Good morning, Church. There is a reason why I will be speaking and not singing this morning. That is my gift to you. Pastor Martin, thank you so much for the honor of sharing your pulpit with me this morning. I’m excited to be here. I love being part of church, Big C Church, and anytime that we can come and worship with one another and study God’s word together, I consider that a win. Will you pray with me? Father God, we come before your holiness and your goodness now.

Oh Jesus, I pray that any of the words that come off of these lips would be ones that would honor and glorify you. Draw us all, Lord, to hear the truth that is found in your word this morning, the example of who you are for us today, and help us to be bold and courageous to then take it outside of these walls. We give you this time. It’s in Christ’s most holy name we pray, amen.

So I have titled my sermon this morning, “Sightlines”. And if you are familiar with any kind of, well really any kind of architecture, you know that sightlines are very, very important. They’re actually a necessity because you are trying to build a building and trying to make sure that people can actually have a good vantage point of wherever they might be standing. You want them to see what you want them to see.

So let me ask you a question. Have any of you ever been to a place and you couldn’t really see very well, but maybe somebody else could see kind of well? Maybe they were saying, oh, do you see that? Do you see that? You’re doing this. No, I don’t really see what they’re seeing.

I will tell you that I had this experience on a family vacation four years ago to the Grand Canyon. It was a blessing of a trip. It was a once in a lifetime trip. We saved five years to do this trip. We will never do it again.

And so here we are, my family, my husband Jason, my three boys at the time were 18, 13 and six. I did not enjoy the sight line that I got to see. You can tell by their ages. I was a mother who had three boys who all they wanted to do was see what the vantage point would be of how close they could get to the edge.

This mother’s sight line**, meaning,** the one thing that I wanted to capture their attention was not how beautiful things were, was, don’t you see that handrail over there? Maybe that’s where we could be a little bit closer.

We came out of that day experience with very different testimonies of what we witnessed. My husband just was in awe of the whole thing. The little one wanted just to hop all over the rocks. The 13 year old, I have photo evidence of him pushing the envelope, seeing, see mom, look what I can do. And the 18 year old who is our outdoorsman was just enthralled with the nearby elk that just kept coming closer and closer toward us.

With my sightline, what got my attention, what I really focused in on was how big the cavern was. So different, isn’t it? Yet it’s the same experience.

So here we come to John chapter nine. Thank you so much for reading all of it. I appreciate it. But we really do need this entire chapter to understand the journey and what happens to people’s line of sight, their sightlines.

So as you know, there’s a variety of people in this particular chapter. We have Jesus. We have this man that has been healed. He was born blind. We have the neighbors and Pharisees and his parents. And of course, as we know, every time we read scripture, we are there somehow too. There’s an application for us.

So what I want to do is I want to approach John chapter nine through the vantage point of sightlines. What is getting the attention of people?

And who I want to start with first is our Lord and Savior, Jesus. So I have to ask myself, Jesus, what was it that you saw? What was it that you fixed your attention on in this particular passage?

And we know right there from the reading, and you still may have it up in front of you, it is the man as he’s passing by, the scripture says, he sees this man and he recognizes that he is blind.

See, Jesus wants to draw us to himself in this particular story a little bit differently. He’s going to use some very unconventional ways to make sure that people understand his authority and his power.

So the very first thing that Jesus is going to do is he is going to reveal who he is and what he is there to do. But depending on the vantage point of the people present, they may or may not recognize who is speaking and what he is doing.

He calls himself in the scripture, “I am the light of the world,” he says. This is work that I’ve been sent to do. I must do this work.

And so he is revealing already, I am the light of the world. What some of them may have understood, but what some of them may have missed was that to be the light of the world means that he was going to be the light that exposes. Light divides darkness right from day.

He was going to be the light who informs, who includes, who offers justice, who speaks truth, who brings peace and who displays love. That is who Jesus is as the light of the world.

He is the one who is going to anoint the eyes of this blind man to open them up. And so friends, it is us that have to put ourselves into this story as the blind man. Lord, how have you anointed and opened my eyes to see you in such a different way?

