Salvation Is Seeing

St Timothy Presbyterian Church in Toronto: Sermons

Scripture Passage

John 9:1-41

Worship Video

Worship Audio

Sermon Script

But Now I See

Salvation is seeing. It is very much being able to see. Through Jesus, our eyes are open. Now we can see hope in despair. Healing in sickness. Life in death.

In today's Scripture, the born blind man was healed by Jesus and he was able to see.

This was what he said.

One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. (John 9:25)

We are familiar with this phrase.

I was blind but now I see.

We heard that in our favourite hymn, Amazing Grace.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

What happened to the man in today's story was more than a physical healing. At first, he didn't really know who healed him. He simply said, the man called Jesus healed me. The Pharisees kept asking him who healed him. And he said he was a prophet. Then finally after he was kicked out from the community, Jesus came to him. When he met Jesus again, he finally realized that he was a very special person and he got the full picture of Jesus. So, he called him Lord and worshipped him. His physical eyes were open but he could see more than what he could see with his eyes.

Seeing is a Process

Seeing – Yes, that is salvation. We recognize that we were blind but now we can see. That is what spiritual life is all about. This happens not just once but it happens every day.

You were blind but now you see – This happens every day.

It is like peeling one shell after another from your eyes. What you can see becomes bigger and bigger, deeper and deeper. You see more pure things and more beautiful things as you peel each shell from your eyes. Life becomes exciting. You get to know God more and more intimately.

When I look back, I realize how blind I was. You don't know that when you go through it. Only much later, when you look back, you realize how blinded you were.

Seeing is a process. We don't see it all at once. We see it gradually. At first we see only a partial picture and then we get to see a bigger picture.

This is what St. Paul said in his famous chapter on love.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus came to give us the light. As we get to know Jesus, his light will shine on us. Our darkness will be removed and we will be able to see things more clearly.

Your Eyes Can Deceive You

Seeing is not what you do with your eyes. Seeing with our eyes is very limited and what we can see with our eyes can be very distorted too.

This is what Obi-Wan Kenobi said to Luke Skywalker.

Do not trust your eyes because your eyes can deceive you.

Stephen Covey who wrote the famous book, The 7 habits of highly effective people , said,

We think we see the world as it is when in fact we see the world as we are.

We can see that very clearly in the Pharisees in today's story. They refused to see that the blind man was healed. They even brought his parents and heard from them but they could not see that this man was truly healed.

So being able to see is not that simple. It is very much a spiritual process. That means it has a lot to do with the condition of your heart.

What do you see all the time? Do you see only negative things? When your heart is filled with negativity, you will see negative things. And these negative things that you see will make you a more negative person. It is a very bad cycle.

When you are an angry person, you will see easily things that frustrate you. And what you see will make you more angry.

I live in downtown. I see all kinds of people. There is this guy I see often. Whenever I see him, I see him walking up and down the street yelling and swearing. He is always angry. His anger consumed him.

So seeing has a lot to do with the condition of your heart. When what we see changes, then our life changes.

Come and See

Don't let your heart be filled with darkness, you will not be able to see what is bright and hopeful.

This was what John said in the prologue of his book.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome (understand, see) it. (John 1:5)

So, in the Gospel John, Jesus kept saying this phrase.

Come and See.

When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, What are you looking for?' They said to him, Rabbi' (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying?' He said to them, Come and see.'(John 1:38, 39)

When you come to Jesus, what you can see changes. Your perspective in life changes. You see beautiful things around you. You see beautiful flowers and you hear birds chirping.

I see trees of green, red roses too.

I see them bloom for me and you.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white

The bright blessed days, the dark sacred nights

Life is very much about what you see.

Do you see hope in your life?

Do you see beauty in people?

Do you see grace in this harsh world?

So, as I said, salvation is seeing. What we see determines the quality of our life.

Blinded by Darkness

The problem is we think we see when in fact, we don't see it. We think we know it all. That itself is blindness. Our arrogance makes us blind.

This was what Jesus said in today's story.

Jesus said, I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.' (John 9:39)

What Jesus is saying is this. If you don't see but have humble desire to want to see, God will open your eyes so that you may be able to see. But if you think you see and don't have any desire to see more, you will become blind.

Our prejudices, our fear, our worries, our laziness will blind our eyes. Our arrogance, self-centredness, and stubbornness will blind our eyes. These things bring darkness to your heart and this darkness will blind you. Don't let the darkness rule in your heart, you won't be able to see the light.

Albert Schweitzer said,

The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives.

Don't let darkness kill the light inside of you. Come to Jesus and let the light of Jesus shine in your heart. You will see the brighter side of your life. You will be enlightened.

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