Well, turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 9 this morning. We finished John chapter 8 last week. As I mentioned, that closed a major section in John’s gospel. So today as we begin chapter 9, not only do we begin a new chapter, but really we begin a new section of this gospel with a new focus. It may not seem so at first glance as you read through the gospel of John. But as you study this gospel more, there are clearly shifts that take place in the way that John is revealing Jesus Christ to us. The great preacher and Bible expositor, James Montgomery Boyce, is one who points out this shift in his study of this gospel, and one section of verses that he uses to help show how this gospel is structured comes from John chapter 1 in the introduction or the prologue to this gospel.

We see this in verses 9 through 12 of John chapter 1. If you want to keep your finger in John 9 and turn there, you can do that this morning. But I’ll read verses 9 through 12 of John 1. And again, really this sets the focus or the vision for what John is going to tell us in the remainder of the gospel. This is what he says, starting in verse 9.

There was the true light, which coming into the world enlightens everyone. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and those who were his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become the children of God, even those who believe on his name.

And as you see there, John is telling us what he’s going to reveal in the coming chapters. And what we see there is, first of all, he speaks of the coming of the light into the world. Verses 9 and 10 describe the content of the first four chapters of John’s gospel. In chapters one through four, we see Jesus come into the world. The word made flesh and he calls his first disciples and performs his first signs. Really, we see the firsts of everything for Jesus in the first four chapters. This is really the introduction of Jesus to his people, Israel and Jerusalem. They get to hear of and see Jesus for the first time.

Then in verse 11 of chapter one, we read that he came to what was his own. and his own did not receive him. And that describes the next four chapters of John. Because as we came to chapter five, we saw the rejection of Jesus begin. Chapters five through eight clearly describe those who were his own people, the Jews, but who refused to receive him. And as we’ve studied those chapters, the focus really has mainly been upon the conflict and the rejection of Jesus, one after another, after performing all the signs that He has, and they still refuse to believe in who He is.

But now, as we come to chapter 9, really these chapters that we will study in chapters 9 through 12, they deal with what we see next in chapter 1, verse 12. but as many as received Him. The focus now shifts to the ones who did receive Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. In these chapters, we see the emphasis on Jesus calling His own people and His people responding, even in the midst of and in spite of this growing hostility, because yes, the conflict and the rejection is still there.

But now we see this focus on those in the midst of that conflict who do receive him. So this new section, beginning here in chapter nine, marks a clear difference in John’s focus. Again, we previously saw Jesus being rejected, while in this section, Jesus begins to call his people to himself. And this is first seen in the man who was born blind. And we’ll look at that today as Jesus calls him to himself. And we see over time, this man finally does come and believe in Jesus.

Another clear mark of difference and contrast between these sections is Jesus’s repeated use of the phrase, I am the light of the world. He uses that phrase in chapter eight and he uses it again in chapter nine. And he uses it in different settings to different audiences and receives different results. In John chapter eight, Jesus says it in verse 12.

There it says, Jesus again spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world and he who follows me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life. And what did Jesus reveal here? By telling them that He is the light of the world, by revealing the light to them.

Well, as we see in the rest of John chapter eight, it clearly had the effect of shining the light on something that’s never seen the light. Something that’s been blinded in darkness for a long time. Like when you flip over a rock and immediately all the creepy crawly things begin to slither away and get away from the light they are now exposed to. This is what happened in chapter eight when Jesus reveals to them he is the light. Jesus kicked over a rock and the Pharisees reacted. They could not stand before the light because they hated it.

As we read in chapter three, verse 19, this is the judgment that the light has come into the world and the men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. That’s chapter eight. So it’s not surprising that this chapter ends once again with another attempt to kill Jesus, just like we saw beginning in chapter five. And then on the other hand, Light has an entirely different function as well, as we see here in chapter nine. Think for an illustration of a large tree. And underneath that tree, not much grows because it blocks out the light. But remove that tree and see what happens. Let the light shine on the ground there where the tree once stood. Soon the same light that made the bugs run for cover under the rock now makes the grass grow and sees growth come from the earth that was hidden from the light.

