The Miracles of Christ - The Man Born Blind, Part 2

[0:00] We have a little bit of unfinished business in the Gospel of John, chapter 9. We were dealing with the man born blind, and we didn't quite complete the passage, so I want to return to it again because there are a number of important points that need to be brought out that we did not have time to address the last time.

[0:21] And I've referred to this as not only unusual, but I think it's kind of unusually humorous. This man who was born blind, apparently, unless I'm reading something into the text that isn't there, he seems to me to have really been a character, and he had a sense of humor about him.

[0:46] So let's begin reading, if we may. And by the way, as I read this, I can hear George Beverly Shea singing. One sat alone beside the highway begging.

[1:00] His eyes were blind, the light he could not see. He clutched his rags and shivered in the shadows. Till Jesus came and bade his darkness flee.

[1:14] When Jesus comes, the tempter's power is broken. When Jesus comes, the night is turned to day. For all is changed when Jesus comes to stay.

[1:30] Nobody could deliver that song like George Beverly Shea, and I used to remember hearing him sing that. It's beautiful. So we are in John chapter 9 and verse 1. He passed by.

[1:40] He saw a man blind from his birth. His disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, neither did this man sin nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

[1:58] We must work the works of him that sent me while it is day. The night comes when no man can work. And we'll be elaborating on that later, and I think Joe's got something to share with us then.

[2:13] When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed his eyes with the clay and said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sent.

[2:26] He went away, therefore, and washed and came seeing. The neighbors, therefore, and they which saw him aforetime, that he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

[2:43] Others said, It is he. Others said, No, but he is like him. He said, I am he. And they said, Therefore, unto him, How then were thine eyes opened?

[2:57] He answered, The man that is called Jesus made clay. And I want you to notice a progression here that's going to develop as we go through this.

[3:09] Who did he say he is? He says, A man. A man. A man. Just a fellow human being. A man. That is called Jesus, made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to Siloam and wash.

[3:31] So I went away and washed, and I received sight. Can you imagine what was going through that guy's mind? And Jesus made clay, spittle, if you will, saliva, stirred it up probably with his fingers, put it on this man's eyes.

[3:48] And this poor man, who's blind, is probably wondering to himself, What in the world is he doing? What's going on? He didn't even know that he'd spit on the ground and made clay and put it on his eyes.

[4:00] Because he can't see. He doesn't know what's going on. And he's wondering, What is this? Why is this? What is this man doing anyway? And then Jesus tells him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.

[4:17] Well, how's he going to get there? He's blind. Now, maybe this is one of those characters who has a cane and can feel his way around. If you know anything about blind people, it is unbelievable how they can navigate with a cane.

[4:30] I mean, you'd be surprised what you can learn when you don't have eyes. I don't know if that's what this man had, or if somebody let him by the hand, or if the pool of Siloam was not very far away, and he knew exactly where it was because he'd been there.

[4:44] But at any rate, he's going to the pool of Siloam. And while he's going, he's wondering, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash. I don't know what good that's going to do, but I would suggest that Jesus had not only a compassion, but an authority in his eyes that this man just found irresistible.

[5:15] I don't know who this is, and I don't know why he's telling me to do this, but I'm going to do it because this man, whoever he is, sounds like he really knows something or what he's talking about.

[5:33] And what do I have to lose? I'm going to do what he tells me. And he goes and splashes this water up on his eyes, and lo and behold, what is that?

[5:46] And his light starts coming through it. Can you imagine? You know, I've got a theory I have absolutely nothing to base it on. I guess I can say I only hope that it's true.

[6:02] I've often said there's so much about heaven that I don't know. I'm only sure really of two things. One is there will be no disappointments, and the other is there's going to be a lot of surprises.

[6:15] And don't ask me where I got this because I don't know. But I have a wish, maybe a sneaking suspicion, that somehow provision is going to be made when we are in heaven for these incidents that we've read about in the Bible to be replayed, reenacted as it were.

