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      "Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?"
      John 9:1-12
      Theme: God grants His children the supernatural grace needed to glorify His Name in any experience.

        1. The Objective of God’s Glory – 9:1-5

          1. The Man-Centered Focus of Sinners – vv. 1-2

            1. The reality revealed in the previous chapter is the failure of human responsibility when tested by the Light – they completely rejected the Lord.
            2. In contrast to that is the reality of chapter 9 – where the central truth is God acting in sovereign grace after such a failure of human responsibility.

                  3. John 8

                  John 9
                  The darkness of man is exposed by the Light Sight is granted to the blind
                  The Light is despised and rejected The Light is received and worshipped
                  The Lord hides Himself as the Jews wish to kill Him The Lord reveals Himself to the blind beggar.
                  Inside the Temple Christ is called a demoniac Outside the Temple Christ is owned as Lord
            3. While Jesus remains elusive to those attempting to stone Him, He reveals Himself willingly to this blind beggar – "As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth"
            4. Although the sanctimonious unbelievers were uselessly seeking Him to stone Him, there is a divine appointment with a sinner who is in need of the grace of God.
            5. This man serves well as an example of those in need of God’s grace – not just physically, but spiritually as well: he was a "man blind from birth."
            6. His malady now becomes the occasion for the disciples to attempt to settle a raging philosophical & theological debate that was raging among the Jews – "What causes suffering?"
            7. They "asked Him, saying, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind’?"
            8. This issue displays a complete misunderstanding of God’s purposes for men – an understanding that is grotesquely man-centered.
            9. There are those who erroneously claim that it is God’s will that all men be healthy and well – and they deduce that any sickness is the cause of personal sin.

          2. The Main Concern For Saints – vv. 3-5

            1. However, Jesus immediately draws the issue away from a man-centered focus to a God-centered orientation – "Jesus answered, ‘It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him’."

              2.  

            2. Although all sickness finds its cause in the presence of sin, it is not necessarily traceable to a specific sin or issue connected to the individual inflicted with illness.
            3. Here we discover that God’s agenda for our lives goes beyond whether or not we are comfortable and healthy and centers of how He might be most powerfully glorified.
              1. This man had been blind "since birth" – at least 20-30 years.
              2. He lived in such a condition so that He would be able to serve as a means by which God might glorify Himself through His Son’s power.
            4. Likewise, the situations that men face provide occasions when God is able to magnify Himself through those suffering
            5. In addition, the opportunity is granted us to display the grace and glory of God as we faithfully endure and triumph through our trials.
            6. The work of God must be prioritized as long as God grants the opportunity and occasion – "We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work."
            7. The great priority of God is the radiance of the glory of God – "While I am in the world, [physically or through indwelling My people] I am the Light of the world."
            8. Every one of us – as those eternally redeemed by the grace of God – are afforded the opportunity to display the glory of God shining from within us as we endure differing trials and suffering – cp. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10
            9. This life is not primarily about our physical comfort, pleasure, or enjoyment, nor about emotional, financial, ease and – but is rather a divinely provided stewardship for the primary purpose of allowing men the privilege of reflecting the glory and grace of God.
            10. If it is the passion of believers to glorify God regardless of one’s situation, and if the believer sees trials as occasions whereby such an ability to glorify God is broadened, then a true child of God will "consider it all joy … when [they] encounter various trials" – cp. James 1:2

        2. The Obligation to Obey – 9:6-7

          1. The Inducement to Obey by the Savior – v. 6-7a

            1. "When He had said this …" - Having drawn attention to God’s priority for our trials, Jesus then takes the initiative to bring glory to God through healing the man.
            2. God can be glorified in different ways depending on His will –
              1. He can be glorified by providing the enabling grace for His children to display His glory through their supernatural faithfulness in a trial – cp. 1 Peter 1:4-9
              2. He can also be glorified by providing the healing grace to display His glory through supernatural healing.
            3. The One Who had formed man out of the dust of the ground, repeats His glorious creative power by using the dirt to heal this man – "He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes"
            4. He then provides the opportunity for the blind man to obey and obtain the blessing of God – "… and said to him, ‘Go wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which is translated, Sent)."
            5. It is only through our simple and undaunted obedience to God – whether through healing or perpetuated distress – that God is glorified.

          2. The Impact of Obedience on the Sinner – v. 7b

            1. Jesus had done everything needed for the blind man to be completely healed, but the healing wasn’t effective until he obeyed the Lord.
            2. Because of His desperate heart, and a divinely generated confidence in Jesus, the blind man obeyed.
            3. We are told that "he went away and washed, and came back seeing."
            4. In a similar fashion, Christ Jesus has done everything needed for men to be made right – spiritually. However, it is not until a sinner believes and obeys that they are cleansed and reconciled to God.

        3. The Opportunity to Testify – 9:8-12

          1. The Curiosity regarding the Grace of God – vv. 8-9

            1. We are told as the followers of God, and beneficiaries of His grace, to always be ready to give a reason for the transformation that has occurred in our lives – cp. 1 Peter 3:15
            2. One reason God grants us His grace and thereby glorifies Himself in us is to stir up interest in their hearts and minds of the lost.
            3. When this man who was born blind returns from the pool of Siloam able to see, "the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, ‘Is not this the one who used to sit and beg’?"
            4. The change in the man was so powerful that some couldn’t admit that it was the same man – "Others were saying, ‘This is he,’ still others were saying, ‘No, but he is like him.’"
            5. We are told that this man kept attempting to convince all of them that he was the man – "He kept saying, ‘I am the one’."

          2. The Confirmation of the Grace of God – vv. 10-12

            1. The change stumbled many who couldn’t explain what had happened to the man – "So they were saying to him, ‘How then were your eyes opened’?"
            2. In his joy at being healed, he readily shared what God had done for him – "He answered, ‘The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me "Go to Siloam and wash;" so I went away and washed, and I received sight’."
            3. The people pressed him for additional information about Jesus – specifically His location, but the man couldn’t answer – "They said to him, ‘Where is He?’ He said, ‘I do not know’."
            4. This displays that the one who has received the grace of God doesn’t have to have all the answers, merely be able to share (confirm) what the grace of God has done for him.
            5. Some here may stumble when it is necessary to confirm the grace of God – unable to share either how the supernatural grace of God is sustaining them through great distress or how they have been healed.

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