Sermon Tone Analysis
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Video from Youtube:
No one likes to be put in a box.
Categorized.
Common: Ethnicity, gender, economic status, education, geography
Creating categories for others makes us feel more comfortable.
We think we have a handle on that other person or group once they’re in their box in our minds.
But “boxes” limit us.
Both the categories others put us in as well as the boxes we create for others.
As the video illustrated, everyone has victories, challenges, hopes, dreams, etc.
We’re more alike than unalike.
As we continue to follow Jesus, we get a front row seat at a boxing.
A blind man gets boxed.
A lot.
The Disciples Box Him
Common belief in 1st c.
Judaism that calamity of any kind was a judgment from God.
Still a popular belief today.
Still not accurate.
Jesus Releases Him
Jesus corrects that misconception then and now: The result of the man’s blindness is to allow God’s glory to be revealed.
There’s a deeper message here as well: the greater disaster in creation is living in spiritual darkness.
For the disciples: It’s time to get to work!
His Neighbors Stuff Him Right Back In The Box
It shouldn’t surprise us that his neighbors and friends are amazed and curious but also immediately try to shove him right back into a box they’re more comfortable with.
He testifies to Jesus’ power and healing but it just seems to bounce off them.
So they decide to kick this conundrum “up a level.”
The Religious Establishment Tries a Different Box
Summarize the exchanges with the man’s family.
His family gets involved but don’t want anything to do with the situation.
(sometimes even family will try to put you in a box.)
The pharisees try not only to box the formerly blind man in, but also Jesus:
They can’t handle the truth of the man’s testimony about Jesus’ power - which proves he is from God.
So they box both of them up and toss the whole thing in the trash, so to speak.
Jesus “Blows Up” the Boxes
It almost feels a little humorous.
The blind guy, of course, had never “seen” Jesus in the flesh so he didn’t know who was speaking to him.
Jesus fulfills what he told the disciples in v.5.
He is the true light.
This is the healing that the blind man really needed: To find and know God’s Son.
The only box you or I need to be in is the one labeled “faith.”
Pharisees Box Themselves
This is both a wonderful truth and a warning message.
Jesus is talking about spiritual darkness and His amazing light.
Some gut checks from the passage:
What boxes do you find most comfortable for others to live in?
What boxes do you find most comfortable to live in?
How do the boxes limit our ability to share the truth with people who aren’t like us?
When we live in the light, we can see others and ourselves more clearly and realize that the only difference between us and anyone else that matters is whether or not they know and follow Jesus.
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