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Iconic Jesus | Week 3 · Rewind

Rock Point Church

67 min

Pastor Scott Rodgers · Feb 10, 2019 · 4 min read · 67 min listen

The big idea

A genuine encounter with Christ changes your life — and you can pursue that change through humility and obedience even when you don't have all the answers.

In this message

The big idea
Point 1 of 7The book of John exists to prove Jesus's identity as the Son of God.
Point 2 of 7Jesus refuses to answer the disciples' question about whose sin caused the man's blindness, and instead points to God's glory.

Point 3 of 7Jesus heals the man in an unconventional, almost playful way, using mud and sending him to wash in the pool of Siloam.
Point 4 of 7The healed man is interrogated by neighbors, Pharisees, and his own parents, but keeps returning to the one thing he knows for certain.
Point 5 of 7A genuine encounter with Christ changes your life, and that change comes through humility and obedience, not having all the answers.
Point 6 of 7Don't give up what you do know for what you don't know.
Point 7 of 7Regardless of what caused our suffering or struggle, God can use it for His glory.
Take it into your week
Transcript

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Scripture in this message

John 20:30-31
John 8
John 9:1
John 9:3
Romans 3
John 9:4

Rewind AI drafted the Big Idea and some point headings shown here from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Pastor Scott Rodgers · Feb 10, 2019 · 67 min watch · 2 min read

Iconic Jesus | Week 3

In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

John 20:30-31
John 8
John 9:1
John 9:3
Romans 3
John 9:4

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

A genuine encounter with Christ changes your life — and you can pursue that change through humility and obedience even when you don't have all the answers.

Pastor Scott walks through John 9 to show that meeting Jesus for real never leaves a person unchanged. The healed blind man couldn't explain all the theology, but he could point to what God had done in him — and that's the same posture, humble, obedient, and honest, that opens the door for God to keep transforming our lives today.

Key points

1
1The book of John exists to prove Jesus's identity as the Son of God.
Pastor Scott reads John 20:30-31 to show the purpose statement of the whole book: the signs are recorded so readers will believe Jesus is the Messiah and have life through His name. He notes this sets up why Jesus performs the miracle in chapter 9.
2
2Jesus refuses to answer the disciples' question about whose sin caused the man's blindness, and instead points to God's glory.
The disciples ask whether the man or his parents sinned to cause his blindness, reflecting a common belief of the day that suffering was punishment for sin. Jesus sidesteps the blame question and says the man's condition happened so the works of God could be displayed in him.
3
3Jesus heals the man in an unconventional, almost playful way, using mud and sending him to wash in the pool of Siloam.
Pastor Scott lingers on the strangeness of Jesus spitting to make mud and rubbing it on the man's eyes, then telling him to go wash elsewhere rather than healing him on the spot. He frames this as Jesus doing something unexpected right after clashing with the Pharisees in John 8, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy that the blind would see.
4
4The healed man is interrogated by neighbors, Pharisees, and his own parents, but keeps returning to the one thing he knows for certain.
Neighbors doubt it's really him, the Pharisees fixate on the healing happening on the Sabbath, and his parents dodge the question out of fear of being expelled from the synagogue. Through it all the man simply repeats, whether he's a sinner or not I don't know, but I was blind and now I see.
5
5A genuine encounter with Christ changes your life, and that change comes through humility and obedience, not having all the answers.
Pastor Scott contrasts the arrogant, prideful Pharisees, who never change, with the beggar's humble compliance letting Jesus rub mud in his eyes and going to wash without question. He summarizes it as do what Jesus says, receive what He gives, and ties it to Jesus's call to follow Me and I will make you into fishers of men.
6
6Don't give up what you do know for what you don't know.
Using his own story of a ten-year class reunion where old friends couldn't even recognize him after six years walking with Christ, and a comic bit about his Alexa device not knowing how to cook spinach, Pastor Scott shows that Christians don't need every theological or scientific answer to hold on to the real change God has done in them.
7
7Regardless of what caused our suffering or struggle, God can use it for His glory.
Returning to John 9:3, Pastor Scott says whether our hardship comes from our own choices, someone else's choices, or a broken world, surrendering it to Christ lets God use it for His glory and lets our story make us light to the world, connecting it to Romans 8:28.

Application

Do what Jesus says, receive what He gives — and don't give up what you do know for what you don't know.

