The Work of Christ Part 2 - John 9:13-34

0:54What are you maturing in? If we fast forward 20, 30 years from now, what are you going to be like? What are you growing in? How are you responding to God's revelation about Himself? And more precisely, what direction is your understanding of Jesus Christ taking? What direction is it going? Well, today, what we're going to look at is two different types of people. There are those people in our passage this morning. Who grow in their blindness. They grow in their inability to see Christ. And then we'll see another type represented by this blind man who grows in his ability to see Jesus. And that's what we're doing in John chapter 9. If you're just joining us, we are looking at the life of a man who was born blind. And we are reliving his journey from complete blindness to perfect vision. That perfect vision goes from being physically healed to spiritually healed, which we'll get to next week. But as we look this morning, we're going to be looking at this interrogation of him, his parents. And as we look at this man's journey through this from physical sight to spiritual sight and the ensuing interrogation and the revelation of those guys who are growing in their blindness, as we walk through this man's journey, we need to be asking ourselves: Am I growing in my ability to see Christ for who he is, or in my blind ignorance of not wanting to see him for who he really is? Well, last week, we started looking at the first 12 verses.

3:00And we notice five characteristics of the work of Christ. The work of Christ puts God's goodness on display. It involves his followers. It has a sense of urgency. The work of Christ meets more than physical needs. And the work of Christ forces a response. And that response is to awaken people's curiosity, to cause division about who he is, with ultimately the goal to prompt further investigation. Prompt further investigation. So the work of Christ is to put God's goodness on display in order to prompt further investigation. And why does God want people looking into who he is?

3:51So that they will be drawn to the light. But the work of Christ and the way people react to it and respond to it and investigate it also does something else. It exposes who the children of the devil are and who the children of God are. You see, the way the one investigates the claims of Christ reveals what's really in their heart. Listen, do you welcome truth in your life or do you suppress it? That's the question. The way you investigate the claims of Christ. Christ says which kind of a trajectory you are on in life. Are you on a path going into greater blindness and greater darkness, or are you on a path of growing in your ability to see Jesus and not only see Jesus, but God Himself? Which path are you on? You can imagine a plant.

5:04Imagine two plants, same soil, same plant, same everything, and the same sun shines upon them, and one turns to the light and is nourished and strengthened and grows and flourishes, the other hates the light, turns away, withers, and dies. Well, that's basically what we're witnessing in our passage this morning. We're witnessing the same light being shown upon two kinds of people, and they respond very differently. And so we need to ask ourselves: how are we going to respond to the light of God in the revelation of Christ? It's the most important thing about you. And so, what John does in our passage this morning, he shows us two life trajectories: one into greater darkness and the other into greater light. And he does that so that you will be drawn into the light and follow the light. And so that's where we're going this morning. By way of an overview, there are three rounds of interrogation. This man has been healed. People don't know what to do. It's prompted further investigation. So they bring this man to the Jewish leadership. And three rounds of interrogation will take place. First, they'll interrogate him. Then they're going to interrogate his parents. And then they're going to bring him back in and interrogate him again. And we're going to walk through each of those rounds of interrogation, if you will. But as we do, as we make our way through, I want to draw your attention to five steps that lead into greater light and five steps that lead into greater darkness. So I'm really interested about two paths. As we walk through these rounds of interrogation, I'm going to highlight the steps that lead to light, greater light, and the steps that lead into greater darkness. So that's where we're going this morning. So first of all, I want to look at the first interrogation round. I'll just read it beginning in verse 13 down to verse 17. You can mark this.

7:22They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. Now, it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made The clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see. 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 division among them. So they said to the blind man again, What do you say about him since he opened your eyes? And he said, He is a prophet. So the people had witnessed an extraordinary event. And so in verse 13, this investigation begins. They brought the Pharisees this man who was formerly blind. So the people are trying to make up their own minds about who Jesus is and what to think about all this. And so they ask their leaders to weigh in on the matter. I don't think there was any scandal involved in what these people were trying to do, much like if some major event happens, we want to weigh in on religious leaders' opinions, right? In our circles, if something big happens, who do they ask? What does John MacArthur think about this? What does John Piper think about this? Or on down, last generation, what does Billy Graham say about this?

