering is caused by sin in one’slife. jesus brushed aside both alternatives in verses3-7, “it was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” jesus answered. “thishappened so the power of god could be seen in him. we must quickly carry out the tasksassigned us by the one who sent us. the night is coming, and then no one can work. but whilei am here in the world, i am the light of the world.” then he spit on the ground,made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud

over the blind man’s eyes. he told him,“go wash yourself in the pool of siloam” (siloam means “sent”). so the man wentand washed and came back seeing!” jesus’ answer, “it was not because of his sinsor his parents’ sins,” did not mean that the man and his parents were “sinless,”for we know that romans 3:23 tells us that “all have sinned and come short of the gloryof god.” he simply meant that this man’s blindness was not caused by sins committedby either his parents or himself, “but that the works of god should be made manifest inhim.” in other words, this man was born blind “that the works of god should be mademanifest.” this scripture should shed some light on the question of “why did god allowevil to come into the world in the first place?”

the answer is simply this - god allowed satanand evil to come into his creation that he might show his mercy, compassion, and savinggrace! you see, if man had never sinned, god would not have had the opportunity to showthe exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through christ jesus our lord! letme assure you that there are no accidents with god, and we can rest assured “thatall things work together for good to them that love god, to them who are the calledaccording to his purpose” (romans 8:28). every one must have gotten real quite andcrowded around to see the works of god being manifest. the people must have been lookingfor something sensational and spectacular like claps of thunder, or fire falling fromheaven. something that could be attributed

to the “works of god.” but verse 6 says,“then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blindman’s eyes....” that must have been a disappointing thing for some of the on-lookers,for surely they had expected the “works of god” to have been something more thanjust spitting on the ground. page 2 oh, how we need to realize that just becausesomething is sensational and spectacular does not mean it always comes from god! 1 kings19:11-12 tells us, “and he said, go forth, and stand upon the mount before the lord.and, behold, the lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brokein pieces the rocks before the lord; but the lord was not in the winds. and after the windan earthquake; but the lord was not in the

earthquake. and after the earthquake a fire;but the lord was not in the fire. and after the fire a still small voice.” god doessome of his greatest works through the preaching of the bible, or through the quite prayersof a faithful saint, or through some busy soul-winner. god is not chained to any pattern,for it was at “mid-day” that he came to saul on the damascus road, and then it wasat “mid-night” when he came to the philippian jailer. it was a donkey that he used in hismessage to balaam, and it was a rooster to get the attention of peter. god’s work isnot great because it is sensational and spectacular, but god’s work is great because it comesfrom the hand of god! notice the event following the healing inverses 8-9, “his neighbors and others who

knew him as a blind beggar asked each other,“isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” some said he was, and others said,“no, he just looks like him!” but the beggar kept saying, “yes, i am the sameone!” then the neighbors said, “tell us how it happened.” and then the man wentabout to tell them the story about meeting jesus, as seen in verse 11, “a man who iscalled jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, go to the pool ofsiloam, and wash; and i went and washed, and i received my sight.”the neighbors brought the “once blind man” to the pharisees apparently they did so, notbecause he was healed, but because it had been done on the sabbath. notice how the joyof the miracle has disappeared, and the pharisees

are turning this thing into a “witch hunt”to justify their own rejection and criticism of jesus. you know, we have not changed verymuch through the years, you would be surprised to hear the criticism about some of the thingsthat happen in church just because of jealousy and resentment of a pastor or a program.the pharisees then made this statement, “this man jesus is not from god, for he is workingon the sabbath.” but that statement only led to problems, for some of the “otherssaid, how can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?” so as in the case in so manychurches “there was a division among them” (verse 15).but the pharisees were not satisfied, so they went back to the man once more, and askedhim, “what’s your opinion about this man