Questions are asked throughout this particular chapter in scripture, and so I would be remiss if I were not to tell you, ask questions. Jesus, when did you heal my eyes? What was that circumstance like? What’s the testimony that you have if when Jesus anointed your eyes and opened them up for you to see who he really is, the light of the world?

Now, Jesus, in this very early part of the passage, is not only going to tell us who he is, but it’s what he is here to do. And that is to push back against the culture.

The culture was saying, “Oh, what did this man do? He has a disability.Mmust be, you know, there’s got to be something wrong with him.”

His own disciples, Jesus’ followers, ask him that question. “What did he do, Lord? Or what did his parents do?” You have to do something to deserve this.

And Jesus is going to push back against that. How does he do that? He simply tells the truth. No one sinned here. This is how this man was born. Because I’m about to show you that even in suffering, even in darkness, I have come to make a transformation.

And he’s going to do this in such a way that is so unconventional. He’s going to take the existing dirt on the ground and he’s going to use his own saliva. He’s going to spit in it.

Now, I don’t know about you, if you were to come at me this way, you’d like, whoa, hold on here. No thanks. Let’s try a different way, okay? But that’s exactly what he does.

And so in this pushing back against the culture of this isn’t because somebody did something wrong, this is because you’re about to see something great and that is me at work, that is me and my power on display.

And so he’s gonna push back. Not only is he pushing back against this idea that sin was abounding, does sin abound? Yes.

But to say that this man was your fault and this is what happened, Jesus was pushing back against that. He’s also pushing back the idea that compassion had limits.

The Pharisees later on in the chapter, one of their big beefs, if you will, their big struggles with Jesus, calling him, there’s no way this man could be from God is because he practiced compassion on the Sabbath.

Jesus is going to push back against that. When has there ever been limitations on showing fruit of the Spirit to one another?

And so Jesus is modeling this. He’s exemplifying this for us. So he takes the dirt and he takes his own saliva and he mixes it together, and he puts it on the eyes of this man who was born blind, not because of somebody’s sin, just because he was.

What does this represent for you and for me? Believe it or not, even in this, Jesus is telling us a little bit about himself. He is telling us that he is both human and divine, fully human, fully divine.

So what does he do? He is going to heal this man using human-like elements and divine-like elements. He’s taking dirt. Where was man formed from? What were we fashioned from? The dirt, the earth.

And he’s going to take saliva. That’s a wetness. It’s a representation of water. That’s divine. We have a man and we have a divine.

And Jesus is going to say, to be truly healed, you’re going to need both parts of me. because I am coming to do some very unconventional things for you.

See, what Jesus was after was a true conversion. He wasn’t after a temporary healing, something that just make you kind of have blurry vision. He wanted us to have full vision, full sight.

And it was going to take us to be able to see Jesus as this is the suffering servants who came, man incarnate from heaven to earth. That is our holy one.

And so he’s going to say, “I am fully divine. I was there when you were created, and yet I am the suffering servant. I am fully human, so I can understand right where you are at.”

When Jesus says, I am with you, we can believe that. Because not only has he been with us since Genesis chapter one, chapter two in our formation, he’s with us today because of his unconventional ways to give us a true conversion.

Let me explain a little bit more. Unconventional was dirt and spit. Unconventional was how a grave could equal life. Unconventional was how a cross meant salvation. Unconventional was the light of the world who would be the suffering servant.

Jesus was here to reveal first to this blind man on the scene who he was and what he could do. And then that’s going to be for us.

So we question, Lord, who are you to me? What are you still doing in my life? Lord, help me to remember that you were not just about reform, trying to improve me. You are about transformation.

You are fully healing, giving yourself fully so I can have a true conversion to see you with not blurry vision, but with clear, clear vision.

Jesus, first one on the scene. And then we continue on in our passage and the next group of folks that we’re going to come by is everybody else in the story but the blind man. We’re going to leave him till the end.

So everybody else in the story, these are the neighbors who, wait, isn’t that the guy who was, I think it might’ve been the guy who was blind, but no, I don’t think so. It looks like him, but I’m not really sure that’s him. So people were questioning his identity.

And then he brought the Pharisees. Who’s the one who actually healed you? So many questions they asked. So many times they summoned people to come to them, even the parents. Are you sure that your son was born blind? So many questions.