Come to Jesus with humility and obedience
Like the blind man who let Jesus rub mud in his eyes and went to wash without arguing, respond to whatever Jesus asks of you without resistance, trusting that's how change happens.
Pursue change in your stuff this year
If your 'I was blank, now I am blank' story is years old, ask God to write a fresh chapter of transformation in whatever area of your life still needs it.
Hold on to what you know even without every answer
When someone challenges your faith with hard questions you can't fully answer, don't let that shake the one thing you do know: what God has done in your own life.
Let your changed life point others to Jesus
Trust that God can use whatever caused your struggles, your own choices, someone else's, or a broken world, for His glory, making your story a light to people around you.

Take it into your week

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“Let's read out of John chapter 20. Go to verse thirty and thirty one and it really gives us a picture of why this book exists. It says the disciples saw Jesus, drew many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book but these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name”
Read the whole chapter →
From the transcript
“Let me set it up by mentioning John chapter eight because in John chapter eight, Jesus is sparring with the Pharisees, these religious leaders and elitists of the day”
From the transcript
“Jesus says in John eight, he says, I'm the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”
From the transcript
“the bible says in John eight at the end of the chapter, they begin to pick up stones and they're gonna stone him, but then it says he slips away”
From the transcript
“John nine verse one, it says, as he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned? This man this man or his parents that he was born blind”
From the transcript
“he says something in in, verse three that's been, I don't know, or controversial over the years and he says this, he says, neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him”
From the transcript
“you might be familiar with Romans chapter three that says for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So obviously Jesus isn't saying they are without sin, he is saying his suffering isn't the result of their personal sin”
From the transcript
“Go down to verse four. Here's his urgency. He says, as long as it's day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world”
From the transcript
“Verse six, after this, he spit on the ground and all the men say, amen. Right? I thought that was funny, but it's not. Okay. After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes”
From the transcript
“And then it says this, in verse seven, Jesus says to the guy, go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sent. So the man went and washed and came home seeing”
From the transcript
“he's literally fulfilling prophecy in Isaiah 35 that the blind are gonna see and we'll see here in a moment that it's not just the physical, it's the spiritual”
From the transcript
“Let's go to the next verse, verse eight. So he goes home and says, neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging, so not only is he blind but he's begging for sustenance, they ask him, isn't this the same man who used to sit and and beg”
From the transcript
“Go down to verse 24. A second time they summoned the man who'd been blind, give glory to God by telling a truth they said, we know this man is a sinner”
From the transcript
“Verse 25, he replies, whether he's a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see”
From the transcript
“Verse 35, Jesus heard that they had thrown him out and when he found him he said do you believe in the of man? Who is he sir? The man asked. Tell me so that I may believe in him”
From the transcript
“And Jesus says to him in verse 37, you've now seen him. In fact, he's the one speaking with you”
From the transcript
“verse 38, the man says, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him which is really the only reasonable response when we really see Jesus for who he really is”
From the transcript
“And then Jesus says in verse 39, for judgment I've come into this world so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind and he's really referring to the spiritual aspect”
From the transcript
“Look at verse 25 again. He says, don't know if he's a sinner. Whether he's a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see”
From the transcript
“There's a verse in Matthew chapter four I think, in my opinion, gives a really good definition of what it means to be a Christian. And many of you will know it, I'll just say it. Jesus says to those who are interested in him, follow me and I will make you into fishers of men”
From the transcript
“Go back to verse 25 again. Remember he's he's being interrogated and these these religious leaders, they're trying to discredit his story really. Trying to disprove this and again he says whether he's a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see”
From the transcript
“As we grow in our faith, scripture says in first Peter chapter three verse 15, instead you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it”
From the transcript
“Go back to verse three and let's reread this for a moment because they ask him who sinned. Right? This guy or his parents said he's born blind. Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that, everybody say so that, the works of God might be displayed in him”
From the transcript
“You know in Romans chapter eight where it says, God calls all things to work for the good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose. John nine gives me a little more perspective on that”

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Sign in to track your progress through this devotional.

Day 1

Before we walk through the story of the man born blind, it helps to know why John wrote it down in the first place. John was not simply collecting interesting miracle accounts. He tells us plainly at the end of his Gospel: everything recorded was written so that you might believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life in His name. That is the whole point. Every healing, every conversation, every confrontation in this Gospel is aimed at one thing — drawing people into real, living relationship with Jesus. Pastor Scott opened there for a reason. The story in John 9 is not primarily about a blind man. It is about who Jesus is and what He does when He shows up in a person's life. If you have ever wondered whether your faith is built on something solid, start here. John is not asking you to work up belief in an idea — he is presenting evidence about a person. The invitation is to look honestly at what Jesus did and who He claimed to be, and then decide what you think. That is a question worth sitting with slowly, without pressure, this week.

