John 9
-In passing by,
Jesus saw a blind man who had been that way from birth. His disciples took this
opportunity to ask a serious question, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his
parents, that he would be born blind?” They, like many of us, wondered at the
mystery of life and why some people are born with advantages while other are
born with extreme disadvantages. It was a question about fairness and judgment
essentially. Jesus obviously perceived this and answered, “It was neither that this
man sinned, nor his parents; but it was
so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Then He continued, “We
(notice the plurality here) must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as
it is day; night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am
the Light of the world.” Then, He performed yet another miracle. He spat on the
ground making clay of the spittle and applied it to the blind man’s eyes. After
this, He told him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam (Sent). The man came
back healed with eyesight. This captured the attention of those bystanders who
knew him as the blind beggar. They rationally wanted to know how this miracle
had transpired, and so he told them exactly how it happened. The people wanted
to know where his Healer was, but the man didn’t know (John 9:1-12).
-These folks brought the man to the religious leaders, the
Pharisees. Problem being, Jesus had healed this man on the Sabbath by making
the clay and opening his eyes. This violated the man-made traditions of their
law, so they inquired of the man. When it was revealed that it indeed was
Jesus, a division arose between those who recognized His power and those who
accused Him of being a sinner because of His grievance with their law. The
healed man maintained a position exclaiming Him as a prophet, since he had
experienced this miracle. The Jews were not so fast to accept the situation and
fetched his parents to get more details. When they were questioned, they
verified the facts that he had been blind since his birth and that this was
actually their son. They had no idea how he had been healed though. They told
the authorities to ask him how this happened since he was of adult age, plus
they feared the repercussions of those perceived to confessing Jesus as the Christ.
People were by now being cast out of the synagogue when they accepted the words
of the Messiah. Now, the former blind man was called back and instructed to
give glory to God and denounce this sinner, Jesus. The man answered them
honestly, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that
though I was blind, now I see.” They then wanted a recount of his story in what
He did to him and how He opened his eyes. He got somewhat belligerent with them
at this point, “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?” This led to a reviling by the religious
authorities as they called him a disciple of the Lord. They purported that they
were disciples of Moses, whom they knew spoke the words of God. They were
again, slow and not willing to understand that Jesus was the Messiah. Their
doubts overwhelmed them. The healed man made an astoundingly astute observation
now, “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.” The evil Pharisees had now had enough, and condemned him, “You were
born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” This was the height of their own
blind-arrogance in this situation. They ended up putting him out of the synagogue,
which was the most shameful thing a person could have happen to them in the
land of Israel (John 9:13-34).
-But, this thankfully is not the end of the story. Jesus
heard that they had put him out and found him. He asked him the most important question
of his life at this juncture, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He responded,
“Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus revealed, “You have both
seen Him, and He is the One who is talking with you.” The man was converted, “Lord,
I believe.” And, he worshiped Him. Jesus now summed up the point, “For judgment
I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those
who see may become blind.” The Pharisees who were in ear shot of this saying
remarked, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus responded, “If you were blind,
you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains (John
9:35-41).”
-*Application*- The
whole “Light of the World” theme should now be so apparent to us from this
passage. Are we seeing with the Light of the LORD through His Son Jesus in
humble faith, or are we still blinded by our own lusts, power, and pride? The choice,
as always, is ours to make.
Verses to Memorize:
John 9:3, 25, 39
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