8:53In other circles, what does the Pope have to say about this? Or what does Donald Trump have to say? But, you know, on down the line, you know, we. Want an authority to weigh in, and that's what they're doing. They're wanting to get another opinion. This investigation that has been prompted now begins a little more formally. Well, look at the technical issue that's involved in these proceedings in verse 14. Now, it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. So, it's clear that the overarching goal of the Pharisees is to discredit Jesus, and they want to do that by charging him with sin. He's a lawbreaker, and so the focal point or the technical issue is going to be the Sabbath. He made clay. Was he practicing healing arts? Was he doing something that was strictly forbidden? Therefore, we can call him a liar, and therefore, we can know, or a lawbreaker, and therefore know that he is not from God. And that's the question. If he is a sinner, he should not be followed. If he broke the Sabbath, he should not be followed. And so that becomes the question: Did Jesus sin against God's expectations for the Sabbath? You know, needing substances or practicing some kind of healing efforts, unless life was at issue, they were strictly forbidden. So, they're charging him with. Practicing medicine or doing, making something.

10:36So that's where it begins. But I want you to look at verse 15. Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight, and he said to them, He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see. So the first step into the pathway of greater light is an honest admission, an honest admission of the facts. He doesn't overemphasize them, he doesn't under, he just simply states the facts, and he is very honest with them. So, and this is where the Pharisees are going to fixate. They're going to fixate upon this law, and they're going to judge him not according to Old Testament revelation, but to Jewish tradition that has been added on to that, or the sayings of men, the practices of tradition that have come down, that have been weighed in addition to God's revelation. Look at verse 16. Therefore, some of the Pharisees were saying, This man is not from God because he does not keep the Sabbath. So, somehow, with this statement, He applied clay to my eyes, they thought, okay, got it. Somehow, in that applying of the clay to his eyes, he violated the Sabbath, therefore, open case, close it quickly.

12:18He's not from God. He doesn't keep the Sabbath. So the first pathway into greater darkness is a commitment to the infallibility of man. They are so committed to what they have received that they haven't even really thought: is it possible, is it possible that maybe he hasn't violated the Sabbath? Maybe there's something wrong with our law. But a commitment to the infallibility of man, I can assure you, is going to lead into greater darkness. No matter what the words of man may be, whether it's a commitment to the infallibility of science, infallibility of some religious leaders, or infallibility of philosophical systems, let me tell you something. A commitment to the infallibility of man will get you in trouble. It's going to be the path into greater darkness.

13:20No matter where those notions come from, no matter where the whenever you, whenever you commit yourself to the notions of man over Scripture, You're going down a path of increasing darkness. Look at verse 14, or 16. I'm sorry. But others were saying, How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs? Notice plural there. They're saying it's not just this one, it's other ones he's doing. And there was division among them. So there are two schools of thought in this interrogation. The first started from their vantage point of the understanding of the law. So they understand the law to say this, and they deemed Jesus a sinner accordingly. The second started from the miracle itself and said, Okay, there's no way this guy could be a sinner and do these kind of things. So there's a division. They're starting from different philosophical vantage points. And the Pharisees are ultimately going to win out. That started with the law. No, this is the law. He's broken the law, and that's what they're going to win the day with in the big picture. But the first group, they wanted this to be an opened and shut case. They sought to find fault with Jesus so they could quickly dismiss him, move on. They didn't want to consider the fact or even the possibility that their understanding or their cherished source of truth may be fallible.

15:00Listen, the unwillingness to honestly question your own preconceived notions of God and sin and salvation and Jesus against the Scripture. If you will not question your own preconceived notions against Scripture, you will move in a path of greater blindness. A blind commitment to the infallibility of man is a bad place to be in. So be honest with the facts. Swathe did. Just an honest admission. I mean, do you really think you can quickly dismiss Jesus? Did these guys really think they could just dismiss him? In fact, I would say as we celebrate Christ this season, there's something convenient, there's something nice about the baby in the manger, right? There's something very approachable. But don't let him become Messiah with absolute demands on our lives, right?

