“Restoring our ‘Jesus’ Eyes”

Scripture: John 9:13-34

This past week, I had a conversation with several folks that seemed to indicate that there may be some misunderstanding regarding what Salvation is, and what it isn’t. As we talked further, I was lead to consider a different approach for my sermons in these final few weeks of Lent. For the next 4 weeks, we will be considering the question – “How do I know if I’m truly saved?”

We know that salvation comes by faith in Jesus Christ, and not by the many good things that we do. And yet, how many see their attendance at worship on Sunday, and their involvement in the things of church, as their pathway to heaven? The truth is that these things are works, too, and must be seen as our response to salvation, and not a means to it. We need to have our spiritual vision renewed.

Read John 9:13-16

The man had been blind from birth and Jesus had given him sight. But the only thing that the Pharisees could see was that their interpretation of what it meant to keep the Sabbath had been violated. Who was the one that was really blind – the man who had been healed, or the ones who considered themselves righteous?

Spiritual sight is in a class that is totally different from human sight.
Remember the story about Peter and the others who were out on the lake in the middle of a storm? Jesus wasn’t with them, but shortly, He came to them, walking on the water. At first, no one recognized Him, but when He announced that it really was Him, Peter calls out “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you on the water.” An interesting response, as Peter had absolutely no idea how this was going to happen. And Jesus calls back to him - “Come!”
In faith, Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk toward Jesus - on the water! And as long as he stays focused on the Lord, he does incredibly well. But it doesn’t take very many steps before his gaze is no longer on Christ, and it shifts to the storm and the wind and the towering waves. For a few exciting moments, his eyes are totally on Jesus and he is safe, but as soon as the storms of earth catch his attention, as soon as he no longer puts his whole life and hope in Christ, he reverts to the power of earth, and he begins to sink. And Jesus’ response? “Oh you of little faith!” (Matthew 14:22-33) Peter lost his “Jesus eyes”, if only for a second, but that was long enough and he was lost.

The Pharisees had worldly eyes, and because of that, they had put their entire lives into the law, and the vast majority of them steadfastly refused to surrender that view.

Read John 9:17-24

They wouldn’t believe the man, so they called for his parents. And his mother and father would only testify to the fact that yes, this was their son, and he had, indeed, been born blind. But they didn’t have “Jesus Eyes”, either – they didn’t know the Lord. It is true that our only witness is that which we have experienced, and the parents hadn’t come to know Christ yet. But the Pharisees had been following Jesus around for quite some time, and they had seen the things that Jesus had done, and had heard the things that Jesus proclaimed, and even then, in their blindness, they couldn’t see to believe.
But the man who had been blind could see, and he had experienced, and he did believe.

Read John 9:24-27

And out of the mouth of babes! The Pharisees readily admit that they follow the memory of a mere man, a man who had been as fallible as they were, a man who was even more sinful than they were. They knew that God spoke to Moses, but when it came to Jesus, they simply couldn’t believe that He was the Word of God.
But the man who had received his sight could see with incredible clarity. And he knows for certain that Christ is of God Himself, and chastises the learned for not believing. Now those are “Jesus Eyes”! No doubt, no hesitation, no waffling whatsoever!

Back to Peter. Some days, Peter’s sight was wonderful, like the day he readily proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed One of God. (Matthew 16:13-20) But other days, the man really struggled. Like the night when Jesus was arrested and Peter, the “rock”, not only fell asleep while he was praying in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46), but he also publicly denied even knowing Jesus 3 times. (John 18:13-18; 25-27) One day he had the Eyes, the next they were closed tightly.

Read John 9:28-34

The man had received, not only physical sight, but spiritual sight. And he knew for certain who this miracle worker was. One minute he was just another blind beggar, and the next, he was publicly proclaiming that Jesus was the Man of God. Regardless of the attitudes of the others, even though his parents couldn’t back him up, he knew that Jesus had done something wonderful in his life, and that his life had completely changed, and he would never turn his back on this Savior.

Zan W. Holmes, Jr., tells the story of a college professor who met a South Korean tailor in Seoul. The tailor’s name was Smitty Lee. When Dr. McClain asked whether the name 'Smitty' was Korean, the tailor told the story of his life being saved during the Korean War by an American soldier from Virginia who was called Smitty Ransom.
The tailor further explained a rather familiar custom in that Asian culture, and summed it up in two simple sentences: 'He saved my life. I took his name.' That is indeed what happens when we encounter Jesus; he saves our lives, and we take his name.
--Holmes, Encountering Jesus (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992), 18-19.

The man who had been blind had, in essence, taken the name of the One who had not only restored his vision of earth, but who had also placed in him a vision of glory.

And what about Peter? Even though he had taken his eyes off Jesus time and time again, Jesus never took His eyes off Peter. And on that night, when the Risen Lord called out to the fishermen to join Him for breakfast on the beach, Peter regained his Eyes. 3 times, Jesus asked the disciple if he truly loved his Lord, and each time Peter replied that he did with his whole heart. And later, on that Pentecostal morning, when Peter began to preach like he had never preached before, those new “eyes”, and new “heart”, and new “life” never failed him. He reminded the people of the words of Joel – “That whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” And that day, 3,000 people did call on the name of the Lord, and every one of them was saved. (Acts 2:14-41) New “Eyes”!

Two fellows opened a butcher shop and they did very well. Then an evangelist came to town, and one of the butchers went to the revival and was saved. He tried to persuade his partner to accept salvation also, but to no avail. “Why won’t you, Charlie?” asked the born-again fellow.
“Listen, Lester,” the other butcher said. “If I get religion, too, who’s going to weigh the meat?”
- Homiletics On Line.

The blind man had to put all that he knew about life and his lack of sight behind him, and came to trust completely in the new sight, the new vision that Jesus had given him. Peter had to surrender his doubts and arrogance and crudeness and worldly life, and to pick up the glorious life that allowed him to love the Lord with his entire being.
And we, too, must open up our “Jesus Eyes”, and give him our trust and faith and life. That butcher had it right – if he had accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, he would never have been able to cheat his customers again. That’s what surrendering to Jesus is all about – it requires a complete change in the things we do, and the things we say, and the things we think about, and the things we focus on, and the things we stand for. It means that we have to surrender our earthly vision, and begin to see everything in a new way – through eyes that can only come from Jesus.

“Jesus Eyes” – are you able to keep yours wide open, or do you find that you are closing them more times than not? We can only serve our Lord Jesus when they are open. Open them today, and see your Lord in a new and powerful way.
This must be the first step in our journey toward Salvation. "Prepare the way for the Lord"! (Isaiah 40)