John 9

John 9:1

I. The Sixth Sign: Healing of the Man Born Blind (9:1-12) 9:1 This incident may have taken place as Jesus was leaving the temple area, or it may have occurred some time after the events of chapter 8. It is recorded that the man had been blind from birth to show the hopelessness of his condition and the wonder of the miracle that gave him sight. 9:2 The disciples asked a rather strange question. They wondered if the blindness had been caused by the man’s own sin or by his parents’ sin. How could the blindness have been caused by his own sin, when he had been born blind? Did they believe in some form of reincarnation, the belief that the soul of the dead returned to earth in a new body? Or did they suggest that he might have been born blind because of sins which God knew he would commit after his birth? It is clear that they thought the blindness was directly connected with sin in the family. We know that this was not necessarily so. Although all sickness, suffering, and death came into the world ultimately as a result of sin, it is not true that in any particular case a person suffers because of sins which he has committed. 9:3 Jesus did not mean that the man had not sinned, or that his parents had not sinned. Rather, He meant that the blindness was not a direct result of sin in their lives. God had allowed this man to be born blind in order that the man might become a means of displaying the mighty works of God. Before the man was born, the Lord Jesus knew He would give sight to those blind eyes. 9:4 The Savior realized that He had about three years of public ministry before He would be crucified. Every moment of that time must be spent in working for God. Here was a man who had been blind from his birth. The Lord Jesus must perform a miracle of healing on him, even though it was the Sabbath. The time of His public ministry would soon be over, and He would no longer be here on earth. This is a solemn reminder to everyone who is a Christian that life’s day is swiftly passing, and the night is coming when our service on earth will be forever over. Therefore, we should use the time that is given to us to serve the Lord acceptably. 9:5 When Jesus was in the world as a Man, He was the light of the world in a very direct and special way. As He went about performing miracles and teaching the people, they saw the light of the world before their very eyes. The Lord Jesus is still the Light of the world, and all who come to Him are promised that they will not walk in darkness. However, in this verse the Lord was speaking particularly of His public ministry on earth. 9:6 We are not told why Jesus mixed clay and saliva and put it on the eyes of the blind man. Some have suggested that the man had no eyeballs and that the Lord Jesus simply created them, giving him eyeballs. Others suggest that in giving sight to the blind, the Lord Jesus commonly used methods that were despised in the eyes of the world. He used weak and insignificant things in working out His purposes. Even today, in giving sight to the spiritually blind, God uses men and women who are made of the dust of the earth. 9:7 The Lord called the faith of the blind man into operation by telling him to go and wash in the pool of Siloam. Though he was blind, yet he probably knew the location of the pool and was able to do as he was told. The Scripture notes that the word Siloam means Sent. Perhaps this is a reference to the Messiah (the Sent One). The One who was performing this miracle was the One who had been sent into the world by God the Father. The blind man went and washed in the pool, and received his sight. It is not a case that his sight was restored, because he had never seen before at all. The miracle was instantaneous and the man was able to use his eyes immediately. What a delightful surprise it must have been for him to look for the first time upon the world in which he had lived! 9:8, 9 The neighbors of the man were startled. They could hardly believe that this was the same man who had sat and begged for so long. (It should be this way also when a person is saved. Our neighbors should be able to notice the difference in us.) Some insisted it was the same man. Others, not quite so sure, were only willing to admit that there was a resemblance. But the man removed all doubt by stating that he was the one who had been born blind. 9:10 Whenever Jesus performed a miracle, it provoked all kinds of questions in the hearts of men. Often these questions gave the believer an opportunity to witness for the Lord. Here people asked the man how it all happened. 9:11 His testimony was simple, yet convincing. He recited the facts of his healing, giving credit to the One who had performed the miracle. At this time, the man did not realize who the Lord Jesus was. He simply referred to Him as a Man called Jesus. But later on the man’s understanding grew and he came to know who Jesus is. 9:12 When we witness concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, we often create a desire in the hearts of others to come to know Him, too.

