John 9:35-38

DISCOURSE: 1660
DISPOSITION TO BE EXERCISED TOWARDS THE GOSPEL

John 9:35. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

NO man that ever suffered for righteousness’ sake found, in the issue, that he had any reason to complain: for, sooner or later, God has recompensed his sufferings into his bosom a hundred-fold, even in this present life: and assuredly a most glorious recompence awaits him in the world to come [Note: Mark 10:29.]. A remarkable instance of God’s special favour to his suffering people is recorded in the passage before us. A man, who had been born blind, had been restored to sight. The Pharisees, being averse to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, would not believe that the miracle had been wrought: but, being compelled at last to acknowledge that, they persisted that Jesus, in working this miracle on the Sabbath-day, had violated the Sabbath, and unequivocally proved himself to be a sinner. But the man, on whom the miracle had been wrought, very justly observed to them, that God would never have set his seal, in so public and wonderful a manner, to the pretensions of an impostor; and that, consequently, the miracle must be considered as a decisive proof that Jesus was both sent of God, and approved of God. The Pharisees, unable to withstand the force of his reasoning, had recourse to persecution, and “cast him out of the synagogue.” But his fidelity did not long remain unnoticed or unrewarded: for our blessed Lord soon found him, and poured into his soul all the blessings of salvation.

In considering the case of this blind man, I propose to notice,

I. The disposition exercised by him—

We cannot but observe, that, to the question put to him by our Lord, there was something very remarkable in his reply: “Dost thou believe in the Son of God?” “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?” Now,
In this he manifested a singular degree of candour—
[The question, as applied to him, might appear almost unreasonable: for he had been blind from his birth; and therefore had been cut off, in a measure, from many sources of information which were open to persons of his own age and rank in society. It is true, that the Messiah was generally expected among his countrymen, and that he was expected as “the Son of God:” but, from the obstacles which had obstructed his enjoyment of social converse, it could scarcely be hoped that he had collected much information on the subject: and, as for the benefit arising from ocular testimony, he was altogether, by his blindness, precluded from it. Yet, no complaint was made by him on these grounds, nor any excuse offered for his own ignorance; but a desire was expressed to obtain information, and a willingness was declared to act upon it. The excellence of this disposition will best appear, by contrasting it with others which are generally exercised on similar occasions.
Contrast it with prejudice; of which the Pharisees exhibited a striking example on this occasion. They could not deny that the miracle had been wrought: yet they were not at all the more disposed to receive the testimony of Jesus. As those, who saw that devils were cast out by him, would rather account for it by a supposed confederacy with the prince of the devils, than confess the Messiahship of Jesus [Note: Matthew 9:34.]; and, as those who saw Lazarus after his restoration to life plotted to kill him, lest the sight of him should fasten conviction on the minds of any, and induce them to believe in Jesus; so, in the passage before us, the Pharisees determined to resist all evidence, however strong, and to reject the Saviour, whatever proofs he might give of his Divine mission [Note: John 12:10.]. But against such perverseness, the man, of whom my text speaks, bore, both in word and deed, a most decisive testimony.

Contrast it with indifference; of which we have a deplorable instance in Pilate. Our Lord had told him plainly, “For this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice.” On hearing this, Pilate asked, “What is truth [Note: John 18:38.]?” But he waited not for an answer; and thereby discovered that he had no desire to be informed. Not so the man before us: he really wished to be informed, that he might conduct himself as it became him towards the person after whom he inquired.

Contrast it with scepticism. Of the great mass of the Jews who had followed Jesus, it is said, that, “though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him [Note: John 12:37.].” Not contented with such miracles as he saw fit to work, and which left no room for doubt, they would have signs of their own choosing [Note: Matthew 12:38.]. Even Thomas, one of his own Disciples, (when he had the fullest testimony of all the other Apostles, who had themselves been by no means forward to believe, and had yielded only to evidence that was irresistible,) declared, that, unless he should put his fingers into the very print of the nails in his Saviour’s hands, and thrust his hand into his side, he would not believe [Note: John 20:25.]. This was decidedly wrong. We are bound to yield to evidence, provided that evidence be sufficient to convince us on ordinary occasions: and a readiness to act upon the testimony of him who had opened his eyes was a very commendable trait in the character before us.

