Well, hello and welcome to another broadcast. We're looking in John chapter 9. We're going to see a blind man, some disciples talking to Jesus, the neighbors of the blind man, the Pharisees all upset, and the parents all upset too. An interesting little chapter. Stay tuned for our broadcast. Well, in John chapter 9 here, we see Jesus pass by. He saw a man which was blind from his birth, and his disciples asked him, Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus said, Neither, but that the works of God should be manifest in him. That is the reason there is a ministry, there is a tremendous ministry of suffering. Here's this man, been sitting here for at least 30 years, and the Bible says when Jesus had spoken, he spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam, which is by interpretation sin. He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. Now, an unusual thing here, as we said in our last broadcast, let's not put God down to any specific way of working here. Sometimes he just touched somebody and they were healed. Sometimes he just said the word and they were healed. This man, he did this situation here, I think partly, maybe, because that little remnant from John chapter 8 that he started out with in that chapter, who really believed in Jesus, needed to see this, and his disciples needed to see it as well. Well, why did he put Why did he do this? Well, because he wanted to. He just did what he wanted to do. He's gone. Well, he says unto him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam. Now, Siloam, this pool, was actually made by Hezekiah many, many years earlier. And what he did was he had water come down from the mountains and it was channeled down into this pool. And so, shalom means sent, and what it means is sent from above. And that's exactly what we're looking at here. Go wash in the pool of shalom. The pool of shalom is representing that which is sent from above, and it's actually representing the Word of God. The Bible says we're washed in the Word of God, the washing of water by the Word. And so he says, go wash in the pool, which is by interpretation, sent. Well, he went his way, therefore, and watched, and came seeing. See, that's what you have to do. You just have to do what Jesus says to do. It's going to turn out all right. Well, the neighbors, the neighbors in verse number eight, therefore said, they which before had seen him that was blind said, is not this he that sat and begged? And some said, this is he. Others said, he is like him. But he said, I am he. So who are these neighbors? Well, I don't know. Are they the neighbors at the house where he came from? Or are they the neighbors that he sat with all the time while he was begging with all the other people who were begging? One thing for sure, our neighbors are those that know us, who live close to us, who see what we're really up to every day. And the neighbors, therefore, said, is this really him? Some said he is, some said he isn't. He said, yeah, I'm really me. Therefore, said they unto him, How were thy eyes open? They notice, obviously, a tremendous difference in this man. Something has changed. Anybody who comes to Jesus Christ and receives him as their personal Savior, and their eyes are open, there is going to be a tremendous change in everything they do after that point. All things pass away, all things become new. Someone rhymes off a little prayer and it doesn't get saved, nothing changes. The person who receives Jesus Christ, all things pass away, all things become new. And your neighbors are going to realize what's going on. Well, he answered, he said, this is how it happened. Verse 11, the man that is called Jesus made clay and anointed mine eyes and said unto me, go to the pool of Siloam and wash. And I went and washed and I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. Now, you remember in the last chapter, there's people with stones ready to stone him. And so he passed by, it says in verse 59. Then in chapter nine and verse number one, as he passed by, he stopped and he healed this man. And then he kept on going. Those Pharisees are still got the stones in their hands. And he says, well, where is he? I don't know. Verse 13, they brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. Oh, right away. You can see people are making choices and people are going to suffer the consequences of the choices. Nevermind, wow, let's just find Jesus and praise him for what he's done. No, let's go find the Pharisees and tell them what Jesus did. Well, it was on the Sabbath day, verse 14, when Jesus had made the clay and opened the eyes, and then again the Pharisees, who asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles, and there was a division among them? Well, even some of the Pharisees are starting to get their eyes opened. That in itself would be a bigger miracle than this man who was blind. Well, verse 7 says, They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him that he hath opened thine eyes? And he said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him that had been blind, and received his sight, and they called his parents. Ah, now we're going to bring the parents into this. So we have the neighbors, we have the Pharisees, now we have the parents. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then doth he now see? And his parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son. Well, good for you, parents. You got that figured out. We know that he was born blind. Yeah, you knew that too. Twenty-one. But by what means he now seeth? We know not. Or who hath opened his eyes? We know not. He is of age, ask him, he shall speak for himself. He can just talk for himself. Why were they not taking more steps to say who did this? Verse 22 tells us these words spake his parents because they feared the Jews. Well, isn't that great? Here's their son standing here, a miracle has happened, and they're more concerned about their religious leaders and these hypocrite Pharisees. They feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Oh yeah, we'll just choose between our religious little synagogue service here and our own little boy. What nonsense is this? This is their son. Therefore, said his parents, he is of age, ask him. Well, this is the first day this man has received his sight. He's not seeing a whole lot of good stuff yet. He's seeing these Pharisees. He's seeing his parents not even accepting their religion over him. And then again called they the man that was blind, verse 24, and said unto him, Give God the praise. We know this man is a sinner. Oh yeah, they know Jesus, the Son of God, is a sinner. They're just stupid. He answered and said, that is the man whose eyes were open, whether he be a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, what did he to thee? How opened he thine eyes? And he answered, I have told you already, and ye did not hear. Wherefore, would ye hear it again? Will ye also be his disciples? This man is beginning to take a stand. I like this fellow. I'm going to meet him in heaven someday and talk to him. Well, verse 28 says, Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciples. We are Moses' disciples. Yeah, the last chapter, they were Abraham's disciples. Well, anyway, they said, we know, verse 29, that God spake unto Moses, as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. No, they certainly didn't know. Well, the man answered in verse 30 and said unto them, why, here it is a marvelous thing that ye know not from whence he is, and he hath opened mine eyes. Now, we know that God heareth not sinners, But if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing." Well, the Pharisees aren't going to stand for this. They answered it said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Oh yeah, they weren't born in sin, but this fellow was. Yeah, well, they're saying he did sin, his parents. You know, born in sin, you go back to that verse, the nonsense that these Pharisees believed. Well, Jesus heard, verse 35, Jesus heard, that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? Isn't that interesting? Now, here's the fellow, he's been cast down the front steps of the temple, you're not welcome in here, you can't come in this temple and talk like you believe in Jesus, who do you think you are? Well, Jesus heard they cast him out, and he went looking for him. And when he found him, he asked him this very pertinent question, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast seen him. Well, let's stop and think for a while. I've only had my vision here for a short time, a few hours. Who have I seen? I haven't seen anybody that would act like the Son of God, except maybe this one person who's sitting here talking to me. You have seen him, and he went on to say, and it is he that talketh with thee. Well, no question about it. Right away, we read in verse number 38, he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him. Lord, I believe. Now I want to go back to John 3 again. We mentioned it in our last broadcast. Jesus said, God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. In verse 18, he said, he that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." These Pharisees are condemned already. Why? Because they have not believed. They refuse to believe. Now again, choices and consequences. In verse 36 in John 3 says, "...he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life but the wrath of God abideth upon him." Now, put that together with verse 35 of chapter 9, And Jesus heard they cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe? Do you believe on the Son of God? Well, I will, if I can know who he is. Jesus said, I am he, I am he. And he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him. Well, verse number 38 says, And Jesus said, For judgment am I coming to this world, that they which see not might see, and they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye would have no sin. But now ye say we see, therefore your sin remaineth. Now as we come to chapter 10, it is important to understand that the chapter headings were put in here. They are not inspired. Actually, this conversation that is taking place in verse 41 continues right on into chapter 10. And we'll see that it goes down through all the way to verse number 21. where it finally says, can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And so it is in this same situation, it is in the same context that we have chapter 10 here. And so Jesus said unto them in 41, if ye were blind ye would should not have sinned, but now you say, we see, therefore your sin remaineth. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door of the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." Wow, he's calling them thief and a robber. Not very nice of you to do that, Jesus. Yeah, it's very nice that they are thieves and they are robbers and those who are listening need to know it. Well, there you have it. We'll continue here in our next broadcast. Be sure and tune in. We'll try to make it plain and we'll try to make it simple. you