This is the effect that Jesus’ second use of his phrase, I am the light of the world, has in John chapter 9. We see it in verse 5 here of John chapter 9 where he says, once again, while I am in the world, I am the light of the world. So in chapter eight, the light made the creatures of darkness run. In chapter nine, the light gives life and begins to see growth. It starts to bring forth fruit in those whom God has planted the seed of faith. John nine begins to shine the focus on the sovereign grace of God in our salvation.

Someone who helpfully describes the distinction between these two chapters is a man by the name of Arthur Pink. He’s a great theologian and writer, and he wrote a commentary on this gospel. Listen to how he recognizes the shift in focus between chapters 8 and chapter 9. This is what Arthur Pink has to say. He says, in John 8, we behold Christ as the light exposing the darkness, but in John 9, He communicates sight. In John 8, the light is despised and rejected.

In John 9, he is received and worshiped. In John 8, the Jews are seen stooping down to pick up stones. In John 9, Christ is seen stooping down to make anointing clay. In John 8, Christ hides himself from the Jews. In John 9, he reveals himself to the blind beggar. In John 8, we have a company in whom the word has no place. In John 9 is one who responds promptly to the word. In John 8, Christ inside the temple is called a demoniac.

In John 9, outside the temple, he is recognized as Lord. The central truth of John 8 is the light testing human responsibility and in John 9 the central truth is God acting in sovereign grace after human responsibility has failed. That’s Arthur Pink describing John chapter 9. This is the chapter of John’s gospel that is before us this morning. It reveals a lot of things to us. Our God is sovereign. The efforts of man cannot frustrate our God. Man’s hatred cannot frustrate God. Man’s sin cannot frustrate God. God accomplishes His purpose sovereignly, and He saves by grace all those who He chooses to call to Himself.

I’ve been contemplating how to handle this chapter for several months now, as I’ve seen this coming. This is a tremendous account in John’s gospel. It really deserves to be treated as one unit, but at the same time, there’s so much here that needs to be handled verse by verse.

Today, I just want to introduce the story here before us. in chapter nine and take a big picture overview, look at what John nine has to say. And I’m going to read the whole chapter for us this morning to get a taste of what will be in store for us in the coming weeks as we work verse by verse through this chapter. So I don’t have any points or structure for the sermon today, as I typically do. We’ll simply look at all that this tremendous chapter of John’s gospel has to say to us. As we left off last week, the last verse of John chapter 8 says, therefore, they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. And now allow me to read our text this morning, John chapter 9, the whole chapter. John chapter 9, this is the word of the Lord.

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind? Jesus answered, Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this was so that the works of God may be manifested in him. We must work the works of him who sent me as long as it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made clay of the saliva and rubbed the clay on his eyes and said to him, go, wash in the pool of Siloam, which is translated scent. So he went away and washed and came back seeing. Therefore, the neighbors and those who previously saw him as a beggar were saying, Is not this the one who used to sit and beg? Others were saying, this is he. Still others were saying, no, but he’s like him. He kept saying, I am the one.

So they were saying to him, how then were your eyes opened? He answered, the man who was called Jesus made clay and rubbed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash. So when I went away and washed, I received sight. And they said to him, where is he? And he said, I do not know.

They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, he applied clay to my eyes and I washed and I see.

So some of the Pharisees were saying, this man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath. But others were saying, how can a sinful man do such signs? And there was a division among them. Therefore they said to the blind man again, what do you say about him since he opened your eyes? And he said, he’s a prophet. Then the Jews did not believe it of him that he was blind and received sight until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight and questioned them saying, is this your son who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?

So his parents answered and said, we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind, but how he now sees, we do not know, or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him, he is of age, he will speak for himself. His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him to be the Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason, his parents said, he is of age, ask him.

Therefore, a second time, they called the man who had been born blind and said to him, give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. Then he answered, whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.