For reflection

When you think about your own faith, is it rooted more in ideas about Jesus or in a personal encounter with Him — and what is the difference in your daily life?

Pray

Pray for an open and honest heart as you begin this week — that you would encounter Jesus in His Word, not just information about Him.

Day 2

The disciples saw a man who had been blind from birth and immediately went looking for someone to blame. Whose sin caused this — his parents' or his own? It is a deeply human instinct. When something goes wrong, we want an explanation, a cause, someone responsible. Jesus reframes the question entirely. He does not say the man's suffering does not matter, or that it was not real. He says: stop looking backward for someone to fault, and look forward to what God is about to do. Pastor Scott pointed out that Jesus is mission-focused. He refuses to get sidetracked by theological rabbit trails, even sympathetic ones. The suffering was real. The man had lived his whole life in darkness. And Jesus meets him right there — not with an explanation, but with action. This matters for us because most of us carry something we have never fully understood. A loss that made no sense. A season that felt like waste. An open wound with no clear cause. Jesus does not always answer our 'why,' but He does not leave us in the dark either. Sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is stop demanding an explanation and look up to see what He is doing right now.

For reflection

Is there a painful chapter of your life you are still waiting to understand — and what might it look like to release the 'why' and ask instead what God might be doing through it?

Pray

Pray for the willingness to stop demanding an explanation for your hardest season, and to trust that God sees something you cannot yet see.

Day 3

What Jesus asks the blind man to do is, frankly, a little strange. He makes mud, puts it on the man's eyes, and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. There is no explanation. No preview of the miracle waiting on the other side. Just a simple instruction: go, wash. And the man goes. He does not demand a theological briefing first. He does not argue about the method. He just obeys. Pastor Scott named this posture — humility and obedience — as the very thing that opens the door to transformation. That is worth sitting with. The blind man could not see Jesus clearly enough to evaluate His credentials. He could not read the signs Jesus had already done. He had nothing to go on except the voice of the One speaking to him and the willingness to do what he was told. Real change almost always starts that way. Not with full understanding, but with a small, humble step in the direction Jesus points. Most of us can name at least one thing Jesus has been asking us to do that we have been quietly resisting — not out of rebellion, exactly, but out of uncertainty, or fear, or the desire to understand it first. The blind man's story is an invitation to take the step anyway.

For reflection

Is there something Jesus has been prompting you toward — in your relationships, your habits, or your obedience — that you have been waiting to fully understand before you move?

Pray

Pray for the humility to take one step of obedience this week, even before you have all the answers.

Day 4

When the man came back from the pool seeing, his neighbors were genuinely confused. They kept asking: is this the same person? Some were convinced it was him. Others thought it must be someone who just looked like him. The change was so complete, so obvious, that the people who had known him his whole life could not reconcile who he had been with who he was now. Pastor Scott shared a moment from his own life that landed with the same weight — classmates from his past who did not recognize him after six years of walking with Jesus, because the change was that real and that visible. This is what a genuine encounter with Christ actually produces. Not a slight improvement. Not a better version of the same person. Something neighbors notice. Something that raises questions in the people around you. It is worth asking honestly: does your life with Jesus look like that kind of change? That is not a guilt question — it is an invitation. If the transformation feels distant or stalled, that is worth bringing to Jesus honestly. And if you can see real change when you look back, even slowly, that is worth naming and holding onto. Real life change is the evidence John is building toward. It is the signature of someone who has genuinely met Jesus.

For reflection

When you look back over the last few years, where do you see real, visible change in your life that you can honestly trace to walking with Jesus?

Pray

Pray for honest eyes to see where Jesus has already been at work in you, and for a willingness to keep being changed.

Day 5

Pastor Scott made a point that is easy to skip past but worth staying with: a Christian is not simply someone who has prayed a prayer or checked a box. A Christian, by Jesus's own invitation, is someone following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and committed to the mission of Jesus. 'Follow Me, and I will make you fish for people' — that is how Jesus puts it in Matthew 4:19. All three things are bound together. Following. Being made into something new. And living for something beyond yourself. Change is not an optional upgrade for the serious Christian. It is part of the package Jesus described from the beginning. That is actually good news, even when it is uncomfortable. It means Jesus is not waiting for you to arrive at some finished version of yourself before He can use you. He is making you into something as you follow — along the way, not before the journey starts. It also means that if your faith has felt static, the answer is not to try harder in isolation. It is to keep following. To stay close. To remain in the movement of someone who is genuinely walking behind Jesus, letting Him lead, letting Him form, letting Him send. The transformation is a byproduct of proximity to Him.