And I want you to hear the pass off. The neighbors weren’t sure what to do with this man who they thought was blind, but maybe that’s the guy. They don’t know what to do with them, so they sent him off to the Pharisees. We’re so confused. We’re not sure what to do. You guys fix it.

The Pharisees are asking their own version of questions. How? How? How? How? How? That they’re not sure what to do. They start to get angry.

They’re not sure, so they bring in the parents. Are you sure? How? How? Are you sure? More questions. They send him back to the Pharisees.

What do they do with this man? By the end of the story, they’ve cast him out. He’s been completely isolated.

He’s already been there before as a blind man, isolated. Jesus brought him in. He sought the outcast, the people on the margins, and he brought him in and he opened up his eyes.

And now this man, from the church, from his family, from his friends, is being outcast again. He’s being pushed out.

Why church? Because they didn’t understand. Because they wanted explanation, they wanted reason.

There was so much doubt because of all the questions they were asking, they forgot one important one. Where is God in this miracle?

See, they were so focused on the man that they missed the miracle. They completely missed it.

And so we’ve got to ask questions of ourselves. Lord, when am I like the neighbor? When I don’t understand, so I just give a pass off. When I want to just go home and shut my garage and not be very neighborly.

When are you wanting me to push against that? To be able to see other people?

Lord, when am I in the church, blind, holding spiritual blindness without even knowing it? Would you open my eyes so that would no longer be the case?

I’m serving in all these different ways, but am I ever stopping to be alone with you? Am I getting out in the community and serving without needing a pat on the back?

Lord, how am I like the parents who will just kind of pass the buck and I’m full of fear and I don’t want to answer because if I answer incorrectly, I could be**, like the parents in the story,** kicked out of the church.

That was their livelihood. was their entire social gathering was the church. And they were so afraid. They’re like, we don’t know. He’s old enough. Let him answer.

When have we passed that buck even upon one another? They’re old enough. They can read the Bible on their own. They don’t need me to do that.

Church, I don’t ask any of these questions with guilt or manipulation, so I want to make that very, very clear. I ask them because these are things that we as pastors, we have to ask these questions to ourselves.

I am a neighbor. I am a churchgoer and I am a parent. And I’ve had to ask these questions. I’ve had to sit with the mirror in front and go, Melissa, how about you?

When have you chosen spiritual blindness just because you didn’t understand? When did you want to pass the buck because it was a little bit easier?

And Jesus is saying, that is not at all what I want from any of us. Instead of having people go to you, you go to them. You go and bring the good news, the light of the world. You bring it out of the church walls.

This is beautiful, but this isn’t all it’s about. It’s about going into the world**, helping** other people have their eyes be anointed so that they can fully see, even when we don’t have all the answers.

Because I say at our church, Jesus didn’t ask us to push back against the culture in a perfect way. Because if we were perfect, who do I have to point to? We are imperfect people pointing to a perfect Savior.

But sometimes it’s really easy and comfortable to stay in a state of spiritual blindness. They wanted answers, they wanted reasoning. They missed mercy. They missed transformation. They missed redemption, which again, is not improvement. It’s a complete transformation making something brand new. And they missed it.

And then we come to the blind man, who is where we come in.

The blind man who I want you to try to visualize what this must have been like for this man. He could not see Jesus. All he could do was hear him.

He could hear Jesus’s words. He could hear the disciples, what did this man do? He’s done nothing. I’m about to do something wonderful and great and you need to see it. And then I need you to go and make testimony of what you have seen. He would have heard all of it.

He would have heard Jesus say, I am the light of the world. This needs to be done.

He would have heard not trying to be grotesque, but he would have heard the spit. You know, they say that if one of your senses kind of weakens, the others heighten up. So he would have been listening.

He would have felt the touch, the crusty earth coming onto his eyes. And then he’s being told to wash all of that coming away. And then he would have seen.

And where was Jesus? Did he get to see Jesus? Not then.

You know, most of the story, Jesus is not present. Most of the story is about people asking questions. How, how, how, how, how? Are you sure? Because we know that man from before. I’m not sure such a transformation can take place in that one. Are you sure?