So they said to him, what did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to listen again? Do you want to become his disciples too? And they reviled him and said, you are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

We know that God has spoken to Moses, but for this man, we do not know where he is from. The man answered and said to them, well, here is a marvelous thing. that you do not know where he is from, and he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will, he listens to him. Since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.

They answered and said to him, you were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us? So they put him out. Jesus heard that they had put him out, and after finding him, he said, do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered and said, who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? Jesus said to him, you have both seen him, and he is the one who is talking to you. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.

And Jesus said, for judgment I came into this world so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and said to him, are we blind too? And Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no sin. But now that you say we see, your sin remains. That is the word of the Lord. That is John chapter 9. So we left off in John chapter 8 with an attempted execution.

This would have been a significant incident. It would have drawn some attention. Believe it or not, public stoning was not very common in that day. They weren’t allowed to do it. Even in the temple. And Jesus hides himself and escapes from their grasp. And I don’t know about you, but if that was me, I would’ve been hightailing it out of there. I would’ve been getting away from there as fast as I could. And I would’ve barely had time to notice anything. But that’s not Jesus. Jesus was in control of this situation. He’s sovereign over it.

And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. Apparently, Jesus hadn’t made it far from the temple when he found this man. And since Jesus sent the man to wash at the pool of Siloam, which couldn’t have been far, we know he wasn’t very far from the temple as he’s sitting there begging. The temple was a prime location for beggars. A lot of people were coming there. People were coming to worship and more than likely they would be willing to give him a little on their way. So Jesus probably encountered this man very near the temple grounds that he had just escaped from.

And blindness was a fairly common occurrence in that day, but there was really no way to help or care for the blind. There was no Braille language. There was no way for the blind to really do anything. So they were reduced to begging for their living.

And there are no accounts of healing the blind in scripture other than Jesus. There’s no story of giving the sight to the blind anywhere in the Old Testament, especially someone born blind. As we read in verse 32, it says, since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. And the healing of the blind is never even attributed to Jesus’ followers.

The one nearest case you can find is when Ananias laid his hands on Saul who became Paul in his temporary blindness, the scales fell from his eyes. But that’s really a different thing than what we see here. And interestingly, for a miracle that had never been done. The blind had never been healed.

One commenter, Leon Morris, points out that in Jesus’s healing miracles, there are more accounts of giving the sight to the blind than anything else, at least in the recorded miracles we have. We know there were more things, John tells us, that he could have written, but in the recorded accounts of Jesus’s healing miracles, blindness was what he healed most. which is a good illustration of who he is.

This is who he is. In the Old Testament, we do see that the giving of sight to the blind is a job of God himself. Exodus 4, verse 11, Yahweh says to him, who has made man’s mouth or who makes him mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, Yahweh? God does this. Psalm 146 verse 8 says, Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind.

And as we saw in Isaiah, as I read earlier, it’s also a promised role of the Messiah. He will come to give sight to the blind, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon. It’s a divine function and it’s a function for God’s Messiah, which explains why Jesus does it so much. Jesus fulfills this function as he continues to give sight to the blind all around Jerusalem.

This chapter has great significance in John’s plan for showing us that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Here we see this man in verse one, a man blind from birth. We’re not told how they knew that. It could have been that everyone knew who this guy was and they knew he was a man who was blind from birth, or maybe the man told them eventually. Either way, Jesus heals him. We’ll come back later in the coming weeks to the nature of this healing miracle that Jesus performs as we study these verses deeper.

But again, I’ll tell you, in this situation, escaping an execution, running for your life, I wouldn’t even have noticed this guy, even if I tripped over him. Running for your life. They were picking up stones to stone him. It would never even occur to me to stop and see what’s going on with this man.

And I think most of us, and probably even his disciples, would have felt the same thing. We would be looking over our shoulder to see if they’re coming. We’re trying to get farther away from our enemies. But Jesus had work to do. He is the light of the world. He had just been rejected, and honestly, it would have been reasonable for him right then and there to go back to heaven. Done with these people. I tried. They don’t want it. That’s enough. We’ll end John at chapter eight. That’s it.

