The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Fourth Sunday in Lent 

Light of Christ Anglican Church 

The Reverend Michael J. Moffitt 

March 15, 2026 

Do You Believe In the Son of Man? 

Text: John 9:1–13, 28–38 

Today we begin week four of our Lenten journey. In our first week we looked  at the story of Jesus being led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to pray and  fast for 40 days. It was at the weakest moment of Jesus physically, after receiving  no food or drink for such a long time, that Satan came to tempt him. We saw  that even Jesus depended upon the bread of life which he identified as ‘every  word that proceeded from the mouth of the Father.’ This is how he dealt with  temptation he spoke the words of the Father to himself and to the evil one.  

Two weeks ago we read the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus to understand  who he was and why he had come. Jesus tells him that he must be born again.  Being a respected teacher of the law and a Pharisee wouldn’t save him.  

Jesus told him “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the  kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born  of the Spirit is spirit.” 

Last week we put the two together through the story of Jesus’ encounter with the  Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus offered her the true “living water” that only  he could give. He intentionally came to meet her at the request of His Father.  She was an outcast in her town because of her scandalous ways. He came to give  her what she really needed, to be set free from her past. He alone is the bread  of life and living water and the only way that she could be restored to a right  relationship with God.  

Today we will continue on our journey with Jesus as the light who shines in the  darkness revealing to us the way of the cross. As you likely have noticed in the  reading of our scriptures this morning, there is a common theme.

In 1 Samuel 16 God sent the prophet to anoint David, the youngest son of Jesse,  and a real-life shepherd. He was to be king of Israel instead of one of his seven  brothers who were older, stood taller and were more impressive. God taught  Samuel to not judge the man who God would appoint by outward appearances  for God looks at the heart of a man. Right up front we see what would allow  David, the shepherd boy to be a fitting king for Israel. Listen again to the last  verse in our Old Testament reading.  

Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his  brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day  forward. 

There was nothing to recommend David because of experience, education,  physically, military training, or family. David was the youngest son of the least  important family, in a town that was small and initially of no real importance.  Micah 5:2,  

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the  clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in  Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 

Of course the prophet was foretelling the coming of the Messiah. Luke 2 tells the  story of an angel of the Lord coming to the shepherds who were tending to the  flocks overnight. Luke 2:10–11,  

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news  of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day  in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  

The Book of Ruth tells us the story of a man, his wife and two sons moving  to Moab because there was no food in Israel. They were from Bethlehem. The  man and his sons die in Moab so Naomi the wife returns to Bethlehem with  her daughter in law, now a widow, Ruth a Moabitess. She ends up marrying  Boaz an Israelite. But she also ends up being the great grandmother of king  David.  

But it goes back further. Bethlehem was where Jacob buried Rachal his wife. No  one in all these stories had any idea that all this would transpire. Because these  events happened over an approximate period of 1800 years and through the  writings of at least four different authors. God in His sovereign purposes brought all of this together as part of His plan of  redemption for those who would end up coming to Jesus Christ, the Son of God  by repentance and faith. 

So why would God choose such unlikely people to accomplish his purposes.  I believe that it shows that His plans are not limited by human standards or  abilities. He invites us to accomplish His will and He gives us His power and His  Holy Word so we can do it. 

Thereafter most every major event in David’s life from slaying the Philistine  warrior Goliath to his remarkable fighting skills as a warrior in Israels army we  find evidence of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. It was such a part of  who he was as king, that when he sinned against God by committing adultery  with Bathsheba and having her husband Uriah killed in battle his real concern  was seen in Psalm 51:10–11,  

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from  me. 

Throughout his life, in spite of many failures God still spoke of him as a man  after his own heart.  

The primary theme in the gospel of John is the divinity of Christ who is the only  hope that men and women have for salvation. From the beginning in chapter 1  John declares that Jesus is the eternal Word and that he was “the light that shines  in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” (v.5).  

In chapter 9 Jesus makes a very bold move in declaring his authority and  showing that he is indeed the light that shines in the darkness. What better way  to reveal that than by healing a man who has been blind from birth?  

Up to this point in the gospel John has shown Jesus’ authority over sickness,  nature and the weather and has shown his compassion for those who are  outcasts—the woman at the well in Samaria and the woman caught in adultery.  He has declared himself the Son of God and the only way to the Father much to  the horror and distain of the Jewish religious leaders. Now the theme is shifting  to how Jesus is breaking away from the influence of the Jewish authorities and  calling his disciples to follow him. This means they will have to turn away from  the easy and familiar in order to follow Jesus who is truth and light.

Everything in this story is encouraging the reader to understand that Jesus came to  reveal the love and will of the Father and show that he was indeed the Son of God.  

At the beginning of the story the disciples upon seeing the man born blind  attempt to turn this into a theological discussion by asking whose sin caused this  man to be born blind. Jesus points out that this suffering was not the result of the  man or his parents sin.  

It was so God could display his glory. John was introducing the reality that  suffering as a way to glorify God was to be a common theme for believers as it  had been in the lives of their forefathers. Think of Job, Ruth, and Naomi or the  prophets who all suffered in their faithfulness to God. 

