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Good morning, church. December is a time when many of us uh we'll take our leave, we'll go on holiday, we'll take a break from the busy, busy lifestyles that uh most of us live. And like to encourage you, if you're taking some time off during this month, would you take some time to to bring things before the Lord? Normally we feel like we're too busy. I maybe I know a big decision's coming up, something's gonna be happening, but uh I I'm too busy. When I have my leave, then I will take time. And then when the leave comes, we we fill up that leave with activity. And we're running here, we're running there, we need to spend time with family, we need to spend time with friends, and and before we know it, the time is gone. But this is a really good opportunity for us to set aside a bit of time for the Lord, to just have a bit of time, uh, maybe in a family to pray together about the future, if there's children, to just take some time to actually be with them and to speak with them and listen to what they have to say and to pray and encourage and guide them. So, whatever season of life you may be in, if you can take some time this month to be with the Lord. Amen. Alright. There are two childhood days that I can recall so clearly, so easily, when I became really, really dehydrated. All right. And this was, of course, back in the U.S. And the first time was probably when I was about 11 years old, and it was in the middle of summer, and during the summer there was a baseball league for whatever kids in the town they wanted to be a part, and so I was a part of that. Uh, this was something we called T-ball because we couldn't really hit a ball if someone threw it to us. So there'd be a stick with a ball on it, and you just have to hit the ball off the stick. And so uh we were training, and the coach had us running around, and maybe something easier for to think about is a cricket field. Think of a big field, and we had to run around and around and around, and it was a hot summer day, and there was not a cloud in the sky, and I was running and I was becoming more and more tired until I started to get tunnel vision. I I really my vision was shrinking to a circle with black all around it, and there's these uh I could see stars because I was so dehydrated and hot. If you think of uh aluminium foil and the way it can sparkle with the lights on it, it was like all these little pieces of aluminium foil. And so this was the first time that I can remember, wow, really getting very dehydrated. In the end, I had to just quit exercising with everyone else. I was taken off to the side to rest in the shade and to get rehydrated. And I don't know, has anyone here been dehydrated to that extent? Come on, NS? At least the NS guys, they don't they don't push you like that, no? All right. The second time was a few years later, I think I was about 15 years old, again in the summer. And there were a few churches that would combine their youth groups to go hiking. We'd go on a hiking trip. And this was probably we'd get in uh these big old passenger vans to get us there. And I think it was probably about a four or five hour journey. And I remember this trip because it was overnight, it was camping, it was everything. We hiked up Eagle Face Mountain. This is in the Adirondacks of New York State. New York State is not just a big city, it's a big area, it has mountains, and so we went up this one. And coming down, I got dehydrated again. And my canteen was empty, and I was stumbling, and I was getting slower, and I was starting to get worried what's going to happen if I get left behind. I'm gonna be lost in these mountains, I don't know my way, I'm out of water. Uh, and so again, the same thing, this tunnel vision and everything, and being very dehydrated. Somehow I made it down. I I cannot remember what happened now, uh, so many years later. So, today's passage is also about vision. And so it made me recall these events because the man in the passage he received his sight, he received his vision. And it wasn't just that he had had poor vision, but he had been born blind. All his days, he had never seen colors, he hadn't seen uh the olives growing on the olive trees, he hadn't seen any of these things. He'd never seen the sun in the morning coming over the hills, he hadn't seen any of it. This man had been born blind. And Jesus healed him, and his life, it was changed forever. And I wonder what that must be like, what it must have been like for this man to have had his eyes open, to have seen things for the first time. Should we look to the Lord in prayer? Precious Lord Jesus. Thank you for this morning. Thank you for the chance, even in this month of December, to reconnect with you, to slow down our lives, to really bring things before you in prayer to put you first. Lord, I pray even as we look at your scripture today, would our spiritual eyes be opened. Lord, that we can see what you want us to see, that we can hear what you want us to hear today. Lord, we we commit ourselves to you in the name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. Now, all this uh passage today is in context with the chapter before. Sorry, I feel like every time we have to go back to make sure we have the right context, because without the right context, uh we miss it. And so this is in context with John chapter 8, where Jesus makes the statement that I am the light of the world. These