Bearing Witness To The Light
by Rev. Kirby Williams
Understanding, pursuing, accepting and sharing the Light of Christ.
Text: John 9:1-5
Date: 11/19/2017, the Traditional service.
Series: "John: Encountering Love" Part 70
Description:
As Jesus and His disciples walk through the streets of Jerusalem, they happen upon a man born blind. Seemingly devoid of personal empathy for the man's condition, the disciples use him to pose a Theological question concerning sin and divine earthly retribution. In sharp contrast, Jesus sees the encounter as an opportunity-- not only to shed light in the man's darkness, but also to glorify His Father in heaven. He defines the work of the Kingdom as precisely this-- to compassionately heal the spiritually blind by sharing the Light of Life with them and thereby bringing glory to the Father. Jesus re-affirms that He is the "Light of the world" and beckons all who see His great light to come to Him, find redemption in Him, and ultimately to engage in the work of the Kingdom-- bearing witness to the Light.
View:
Options:
I. Introduction, John 1:4-10.
II. Exposition of the text, John 9:1-5.
A. Context, John 7:37-38, 8:12.
B. Sharing the Light of Life.
1. Overview
2. Blind from birth, vs. 1.
a. Determining the time of the encounter.
b. The undaunted Christ.
c. Congenital blindness.
3. The disciples' perspective, vs. 2.
a. An uncompassionate question.
b. A very "Jewish" question.
i. The Scriptural basis, Ex. 34:6-7.
ii. Examining the options.
¥ The parents sinned.
¥ The grandparents sinned.
¥ The man sinned in the womb.
iii. Splitting hairs.
c. Analyzing the reason for suffering.
i. The impact of Original Sin, Psa. 51:5.
ii. Divine earthly retribution.
d. The example of Job.
4. Jesus' perspective, vs. 3.
a. The false dilemma.
b. The "excluded middle".
c. The works of God.
i. Identifying the "works" of God.
ii. Putting the man's blindness in perspective, John 3:17, Heb. 12:2.
iii. Glory in weakness, 2Cor. 12:9.
5. Doing the works of the Father, vs. 4.
a. Two emphatic words, John 5:19.
b. The "golden chain" of "Kingdom work", Matt. 10:40.
i. The work of the Father, John 5:17.
ii. The work of Jesus, Matt. 4:17.
iii. The work of the Apostles.
iv. The work of the "apostlers".
v. The eschatological struggle between light and darkness.
c. The urgency of the work.
i. Urgency in the life of Jesus, Matt. 11:5.
ii. The eschatological urgency.
¥ For the unbeliever, Matt. 25:30.
¥ For the believer.
6. The light in the darkness, vs. 5.
a. The essential Light of salvation, John 8:12.
b. Recognizing John's methodology.
i. The Jewish context, Matt. 4:16.
ii. The illustration.
iii. The eschatological application.
III. Application
A. For the unbeliever.
B. For the believer.
C. Erring on the side of compassion.
IV. Conclusion