Contrast it, lastly, with credulity. This is an error on the contrary side; but extremely common, when falsehood is proposed for our belief. In every age, the Jews were prone to it. Whatever impostor arose, professing himself to be the Christ, he was sure enough to find many followers. He needed only to “come in his own name,” and very little would suffice to satisfy the minds of the deluded multitude [Note: John 5:43.]. Against this we should be on our guard, no less than against excessive incredulity: for St. John says, “Believe not every spirit; but try the spirits, whether they are of God [Note: 1 John 4:1.].” But of this there was no trace in the spirit of this man: for, though he expressed a readiness to believe, he had abundant reason to rely on the testimony of Him who had so miraculously opened his eyes: in him, therefore, this readiness was not credulity, but piety.]

This is the precise disposition which becomes us all—
[In a matter purely speculative, the mind should have no bias at all; no leaning towards one side of the question, any more than towards the other. But the Gospel is not a speculative doctrine; nor are we in a condition to speculate upon it. We have an interest in believing it: and we act most irrationally if we do not feel a wish that the evidences for it may be found true. We are sinners; and, as sinners, under the displeasure of Almighty God. The Gospel purports to be a revelation from heaven, declaring a way for our reconciliation with God. It announces to us a Saviour, even the only-begotten Son of God, as becoming incarnate, and dying upon the cross for our sins; that, through Him, all that believe may be justified from all the sins that ever they have committed. Will any one then say, that we ought not to wish this revelation to be true? or is it a subject on which we ought to speculate, as if we had no interest whatever in it? If a number of rebels, under sentence of death, were informed that the king had sent a free pardon to them, would it become them to receive the tidings with perfect indifference, and to amuse themselves with abstract speculations about the nature and degrees of evidence, without any concern about the proffered benefit? No man would for a moment approve of such apathy; no man would blame a wish to ascertain the truth of such a report, or a readiness to credit it on sufficient evidence. And precisely in that situation do we stand; and such should be the disposition of our minds towards the Gospel of Christ.]
To this we are greatly encouraged by,

II.

The benefit he derived from it—

Two things we behold, as immediately resulting from it:

1. Christ’s manifestation of himself to him—

[To no one, except the Samaritan woman, did our Lord so frankly and so fully declare his own Messiahship, as to this man. To her, upon her saying, “I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ; when He is come, he will tell us all things;” he plainly replied, “I, that speak unto thee am He [Note: John 4:25.].” So, to this persecuted man he also, with the same frankness, proclaimed his divine mission: “Dost thou ask who the Son of God is? Thou hast both seen him; and he it is that talketh with thee.” I say not but that, on some occasions, both to his Disciples and to Pilate, he acknowledged himself to be the Messiah: but to no person did he give so direct, and full, and positive an assurance, as to these two most favoured people: to the woman, in order to shew, to all future generations, that “where sin has abounded, his grace shall much more abound [Note: Romans 5:20.]:” and to the man, that he might encourage all to take up their cross boldly, and follow him.

But does this instance encourage any hope in us? Yes, assuredly it does: for, if we really desire to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ, and to cleave unto him, “he will come to us, and manifest himself unto us, as he does not unto the world.” And to those who questioned his doctrines, he said, “If any man will do God’s will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself [Note: John 7:17.]:” so, to those who would approve themselves to him, he says, “If a man love me, my Father will love him; and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him [Note: John 14:23.].” A docility of mind, and a readiness to follow the dictates of an enlightened conscience, are the distinguishing features of “an Israelite indeed,” and shall never fail of being honoured with testimonies of his special approbation [Note: John 1:47.]