Jesus isn’t there. He’s not there to say, I’m the one. Yes, it’s me. Come to me. Ask me questions.

No, this man has got a full healing, but what he doesn’t fully have yet is the heart healing. He has a visual healing.

Here’s the beauty of the story. His healing has a transformation. It’s slow, but it’s steady.

At the very beginning of this passage, he refers to Jesus as the man they call Jesus. I don’t know who he was.

And it progresses. He’s a prophet. I mean, surely a godly guy can do something like this, right?

And it progresses. Are you guys wanting to be his disciples too? So you want to be a follower? This is somebody who people would want to follow.

The Pharisees don’t like that one.

Oh, wait. So this is somebody who really has the power. Who actually healed me.

You keep asking me the same question and I keep giving you the same answer. This is all I know. I was blind. He healed me. Now I see.

His progression continues and he ends up calling him Lord. And then towards the end of chapter nine, this once blind man has a heart conversion. He is fully healed. And he gives his worship to Jesus the Christ.

Jesus wasn’t around. So how does that happen?

Because with questions, and it’s okay to ask questions, with questions though**,** should come a time of listening. For those of us in the church, a time to be still and to pray. Lord, how? What is going on?

Take that to our King. He’s big enough to handle our questions.

But would you also offer time to hear his responses? His responses through the wisdom of other people, his responses and his words, the responses that we receive from the gift of the Holy Spirit walking with us.

This man who was physically healed, he didn’t just run away, hop, skip and jump. My life is fantastic. He actually suffered because of it.

He was peppered with questions. Neighbors were no longer believing. He’s brought in front of the church. They’re now questioning him. And his own parents are willing to say, we don’t know. Talk to him.

How would that be for us? Oh, Lord, how? Why? What?

But instead of that leading to something that could re-blind him spiritually, he’s going to take these questions and he’s going to hear himself. I keep telling you the same thing. This man healed me. This man healed me. This man healed me.

And the more he’s telling his story, the more he’s realizing this isn’t just any man. This was the light of the world. He called himself that. I heard him say that early on.

This is the light of the world. That means he’s illuminating something new and fresh in my life.

This is the light of the world. I no longer see things, hear things, or plan to do things the same way that I have done before. He is the light of the world.

So when Jesus does come back on the scene, much later in verse 35, who are you? You’re the Lord. I am He. And this man knew it.

Because he had experienced power. He had experienced touch. He had experienced a presence that he probably couldn’t even define that that was the presence of God in his life. And yet he knew it.

And his response is, I give you everything I’ve got because I know and I believe who you are.

Even if other people are questioning me over and over again, I know what you’ve done in my life. I know the testimony that you have given me. I know what other people say. I know what they say I should do, but I know what you have done for me. And I believe you.

I know that you did not just heal my eyes, that you’re doing some kind of work in my heart. I know that you’re not just trying to make my life better. That you’re saving me, Jesus.

You are doing this in such an unconventional way, but I believe who you are.

And that’s where we are, church. We get to ask ourselves some of those questions.

Lord, what is my story? How have you shown up for me?

Where is it where my belief has become a little weakened? Where, Lord, is it where I need to be bolstered again in my faith?

Remind me of what you have done. Remind me of what I don’t see so that I may see either for the first time, fully see with fresh new eyes or see once again how you have been a God who came back, by the way.

He was there at the beginning. He leaves, but he comes back. But you are always the God who comes back. You are the Savior. You are the one who saves.

You are the one who is able to change my sight line. So my attention doesn’t need to be on the world. My attention doesn’t need to be on the things that I desire.

Oh Lord, would you fix my eyes and change my sight line so what I see is you.

And would you help me to be bold and courageous, much like I prayed earlier, that we would then take what we see, what we know, what we believe, and we would take it off of this campus and we would go and tell other people about it.

Because it’s not necessarily about understanding, it’s about obedience. It’s about faith. It’s about knowing who Jesus is.

Sightlines. May He change ours today.

God, I come before you and I thank you that you are a God after transformation. You’re not a God who’s just trying to make us a little bit better. You’re about fully redeeming us.

And there are words that are just simply not worthy of our gratitude for what you have done to make that possible. We’re grateful. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.