For reflection

Of the three — following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and living on mission with Jesus — which one feels most alive in your life right now, and which one feels most like unfinished business?

Pray

Pray for a fresh desire to follow Jesus closely this week — not out of obligation, but because of who He is.

Day 6

The religious leaders pressed the healed man hard. They challenged his story, questioned his theology, and tried to discredit the One who had healed him. At some point he just says it plainly: 'I don't know whether he is a sinner. But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see.' That is it. No systematic theology. No rehearsed apologetics. Just the honest, unshakeable witness of his own experience. Pastor Scott's call to action here is one of the most personal of the whole sermon: fill in your own version of that sentence. 'I was blank, but now I am blank.' And then refuse to abandon it just because someone throws a question at you that you cannot answer. You do not need every answer. You need to know who changed you. First Peter 3:15 calls us to be ready to give a reason for the hope we have — but notice it is hope, not a complete theological system. Your story is not weakened by what you do not know. It is made credible by what you have genuinely lived. There will always be someone with a harder question than you can answer. Hold on anyway. Your testimony is not an argument to win; it is a life to live out loud.

For reflection

How would you finish this sentence today: 'I was ___, but now I am ___'? And is there anything keeping you from saying it out loud to someone?

Pray

Pray for the courage to own your story — and for one person in your life who might need to hear it.

Day 7

Romans 8:28 is one of those verses people reach for in hard moments, but it is worth reading slowly rather than quickly. God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Pastor Scott brought this in not as a greeting-card comfort, but as a specific promise about our 'stuff' — our darkest seasons, our biggest failures, our most embarrassing chapters. None of it is wasted when it is submitted to Christ. It becomes the very material He uses to display His glory and draw others toward Him. That is what John 9 shows in full color. The man's blindness was not the point; the healing was. But without the blindness, there is no story. Without the suffering, there is no testimony that stops his neighbors in their tracks. Your hardest thing might be exactly that — not a detour from your purpose, but the raw material of it. This is not a reason to minimize pain or rush past grief. It is a reason to hold on, to keep following, and to trust that the God who used a man's lifelong blindness for His glory is not done with your story either. The week ends where the sermon ends: with a God who wastes nothing and a life that, given to Him, points others toward Jesus.

For reflection

Looking at the full arc of this week's passages — what is one truth about Jesus or about your own story that feels more settled in you now than it did on Day 1?

Pray

Pray over the specific 'stuff' in your life you have been tempted to see as wasted — and offer it to Jesus as something He is free to use.

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

The man born blind in John 9 couldn't explain exactly how or why Jesus healed him — but he couldn't deny that something real had happened. Let's dig into what that means for anyone who follows Jesus.

Discussion questions

1
In John 9:3, when the disciples ask whose sin caused the man's blindness, Jesus redirects the question entirely and says the man's condition exists so 'the power of God could be seen in him.' What does that response tell us about how Jesus sees people and their struggles?
2
The blind man's neighbors had a hard time recognizing him after his encounter with Jesus (John 9:8–11). What does that kind of visible, undeniable change suggest about what a genuine encounter with Jesus actually produces?
3
In John 9:25, the man can't answer all the Pharisees' theological challenges, but he holds his ground: 'I know this: I was blind, and now I can see.' Why do you think that kind of personal testimony is so hard to argue with — and why might people still try?
4
Pastor Scott pointed to the posture the blind man took — he simply did what Jesus said and received what Jesus gave. How might that posture of humility and obedience look different from the way people often approach faith or personal change?
5
Pastor Scott challenged us to fill in our own 'I was blank, but now I am blank.' What makes it difficult for people to hold onto their story when someone raises a hard question they can't answer about faith?
6
Romans 8:28 says God works all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Pastor Scott connected that to the idea that our darkest moments and biggest struggles aren't wasted — submitted to Christ, they can become the very thing He uses to point others toward Him. How might that change the way we think about the hard parts of our stories?

Pray together

Gratitude for what Jesus has done, courage to hold onto our stories, and openness to let God use every part of our lives — including the hard parts — for His glory

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Iconic Jesus

Week 3 · 6 messages

Where these passages are preached

John 20 John 8 John 9 Romans 3

Explore related topics

Encountering Jesus Humility and Obedience Life Transformation Personal Testimony Suffering and God's Glory

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