[6:45] And like I said, don't ask me what I base that on. Maybe it's just wishful thinking. But as I read things like this, I say to myself, man, I would have loved to have seen that, to have witnessed that, and to witness Jesus walking on the water and things like that.

[7:05] And I realize that sounds kind of far-fetched, that that's something that we're going to hit, but we're going to have a lot of time, you know. And not only that, but we marvel at things like instant replay on the tube.

[7:20] You remember, yeah, all you guys are old enough to remember that. Remember years ago when they were going to replay something, you were watching a football game, they were going to replay it. It took for a while.

[7:30] They had to work through the process and everything and get it up on the camera and all that stuff. You had to wait a while. Now, it's like an instant replay. How do they do that? I mean, the guy was just tackled 10 seconds ago, and they're replaying the thing.

[7:47] That's amazing. Well, do you think that God is up to that? Do you think he could handle something like that? Something that mere man can develop the technology for?

[7:58] And I don't know if we're going to be able to see those things or relive those incidents or the fall of Jericho or anything like that, but all I can tell you is I wouldn't be surprised.

[8:09] I wouldn't be surprised. And yet, wow. Well, let's go on. They said, how were your eyes open? He answered, the man, the man that is called Jesus, made clay, anointed my eyes and said unto me, go to Siloam and wash.

[8:31] So I went away and washed and I received my sight. And they said unto him, where is he? He said, I know not. They bring to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

[8:43] Now, the Pharisees, you've got to understand, were considered among the figures of authority. And actually, they were lay people.

[8:55] They weren't government officials at all. They were laymen. But they were laymen that had distinguished themselves, particularly in accordance with the law of Moses, of dotting all the I's and crossing all the T's and very fastidious.

[9:08] And they were kind of like the spiritual watchdog police. They were the kind of people who would walk around and make sure that nobody was violating the law of Moses.

[9:19] And anybody who was, they're going to be called down for right on the spot. And, you know, this is a little bit reminiscent of the mentality and the attitude that exists in Islam, particularly in Iran right now.

[9:36] When the Ayatollah came in from, he was exiled in Paris, remember? When he came back when the thing fell. And shortly thereafter, they instituted a whole new regime.

[9:50] And the women who had prized American jeans, Iranian women were wearing Levi jeans.

[10:02] That was the dress code. And boy, he put a stop to that. And they're going back to the robes and the burkas and all of that stuff. And they actually had religious police going through the area.

[10:15] And women who were not attired or wearing the veil were called to question. Some of them were even physically assaulted by the authorities for not wearing the right thing or not doing the right thing and so on.

[10:27] And that's the kind of mentality that the Pharisees and the scribes had so that they would come down on anybody who wasn't observing the law of Moses and so on. So they bring him to the Pharisees, who was a four-time blind.

[10:42] And, uh-oh, it was the Sabbath. What a coincidence. You almost get the impression that Jesus selected the Sabbath to do some special things.

[10:55] And it just really riled these guys up. Because they were the legalists that just wouldn't quit. It was the Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay. You get that?

[11:06] Jesus made the clay on the Sabbath. On the Sabbath, you don't do anything. This is considered work. If you spit on the ground and stir it with your fingers, that's work.

[11:20] And that's why, by the way, I've talked to some Orthodox Jews. Now, not all Jews are like this, of course, because most Jews today are what you call Reform Jews.

[11:33] But the word is misleading because they are the most liberal of the Jews. But the Orthodox Jews, the ones that still adhere strictly to the law of Moses, really take this seriously.

[11:48] And a Jew today who is an Orthodox Jew will not even so much as flip on an electric light switch in his home on the Sabbath.

[12:03] Because that is akin to kindling a fire on the Sabbath. You say, well, what in the world has that got to do? It's not a fire.