But Jesus has God’s point of view. And it was God who was acting. So instead of being turned back at the rejection of sinful men, those who were his own but would not receive him, Jesus continues on his task to bring his people to himself and to reveal to them who he is. Jesus, who we saw in the passage last week, is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Before Abraham was, I am. The very same God who when Moses was speaking with him, asking to see his glory, this is what we read in Exodus 33, starting in verse 18.

Moses said, I pray you show me your glory and he said, I myself will make all my goodness pass before you. I will proclaim the name of Yahweh before you and I will be gracious. to whom I will be gracious, and I will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.” And Jesus, this very same God, will be gracious with whom He will be gracious. And He will show compassion to whom He chooses to show compassion.

And that’s what we see in action here in John chapter 9 verse 1. As He passed by, He saw a man. blind from birth. This verse tells us about the God we serve. Nothing frustrates our God. Not the sinfulness of those who rejected Him, not the impossibility of giving sight to a man born blind. Sometimes people have this idea of God, that He reacts to us. that what happens in the world, he needs to figure out a way to work with that. Like he was surprised when Adam sinned or something.

Like God had created a perfect world and Adam ruined it, so now God is saying, oh no, what am I supposed to do now? I guess we’ll have to figure out a new plan. So God scrambles and decides, well, I gotta send my son now. And then he sends his son and they hate him. They reject him. So now what are we supposed to do? That is not God. That is not the God of the Bible. That is not the God we worship. God is not like that.

Our God sees the end from the beginning. And he is not frustrated. Nothing defeats his purposes. Nothing happens without him ordaining it to be so. This is what Jesus says here. Neither this man nor his parents sin, but this was so that the works of God might be manifested. In him. God made him blind. God made it so that he sat his whole life begging. Blind from birth. So that one day.

A man would pass by him. and see him and show everybody the Messiah. God is in control of this and God has purposes to fulfill. This tells us something. This tells us something about our life. Jesus said in Matthew 16, I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. He told us what his purpose is in this age we live in. He is building his church. That’s the whole point. That’s his purpose in this age. All who are given to Jesus Christ by the Father will come to him and be added to the church, and he keeps building, which gives us all the more reason to align our purposes with his. Many, many people.

Many people who I talk to regularly are very frustrated with life because they concern their lives with building their own little kingdoms. And they fit the church into their plans and purposes where they can. Yeah, I’ll go to church when I can or if it works with my schedule. And they’re frustrated at life.

But Jesus didn’t promise to build your kingdom. He promised to build His kingdom. So maybe you’re getting frustrated at life because your personal kingdom building isn’t going as well as you planned. Have you ever considered concerning yourself with His kingdom? A kingdom that is guaranteed to succeed? The one that the gates of Hades will not overpower. What if you centered your life around the church that the Lord of the universe is building? Maybe then you might see a little more fruit in life when you focus building His kingdom rather than your own.

Because as we see here, nothing frustrates it. Not the hatred of men. Not the efforts to wipe this man off the face of the earth. Multiple attempts to kill him before he ever comes to fulfill his purpose. Nothing frustrates his work. He knows what’s going to happen. And he uses it to accomplish his purposes. and not even the condition of lost people frustrate his plans. This chapter’s a true story.

This really happened. Jesus healed a man born blind. It’s impossible. When you’re born blind, you have no connection from your eyes to your brain. This is a creative miracle. He didn’t fix a problem. He created sight in this man. This really happened. This is a true story, and it’s a true story that Jesus uses to vividly illustrate our spiritual condition. That’s how Jesus wraps all this up at the end of chapter nine. This blind man, he is truly blind from birth. He wasn’t legally blind. He wasn’t blind without his glasses. He had no ability to see at all. He lived in darkness.

