Sermon in Rockford 26.08.2012

In the name of the Father and Son and Holy Spirit, let us join in opening prayer.

Dear Heavenly Father, this evening you have called us to the hearing of your word. We pray, dear Father, that you would be present with us in the Spirit. That you would open the mouth of your servant. That you would open the hearts of the listeners. That your will would be done.

Dear Father, we also pray that you would comfort those who walk a lonely pathway. Comfort those who perhaps, for sickness, cannot be with us. Give them the same understanding which you give to all of us through your word. That we are or can be your children in your kingdom. By faith. By grace. By the merit works of your Son. This is our prayer in Jesus' name. Amen.

Tonight I will read part of the gospel text for this Sunday, found in the ninth chapter of the gospel according to John, the last three verses of the chapter. We will read these words in Jesus' name.

And Jesus said, "For judgment I am come into 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 should have no sin." And now we say, "We see. Therefore your sin remaineth." Amen.

This morning, I rejoiced in spirit with the words of our brother when he spoke of how sometimes as servants of the word, we come before you with something which we had thought we'd be able to speak about, and that's not what comes from our mouth. On the other hand, sometimes we come empty.

Can I hear the gospel? Amen.

The text for this Sunday tells us about Jesus being the healer. Some of these texts which speak about healing, it's easy to perhaps look at them from a spiritual viewpoint. But on the temporal side of the picture, it's difficult today to read about these healings. But in order to understand how it happened, we cannot, with our temporal understanding, comprehend that.

And perhaps that's one of the ideas or thoughts that my mind stumbles against when especially studying for this turn to speak, when so many of these texts spoke about things which my mind cannot understand.

For instance, one of the texts is in Acts, if I remember which chapter it's in. It tells about a time when the apostles were... Now I can't remember what chapter. Chapter 3. Which speaks about Peter and John when they went into the temple and they met a man who was lame from birth.

And somehow or another, when looking for a text and coming across texts like this, I placed myself in their steps because they're servants of God and in the same way we have been called in our day to be servants.

But this text tells about how they met this lame man and he was simply looking for money for alms and asked them for alms as well. And they told him that, or Peter told him that, "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I thee."

And in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, "Rise up and walk." And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up. And immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. And he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered wisdom into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

And all the people saw him walking and praising God. So, a miracle had happened. Someone who was lame from birth was made whole. And simply looking at it from the temporal perspective, my mind can't get past that. I don't understand that. But we can believe, though, that scriptures are true. It did happen. They were able to heal him.

But yet, on the other hand, there is some, another case, for instance, in scriptures, that speaks about a different result than what we normally think of. Many times it speaks of these events where there was a lame person and they were made whole.

In the second book of Samuel, it tells about, from the life of King David, that at one point, David remembered the promises he had made to Saul's son, Jonathan, that he would do good unto his house. But years after David had been king, he remembered that.

And he asked, "Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" So that was the question of King David.

And they found an offspring of King Saul whose name was Mephibosheth. And he was a lame man. It said he was lame on both feet.

And through this story, it tells how they took this man, they brought him to the king's house and set him before the table and placed him over much in the kingdom and gave him servants and that he would be as one of the king's sons.

But the last small phrase of that chapter was this, that it says, "He did eat continually at the king's table." And it says, "And was lame on both his feet." It didn't change.

What seems to be in question is the question of two types of healing: temporal healing and spiritual. The temporal healing is difficult for us to understand. It happens as a miracle. We've heard those types of miracles even in our day.

I don't remember who these words were spoken about, but I recall not too many years ago hearing of a person who was very ill. And I believe it was with cancer. And after many visits to the doctor and different perhaps even surgeries, the end result was that this man's cancer was gone.

And the statement was made by the doctor that it wasn't because of him but it was an act of God.

Even in a simpler version, I also recall, for instance, from my own grandfather who for many years had an open sore on his arm. In fact, it bothered him so much he was unable to use it for many years. He had it in a sling.

And he visited the doctor every so many months and the doctor kept trying things: antibiotics and this ointment and that. And nothing seemed to help.