[12:14] It's a light. It's a light bulb. Yeah. But it's light. And they equate that. This is some of the Pharisaical nonsense in the way they stretch things. They equate that to kindling a fire on the Sabbath because you've created light by flipping the switch on.

[12:30] So you know what they do? They have a next-door neighbor who happens to be a goyim, a Gentile. And they have an arrangement because they're neighbors and they're friends.

[12:41] And he comes over to his Jewish friend's house and flips on the lights for him on the Sabbath. Now, we look at that and we say, good grief.

[12:52] That's ridiculous. Well, in accordance with people who have been freed from the law through the finished work of Christ, we do look at it that way as quite ridiculous.

[13:03] But that's the mindset of these people. And they believe that's what is required to honor God and the law of Moses.

[13:14] And I can't fault them for their sincerity and for their desire to be well-pleasing to God. But it's, you know, so much of it is just misguided.

[13:26] And it's a sad shame. But that's the way humans are today. So they bring to the Pharisees. And again, the Pharisees ask him how he received his sight.

[13:36] He said, he put clay on my eyes and I wash and do see. And some, therefore, of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God. So they're ready to jump to a conclusion right there.

[13:47] There's no way that this guy can be from God because he keeps not the Sabbath. And by the way, I've already reminded you of this in another passage that we've already looked at. Jesus makes the stunning statement that he is the Lord of the Sabbath.

[14:07] Now that is an incredible statement for a human being to make. But he made it. And we'll see the implications of that later. Others said, how can a man that is a sinner do such signs?

[14:23] And there was a division among them. They said, therefore, unto the blind man, what sayest thou of him that he had opened thine eyes? And he said, he's a prophet.

[14:35] Now, I want you to try to put yourself in the position of this man who, first of all, received this information from Jesus to go wash in the pool of Siloam and as far as he knows, he's just a man.

[14:51] A man. But as he's thinking about this whole thing, this is turning the wheels in this man's mind. And he has to be thinking. But how could any mere man do that?

[15:07] And as he's contemplating and enjoying his eyesight, he's thinking all the while. And perhaps the thought came to him. Man?

[15:20] It's got to be more than a man. A prophet. Ah, that's it. He's a prophet. That's a step up from just being a man. And he calls him a prophet.

[15:30] And the Jews, therefore, did not believe concerning him that he had been blind. This whole thing is crazy. It's phony. This guy probably never really was blind.

[15:41] So they called the parents of him that received his sight and asked him, Is this your son who you say was born blind? Well, then how does he now see?

[15:51] His parents answered and said, We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees, we know not. Or who opened his eyes, we know not.

[16:03] Ask him. He is of age. He shall speak for himself. By his being of age, we don't know how old he was. He could have been 20. He could have been 40.

[16:15] We just don't know. But there's no question about his being an adult. These things said his parents because they feared the Jews.

[16:26] For the Jews had agreed already that if any man should confess him to be Christ, to be the Messiah, he should be put out of the synagogue. I won't go into the ramifications of that, but we did talk about it earlier and how that that was a complete disenfranchisement.

[16:43] And it cut you off from virtually everything in the Jewish community if you did not have access, free access to the synagogue. Virtually all the contacts and perks and privileges and everything, education for children, was all taken away if you were cut out of the synagogue.

[17:01] So they certainly didn't want to do that. His parents were afraid. And by the way, it says they feared the Jews for the Jews that operated. But wait a minute. These people are all Jews.

[17:14] They're all Jews. And what we've got here is a sad situation of Jews intimidating Jews. Jews. And when you get into the book of Acts after the ascension of Christ and the persecution set in, you need to remember, fellows, that for the first ten years, for the first ten years after the resurrection and ascension of Christ back to heaven, Gentiles did not come into the picture at all.

[17:49] Everything is Jewish. The book of Acts consumes about 30 years of history, one-third of which is devoted to an exclusive Jewish situation.

[18:03] And when the persecution began, it was Jews who were persecuting Jews. And the head Jew was Saul of Tarsus.