16:09You know, he gave the sign of the resurrection as a work that we all have to deal with, that everyone, all of mankind has to deal with. I don't think we can just move Jesus off the scene or quickly dismiss him as a person of little magnitude. Listen, dismissing Jesus isn't that easy. You know, a Roman crucifixion was aimed at making sure that no one followed him at all. That's why they did it. And yet, how did a crucified person conquer the Roman Empire if he didn't rise from the dead?

16:51There's something deep there. Why would people live for a lie? Oh, yes, he there's a thought that he didn't rise from the dead, and there was a thought this day that maybe, just maybe, this whole miracle is bogus. But we'll move on. Second pathway into the light, second step in the pathway of increasing light, is a legitimate evaluation of the facts. Look at verse 17. So they said to the blind man again, they're debating within themselves, and so they turn to the blind man. They say, What do you say about him since he opened your eyes? And he said, He is a prophet. He is a prophet.

17:40So the two sides of the Pharisees turn to the blind man. They ask him, What's your opinion? And this blind man, formerly blind man, clearly takes the side of Jesus, doesn't he? He says he's a prophet. Now, a prophet is somebody who comes from God and speaks for God. And so the man's assessment of Jesus is, well, not so much that he's a lawbreaker, but this guy's from God. He did something that only God can do, or something only a person sent from God can do. And so he concedes and gives a legitimate evaluation. This person is a prophet.

18:25And it's a good. Look back at verse 11 for a second. And look at what he says. They called him, How were your eyes opened? And the man, and he answered in verse 11, the man who is called Jesus. Now he has moved from this man who called Jesus to our verse in 17, he is a prophet. Do you see a progression? He's not just a man called Jesus, now he's a prophet. Is you're going to see a progression in this man's understanding of who Christ is, even in the midst of this interrogation. It's almost like God is using his opponents to make him evaluate Jesus more carefully. So that's the first round of interrogation. Bring in the guy, question him. Final verdict: well, he's a prophet. So then they send him out. Or we guess they send him out. So then they called in his parents. Look in the second round of interrogation. Beginning in verse 18, and I'll just read it to you. The Jews then did not believe it of him that he had been born blind and had received sight until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight and questioned them, saying, Is this your son whom you say was born blind? Then how does he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 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 will speak for himself. His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him to be the Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. So the parents are summoned. You know, when you're so sure of your own position and you don't want to believe anything that contradicts it, then you have to look to an explanation that is going to support your own. And so, since this guy's testimony is too miraculous, too wonderful to be true, what do they do? They attack the authenticity of the miracle. Let's get his parents in here and let's discredit this miracle. This is all a bunch of lies. This didn't happen. Let's discredit the miracle.

20:55Earlier generation, I would say it's a bunch of baloney. I don't know. If people know what that is these days, look at his parents' testimony, verse 20. His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind, 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 will speak for himself. Now, make two observations about their testimony. First of all, they were very careful in their speech, weren't they? They speak only what they know, so they're very careful. They speak only what they know, and then they defer to their son. What these parents, they want the least amount of involvement in this situation. They're like, we don't know what has happened.

21:47We know that he was blind. Why he sees now, we don't know. Ask him. And so, look at John's parenthetical comment. Why did his parents say this? Why did they distance themselves from their son right there in the midst of that interrogation? Verse 22. His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him to be the Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. For this reason, his parents said, he is of age. Ask him. And that brings us to our second story. Step into greater darkness. And that is an illegitimate investigation. So their commitment to the infallibility of man allowed them or prompted them, promoted them, necessitated that their investigation was illegitimate or dishonest from the very beginning. Look at their presupposition about Jesus. Look what they had already decided to do before this whole event happened. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him to be the Christ, Christ, the anointed one, Greek, same word, Messiah, Hebrew, anointed one, God's appointed ruler, God's Messiah.

