“Doing the Work of God”
John 9:1-7
Primary Purpose: To stress the importance of demonstrating the
compassion of Christ.
God calls us to work alongside him to do the work of God that we
might display that we know Him. In this passage, the disciples see a man
born blind. They assume v.2 that someone has sinned, either he or his parents
for him to be born this way. They don’t stop for a moment to consider other
options. Jesus contradicts everything that they have been taught. He leads
them to consider that someone else’s need may be a opportunity that God is
giving us to display the light of Christ. (Read Scripture).
In Pomona, California a week and a half ago, a 2 year old girl had to be
rescued from a locked running washer at a coin laundry. Her mother was
arrested for putting her chld into the machine and turning it on. An officer
smashed through the window of the machine with his baton and rescued the
girl, who was submerged in water, unconscious, but still breathing. She is
expected to survive.
Several weeks ago, in Houston. A mother took 2 of her boys out into
the front yard and hit them in the head with large garden stones, killing two of
her boys and seriously injuring a third. When she was arrested, she told
police that God had told her to kill her children.
What do these events have to do with our text you might ask. All three
of these situations call for what Jesus called “light”. Can you imagine being
the little girl who was locked in that washer. For the rest of her life, she’s
gonig to know that her mother tried to kill her. The scars that could leave on
a person could last forever. But, Jesus can heal even those scars of abuse and
neglect, but it’s up to you and me now to be the light and the love of Christ to
those who are hurting.
James Moore tells the story in “Attitude Is Your Paintbrush” of a
young orphaned boy who had been taken to his grandmother’s house. The
house caught fire one night. The grandmother tried to rescue the little boy,
but was overcome by smoke and died in the disaster. As the fire blazed, a
crowd gathered. They could hear the boy crying for help, but nobody could
seem to find a way to reach him.
Then, a stranger rushed out of the crowd and climbed a metal pipe that
stretched past an upstairs window. the pipe was extremely hot, but the man
ignored the pain. He went in, reach the boy and climbed with him back down
the hot pipe to safety below.
A few weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who should
have custody of the boy. One by one each person spoke about how they
could care for the boy. A farmer, then a teacheer, then the town’s riches
citizen suggested because of his great wealth he should have the boy.
The judge asked if anyone else had anything to say. Slowly, a man
walked to the front of the room. As the man reached the front of the room, he
slowly took his hands from his pockets and showed everyone present badly
scarred hands.
Suddenly, the little boy cried out with surprise. He recognized his
rescuer. The scars were from the hands he had received climbing the hot
pipe. The boy fell into the open arms of the man who had saved him. One by
one the crowd left, because those scarred hands said more than anything else
anyone had to say.
As Christians we should model compassion because we also follow
one whose hands are scarred. They were scarred for you and me.
The disciples- They were interested in placing blame. They wanted to
engage in the age old argument of who sinned. Jesus told them rather that
this happend that the work of God might be displayed in him. v.3 Jesus told
them to consider that night is coming. The word night here means death. It
means that you and I have only so many days to make an impact on someone
else’s life for Christ. When night comes our opportunity is over. So, we
would do well not to make excuses, but look for the work that God has set
before us.
Some years ago, there was a ten year old boy named Johnny who was
sitting alone on a park bench one afternoon. It was a beautiful day and he ws
watching some of the other kids playing baseball. A older man walked up
and sat down next to Johnny. He asked Johnny, “If you had three wishes,
what would you wish for?”
Johnny thought about it and said, “First, I would wish for peace and
happiness in the whole world. Second, I would wish everyone would join the
church. Third, I would wish that my best friend Billy, who is blind, would be
able to see.”
The older man seemed puzzled by Johnny’s answer. With a perplexed
look, he said good-bye and walked away. Johnny didn’t know why the man
was confused by his answer. He sat there for a moment then he picked up his
crutches and hobbled home!” Taken from “When You’re a Christian, the
Whole World Is From Missouri” by James W. Moore.
Johnny knew something about unselfish love didn’t he. I think perhaps
he knew that because he knew Jesus. He knew that Jesus calls us to put
others first. Jesus responded to this blind man in our story today with that
kind of compassion that we can all learn from. Because of it the blind man
responded to the gospel and to Jesus.
The Response of the blind man- Jesus didn’t have to put mud on the
man’s eyes, but this test required for the man to respond in faith. He acted,
based only on what he knew, but hadn’t seen. This act of compassion on
Jesus part opens the man’s eyes and then his heart. When Jesus later asks
him if he believes in the Son of Man. The man asks who is He? That I may
believe in Him v.36. Jesus affirms that he is the Son of Man. The man
responds with simple faith “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. v.38.
The man responded to his compassion and love.