[18:14] And he saw all of these other Jews, 3,000 of whom on the day of Pentecost, 2,000 were added to him later. And then more later, he saw all of this as getting out of hand.

[18:28] And as far as he was concerned, he was going to stamp out this element because he regarded it as nothing more than a spiritual moral cancer growing on Judaism.

[18:43] And he took it as a responsibility from God to stamp these people out and preserve the purity of Judaism. And just before Jesus was crucified, he warned his disciples and told them, fellows, the time is coming when those who would kill you will think they are doing God a service.

[19:08] And Saul of Tarsus was one of them. So, let's go on. They called the second time the man that was blind and said unto him, Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.

[19:22] Proof positive, he did this on the Sabbath. That automatically disqualifies him from having anything to do with God. And he answered therefore and said, Whether he be a sinner, I know not.

[19:38] Now, one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. They said therefore unto him, What did he to thee?

[19:48] How opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I told you even now, and you didn't hear. Wherefore, would you hear it again? You also want to become one of his disciples?

[20:01] Oh, boy. That really touched the ball. Hey, you guys, you want to sign up too? I mean, this is really something. And now they're getting really angry.

[20:13] And they reviled him and said, Thou art his disciple, But we are disciples of Moses. How dare you make an accusation like that? We are Moses' disciples.

[20:25] We know that God has spoken unto Moses. But as for this man, we know not whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, I love this line, Why, herein is the marvel, that you know not whence he is, and yet he opened my eyes.

[20:48] We know that God hears not sinners, but if any man be a worshiper of God and do his will, him he heareth.

[21:00] Why? Since the world began, it was never heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. And he's thinking and saying, And yet, here I am standing before you.

[21:13] Go figure. If this man were not from God. Now what is he saying there? He started out, he's a man.

[21:24] Then he moved to, he's a prophet. And now he's elevating Jesus again, by suggesting if he is not from God, which implies what?

[21:37] He is from God. So he's a man. He's a prophet. He's from God. Do you see the escalation here? The more this guy thinks about it, the more he elevates the person who did this for him.

[21:53] And Jesus is growing in the minds of this man who has received his sight. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

[22:06] They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sin, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. They dismissed him.

[22:17] Go on, get out of here. Well, this is an example of some of the most supreme arrogance that humanity is capable of.

[22:31] And nobody specialized in arrogance like the Pharisees. Thou wast altogether born in sin, and dost thou teach us?

[22:43] They cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out. And finding him, he said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

[22:54] Now remember, he's never seen Jesus. He doesn't even know what he looks like. But he's seeing him now. And he answered and says, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?

[23:09] And when he uses the word Lord there, he's not addressing him as deity. He's addressing him in a common way that they had of speaking of one another whom they considered to be their superior.

[23:24] He isn't confessing that Jesus is Lord Almighty or that he is deity. He is simply acknowledging that this man who put clay on my eyes and had me go wash so that I come see, this man is obviously one who is greater than I.

[23:44] And he addresses him that way as Lord. In the same way that Sarah called her husband Abraham, Lord. Well, he wasn't her Lord.

[23:54] He was her husband. But she regarded him as her superior. And that's the way that sometimes the word Lord is used, depending on how it's used in the original. So the text goes on to say, Who is he that I may believe on him?

[24:12] And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, because you're looking at him now, and he it is that speaks with thee.

[24:23] I imagine this man's heart just melted. He's standing before his benefactor. And he said, Lord, I believe.

[24:37] And he worshipped him. And we pointed out, and it needs to be emphasized, that worship is reserved only for deity, not for humanity.

[24:50] He worshipped him. So we've got, he's a man, he's a prophet, he's from God, he is God.

[25:02] He worships him. And by the way, Jesus didn't say, Oh, stand up, get up on your feet, don't worship me, I'm just a man.