who healed you?” but they got an answerthey did not want, for he replied in verse 17, “i think he must be a prophet.” so,they went to the man’s parents in verse 19, “and they asked them, saying, is thisyour son, who you say was born blind? how then, does he page 3see?” and they answered in verse 21, “ask him. he is old enough to speak for himself.”so they went back to the man that was healed and said, “god should get the glory forthis, because we know this man jesus is a sinner.” the reply is this great statementin verse 25, “i don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “but iknow this: i was blind, and now i can see!” but the pharisees were not satisfied and wantedhim to tell how it happened once more, and

the man answered in verse 27, “look!”the man exclaimed. “i told you once. didn’t you listen? why do you want to hear it again?do you want to become his disciples, too?” and at this statement they because furious,and said, “you are his disciple, but we are disciples of moses! we know god spoketo moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.” (verses 28-29). the indicationhere is that these men though of themselves as learned students of the law, teachers andleaders in israel, and only some poor ignorant beggar, like this man, would follow afterthe likes of a “no-name” like this jesus! but, look at the sermon this beggar-man deliveredin verses 30-33, “why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “he healed my eyes, andyet you don’t know where he comes from?

we know that god doesn’t listen to sinners,but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. ever since the worldbegan, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. if this man were notfrom god, he couldn’t have done it.” ladies and gentlemen, that was good preaching, forthere were some great truths contained in his message. so much so, that the phariseesknew that his argument was unanswerable! but, did they change their mind? no way! they askedhim to leave, as seen in verse 34, “you were born a total sinner!” they answered.“are you trying to teach us?” and they threw him out of the synagogue.” you mightbe thinking, “what does all of this have to do with the doctrine of salvation?” lookwith me at the man that was blind, but is

now healed. is he saved? the bible tells usthat he had met jesus. we also know that a notable miracle had taken place in his life.he also acknowledged that jesus was a prophet. there is even a song that records his words:“amazing grace! how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me! i once was lost, butnow am found, was blind, but now i see.” we know, of course, that he preached a greatlesson and sermon. but was he a saved person? let me remind you that no one is saved justbecause they have met jesus, for we have been told in mark 10:21-22 about a “rich youngruler” that talked to jesus about salvation, “looking at the man, jesus felt genuinelove for him. “there is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “goand sell all your possessions and give the

money to the poor, and you will have treasurein heaven. then come, follow me.” at this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad,for he had many possessions.” no one was ever saved just because they were healed,for we have been told in mark 5:30-34 about the woman with an “issue of blood,” “jesuspage 4 realized at once that healing power had goneout from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “who touched my robe?” hisdisciples said to him, “look at this crowd pressing around you. how can you ask, ‘whotouched me?’” but he kept on looking around to see who had done it. then the frightenedwoman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to herknees in front of him and told him what she

had done. and he said to her, “daughter,your faith has made you well. go in peace. your suffering is over.” she was healedbefore she was saved. knowing that jesus was a prophet sent from god does not make onesaved, for james 2:19 reminds us, “the demons also believe and tremble.” let me also remindyou that no one is saved just because they can preach, for we have been told in 2 corinthians11:13-15 that workers of the devil can preach, “for such are false apostles, deceitfulworkers, transforming themselves into the apostles of christ. and no marvel; for satanhimself is transformed into an angel of life. therefore, it is no great thing if his ministersalso be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.” this man was not saved, but only had an awakenedsoul, as seen in verses 35-38, “when jesus

heard what had happened, he found the manand asked, “do you believe in the son of man?” the man answered, “who is he, sir?i want to believe in him.” “you have seen him,” jesus said, “and he is speakingto you!” “yes, lord, i believe!” the man said. and he worshiped jesus.” all ofthe things we have talked about are acts of the religious flesh. no one has ever beensaved based on his or her good deeds! salvation comes when we, too, put our faith in the personof jesus christ. this man was not saved until he did likewise! maybe you are here today,and your life seems empty and tasteless, it could be because you have never turned yourlife over to christ for salvation. have you ever honestly asked christ to come into yourlife, or have you just taken it for granted

that you are saved?if you are not saved, why not today? stand for prayer.father, your word is true. thank you for making salvation amazingly simple. in jesus name.amen.

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