Sunday Sermon Outline: John 9

“Acknowledging the Truth”
John 9

Introduction: John 20:29; John 8:12


I. The Case vs. 1-5
     “And as [Jesus] passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?" 3 Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."”

2 Corinthians 12:7; 6:4-5; Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 5:4


II. The Cure vs. 6-12
     “When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, 7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). And so he went away and washed, and came back seeing. 8 The neighbors therefore, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?" 9 Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one." 10 Therefore they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam, and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight." 12 And they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know."”

Mark 7:32-35; 8:22-26


III. The Confession vs. 13-33
     “13 They brought to the Pharisees him who was formerly blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. 15 Again, therefore, the Pharisees also were asking him how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see." 16 Therefore 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 man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. 17 They said therefore to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet." 18 The Jews therefore did not believe it of him, that he had been blind, and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, 19 and questioned them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?" 20 His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 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 shall speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed, that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. 23 For this reason his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."” 
     “24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, "Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner." 25 He therefore answered, "Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." 26 They said therefore to him, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" 27 He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?" 28 And they reviled him, and said, "You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this man, we do not know where He is from." 30 The man answered and said to them, "Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing."”

John 8:46


IV. The Consequences vs. 34-41
     “34 They answered and said to him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they put him out.”

Acts 4:29; Matthew 10:32-33

     “35 Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 He answered and said, "And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" 37 Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." 38 And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind." 40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.”


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Sunday Sermon Outline: John 6:1-40

John 6:1-40

“The Bread of Life”

Introduction: John 1:47-50, “Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and *said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” [48] Nathanael *said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” [49] Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” [50] Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.””

I.   Feeding the Five Thousand vs. 1-14

      “After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Tiberias). [2] A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. [3] Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there He sat down with His disciples. [4] Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. [5] Therefore Jesus, lifting up His eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to Him, said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?” [6] This He was saying to test him, for He Himself knew what He was intending to do. [7] Philip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little.” [8] One of His disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to Him, [9] “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people?” [10] Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. [11] Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. [12] When they were filled, He said to His disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.” [13] So they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. [14] Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, “This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.””

II.  Walking on the Water vs. 15-24

      “[15] So Jesus, perceiving that they were intending to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. [16]  Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, [17] and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. [18] The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. [19] Then, when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. [20] But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.” [21] So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land to which they were going.”

      “[22]  The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other small boat there, except one, and that Jesus had not entered with His disciples into the boat, but that His disciples had gone away alone. [23] There came other small boats from Tiberias near to the place where they ate the bread after the Lord had given thanks. [24] So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they themselves got into the small boats, and came to Capernaum seeking Jesus.”

III. Explaining the Evidence vs. 25-40

      “[25] When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?” [26]  Jesus answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. [27] “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.” [28] Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” [29] Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” [30] So they said to Him, “What then do You do for a sign, so that we may see, and believe You? What work do You perform? [31] “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘HE GAVE THEM BREAD OUT OF HEAVEN TO EAT.’””

      “[32] Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of heaven. [33] “For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” [34] Then they said to Him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” [35]  Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. [36] “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. [37] “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. [38] “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. [39] “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. [40] “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.””

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Signs, Wonders and Miracles

I recently received the following question: “I've been studying signs, wonders and miracles. Can I ask what you think the definitions of each are or are they the same thing?” I post the answer publicly, hoping that perhaps this information will prove useful to others as well.

The terms are used concerning Jesus in Acts 2:22, “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know.”

These identifiers were also associated with the apostles in both 2 Corinthians 12:12, “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles,” and in Hebrews 2:3-4, “After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, [4] God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”

Signs were used to authenticate the message of God's spokesmen. They accompanied the revelation of the word, as inspired by the Holy Spirit. An excellent example concerns the deacon, Philip, in Acts 8:6, “The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.” The signs manifested confirmed the word preached.

Wonders are events that are supernatural and extraordinary. As Thayer's lexicon states, a wonder is “something so unusual it arouses close observation.” Examples of wonders are the healing of a man who had been lame from birth (Acts 14:8-10), casting out a slave girl's spirit of divination (Acts 16:16-18), and the raising of Eutychus from the dead in Acts 20:9-12.

Miracles are special demonstrations of the Holy Spirit's power. Paul described such miracles in his second epistle to the Corinthians. “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; [9] indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; [10] who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope” (2 Corinthians 1:8-10).

He further clarifies that thought later in the letter. “Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. [25] Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. [26] I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; [27] I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure” (2 Corinthians 11:24-27).

The point the apostle makes isn't that such things don't happen to others, but that the escape provided from these particular predicaments were very clearly not of human origin. Such miracles are clearly associated with the grace of God. By definition, grace is what God provides for us that we could not possibly provide for ourselves. As we near one of our primary texts, this association is made clear as Paul writes of the Lord, “He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. [10] Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong”” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

The difference between wonders and miracles is that wonders cause one to focus on WHAT was being done, while miracles should focus one's attention on WHO is receiving them and WHY.

In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul identified those who were “false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:13). While it is popular to associate everything miraculous today with the Lord, we should know this is not the case. Jesus stated clearly that “false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect” (Matthew 24:24). The deeds of such men are anti-Christ, and thus are to be associated with “the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, [10] and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).

Again, wonders cause one to focus on WHAT was being done, while miracles should focus one's attention on WHO is receiving them and WHY. True miracles are the result of God's divine providence, as He proves without question that He cares for His own. As it is written, “He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Timothy 1:9).

The differentiation between true workers and deceitful workers is not as difficult as most would make it. Supernatural evidence can be rejected as false if either the life or the message of the worker are not in harmony with the word of God. False teachers “are from the world; therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them.” But an inspired apostle writes, “We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:5-6). As he had earlier stated, “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10).

I hope this answers covers the subject sufficiently. I always welcome sincere questions concerning the word of the Lord! :)