And in Jesus’s grand purposes, he symbolizes those of us without Christ. He symbolizes the state of lost people apart from the creative and transforming work of Jesus Christ. See, on the one hand, you had these Jewish leaders, the Pharisees, who can see physically, as they point out to him, but they are spiritually as blind as you can be. How much more clearly can he reveal to them who he is? and they cannot see it. On the other hand, you have this blind man who cannot see physically, but by the power of Jesus, all of a sudden, not only can he see physically, but he can see spiritually.

By the end of this story, we find him worshiping the Son of God as Lord. And he gradually comes to see who Jesus is more and more. Again, this is a great illustration of anyone that Jesus chooses to save. First, Jesus finds him completely blind and gives him sight.

And when the people ask, where is this guy that you say did this? In verse 12, the man says, I don’t know. I don’t know. which is understandable because he was blind when he first saw him or didn’t see him. He couldn’t see until he came back. So he has no idea at this point who Jesus is or what he looks like.

But then a little later when he’s interrogated by the Pharisees, listen to how the man’s answer changes progressively as they keep asking him. Verse 17, they said to the blind man again, what do you say about him since he opened your eyes? And he said, he’s a prophet. Then a little later when they pressed him again, verse 25, he answered, whether he’s a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. And then verse 33, if this man were not from God, he could do nothing. He goes from not knowing to knowing.

Supposing he’s a prophet, to defending him. Eventually, when Jesus provides him a little more revelation, look at how he responds. Verse 35, Jesus heard they’d put him out. After finding him, he said, do you believe in the Son of Man? He answered and said, who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?

Remember, he doesn’t even know who he’s talking to. Never seen him before. Even though he’s the one who healed him, he was blind. Doesn’t know what he looks like. And Jesus said to him, you have both seen him and he is the one who is talking to you. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. He worshipped him. He woke up that morning in darkness once again and he became a worshiper. Is that not each one of us? We begin in ignorance and little by little as we are shown more and more of who he is, we believe more and more. Think about the original state of this man again.

He can’t see. You can’t see anything. It’s not even that he could see shadows or anything. He could see nothing. Born blind means there’s no sight connection to the brain there. You can’t see anything. No light at all. And this is the state of every lost person. There’s nothing there. When Jesus is preached, you cannot see. It’s in one ear and out the other. There’s no ability to see.

Even as the gospel is explained, they still cannot see it. As we see in 1 Corinthians 2, a natural man does not accept the depths of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him. And he cannot understand them because they are spiritually examined. And when you’re spiritually dead, you can do spiritually nothing. If there’s going to be spiritual sight, Jesus must open the eyes of the blind. Not only that, but because he couldn’t see, he couldn’t seek Jesus.

He didn’t know what he looked like yet. Where is he? Who was it? I don’t know. He doesn’t even know who he’s looking for. Man is unable to seek God. That’s what the Bible says. Romans 311 there is none who understands there is none who seeks for God. So the blind man can’t see. And he can’t seek Jesus. He’s never going to find Jesus. He’s unable to see to seek or to find Jesus. And that is the condition of every single unbeliever.

And it’s not just this miracle that illustrates this truth for us, but all the miracles of Jesus illustrate to us who He is and who we are without Him. Just think of the man in chapter 5 that he healed after 38 years of being lame. Did he come seeking Jesus to save him? No. When Jesus offered, he didn’t even know what Jesus wanted. If we are to be saved, Jesus needs to make the first move. He saves us. The story of the man born blind is saying the same thing. Sinful men cannot see God’s truth, but Jesus takes the first step by giving us sight. Another miracle, think of Lazarus. Think about Lazarus.

He’s been dead for four days. He was utterly without hope. He was already starting to decay. He wasn’t asking Jesus for help. He wasn’t knocking on the tomb door trying to get them to roll the stone away so he could get out. He was dead. Four days dead. But Jesus called him, Lazarus, come forth. And he did. The one who is the resurrection and the life gave life to Lazarus.