things are related here. And that John chapter 8, when Jesus said, I'm the light of the world, it took place during the festival of tabernacles. And it was probably on the last day of that festival. And so this was a festival during the autumn equinox. That is when it's that time of the year when the amount of day and the amount of night are exactly equal. It's not longer days, it's not longer nights, it is exactly equal. And they have this light ceremony that they would practice at the time, uh, which looks forward to Revelation chapter 21, verse 23. It says, And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light. And its lamp is the lamb. So this is looking forward to the future, all right? And so during this uh light ceremony, they would meet in the outer court, the courtyard of women. Uh, if we can have that slide up here. Thank you, yes. And so you can see it's kind of right into the entrance. This is New Testament time, so this is Herod's temple, the temple that was built during Herod's time. And the courtyard of women wasn't just for women, but it was as far in as women were allowed to enter into the temple. And so this is where this light ceremony was held. And as I read about this, it's pretty amazing. They had these four pillars in this courtyard, and they were quite tall. They were about 23 meters high. I'm not sure how tall our sanctuary is that we're sitting in here this morning, but I think 23 meters is higher than that. These were very tall pillars, and on the top of each pillar there were these four bowls. And in each bowl there was olive oil that was filled in. And so the people would have to somehow climb up ladders, these 23-meter high things, and fill up a fresh with olive oil to keep this light burning for this light ceremony. All right, burning from the olive oil. And so in the night, there's no electricity, there's very few lights around, and so this would burn so bright. And so history that we've read, they say this was really a wonder of the world. It was the brightest thing you could see from all Jerusalem. This was something really amazing, all right? These lights way up there hanging so high. It really lit up the night. So this was something very dramatic, this light ceremony. And there'd be men who were dancing with torches and singing, and it was this big thing going on. And so it was in this dramatic situation. It might have been that last day while these things were lit. It might have been the next morning after they'd been snuffed out, but it was in this setting that Jesus was there in the temple where all the lights had been, looking forward to revelation, where it says that God Himself will be the light. And Jesus said, I am the light of the world. And so this was a very strong statement that we cannot get unless we know just a little bit of the context, right? And so it's from this that we move into our passage today. It's actually a long passage. We only read seven verses of it, so I just summarize for us. Jesus is leaving the temple and he's on his way somewheres. And the disciples ask him about this man born blind. Why was he born blind? Was it because he had sinned? Was it because of his parents who had sinned? And Jesus just simply answers and then he anoints the man's eyes with mud. Where did that mud come from? He spit, right? Jesus spit on the ground and he formed like a clay. To us today, spitting is something very insulting. It is extremely insulting. But at the time then, there was somehow this understanding that spittle had medicinal purpose to it. All right, so it wasn't as strong, it wasn't as rude as we would take it today. So just to be aware of that. So he made the mud and put it on the man's eyes. Uh he sends the man, and the man obeys, and he goes to the pool of Siloam, and he receives his sight, and then he returns. The neighbors, they question the man, and then they send him to the Pharisees. The Pharisees, they're divided on the nature of the healer. They almost ignore the miracle, but they, the problem is it was on the Sabbath. And so some of them, they said, well, it's a miracle, but others, this cannot be of God because it was done on the Sabbath. And then they release the man, they call his parents to come testify. Was this man really born blind? Was this really a miracle? What happened? And so they question the parents, send away the parents who are a bit fearful, they call the man back in, they question him again, and then they're upset with his faith, his insistence that Jesus had healed him, and so they they expel him from the synagogue. We don't know if it was for weeks or months or permanently, probably not permanently, but it was a big thing to be expelled from the synagogue. And so Jesus then finds the man and he reveals his divine identity. And some Pharisees they overhear and they end up condemned by Jesus because they are willfully blind and therefore guilty. Maybe we'll just read those first seven verses again. As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? This man or his parents? That he was born blind. Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming. I am the light of the world. Having said these things, he spit on the ground and he made mud with a saliva, he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, Go wash in the pool of Siloam. So he went and washed and came back seeing. So I think there's a few things we we should take note of this morning. Yeah? The first is the disciples want to know what sin caused the man to be blind. Was it his own sin? Or was it his parents? Because in their worldview, physical deformity was a spiritual curse. So that's why when they saw this man, they thought that there's something behind this. This doesn't just happen for no reason. But there's kind of it's a bit problematic, I find. Because either God foreknew that the man would sin in the future, and therefore chose to have him be blind by birth, which seems a bit difficult, or else it was the parents who had sinned, and although he was innocent, he became blind from birth because of something that they had done. Either he was punished before he had done anything wrong, or he was punished for someone else's sin. It seems a bit problematic to me. I don't know. I don't know if it's a problem for you. It's a bit of a problem for me. I mean, to punish before committing wrong, is God sovereign? Yes, God is sovereign. He can do whatever he wants to do, he has perfect foreknowledge. I'm not one to tell God how and what to do. But I'm not convinced that this is how God works. I'm not very convinced this is how God works. If he were to punish each one of us for our sin that he knew we were going to commit, which one of us could stand? We'd all be we'd all be gone. If we were to look at it in this way, we we'd all be blind. We'd have no hope. So I don't I don't think that that is what's going on here. And on the other hand, to be punished for someone else's wrongdoing, it also doesn't line up with God's character. Right? Because what has God done? We have sinned, but rather than bring the punishment on us, instead he sent his son to die for us that we wouldn't have to pay the penalty for our sin. So both understandings are a bit problematic, I find. And so we see in Jesus' response that it's the disciples' perspective that is wrong. They're asking the wrong question. The way to see suffering is not to search out the blame and the fault, but instead to look to God. This man, he wasn't blind because of someone else. And he wasn't blind because of a choice he was going to make in the future. Instead, Jesus says it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. It doesn't mean he was born blind so that God could do a work of healing. But rather, as Jesus is the light of the world, suffering is an opportunity for him to bring healing, for him to reveal himself as the light. So is sickness a result of sin? It is, right? Sickness is definitely a part of the fall. It's a part of sin. But sickness and infirmity, they are not a result of individual sin. Alright? This is not how the world works. And so Jesus saw this as an opportunity to bring compassion to the man, to bring glory to God. And what faced with suffering, it's an opportunity to bring compassion and to bring glory to God. So the next couple of verses, verses three to five, are connected to this idea of light and darkness. And this is one of the things in the Gospel of John, we see a lot of light and darkness. From verse 3, Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. What is this day that Jesus is speaking of? It's the time that Jesus, the Son of God, was walking the face of the earth. And so, what is the night then? The night is those three days when after Christ died for our sin, there was a time of darkness. In fact, when he died, he cried out. Right? Do you remember the story? And so these darkness, this night is in between his death and his resurrection, those three days. When it must have seemed to all around a sense of hopelessness, quite honestly. All those who had been thinking, is this the one? Is this God's promised Messiah? The world is growing crazy around us. The Romans with their taxes, and we're losing our identity, and there's so many poor, and people are starving, and those in power are raising up armies and fighting against each other, and the whole world has gone mad, and we thought this was the Messiah. We thought this is the one. We thought at last God has heard our prayers and He's coming to free us. And we killed, we put to death the Messiah. And so it was those days which were coming up, which Jesus is speaking of, this time of night, was dark and hopeless for them. There could be no darker night than this. And so at the end of the encounter, this man who had been born blind, after he'd been interrogated by the Pharisees for the last time, after he was expelled from the temple, Jesus finds him again. And this is from verse 35. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him, he said, Do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered, And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? He still had not seen Jesus. He had to go away to wash and receive his vision. Jesus said to him, You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. He said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus Said, For judgment I came into this world that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and they said to him, Are we also blind? Jesus said to them, If you were blind, you would have no guilt. But now that you say we see, your guilt remains. The Pharisees, they were blind because of their pride, because of their self-righteousness, because of their love of position and their love of power. But the man who became spiritually seeing is observed to have had humility, a reverence for God, and to be truly devoted, even to the point of persecution. When he had