Hilltop WesleyanChurch

Jesus Eliminates Neutrality

Jesus Eliminates Neutrality

Pastor Scott Uselman

John 9:1-41 · March 15, 2026

Chapters

Scripture

¹ As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴ As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵ While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ⁶ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷ “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. ⁸ His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” ¹⁰ “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. ¹¹ He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.” ¹² “Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. ¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. ¹⁵ Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.” ¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided. ¹⁷ Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” ¹⁸ They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹ “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” ²⁰ “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³ That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” ²⁴ A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” ²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” ²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” ²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” ²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! ²⁹ We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” ³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. ³² Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” ³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. ³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” ³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” ³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. ³⁹ Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” ⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” ⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.

Pastor Scott leads us through John 9, showing how Jesus confronts the illusion that we can stay neutral about Him, and invites us to walk in the light or remain in blindness.

Taking the Red Pill: No Middle Road

Pastor Scott began our morning by saying, “This is a red pill time.” He explained what he meant by that, going back to the pop culture idea from The Matrix, a choice between a comfortable illusion and hard reality. With warmth but seriousness, he shared, “The blue pill puts you back to sleep. The red pill, it opens your eyes to the reality that you are actually living in.”

As a teenager, Pastor Scott recalled sitting in church, tuning out preachers while restlessly paging through Bibles and hymnals. Sometimes messages, especially those uttered in powerful, Spirit-given testimonies and words, would break through and trouble him. He admitted, “What should I do? The best course of action for me would be for me to simply remain neutral about God, what to do with Him. I did not want to make a decision.” His honesty drew us in: “I tried to be good, and I just couldn’t do it. I just got so burned out, I said, I can’t do this, Lord.” The weariness and frustration many of us have felt rang out in that memory.

But he challenged us: “Looking back, what I realized is that middle road does not exist. You can’t do that.” We heard how this isn’t just his story, but the story of many who hope to sidestep the decisive call of Jesus.

“I decided I would just be neutral. I’m not going to make that decision. Now, looking back, what I realized is that that middle road does not exist.”

Jesus and the Testimony from Heaven

Pastor Scott led us to the early chapters of John’s Gospel, walking slowly through how the encounter with Jesus disrupts our neutrality. Nicodemus approaches by night, curious but afraid, only to be told: “you must be born again to see the kingdom of God.” Jesus insists that experiencing God’s reign requires inner transformation, not just external belonging.

He noted, “There are two types of communication going on in this world right now: worldly talk and heavenly talk. And only one of those things is something that you need to pay attention to.”

We remembered last week’s passage, the woman at the well: “true worshipers are going to worship in the spirit and in truth. The spirit of God is going to be inside of those who are believers, and we’re going to worship God, neither on Mount Gerizim or Jerusalem. It’s going to be in the spirit, because you will be a temple of God.”

He stopped to rephrase the habit: “The true worshipers are going to worship in the spirit and in truth.”

The Leaders Who Refused the Light

Turning the page, Pastor Scott brought us to John chapters 7 and 8. The religious leaders, so sure they already possess the truth, confront Jesus instead of being changed by Him. They argue over His authority, and Jesus responds with uncompromising language:

“The reason that they don’t believe in him, listen to this, is because they are of their father, the devil.”

He paused. Some in the room shifted. “This is a very interesting thing to say. Because these are people who teach the word of God to others right now he’s talking to.”

But Pastor Scott pressed on: these leaders claim Abraham, but miss the heart of how Abraham lived by faith. Their blindness is spiritual, not intellectual.

“You don’t know my father. Because if you did know my father, you would know everything that I’m telling you is the truth.”

He named the uncomfortable reality: everyone is building either the kingdom of God or, in reluctance and lostness, a counterfeit kingdom. “The kingdom of God is already, but not yet. Those who are part of the worldly system...they’re bringing into reality the kingdom of hell. But those who follow Jesus Christ, we’re ushering, the kingdom of God is in breaking into this world through the church, through us.”

The Blind Man’s Story: Seeing and Unseeing

We settled deeply into John 9. Pastor Scott read almost the whole chapter aloud, keeping the story’s full force. Jesus heals a man born blind, and what follows is not just a miracle but a showdown about spiritual sight and willful denial.