These miracles not only point to who Jesus is, they show us why we need him. So we’ve taken a big picture look at this story today. So let’s think about what this means for us. If you are a believer, you know people like this man. Blind. Cannot see. And I hope you’re still witnessing to them. Bringing Christ, the light giver, and presenting them with him.

And you can be encouraged by knowing that God will never be frustrated with their condition. even if they hate Him, even in their sin, God is not frustrated. The situation’s probably very frustrating to you. You may seem to get nowhere with someone like this, but God is not frustrated, and you should not be either. You should be encouraged Knowing that when God is working, nothing will stop him. Nothing will hinder what he’s doing. If the light of the world is shining. He will make seeds that he planted grow. So witness boldly. Tell them. Tell them. And expect that God will work. And God will bring in those who are His.

And secondly, if you are not a believer, if you’re here this morning and you’re not yet a believer in Christ, look at what He did for this man. Look at what He did for this man who was born blind. Jesus saw him. He found him. He took notice of this man who was lost. The blind man couldn’t see Jesus. He didn’t call out to him. Jesus saw the blind man. And when he saw him as a man who needed his help, Jesus was the only one who saw him this way. Did you notice that? People knew who he was. Jesus was the only one that saw he needed help. Verse two, his disciples asked him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? This is a sinner, isn’t it? Jesus, you don’t want to deal with that guy. Who was it that sinned? Whose fault is this?

Everyone else just saw him as another beggar. Verse eight, therefore the neighbors, the ones who saw him every day, the ones who knew this guy, were saying, is not this the one who used to sit and beg? The Pharisees saw him as a useful scheme to try to trap Jesus again. He did this on the Sabbath day. But Jesus saw him as a man who needed him. And he saved him. Jesus took him in when everyone else had cast him out. And forgotten him. And disregarded him. His family had cast him out. His supposed spiritual leaders had cast him out. His neighbors had no use for him. Who was left? Who was left for this guy? It was Jesus who sought him out and took him in when no one else wanted anything to do with him.

Is that you? Are you the outcast? Do you feel alone and rejected that nobody wants anything to do with you? Come to Jesus. Jesus is the one who comes and gives you sight to see Him. He will give you the ability to come and follow Him. Like this man born blind, this outcast. Listen again to the end of this story. Starting in verse 35. Because Jesus didn’t just heal him. Jesus didn’t give him sight and move on with his life. He stayed. Verse 35, Jesus heard that they’d put him out.

And after finding him again, he said, do you believe in the Son of Man? Jesus wasn’t done with this guy yet. He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him? Jesus said to him, You have both seen him, and he is the one talking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind. He came to give sight to the blind. He came to save those who are His. If you are His, He came for you.

Do you believe in the Son of Man? The one who came from God to be born in the flesh. The one who came to His own and His own did not receive Him. The one who lived a life of perfect obedience that you didn’t. The one who died on the cross taking the full wrath of God where you couldn’t. The one who rose from the grave conquering sin and death for all who trust in him. The one who is at the right hand of the Father and will come again one day soon to judge the living and the dead. and the one who calls his sheep, and they hear his voice, and they come and they follow him. Come to him today and see who he truly is. If he is calling you to himself today, please stay behind. Come find me. Talk to one of us about how you can know him and live forever with him. Stand with me as we close this morning.

Our God, we are so thankful. When we read a story like this, we see how undeserving we are, how utterly unable we are to come to you on our own, and how gracious you are. to come to save those who are yours. God, we thank you for saving us, for coming to us and giving us sight when we had no sight. For pulling us out of our depth and depravity and life of sin, to giving life to our dead bodies. for allowing us to see and to know and to trust in you.

And Lord, help us to believe even more. As we see more and more of you revealed in your word, in passages like this, help us to know you more. Help us to believe in you more. And Lord, if there is anyone here this morning who is still blind, who still cannot see, Open their eyes. Help them to see Him. Bring them to yourself. God, we thank you, we praise you, and glorify you. In Jesus’ name, amen.