23:18So look at their presupposition. We know that if anybody confesses him to be the Christ, they're out of here. So they really can't begin an honest investigation, can they? They already have a pre-commitment that whatever Jesus is, he cannot be this one thing. And anything that points to him being this Messiah, well, that person's just got to go. That's called an illegitimate search, a dishonest investigation. They had ruled out the only possibility. They ruled out the possibility before they even came. To the table. They're not really honest in their search. And this is what distinguishes those who the children of the devil are and who the children of God are. They will not come into the light. They will not come into the truth. Why? Because the mankiller, right, we've already talked about who the children of the devil are, who is a liar from the very beginning and he cannot stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.

24:30And so, and here's the problem: if Jesus is the Christ, now think about this. If they were to think for a moment and agree for a moment that Jesus was the Christ, guess what? They had no choice but to bring themselves and their whole temporal enterprise under his authority, right? So if the Jews confessed, well, you are the Christ, you're the anointed one, you are the Messiah, therefore we must come under you, and that's the problem. They didn't want this man to rule over him, and that's the problem with many of us. We have absolutely no problem with the baby in a manger. But don't let him show up and grow up into a man, grow up into be Lord, king, ruler, a mediator of all power, and say, I have absolute demands and authority over your life. No, let's go back to the baby, right?

25:26You see, it's easier to argue that Jesus is not the Christ. Than it is to admit that he is the Christ, but I don't want to submit to him. And that's what happens. That's what happens here. See, if they had admitted that he is the Christ, then they would have had to bring themselves under him. And it's easier just to challenge him and say, no, he's not the Christ. You see, man really doesn't want to repent. It's the one thing that really goes against who we are.

25:56But that's the one thing that he calls us to away from ourselves and to him. Well, the conclusion of this round of interrogation is that the miracle itself was deemed to be genuine. Look back at verse 18. The Jews did not believe it of him that he had been born blind and who had received sight until. See that word? Until they called the parents. In other words, as you come out of this interrogation round, the miracle is deemed to be genuine.

26:37So their first attempt to argue Jesus away was a failure. So that takes us into the third interrogation round, verses 24 through 34. Let me read them. 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. He then answered, Whether he is a sinner, I do. Not know, one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. So they said to him, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? 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? They reviled him and said, You are his disciples, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from. 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. We know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will, he hears him. Since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. They answered him, you were born entirely in sins, and you are teaching us. So they put him out.

28:05You got to like this guy. He's one of the most spunky in Scripture, isn't he? This guy's not at all like the guy that was healed over by the pool of Bethesda. This guy just engages. You see emerging faith. You see a man who the light is shining upon him and he is responding. And it's a beautiful picture of what light does in the soul of man when it is received. So let's look at verse 24. Let's just walk through this interrogation round number three. When they couldn't discredit the miracle, guess what they had to do? They had to resort to some other tactics, maybe being a bully, right? They had to bully or pressure him to recant. Look at verse 24. So a second time, they called the man who had been born blind and said to him, Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. So the third pathway, third step into the pathway of darkness is public opposition to Jesus. So their commitment to the infallibility of man led them to an illegitimate investigation of the facts, which led them further to a public opposition to Jesus. They started with opposition to Jesus, and now it comes out. So they make a public statement. And once a person takes a public position against Jesus, guess what? They have to defend it. So they start digging themselves in deeper and looking for more reasons to wage war against the truth. And so they publicly denounced Christ and they applied public prayer. Pressure upon this man to do the same thing. Give glory to God. Tell us the truth, young man. We know that this man is a sinner. Oh, he's going to give glory to God, all right. He's going to obey that, but he's not going to give it in the way that they were hoping.