But the end result was just that his father-in-law made some ointment out of natural products from the forest. My father remembers going to search for those things. He wishes he would have written them down. It's lost to time and memory has not recalled those things which he found from the forest.

And when they were placed on that wound it began to heal. And when my grandfather went to see the doctor he wasn't going to tell him about it. He just was going to show him his wound and it was healing.

And when the doctor saw it he said, "Leonard, what have you done?" And he said, "I've been following your instructions as best I can." And the doctor said, "You've done something else." And he knew.

It's one of those types of things that we don't understand. Even the learned people of this world do not understand and some have come to that conclusion as some doctors have that they need to leave room for God in healing.

But on the other hand, when we think of spiritual healing, some of these cases which are written in scriptures speak to us of both of them.

As we read from the Acts, it was apparent that that man was temporally healed. His condition was healed. He was able to walk again. But he praised God and left for joy. He was spiritually healed as well.

But as we recall from the Old Testament text, that man was not temporally healed. He was still lame but yet it was grace of grace that he was placed at the table and was happy.

This part of God's word which we have before us places us exactly before that question of what is important and what is not.

The whole rest of the beginning of this chapter speaks to us about Jesus who had healed a man who was blind and then begins a long discussion with the Pharisees and his parents about who had done this and by what power.

And Pharisees even questioned whether or not this man really had been blind. That they must be lying.

This matter of blindness is a core message of this part of God's word.

I thought a little bit about this blindness that there are, of course, now two types of blindness: one temporal and one spiritual.

Temporal blindness is also of God. He creates as he sees fit. It's not as this world believes; they call it developmentally handicapped. They developed incorrectly.

But that is just humans placing their own experience onto someone else that all should be as we are. God created them as well.

But there are different forms of blindness as well. Some people are blind to a certain extent but yet can see somewhat.

A little kind of funny example of this: I remember hearing my brother talk when we were little. He was at school and it came to be that day when the nurse checked their hearing and their sight.

They checked his sight. He had really given it to him because I would have never thought of this. But for apparently two to three years in a row when he went to have his vision checked he simply remembered what the person in front of him said.

And so when the nurse asked him to read the bottom line of letters he just by memory said what the child in front of him said.

But he couldn't see much more than, if I remember right, about five or ten feet. Everything else was gone. It's a form of blindness.

But then there are those who cannot see at all.

When we are given sight, temporal sight, and it becomes so normal, we don't pause to thank God, the Heavenly Father, for his gift.

On the other hand, when we are given spiritual sight, true vision, do we find it? Do we find reason to give thanks to God for that?

Jesus here takes these Pharisees down exactly this road to speak about spiritual blindness.

It says, "For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind."

These first two words which Jesus said, for a long time this afternoon I was confused, and I wasn't planning on even taking this text because I didn't understand it.

Perhaps I don't understand it even now, but it seems that this is not the judgment which we think so often of. It's not like a judge or the one who places judgment.

I see this the other way around, that it says "for judgment." Jesus was placed in our midst for judgment.

Jesus himself had said that he did not come to judge the world. So this cannot simply mean the opposite of what he previously had said.

So it seems to me that this cannot mean that type of judgment, that Jesus came to judge us.

But it is for this reason, it says "for judgment I am coming to this world," that we ought to look upon Jesus as a judge for ourselves.

Look to the author and finisher of our faith. That's the judgment that's in question.

What do we see when we look to Jesus?

Again, it's a matter of perspective.

I seem to think in this way that for instance when one is traveling in darkness in the world, you're traveling in blindness. You cannot see. The way is blocked. No way forward.

But yet when God gives a day of awakening, it's almost as if the vision has gone out a few feet, so to speak, to see your own sinfulness.

Because when you walk in darkness, it's difficult to see that.

Darkness, when those who walk in darkness, in spiritual darkness of this world, they cannot see that they are in outer darkness. They cannot see their sinfulness.

But God's word gives sight.

I remember, for instance, listening to a sermon from the past of Eno Gimpimaki, who kind of explained this to me.