We heard the skepticism of neighbors and leaders who would rather question the healed man than rejoice:

“How then were your eyes opened, they asked. He replied, the man they called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and then I could see.”

At every turn, the healed man refuses to fabricate answers he doesn’t have, but insists on his simple truth:

“One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see.”

Religious leaders try to pressure him into denouncing Jesus. They call his story into question, lean on his parents, and finally insult and expel him:

“You were steeped in sin at birth. How dare you lecture us? And they threw him out.”

Jesus, hearing of this, seeks the rejected man out. In a tender but searching moment:

“Do you believe in the son of man? Who is he, sir? The man asked, tell me so that I may believe in him. Jesus said, you have now seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

The man’s answer: “Lord, I believe. And he worshiped him.”

No Neutrality Where Jesus Walks

Pastor Scott lingered with us at this scene. Jesus insists that His coming brings a dividing line: blindness can be healed, but those who insist they already see close themselves off from the light. Neutrality is no longer possible. In our response to Jesus, we are giving our answer, whether we want to or not.

He tied back to his own journey. “I was trying to avoid the dilemma, but the dilemma is the absolute heart of being confronted by Jesus.”

The meaning for us became clear. We cannot coast, cannot simply drift along with the religious setting around us. We cannot stay out of the mess by claiming a middle space. Jesus eliminates neutrality. We either live honestly in the light He gives or cling to the shadows of self-sufficiency and comfort. The line runs through each heart and home.

Living It Out

What would it mean, this week, to stop trying to keep one foot in both camps? Maybe, for us, following in the healed man’s footsteps looks like telling the truth with the honesty of “I was blind but now I see,” even if it costs us something. Maybe it’s letting go of old anxieties about ‘getting it right’ and turning, day by day, toward the light of Christ and the life He gives. And maybe it’s supporting others just as Jesus sought out the rejected man, seeking, not shaming.

Discussion Questions

Where are you most tempted to seek a “neutral space” in your walk with Jesus, and what keeps you from making a clear response?
How does the story of the man born blind challenge your assumptions about who is “qualified” to be a witness for Christ?
What difference might it make in your relationships or daily choices to name, honestly, where you have been blind and where you now see?

This Week’s Devotional

When You Can't Stay in the Middle

4 min read · Pastor Scott

It is easy to think we can hold off on decisions that matter. Most of us know what it is to sit quietly in a pew, or scroll by on a phone, and tell ourselves we’re not taking sides. In John 9, Jesus heals a man who has been blind from birth. The man is thrown into a tidal wave of attention. He is questioned by neighbors, rejected by leaders, even left without support from his own family. Again and again, he is given opportunities to compromise, to tell the story in a safer way, to downplay what happened, or to sidestep the risk of identifying with Jesus. Yet he simply says, "I was blind but now I see."

This is the image to rest in midweek: There comes a moment when you cannot sit it out. Jesus walks up to you and asks where you stand, not as a trap, but as a chance to step into real sight. The world may press you for polished answers, or urge you to hide what God has done in you. But you do not have to defend yourself. You just have to tell the truth the best you can, even if it feels unfinished or costly.

Let yourself sit quietly for a few minutes today with this question: Where am I still afraid to name what Jesus has done in me? You do not have to have polished words, just honesty enough for the next step.

Meditation focus: You cannot live fully in the light of Jesus while nursing the hope of a safe, neutral space. The honest answer, even halting, is the shape of worship.

Practical step: This week, share with one friend or family member where you have found yourself moving from blindness to sight, even if it feels small or in process.

Prayer
God, You are the giver of light and life. We offer you our praise, not because we always see clearly, but because your presence is more trustworthy than our own judgments. Shape our hearts to want what you want, even when it unsettles our comfort or routines. Give us today what we need to name the truth you are working in us. Help us forgive ourselves for our former blindness and extend that mercy to those who cannot yet see. Rescue us from half-hearted living, from pretending we are neutral, and from the fear of being rejected. Let your life shine out from us, honest and imperfect as we are. Amen.

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