30:20Look at what he says in verse 25. He then answered, Whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, I now see. And so, this is a third step into a pathway of increasing light, and that is a commitment to truth. You see, this man started with an honest admission of the facts. He assessed them legitimately. He gave a legitimate evaluation of those facts, and he was willing to boldly go where the truth took him, regardless of the bully pressure, regardless of what was in vogue, what would have been politically correct at the moment, or whatever. He is committed to follow where those facts go.

31:12He's committed to the truth. He simply admitted what he knew and what he could affirm. He says, You say he's a sinner. I don't know. I don't know him that well. I do know this much. I was blind, and now I see. 26, verse 26. So they said to him, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? Verse 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?

31:53Takes us to the fourth step into a pathway of increasing light, and that is a genuine esteem of Jesus. This man genuinely begins to show that he esteems Jesus. He had an honest admission. He evaluated those facts legitimately. He was committed to the truth. And they led him to esteem Jesus. Look at what he says. Now he's not only this man named Jesus, not only is he a prophet, but this is one who deserves to have followers. Look at what he says. You do not want to become his disciples too, do you? You do not want to become his disciples also, do you?

32:47You see, the Pharisees probably wanted to scrutinize the story more. They're like, okay, let's go back over this one more time. Let's see if we can find something else wrong. And the man's like, why would you want to go over this again? You were not interested when we were went over it the first time. You weren't hearing what I was saying. So either you want to, if you want to go over it now, you must really, is it because you want to learn? He's kind of being a little facetious, right? You didn't want to learn then. Now you want to learn now. Is that what it is? You want to become his followers?

33:24Of course, this kind of blew their mind, right? Look back at verse 28. They reviled him, they verbally abused him. This is the reaction of a threatened conscience, right? Of an awakened conscience. What? They got mad. They didn't know what to do. They were mad and they reviled him. You are his disciples. And maybe they picked up, you don't want to become one of his disciples, too. Aha, you are one of his disciples. But we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from. Won't go into the details that Jesus has already said, no, if you had been following Moses, you would have found you would have followed me. If you had been listening to Moses, you would have heard me. You would have, he spoke of me. But I already covered that ground. But right here, they are angry. And that takes us to the fourth step.

34:30That illumines the fourth step into the path of greater darkness. Their commitment to the infallibility of man led to an illegitimate investigation, led to a public opposition to Jesus, and then it led to a despise of those who esteem Jesus. Now they despise this guy. I mean, this guy's just minding his own business, begging, and all of a sudden he gets healed. And now all he's trying to do is give a truthful testimony. Jesus stepped into his life, the work of Christ came into his life, and it set in motion a whole chain of events. And now he finds himself defending himself and Jesus in the midst of an angry Inquisition.

35:19So then, we'll go to the fifth step into light. Look at verse 30. And this is a trustworthy conclusion. When you honestly admit the claims of Christ and you legitimately evaluate those facts and you're committed to go where they lead and it will awaken a genuine esteem of Jesus and it will lead you to a trustworthy conclusion. And that's what happens in verse 30 and 31. This man answered and said, Well, here's an amazing thing: that you do not know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes.

36:01It's interesting. The only thing that's described as amazing in this whole work, John doesn't even call the man's healing amazing, though it obviously is amazing. But the thing that John particularly attaches the word of amazing to is not the miracle, but the stubborn blindness of those who would not believe it or accept the implications of it. That's what was truly amazing. Well, here's an amazing thing: that you do not know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. Look what he says in verse 31: we know. Now he starts appealing to common agreement. He said, listen, we all, everybody in this room, all over Jerusalem and all around, we know that God does not hear sinners. But if anyone is God-fearing, that is revering God and worshiping God, a God-fearer, and does his will, he hears him.

37:02And so what Jesus, or what this man does is, he, first of all, he comes to the conclusion that Jesus is good. He does good. He's not a sinner. He's good. And that's basically what this man's testimony is. God has been good to me through Jesus. Jesus is an agent of God's goodness. It's like, guys, this one really isn't that hard to figure out. It's basically what he's telling them. This is not that hard to figure out.