2. His dedication of himself to Christ—

[No sooner did the Lord Jesus profess himself to be the Messiah, than this man acknowledged him under that character, and paid him that “worship” which was due to him as God’s only dear Son.
Now, whence had he power to do this? Was not this faith the gift of God [Note: Acts 18:27; Philippians 1:29.]? And was not this act of adoration the fruit of the Spirit, even of the Holy Ghost “working mightily in him” as “a Spirit of grace and of supplication [Note: Zechariah 12:10. with John 6:44.]?” Yes: the Lord Jesus, who had restored the organs of vision to his body, “gave light also to his soul,” and enabled him to exercise these sublime graces: for we know, assuredly, that “without Christ he could have done nothing [Note: John 15:5.].”

And will He not do as much for us, if we manifest the same child-like spirit? He will: he will remove all doubts from our minds, and enable us to exclaim, with Thomas, “My Lord, and my God!”
And here let me observe, that our Lord did not decline these expressions of his adoring love. When such were offered by Cornelius to Peter [Note: Acts 10:25.], and by John to an angel [Note: Revelation 22:9.], they were rejected instantly, as an invasion of the divine prerogative: but to Jesus they were properly offered, because he was the Son of God; and therefore he accepted them; and has thereby taught us, that all men are to “honour the Son, even as they honour the Father; and that he who honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father who hath sent him [Note: John 5:23.].”]

Behold then, I say, the rewards conferred upon the disposition that was exercised. In an instant, as it were, this man was brought “from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God.”]

Let me, in conclusion,
1.

Propose to you the inquiry—

[To every individual amongst you would I propose the question, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” And let no one imagine, that it is an unnecessary inquiry. This man had argued well on the subject of evidences, and yet needed to have the question put to him. And many amongst ourselves may be able to defend the outworks of Christianity, whilst yet they have no personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus. If we would determine this point aright, let us see how this man acted: the very instant that he was enabled to say with truth, “Lord, I believe,” he fell down and “worshipped” his heavenly Benefactor. And will not true faith produce the same effect on. us? Shall not we feel delight in prostrating ourselves at the Saviour’s feet, and in acknowledging our obligations to him? Beyond a doubt, this effect must and will follow. Ask then yourselves, whether this be the habit of your minds from day to day? Has it been so this very day? Has it been so during the past week? Is there in your souls such an overwhelming sense of gratitude to him, as constrains you to revert to him, and fix your thoughts on him, as soon as ever the occasions which have caused a momentary diversion have passed away? Are you touched, as it were, with a magnetic power, that draws you to him, as the needle to the pole? This, I say again, is the invariable effect of true faith; and the resolution of this question will furnish you with the true answer to the inquiry in the text.]

2. Commend to you the example—

[In reference to every part of God’s word should the same disposition be exercised. I say not, that an attentive examination of evidences is not good: for we are bound to “prove all things, and then to hold fast that only which is good [Note: 1 Thessalonians 5:21.].” But a critical spirit, a disputatious spirit, a sceptical spirit, are not favourable to the reception of divine truth. They may be proper enough in reference to things which are purely intellectual; but not so in reference to things which are altogether spiritual. For a just discernment of these things we need the teachings of God’s Holy Spirit [Note: 1 Corinthians 2:14.]: and with childlike simplicity of mind we should ever pray with Job, “What I see not, teach thou me [Note: Job 34:32.];” and with David, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law [Note: Psalms 119:18.].” Were such a spirit exercised by us, we should find, in ten thousand instances, that the difficulties of Scripture would vanish; what was “crooked becoming straight, and what was rough, being smoothed to a plain.” An obediential spirit would make the whole book of God both luminous and easy to be received. Let me then recommend, that you regard the sacred volume as “a mould, into which your soul is to be poured [Note: Romans 6:17. the Greek.],” and by which its every feature must be formed. Be ready to “obey it from the heart;” and it shall be as effectual to create your souls anew, as the command of heaven was to bring forth the universe into existence, and to reduce the chaos to that order and beauty which entitled it to the commendation of Jehovah, as “very good [Note: John 15:3. with Genesis 1:3; Genesis 1:31.].” In a word, cultivate the spirit which displayed itself so eminently in this man; and, with a readiness to receive instruction and embrace the truth, let there be in you a determination of heart to follow your convictions, without hesitation and without reserve.]