[25:13] Never said that. This is the one who could rightfully receive worship. And you know, this goes way, way back. Remember the Magi who came from the east, following the star?

[25:30] We haven't time to go into it, but I'm satisfied that these were Jews. No question about it. These Magi were Jews. And God had given them this revelation about this star, and they were following, and they said, we're seeking the king of the Jews.

[25:49] And why would anyone but a Jew even care who was born king of the Jews? But they did, because they were Jews. And they said, we have seen his star, and we have come to worship him.

[26:08] What? To worship him? A baby in a manger? Going to worship a baby in a manger? What's the implication there?

[26:21] These Magi knew a lot more than what we think they did. They made a connection, I believe, with the Messianic promises in the Old Testament regarding this one, and it was revealed that this is the one.

[26:39] And the shepherds got that same message, and it's a beautiful thing. Well, let's go on here. Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they which see may not see.

[26:56] What in the world is that all about? Those who see may not see. And that those which see may become blind.

[27:16] those of the Pharisees which were with him heard these things and said unto him, Are we also blind?

[27:27] Jesus said unto them, If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, We see. Your sin remaineth.

[27:39] I've got some things to share with you regarding that, but this is a problematic passage, and I'd like to see if you've got any input that you would like to share regarding what's being said here before I go on.

[27:53] Anyone? It sounds rather enigmatic what Jesus is saying. Did I see a hand? Somebody? Yeah, Joe, what?

[28:04] The first part, those who see will become blind. Those are the ones that they think they've got their own way to heaven that they can do it themselves. They don't realize that that's not going to work.

[28:17] They think they see and that we're good, the Pharisees. We follow all the law. You have to follow the law. That's what you've got to do. That's what they see, but that's wrong. Okay. Well, you're certainly on the right track here because this is simply one more instance where a metaphor is used as Jesus often used them because he used a metaphor for the bread.

[28:39] He said, I am the bread of life. And he wasn't talking about bread as in a loaf, but he's talking about a spiritual analogy to physical bread.

[28:49] He referred to himself as the light of the world, but he's not talking about incandescent bulbs or anything like that. He's talking about spiritual life. And he talks about spiritual life and spiritual death.

[29:03] He talks about spiritual water and physical water. And he makes an analogy between them. And when he talks about seeing here, when he says that those, that those which see may not see, these are the ones who have all the answers spiritually.

[29:24] He's not talking about physical sight or vision. he's talking about those who are convinced they are the people. Remember, remember Job, Job told his miserable friends who were accusing him of hypocrisy and everything.

[29:41] And Job said, surely, you are the people. And when you die, wisdom will die with you. In other words, he was saying, you guys are convinced that you know everything.

[29:55] You've got all the answers. Well, that's exactly what Jesus is saying here to these Pharisees. Smug, self-satisfied, superiority attitude, brimming with arrogance.

[30:07] And Jesus is saying, those of you who are convinced that you see and understand everything and you've got all the answers, you don't even realize how blind you are.

[30:19] That's the points being made. And he says, and that they which see may become blind, that is spiritually blind, and those of the Pharisees which were with him heard these things and said unto him, are we also blind?

[30:38] And Jesus said, if you were blind, you would have no sin. In other words, if you really couldn't see, you would not be responsible for your sin.

[30:49] If you do not have spiritual sight and spiritual understanding, you would not be responsible for your sin. But now you say, oh, we see. We get it.

[31:01] We understand everything. We know all of this stuff. We're the authorities. We're Moses' disciples. And Jesus was saying, and you don't even realize you're really blind.

[31:12] That's the points that's being made. Did I see a hand somewhere? Yeah, Roger. Roger. that 41, if you were blind, you should have no sin.

[31:23] Doesn't a lot of sin involve the eyesight? Would we see a woman? Wow. You know, and all that. Well, I'm sure that enters in.

[31:35] Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm sure that enters in. Although I do think that the greater thing that he's getting at here is the spiritual sight as opposed to the physical. But he's marrying the two because there is, one is an illustration of the other.

