John 9:7 He went his way therefore, and
washed and came seeing. The words I want especially to dwell upon of the first
four words of our text. He went his way. They are used several times of
different persons under very different circumstances, and I trust they may be
God’s message to our hearts this evening. We are very well acquainted with the
way they are used in Isaiah 53.. All we like sheep are gone astray we have
turned everyone to his own way[2]. Here we
have a statement which brings before us the natural trend of the human heart
and we know how true they are to life, and apply not only to the adult
population but our children in the earliest days reveal the tendency, and we
have seen them stamped their feet and defy their parents almost as soon as they
can walk. Do not say you do not believe in the fall[3]. Here is
abundant evidence of it in all directions. One of my brothers is a very keen
bowls player and he explained to me the reason the bowls they use never run
straight. They are weighted with lead on one side.. and as bowled by an expert,
can be made to turn to the right or the left according to the side they are
weighted but they always go their own way, and the player knows that he has to
submit to the principle of bias. And, only one thing could possibly cause the
ball to take a straight course, and this is the removal of the lead which
causes the bias[4].
It would need to be born again[5]. And
this is just the same with human nature. There is a bias towards self will in
the heart of every child born into this world. Now in the story we have before
us, we have one of the most pitiable sites before us that can be imagined. Just
think of that poor wee might mite, and his mother. Think of her joy at
his birth, and all the castle’s in the air built around him. How she visualized
him in young man-hood following in his father’s footsteps and taking his
business, and then see her in those earliest days, noticing a strange look in
his eyes.. and passing her hand over them to see if he would respond with a
blink and there is no response whatever, and how very hesitant she would be to
mention her fears to her husband but at last she is forced to the conclusion
that her baby boy is blind, and she must mention it, and we see them father
& mother testing it out again and finally coming to the conclusion that it
is so, and so he grows up. No blind schools[6] in those
days were they can be taught various trades enabling them to earn their living.
No doubt many passers by had spoken with compassion of him, and all were like
helpless until that red letter day in his experience, when the Lord Jesus passed
by, and unlike others, He had the power, and the love to heal him. Do you see
Him anointing his eyes with clay, I think it was John McNeil[7] who said
‘The Lord knew – he was made of clay and knew it was the right material to
repair the damage, but just wait there is something else necessary. What is
He’s saying. Go wash in the pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation Sent).
He went his way therefore and washed and came seeing. There is one word in this
verse that is all-important, and I think perhaps we may fail to attach
sufficient importance to it. It is the word “therefore”. It just means that he
went in obedience. The natural trend of the human heart is to act in
disobedience. And I am sure that many might have argued concerning the use of
all this, to anoint his eyes with clay. Many would say, if he was not already
blind, he would be after that, and what is the use of just plastering his eyes
with clay and then telling to wash it off. No.. He went his way therefore. He
believed in the one who spoke and he was obedient, and he came seeing. Many
dear men and women heard the voice of the same Jesus at Haringey[8] and went
out, and came seeing. I think some might ask “Seeing what”. And I think I can
answer that question. They came seeing that the things they had not believed,
and perhaps ridiculed before, were all they were claimed to be. Perhaps I
should be nearer the truth if I withdrew the word “things” and substitute the
word “person”. They had not previously believed Him, and had perhaps ridiculed
Him and they came seeing Him as one can and has met all their need. The way of
obedience is the way of blessing. Now may I call your attention to another
passage of scripture in which we have this same phrase. It is in Luke 4, and we
find our Lord in Nazareth, the place where He was brought up, and He went into
the synagogue and stood up for to read and he found in the prophecy of Isaiah
61, words that were fulfilled in Himself. Words of love and grace to the poor,
the broken-hearted, the captives the blind and yet they did not believe Him,
and they thrust Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill where
in their city was built. And we read in verse 30 But He passing through the
midst of them went his way. It was a terribly sad time for them. It was His
turn now. Why did He turn away from them. It is abundantly clear. In verse 22
They asked “Is not this Joseph’s son”. They did not believe He was the son of
God sent to bless them. Where did the man blind from birth go to wash. Siloam,
which is by interpretation Sent. He believed and came seeing. These did not
believe and remained blind. Just one more scripture. This time in Luke 22. 3 &
4. Then entered Satan into Judas and he went his way and communed with the
chief priests & captains, how he might betray Jesus unto them. Yes Judas
went his way... A way always leads to a place. Some years ago I had to lay out
a large garden[9],
and I was careful that every path I made led to some particular feature of that
garden. The blind man’s way led him to healing. Our Lord’s way, led him to the
cross for a specific purpose. The way of Judas, led him to betray His Master,
and ultimately to the place of torment. Where does my way lead me HEAVEN or
HELL which?
[1] There is a Stanford farm about 12 miles away from Witley towards Woking on the A324
[2] Isaiah 53:6a
[3] The fall i.e. the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 although more exactly he is arguing for Augustinian Original Sin
[4] The same metaphor is used 1954 Palm Sunday, Witley
[5] John 3:7 born again Christians are often compared to nominal Christians within evangelicalism
[6] The first blind school was established in 1835 and their growth was boosted by the Edgerton Commission in 1889 so that it became normal for blind children to attend separate blind institutions. During the 20th century this gradually changed but still would have been normal in 1954
[7] Alexander Gammie wrote the official biography titled Rev. John McNeill, His Life and Work, published by Pickering & Inglis, London, Great Britain. Rev. McNeill’s biography states he resigned as minister of Regent Square Church and accepted an invitation to become associated with evangelist D. L. Moody’s campaigns. In 1892, he began his evangelistic work in Scotland, which continued for 15 years. Chapter VI “Sixteen Years’ Evangelising” records on page 113: “He travelled north, south, east and west in Scotland, England and Ireland, meeting everywhere with a wonderful response. In the homeland, on his return, he was constantly on tour practically from Land’s End to John o’ Groat’s, preaching not only in great centres of population, but also in the small villages and country districts until there was scarcely a corner of the land where the voice of John McNeill had not been heard. … In any case, it would be the same experience everywhere of crowded congregations and of powerful preaching, in which pathos and humour and evangelical earnestness combined to make a profound and an abiding impression.” (Rev. John McNeill, His Life and Work by Alexander Gammie, page 123) http://www.tellingthetruth.info/founder_book/02wmibook.php
Robert B. Callahan in Walking as Mature Christians p66 "The important matter is that God by his grace has called us… This point is illustrated by John McNeil, a minister in Scotland, and was related by Martin Lloyd Jones. Rev. McNeil preached a sermon in which he drew a comparison between the blind man who received his sight as recounted in the Gospels of both Mark and John". The point as recounted by Callahan is not the same but the same sermon is probably a mind, maybe as mediated by the very well known and influential Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones the minister of Westminster Chapel and independent evangelical church.
[8] This was the site of
the Billy Graham mission earlier in the year
[9] This may well have
been the garden at Witley where he was gardner in the 40s and 50s