It seems like it fits this picture that he, when he explains his repentance, that at some point his wife had received the grace of repentance and he himself said that he as a good husband wanted to live peaceably with her so he wished to bring her to the services when she wanted to go.

And at times he would stop there with her and sit in at the services.

And then God gave an awakened conscience. He was able to see just that short distance.

When, in the hearing of God's word, being convicted of his own sins, he thought how his wife must have told them all of his sins, and it seemed as if the entire congregation turned to look to where that sin-wretch was sitting.

His eyesight had begun to open.

These Pharisees had not asked these questions for that reason to see. They were walking in blindness. They were satisfied in what they believed and thought themselves to be right.

But Jesus wished to place them before this, that they would see the works which he had done.

He says, "For judgment I am come into this world."

Jesus was sent into this world that we would look upon his works, that they would see, not might see.

So when we look on Jesus, then we will see that they would see, not might see.

How is that possible that the blind could see?

We don't have understanding when we walk in darkness.

But yet when we look upon what Jesus has done and how he died as an innocent man for the sin-dead of the whole world, that sight is given when we realize our own sinfulness.

But that does not help to only know your own sinfulness. We need to see in Jesus us, the one who can take our sin away.

Then we see.

That they would see might be made blind.

These Pharisees thought that they saw. In fact, they knew it to be so well. They knew the Scripture so well. And they believed they knew it better than the commoner. And I'm sure they did.

But yet, they didn't understand how they were simply men as well.

They could understand that Jesus could point to some of these people around them and say that they were blind. Of course, they were blind and you can see what they do.

So, it's interesting to see, to know, to understand by faith this question which the Pharisees then asked.

Because we hear it all the time in a slightly different form.

Pharisees asked, "Are we blind also?"

They didn't care to know. They thought they were right.

But this was the question that they had to catch Jesus at his word.

A similar question which is in my mind the same question as this.

"So, you think you are the only ones?"

They knew. Without even wanting to believe upon Jesus, when they looked at him, they knew.

They asked the question. They didn't need to be told.

Jesus said unto them, "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin."

And now we say, "We see, therefore your sin remaineth."

We need to be blind to see.

What a remarkable statement that is, to be blind, but yet see.

We see by faith.

We have been able to press down reason, our own understanding, the fleshly portion.

God has opened up our eyes of faith to see.

And what do we see?

We see the Lord Jesus.

For judgment, I am coming to this world.

We are supposed to look on Him in judgment, to judge what we see.

When you look at the Lord Jesus, what do you see?

Do you see what Peter saw when he fell into sin, denied Jesus?

Do you see the loving gaze of Jesus?

So we gaze, you will see.

He has come to save sinners.

His wish is this, that none would perish, that all would come unto repentance and faith.

It is sufficient for us, dear brothers and sisters, tonight, to not see by our own reason.

We don't need to know.

We don't need to maul those details of what we think should be or the way it ought to be.

We will never understand it that way.

We can be content to be blind through the flesh but see by faith because then we have no sin.

Then we are like that Mephibosheth who was placed at the table of the king and he was still lame.

Again and again we have come to the hearing of God's word.

And again and again we simply have to admit we're still the same old sinners.

Nothing has changed.

The same old sinners but by faith, by grace, we have no sin.

Can you believe that much good of the Heavenly Father tonight? That you have no sin.

If you doubt, if you have sin upon your conscience, you can uplift your heart to believe tonight all of your sins and doubts and shortcomings forgiven.

In Jesus' name and precious atonement blood, be of good cheer.

Be content to be a child in the kingdom of children, to be blind by reason but to see by faith that Jesus has paid our sin debt.

In Jesus' name and always blessed name, amen.

Let us pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, your encouraging word.

Because, dear Father, if we trust our own thoughts, our own feelings, we would walk away of trouble and fear.

So we thank you, dear Father, that you have given us peace of conscience and have shown us that we are still on the way which leads to heaven.

And we say, the Lord bless us and keep us.

The Lord make his face shine upon us and be gracious unto us.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon us and give us peace.

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, amen. Amen.