[31:50] And you know the expression, when somebody even wrote a song about it years and years ago, and praise the Lord, I saw the light. Remember that? Remember that old song?

[32:01] I saw the light. Not talking about this kind of light. It's talking about the spiritual light. A spiritual awareness and being able to see and understand spiritually.

[32:13] Joe? You gave an example one time of a businessman going in a car with somebody one time, and he says, I believe in God, and I believe that he sent Son Jesus here to save us from our sins. I believe all that, but I'm not going to accept him.

[32:25] So that's what, do you think he said, then your guilt remains. That's true. Then your guilt remains. And that's what he says here. It's kind of the same thing. He's not going to accept Jesus as who he is, God, and therefore, I know you are, but we're not still going to accept it.

[32:39] So your guilt remains. There are none so blind as those who will not see. There's a huge difference there. And the incident that Joe's talking about was a good friend of mine, many of you remember, Art Crawford from years ago.

[32:55] He was traveling from Columbus to, I think it was Detroit, and they were on a business trip, and he had a fellow with him that was going up, and he was involved in the business also, and this guy said to Art, he said, I understand that you're some kind of a preacher.

[33:13] Well, he was. He really was some kind of a preacher. And he said, well, yeah, he said, I teach a Bible class. I pastor a church, and so on. The guy said, well, he said, I don't believe any of that stuff, but just to pass the time, why don't we talk about that?

[33:27] Just have a little debate on the way up and be intellectually exercising, and Art said, okay, what do you want to talk about? And he said, well, he said, I know the resurrection is really important to you guys, and I don't buy that stuff.

[33:41] People just don't come back from the dead like that. So let's talk about it. So all the way they were up there, Art presented all the reasons for the resurrection, et cetera, and by the time they got there and pulled in the parking lot, the guy turned to Art, and he said, well, I can't believe this, but I need to say it.

[33:57] And Art says, what's that? And he said, you've convinced me. I think you're right. He said, you laid it, I've got to get it, you really laid it out.

[34:10] I believe that, yeah, that's probably true. Jesus really did come back from the dead. I can see why you believe that now. And Art says, well, that's wonderful.

[34:20] I'm glad you came to that conclusion. He said, you want to receive Christ as your Savior? Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, I don't want to do anything like that.

[34:32] And Art says, but you said you believe that you've received. Well, yeah, I believe that stuff, but I don't want to, I don't want to make some kind of commitment or something. That would mess up my whole life.

[34:49] None so blind as those who will not see. And I don't have any idea whether that man went on through life with that conviction or not, or whether he actually changed his mind.

[35:00] But I'll tell you one thing. He was more responsible after he left Art than he was before he met him.

[35:12] Because, unto whom much is given, of him shall much be required. And the principle is, the more light you have, the more understanding you have, the more responsible you are for what you do with it.

[35:26] And that's a pretty solemn thing to think about. But it's certainly true. And that's partly what's involved here in this John 9 thing. What, Joe? It says here, the man believed, he believed, he worshipped Jesus, it was the Pharisees that were still blind.

[35:39] Oh, absolutely. Right, right. And to just, what we're talking about, of course, it always comes back to this. In connection with all the miracles of the Lord, and not only, not only the miracles, but it's just that the miracles make it even more outstanding.

[35:56] What we're dealing with here is the God of creation. This is the one, this is the word that became flesh and dwelt among us.

[36:12] And John says, we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. And it all boils down to the identity of this individual. Yes, Tad?

[36:22] Back over here in verse 16, I know that you've been talking about the Pharisees. Some of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath, but others.

[36:34] I'm wondering if some of the others might have been Pharisees. I'm wondering if one of those might have been Nicodemus. He said, how can a man who is a sinner do such things?

[36:48] Yeah. Nicodemus, in John 3, he had his eyes beginning to open. Yeah. Yeah. And by the end of John, he really saw. Absolutely.