John 9:13

J. Increasing Opposition from the Jews (9:13-41) 9:13 Apparently in earnest enthusiasm over the miracle, some of the Jewish people brought the blind man to the Pharisees. They probably did not realize how the religious leaders would resent the fact that this man had been healed. 9:14 Jesus had performed the miracle on a Sabbath. The critical Pharisees did not realize that God never intended the Sabbath to prevent an act of mercy or of kindness. 9:15 The man had another opportunity to witness for Jesus. When the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight, they heard the simple story once again. The man did not mention the name of Jesus here, probably not because he was afraid to do so, but because he realized that everyone knew who had done this mighty work. By this time, the Lord Jesus was well known in Jerusalem. 9:16 Now another division arose over who Jesus was. Some of the Pharisees announced boldly that Jesus could not be a godly Man because He had broken the Sabbath. Others reasoned that a sinful man could not perform such a wonderful miracle. Jesus often caused divisions among people. Men were forced to take sides and be either for Him or against Him. 9:17 The Pharisees asked the man who had been blind what he thought of Jesus. As yet, he did not realize that Jesus was God. But his faith had grown to such an extent that he was willing to admit that Jesus was a prophet. He believed that the One who had given him sight had been sent by God, and had a divine message. 9:18, 19 Many of the Jews were still unwilling to believe that a miracle had been performed. And so they called the parents of the man to see what they would say. Who would know better than parents if a child had been born without sight? Surely their testimony would be conclusive. So the Pharisees asked them whether this was their son and also how he received his sight. 9:20, 21 The testimony of his parents was very positive. This was their son, and they knew through years of heartache that he had always been blind. Beyond that, they were unwilling to go. They did not know how his sight was restored, they said, or who the person was who restored it. They directed the Pharisees back to the son himself. He could speak for himself. 9:22, 23 Verse 22 explains the timidity of the parents. They had heard that any man confessing that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. This excommunication was a very serious matter for any Jew. They were not willing to pay such a price. It would mean the loss of a means of livelihood, as well as a loss of all the privileges of the Jewish religion. It was for fear of the Jewish rulers, therefore, that the parents shifted the testimony back to their son. 9:24 Give God the glory! may have two meanings. First of all, it may be a form of oath. Perhaps the Pharisees were saying, Now tell the truth. We know that this Man is a sinner. Or it may mean that the Pharisees were demanding that God be given the glory for the miracle, and that no credit be given to Jesus because the Pharisees considered Him to be a sinful man. 9:25 The Pharisees met failure at every turn. Every time they tried to discredit the Lord Jesus, it resulted in bringing more honor to Him. The man’s testimony here was beautiful. He did not know too much about the Person of Jesus, but he did know that though once he was blind, now he saw. This was a testimony that no one could deny. So it is in the case of those who have been born again. The world may doubt, scoff, and sneer, but no one can deny our testimony when we say that once we were lost, and now we have been saved by the grace of God. 9:26, 27 Again they reopened the questioning, asking him to repeat the details. By now the man who had been blind was obviously annoyed. He reminded them that he had told them the facts already, and they did not listen. Why did they want to hear it again? Were they interested in becoming disciples of Jesus? Obviously, this was asked in sarcasm. He knew very well that they hated Jesus, and had no desire to follow Him. 9:28 It has been said, When you have no case, abuse the plaintiff. That is what happened here. The Pharisees had utterly failed to shake the testimony of this man, so they began to abuse him. They accused him of being a disciple of Jesus, as if that were the worst thing in the world! Then they professed to be Moses’ disciples, as if that were the greatest thing possible. 9:29 The Pharisees said that God spoke to Moses, but they spoke slightingly of Jesus. If they had believed the writings of Moses, they would have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Also, if they had thought a little, they would have realized that Moses never gave sight to a man who had been born blind. A greater than Moses was in their midst, and they did not realize it. 9:30 The man’s sarcasm now became biting. It was something that the Pharisees didn’t expect. The man said to them in effect, You men are the rulers in Israel. You are the teachers of the Jewish people. And yet here is a Man in your midst who has the power to give sight to blind eyes, and you do not know where He is from. Shame on you!9:31 The man was now becoming bolder in his witness. His faith was growing. He reminded them that as a general principle, God does not hear sinners or work miracles through them. God does not approve of men who are evil, and does not give power to such men to perform mighty works. Worshipers of God, on the other hand, receive God’s commendation and are assured of God’s approval. 9:32, 33 This man realized that he was the first man in all of human history who had been born blind and who had received his sight. He could not understand that the Pharisees should witness such a miracle and find fault with the Person who performed it. If the Lord Jesus were not from God, He could never do a miracle of this nature. 9:34 Again the Pharisees turned to abuse. They insinuated that this man’s blindness was the direct result of sins. What right had he to be teaching them? The truth is that he had every right in the world, for, as Ryle has said, The teaching of the Holy Ghost is more frequently to be seen among men of low degree than among men of rank and education. When it says they cast him out, this probably refers to more than his being cast out of the temple. It probably means that he was excommunicated from the Jewish religion. And yet what was the ground for the excommunication? A man born blind had been given his sight on the Sabbath. Because he would not speak evil of the One who had performed the miracle, he was excommunicated. 9:35 Jesus now sought out this man. It is as if Jesus had said, If they do not want you, I will take you. Those who are cast out for Jesus’ sake lose nothing, but gain a great blessing in His personal welcome and fellowship. See how the Lord Jesus led the man to personal faith in Himself as the Son of God! He simply asked the question, Do you believe in the Son of God?9:36 Although he had received his physical sight, the man was still in need of spiritual vision. He asked the Lord who the Son of God was, that he might believe in Him.

In using the word Lord here, the man was simply saying Sir.9:37 Jesus now introduced Himself to the man as the Son of God. It was not a mere man who had given him sight and performed the impossible in his life. It was the Son of God, the One whom he had seen and who was now talking with him. 9:38 At this the man simply and sweetly placed his faith in the Lord Jesus and fell down and worshiped Him. He was now a saved soul as well as a healed man. What a great day this had been in his life! He had received both physical and spiritual sight. Notice that the blind man did not worship the Lord until he knew that Jesus was the Son of God. Being an intelligent Jew, he would not worship a mere man. But as soon as he learned that the One who healed him was God the Son, he worshiped Himnot for what He had done but for who He was. 9:39 At first glance this verse seems to contradict Joh_3:17, For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world … . But there is no real conflict. The purpose of Christ’s coming into the world was not to judge but to save. However, judgment is the inevitable result for all who fail to receive Him. The preaching of the gospel has two effects. Those who admit that they do not see are given sight. But those who insist that they can see perfectly, without the Lord Jesus, are confirmed in their blindness. 9:40 Some of the Pharisees realized that the Lord Jesus was speaking of them and of their blindness. So they came to Him and brazenly asked if He meant to insinuate that they were blind also. Their question expected a negative answer. 9:41 The Lord’s answer may be paraphrased as follows: If you admit that you are blind and sinful, and that you need a Savior, then your sins can be forgiven you, and you can be saved. But you profess that you are in need of nothing. You claim that you are righteous and that you have no sin. Therefore, there is no forgiveness of sins for you. When Jesus said, … you would have no sin, He did not mean that they would be absolutely sinless. But He meant that comparatively speaking, they would be sinless. If they had only acknowledged their blindness in failing to recognize Him as Messiah, their sin would have been as nothing compared to the enormous sin of professing to see, yet failing to recognize Him as the Son of God.