answered the Pharisees, they just kept wanting him to condemn the person who had healed him, to condemn Jesus. And the man kept clinging on. I don't know about the man. I don't know his past. You want me to say he's a sinner? I don't know about that. Only this I know. I once was blind, but now I see. And so this blind man in the passage, he had been truly living in darkness. Physically, he could not see before this miracle. He was born blind. There was no chance of him ever having his sight. There was no braille system, he couldn't read. He didn't have the textured strips on the ground to know where he's going. Didn't have any such thing. There was no seeing eye dogs. There was no system in place to help him with his blindness. Socially, he was at the bottom of the social ladder. This man was never going to marry. He had no educational opportunities. He was confined to darkness for his lifetime. He would stumble, he'd become lost at times, his life was bleak, and he knew it. Jesus, in John chapter 8, verse 12, he said, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. And this man, he would have been one who had been walking in darkness. But the Lord healed him. The Lord healed him. And the Pharisees, although they were seeing, they were said to be spiritually blind. They claimed to have the truth, they knew the scriptures, they claimed that they knew the truth, and yet they were the ones who were blind, and so Jesus condemned them. And so this is God's promise for us this morning: that whoever would turn to God, whoever would recognize Jesus as Savior, whoever would turn from spiritual blindness should know the truth, shall know the light of the world. Once we were all ignorant of our sin. Once we are ignorant of the lies and the jealousy that was at work within us, the fear that lives inside of us. Once we are ignorant of how selfish we are. But in the light of Christ, we know the truth. And we know that He is the light who has come to bring us out of darkness. And so we don't have to be wretched in the way of this blind man in the passage today. And we don't have to be trapped in cycles of violence. We don't have to be trapped to addictions. We don't have to be trapped to the rat race when it comes to employment. We don't have to be trapped to these things. Because Christ came to bring freedom and to bring hope. And that is the promise that is there for us today. That we can be free from the power of sin, free to live for God and in the way He desires, free to make the world a better place than we found it. Free to be a blessing to others, free to forgive, free to extend grace. We don't have to keep score with others. We are free to extend grace to others, to show compassion. We can be free. Church. Well, that's another situation. But actually, they knew. They knew the scripture. All the Old Testament that was there, they knew it. They studied it. They met together in the temple. They met together in synagogues. They claimed to know the truth, but they were willfully blind. Because when God came, they didn't recognize him. When he came forgiving sins, they called the man a fraud. When he healed people, they complained it was done on the wrong day. And in the end, they put him to death for coming, for healing, and forgiving. And for proclaiming the way of the Lord. If there is a caution for us this morning, that caution is let us examine ourselves that we are not just following the law, whatever law we know from Scripture, just following the law and forgetting the Savior. Because this is what the willful blindness looks like. Is when we are just trying to love Allah, obey Allah, follow Allah, but the law isn't going to save any of us. It is the Savior. These things are supposed to point to the Savior. They're supposed to open our eyes. That Jesus came. And that's, of course, as we think of Christmas. Jesus came on Christmas Day, right? We know that phrase. And so if there's a caution, let us not let us not be willfully blind to the Savior. But let us look to Him and bring all of our cares to Him. And in this month of December, if you have any break, if you have any leave, would you take some time and come before the Lord, even quietly? Lord, it's been a busy year, and I'm looking ahead to this, and we've got this major thing coming up on the horizon. Lord, would you give wisdom? Would you give guidance? How shall we make our plans? Make your plans before the Lord. Lord, in this month of December, how can I show your love to others? There's people who are stressed over many things. How can I say a kind word? Lord, what kind word could I say to bring a bit of hope to them? So, church, shall we commit ourselves to pursuing the Lord and making opportunity of the time we have even in this month? Can we do that? Come, let's pray. Lord, thank you that we do not have to walk in darkness. We do not have to live wretched lives. But you are the light of the world. And in you there is hope. In you there's forgiveness of sins. In you there is a chance to, instead of following the sinful nature, to instead to make the world a better place as we live out and imitate your love and your compassion and your care for people. Lord, help us to set our eyes on you, to be renewed in our love for you, O Lord, in our devotion towards you. Lord, may you be glorified in our lives and in our choices. May you be glorified in our lives, O Lord. Pray and ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.