[37:00] And he was a Pharisee. Yeah. Yeah. Nicodemus was the exception. And I suspect that somewhere along the line, Joseph of Arimathea probably came to the same conviction.

[37:10] Exactly. And these, I guess we can address these as noble, noble Pharisees, for sure. In connection with the identity of Jesus, remember when, when he was walking on water and when they took the, later when they caught this huge draft of fish as Jesus told them, and, and Peter came to the conclusion, depart from me, O Lord, I am a sinful man.

[37:40] Peter was saying, I am very uncomfortable being in your presence. And what we're talking about is God in the boat. That's exactly what we're talking about.

[37:53] God in the boat. And in no instance did Jesus ever reject the worship of a human being. Yet I submit, if he were not deity, he had no business accepting it.

[38:07] And in, in Acts 10, in Acts 10, when Peter, who ought to know, because he learned from experience, went to the house of Cornelius and gave him the message, and the text says that Cornelius fell down at Peter's feet and was going to worship him.

[38:32] And Peter said, stand up! Don't fall down before me. I am just a man, like you. And Peter had it right. And we can go all the way back to Revelation 19.

[38:45] And this is in connection with the marriage of the Lamb and the Lord being there. And in verse 10, John, who is the revelator, by inspiration, gives us the book of the Revelation.

[39:00] And John says that in verse 10, and I fell at his feet to worship him.

[39:12] And he's talking about this angelic being. And the angel said to me, in verse 10, do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus.

[39:28] worship God for the testimony of Jesus or the story. The story of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy, which is another way of saying Jesus and his story is what everything the prophets talked about is all about.

[39:48] That's why we put so much emphasis on messianic prophecy, prophecy that regards our Lord. And there are other places in scripture as well where humans rightfully reject the worship that they would have received, but they short-circuited it and said, hey, don't worship me.

[40:08] I'm a fellow being like you. Worship is to be reserved only for God, only for deity. Jesus never rejected human worship because he was worthy of it and entitled to receive it.

[40:25] That in and of itself ought to tell us something as to who this was and is. The word made flesh. The logos. Jesus is the logos.

[40:37] He's the logic of God. Beautiful thing. Beautiful concept. Other thoughts? Yeah, Raj? You mentioned something about replay at the beginning.

[40:48] Can you imagine making a movie out of that whole thing and people standing around knew this blind man? Yeah, yeah, really. How many people believed on Jesus because the blight of the miracle?

[41:02] The blind man's testimony. Yeah, yeah. He could have been on fire after that. And many did. And that man in Acts 3 that was lame from his mother's womb, the guy was, I think the text says he was over 40 years old and he was born lame from his mother's womb.

[41:22] And he had he had dibs on a particular spot where friends and relatives would bring him every day. They'd carry him probably in a stretcher or something like that.

[41:36] And he had dibs on that particular spot situated right there at what is called the beautiful gate. It was an outstanding work of architecture and beauty and that guy had his favorite begging spot right there.

[41:52] And begging then was not looked upon like it is today as some kind of a freeloader or a moocher or whatnot. It was a perfectly logical occupation, honorable occupation, especially if you couldn't work.

[42:04] And he would then and Peter and John came by and there's this poor man sitting there begging and he looked up expected to receive something from him and Peter said silver and gold have I none but such as I have give I unto thee rise up and walk.

[42:25] Peter reached down and grabbed that guy's hand and yanked on him and this guy came up and stood on two legs. Can you imagine the absolute shock that went through his body?

[42:38] I have never in my life stood on these legs and here I am and he looks at Jesus and he looks at his legs and he goes and the beautiful thing is the dear man didn't even have to learn to walk.

[42:59] He jumped up and down and walked around and everybody the crowd was gathering and the Pharisees come up there and they say what's going on here?