37:39And then he goes on in verse 32: Since the beginning of time, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. Incredible statement. And listen, it's important to understand that this man's conclusion is that Jesus is good, but not only that Jesus is good, but that he is sent from God. If this man were not from God, he could not do this. He could not do anything like this. And something happened to this man. That's a really remarkable miracle.

38:23Faculties were created which were never there. He didn't just regain sight or he didn't just repair broken. He created some faculties that were not there. And so that's what this man is saying. He's saying, look, guys, you have to give him this. You have to recognize this at least. Or you're not being intellectually or spiritually honest at all. We all know this. No sinner can do this. Nothing like this has ever happened. Be honest. Honest with the facts. And that's what this man's testimony is doing.

39:09So he comes to a trustworthy conclusion that Jesus is good and Jesus is sent from God. This guy is not a believer yet. He's just committed to following where the truth goes. He's being drawn by the light. He's going to come to Christ. Look at that next week. Well, I want you to see the next step into darkness, verse 34. They answered him, You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us? So they put him out.

39:45So the first step into greater darkness is getting rid of those who speak favorably of Jesus. Get rid of all those people in your life who speak favorably of Jesus, and you will be well on your way to being confirmed in blindness. You see, when you can't discredit the testimony or bully him into recanting or verbally abuse him into submission, then you have to just get rid of him altogether. And that's what they did. Put him out of the room and probably out of the synagogue as well.

40:23That brings us back to the original question. All this was the question: who is Jesus? Who is he? That's what this investigation was all about. There is an individual who grew in his understanding, represents the pathway of light. He was faithful with the light that was given to him. He responded appropriately and honestly to that light. He knew Jesus was from God. He knew that he was at least a prophet. And this honesty of soul opened his ability to receive more truth about Jesus. And we'll see him receive more in the next section.

41:09And he will come to know him as Messiah. Flip side of that is the pathway into greater darkness. You know, the whole Star Wars gig and all the George Lucas thought, the pathway into the darkness, right? It's kind of confusing, I think, even in his mind, but it really goes something like fear. Fear is the pathway to the darkness. Maybe fear and lust for power to protect your fear. And maybe fear and lust of power and anger and all that kind of stuff kind of comes in. That's the pathway to the darkness. But biblically speaking, that's not the pathway to the darkness at all. The pathway to the darkness and being confirmed in the darkness is laid out right before us with these men here. And it starts. With a commitment to the infallibility of man, proceeds to illegitimate investigation into the claims of Christ. It then develops into a public opposition to Jesus that has to be defended and promoted. And it leads to despising those who esteem Jesus and then getting rid of everyone who speaks favorably of Jesus in your life. That's the biblical path to complete darkness forever.

42:36Well, I don't want anyone leaving here today without a sense of a real work of the Holy Spirit in your life. How do you know? How do you know that God has worked in your life? Well, I can speak from personal experience based upon the testimony of this young man who was blind. I once was blind, but now I see. I can tell you, looking over the history of my life, I once loved sin, had no problem with it, enjoyed it, now I hate it.

43:19I once could steal without conscience, and now, after meeting Christ, I was compelled to make restitution. And if I Wrong today. I want to make it right times over. Why? Because I was once blind, but now I see. I once was afraid of God. And now you know what? I absolutely love Him. I love coming into His presence. I once had no interest in the words of God, and now I cannot get enough. I wish I had 500 years just to study this one book.

43:58You see, I once was blind, but now I see. That's the only thing that accounts for this. And you know who opened my eyes? It was Jesus. It was a relationship with Jesus that made all this difference. So who is Jesus? God's anointed ruler, who was born in a manger, went to a cross, conquered death, made a covering for his people, set them apart, protects them. Now that's a king. That's a Messiah. And that's who we worship. Let's pray. Lord, we give you thanks for the light upon the light. We thank you for the truth about your Son, Jesus Christ. Help us to respond. Help us to be growing in a trajectory of increasing. Light of knowing more about you, knowing you more, and knowing more of your Son. Will you do that in our hearts? Because we can't do it. So we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.