There were at least two ways that God would receive the glory from the blind  man’s healing and the first was in the method that Jesus used to heal the man.  Jesus could have merely spoken to the man, and his sight would have been  instantly restored but he chose a more personal way. After making mud with his  saliva Jesus places it on the man’s eyes and speaks to him personally.  

Jesus was engaging his remaining senses giving the man a sense of his  involvement in his healing. He touched the man. Those who are blind have a keen  sense of smell, so he would be able to know him from that way. He engaged his  hearing as he spoke to him instructions as to what he should do next, and this gave  him the opportunity to trust Jesus and go and wash in the pool of Siloam. The man  did as Jesus told him and came back able to see for the first time in his life. 

Jesus demonstrated that God was far more personal than the religious leaders  of Judaism. All those who knew the man were amazed to the point of doubting  as to whether or not this was actually the same man or just looked like him. The  Pharisees could not get past the fact that Jesus performed this miracle on the  Sabbath thereby breaking their tradition, not the law of God. 

The people after seeing what Jesus did for someone they knew or were at least  familiar with him recognized that this most certainly should be seen as the  work and mercy of God. No one had ever heard of anyone being born blind and  receiving his sight. 

A real turning point in the story is when the Pharisees bring the formally blind  man back to interview him for the second time. They suggest to the man that  Jesus was a sinner, and the proof was that he healed him on the Sabbath. When the man hears this he is incredulous and defends Jesus’ action as proof that he  was from God.  

The man’s testimony as to the character of Jesus shows us the second way that  God received the glory from this encounter. You will notice that the man resists  the continued badgering of the Pharisees and asks them, “Do you also want to become his disciples? And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we  are disciples of Moses.”  

It’s interesting that the way to tell those who are Christ followers from those  who aren’t is the witness of the Holy Spirits presence. If they were really sons  of God and followers of Moses they would have remembered Moses words  Deuteronomy 18:15, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me  from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen—”  

Jesus’ evaluation of the Pharisees in John 8 was proving accurate. They showed  themselves to still be in darkness because they were following their father, the  devil. 

We see here a real contrast between the religious leaders and the man who Jesus  healed of blindness. Whether or not he knew the full implication of what he was  saying to them when he asked if they wanted to be disciples of Jesus too, the  Pharisees seemed to understand that this meant that the man was now a disciple  of Jesus. His further comment seals this in their minds and they throw him out of  the temple and the Jewish religious community. 

Think about that for a moment. This man born blind is now kicked out of  the religious community for telling the truth. This is the only life he’s ever  known. He’s now able to see for the time ever. This should have been a day of  celebration, but he finds himself alone. Why would they respond so badly? Why  weren’t they praising God for doing something so miraculous? What were they  afraid of?  

To be thrown out of the religious life was to be excommunicated from the  cultural center of Judaism. I love what happens next and this is so important for  our consideration this morning.  

This man is standing outside of the community now considered an outcast. Jesus  having heard that the man was kicked out of the temple finds him. He finds  him because He’s not welcome there either. The Son of God unwelcome in His Father’s house. I love Jesus’ question in John 9: 35 and the man’s humble answer. 

 “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he,  sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him,  and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he  worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that  those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 

Jesus was forming a new community of outsiders apart from the institutions of  Judaism, with himself as the central focus and teacher. This story is used to point  us to the reality that those who would follow Jesus must expect a sharp division  between those who follow him and those who oppose him.  

The man who received his sight not only could see with his physical eyes but for  the first time saw God’s glory standing before him in the presence of his Son.  

As in our Old Testament and Gospel readings our Epistle reading has the same  focus. Once we turn and follow the will of God we are not merely to turn away  from participating in deeds of darkness, but we are to shine the light of Christ  and his word to expose the darkness and the lies supported by those who reject  Jesus as Lord. When those who hate Christianity seek to undermine or eradicate  the influence of it that is one thing. You aren’t surprised and can see what they  are attempting is due to their spiritual blindness.  

We should continue to pray for them and pray against the dark forces keeping  them in blindness. When you proclaim the good news of the gospel you are  bringing the power of God’s word and the Holy Spirit’ power to open the eyes of  the one who is in bondage. 

However, an even more insidious and cunning tactic of the enemy is when  people write or speak things that sound Christian but actually are built upon the  lies of our enemy and seek to undermine the faith of those who are not firmly  grounded in God’s word.  

When we discover those who call themselves Christians but have compromised  the clear teaching of the Bible for the sake of unity with those who have differing  beliefs it usually has the stench of the evil one. What is then taught almost always  comes out against the creeds and statements of faith. The Trinity, the divinity of  Christ, the ethics and morals taught in God’s word are soon abandoned and the  attack upon those who stand firm for the authority of scripture begins in earnest. 

The good news is that there is no reason to panic because this has always been  true since the beginning of the church 2000 years ago. This is why we need to be  faithful in the teaching of God’s word and the proclamation of the gospel. Jesus is  still building the Christian community, and he is doing so through his body.  

The truth that it’s the unbeliever who will find him/herself outside of the  covenant community without hope. Jesus invites them to come to Him by faith  in repentance where there is the joy of salvation. How does Jesus usually invite  them to come to faith. Well certainly through His word but usually spoken by  those who know Him. 

Do you know Jesus as Savior and Lord? Are you speaking His word of hope to  those who are lost?  

Let’s pray. 

©2026 The Rev. Michael J. Moffitt