[43:13] What's going on? All these people are crowding around and they're pointing to him and they're saying look, look, look he's walking and somebody said well that's not so and so. Oh yes it is him too yeah it is and finally they identify him and the scribes and the Pharisees they get together and they say what are we going to do?

[43:35] And they actually say they actually say this is in this is in Acts chapter 3 they actually say that a notable miracle has taken place here and listen to this and we cannot deny it.

[43:56] the implication is we wish we could deny it but we can't and the text goes on to say for all the people and there was a crowd gathered there for all the people know that this is the man who was lame from his mother's womb and he is walking and jumping up and down and praising God and he grabs Peter and hugs him and he grabs John and he hugs him and all these people are saying and these Pharisees and scribes are saying what's going on here?

[44:33] What are we going to do? And then it's but listen but so whatever this is that it doesn't spread any further let us threaten them because they were talking about Jesus and his resurrection and the text says that they were grieved that Peter and John were talking about Jesus and the resurrection but that this thing spread no further let's call these guys in and tell them listen you better shut up we don't want to hear any more of this and then they turn them loose and the Pharisees the disciples say that they praise God that they were considered worthy to suffer for his name's sake and they went from their from their presence rejoicing well I tell you it all boils down to this this is the question fellas it was a question 2,000 years ago who is this man?

[45:34] who is this? same question today and it still hasn't been resolved in the minds of most people because the majority population sees Jesus as oh he was a wonderful teacher he was a good example he was this he was that no no no that doesn't begin to cut it this is God in the flesh believe it or not this is deity in action this is this is the most the most incredible thing that ever happened is that the creator creator of the universe the one that flung the stars in face chose to become one of us to do something for us that we could not do for ourselves that kind of involvement and that kind of love is just beyond mind boggling but that's the kind of God that we are dealing with

[46:35] God God so loved the world that he created that I might add that he created that went wrong that he gave himself so that whoever believes in him should not perish yeah Bob Joe here I'm sure he's really anxious to have an answer give you an answer for the homework assignments that you gave us that I couldn't figure out but Joe thinks he has okay Joe let's hear okay last week some of you weren't here I asked Mar a question on some scripture that we read it's in the same thing on a miracle on verse four look at verse four if you got your Bible open it says night is coming when no one can work what did Jesus mean by that that was my question what did he mean by that and then Mar gave an assignment everybody looked up and found out what was doing well I

[47:35] I was one asked so I did dig into it to find out and it's really quite simple first of all go back to verse two it says his disciples ask him Rabbi who sent now first of all when they say ask did they do it in a chorus all the disciples at one time asking the question or did they do one by one by one asking you know but the point is there he wants us to know God wants us to know that all of these disciples had this question in their mind as to how this man was blind of course Jesus explained it it was done for God's purpose God's purpose at this moment I'm going to heal him basically and it's for this miracle that's going to occur it's a sign to show who I am God set that up okay and he says but this happens so that the works of God might be displayed in him as long as it is day we must do the works we is the key he means me and the disciples that's who's there that's his audience

[48:36] God's audience there or Jesus' audience is his disciples he's talking to them he says we and the works he's talking about is doing miracles you know healing people like this and Mark just related one that Peter did later on and that's what he means but our works they're coming to an end night is coming when no one can work in other words he's foretelling basically their martyrdom they're all going to be killed just like Jesus is they're all going to be die and no longer will be performing these works that they're doing now and if you want to look at just ahead at chapter 14 verse 12 you'll see that defined better there chapter 14 verse 12 where Jesus basically says okay it's you guys are going to be doing the works now you're going to be doing the miracles now I'm going to be going back with the father it's going to be up to you and I'll give you all the power you need to do it just ask me and I'll do it so that's what's it's really quite simple they aren't going to be around that long to do any more works okay thank you

[49:45] Joe is that correct is that right or wrong yeah well I think you're on track absolutely so we'll just consider that the icing on the cake okay thank you Joe appreciate it