John 9
Welcome! Today we continue our series on the
book of John entitled “What did He say?!” in which we explore the works and
especially the words of Jesus. The book of John contains more conversations
among the people, more reactions of the people to what Jesus was doing and
saying, than any other gospel. And so, in this series, we are not really taking
the book of John in a particular slant; we are simply following the cues of the
book itself.
Now, today, we look at chapter 9 of John. In
John chapter 8, Jesus was in Jerusalem
John chapter 9 picks up right from these events,
from this moment of slipping away.
As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” – John 9:1-2
As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” – John 9:1-2
Now to modern western ears, this question sounds rude, uneducated, even
somewhat shocking. Our culture has put many laws into place that protect the
rights of those who have physical disabilities, and by and large this is a good
thing, a very good thing. But you don’t have to go very far back in history to
find people in western society who thought just like those asking this
question. Even today, in much of the non-western world, this kind of thinking
persists.
In fact, I would argue, and others have argued, that it is primarily the influence of the gospel that has led to this radical change in how people view those who are sick, disabled, and so on. Even in nations where the majority of people no longer believe in the gospel, the nations are still riding “on the fumes” of the radical change in thinking that accompanies the gospel.
How is the gospel linked to a view of caring for all people, especially those who need extra help? How has the gospel changed thinking from believing such people are a nuisance or even to blame (or their parents to blame) for their infirmities to believing that we should care “for the least of these”? By the fundamental change in worldview that sees all people made in the image of God and loved by God. Who are we to hate what God loves? And the change is also because the Christian worldview is that the gospel is available to everyone – “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
But as nations, as people groups do turn their backs on God and seek to build their societies in their own strength, the “fumes of the gospel” can suddenly run out. Just one example of this can be seen in Hitler and Nazi Germany. Not only did Hitler consider the handicapped as inferior, he viewed them as “useless” to society, even unworthy of life. At the beginning of World War II, Hitler initiated a program that required all German doctors to review the medical files of patients who were in institutions to determine which ones should be killed. This included both those with physical and mental disabilities. From 1940 to 1941 about 70,000 patients were killed, supervised by Nazi party doctors, in six institutions, primarily via gas chambers. When the public learned of this, some protested strongly, including religious leaders, and the Nazi regime officially ordered an end to the killings. But it continued to go on secretly, and in all, about 200,000 handicapped people were killed. And those gas chambers became models for what was later instituted against the Jews and other “undesirables,” killing millions more.
I mention this because both Christians and non-Christians are often quite unaware of just how much the gospel has transformed society. And both groups are often quite unaware of just how precarious it is to “run only on the fumes of the gospel.”
Now Jesus’ own disciples asked the question when they saw the blind man. They presumed that there was a cause to the man’s poor circumstances. There were no social programs for people like this back then, no employment protections, nothing really. If they had family with the means, the family would need to provide for them; if not, they often were reduced to begging. Indeed, the area around theTemple
Why did Jewish people think like this? Partly I think it was due to misinterpreting Scripture. In the Law of Moses there were the blessings and the curses, with warnings that curses would go down several generations to those who disobeyed the Law (for example, see Exodus 20:4-6). But nowhere did it say that God would make children blind or cause physical infirmities like this. My understanding of these verses is that, primarily, God was warning that if they as a people disobeyed, they would lose out on the blessings of the Promised Land, that they could be taken away, and in fact, this happened multiple times in Israel’s history as it was overrun with tyrants and, in some cases, they were even exiled from the land. As a practical matter, I also think we see these verses lived out in all times and places in the sense that when parents do live a sin-filled lifestyle, for example, a lifestyle filled with drug and alcohol abuse or with abuse of children, these things cause “scars” on the children, damaging them, apart from the healing of heart and soul that comes with a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, damaging them for life. And, again, apart from the gospel, when these damaged people grow up and have their own families, they continue a cycle of hurting their children. But I do not believe Old Testament scripture supports the idea that, just by looking at someone and noticing something physically wrong with them, one can assume it is a result of their parents’ or their own sin. In fact, Ezekiel 18 specifically refutes this thinking. Here is how the chapter starts:
The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about theland
of Israel Israel
The idea behind the now-banned proverb is precisely the idea that the son pays for the sins of the father. The chapter goes on to describe a man who does what is just and right, giving many details of such a person’s life. It concludes by saying:
That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord. – Ezek. 18:9b
It goes on to suppose that this good man has a bad son, describing again, details. It concludes with the following:
In fact, I would argue, and others have argued, that it is primarily the influence of the gospel that has led to this radical change in how people view those who are sick, disabled, and so on. Even in nations where the majority of people no longer believe in the gospel, the nations are still riding “on the fumes” of the radical change in thinking that accompanies the gospel.
How is the gospel linked to a view of caring for all people, especially those who need extra help? How has the gospel changed thinking from believing such people are a nuisance or even to blame (or their parents to blame) for their infirmities to believing that we should care “for the least of these”? By the fundamental change in worldview that sees all people made in the image of God and loved by God. Who are we to hate what God loves? And the change is also because the Christian worldview is that the gospel is available to everyone – “that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
But as nations, as people groups do turn their backs on God and seek to build their societies in their own strength, the “fumes of the gospel” can suddenly run out. Just one example of this can be seen in Hitler and Nazi Germany. Not only did Hitler consider the handicapped as inferior, he viewed them as “useless” to society, even unworthy of life. At the beginning of World War II, Hitler initiated a program that required all German doctors to review the medical files of patients who were in institutions to determine which ones should be killed. This included both those with physical and mental disabilities. From 1940 to 1941 about 70,000 patients were killed, supervised by Nazi party doctors, in six institutions, primarily via gas chambers. When the public learned of this, some protested strongly, including religious leaders, and the Nazi regime officially ordered an end to the killings. But it continued to go on secretly, and in all, about 200,000 handicapped people were killed. And those gas chambers became models for what was later instituted against the Jews and other “undesirables,” killing millions more.
I mention this because both Christians and non-Christians are often quite unaware of just how much the gospel has transformed society. And both groups are often quite unaware of just how precarious it is to “run only on the fumes of the gospel.”
Now Jesus’ own disciples asked the question when they saw the blind man. They presumed that there was a cause to the man’s poor circumstances. There were no social programs for people like this back then, no employment protections, nothing really. If they had family with the means, the family would need to provide for them; if not, they often were reduced to begging. Indeed, the area around the
Why did Jewish people think like this? Partly I think it was due to misinterpreting Scripture. In the Law of Moses there were the blessings and the curses, with warnings that curses would go down several generations to those who disobeyed the Law (for example, see Exodus 20:4-6). But nowhere did it say that God would make children blind or cause physical infirmities like this. My understanding of these verses is that, primarily, God was warning that if they as a people disobeyed, they would lose out on the blessings of the Promised Land, that they could be taken away, and in fact, this happened multiple times in Israel’s history as it was overrun with tyrants and, in some cases, they were even exiled from the land. As a practical matter, I also think we see these verses lived out in all times and places in the sense that when parents do live a sin-filled lifestyle, for example, a lifestyle filled with drug and alcohol abuse or with abuse of children, these things cause “scars” on the children, damaging them, apart from the healing of heart and soul that comes with a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, damaging them for life. And, again, apart from the gospel, when these damaged people grow up and have their own families, they continue a cycle of hurting their children. But I do not believe Old Testament scripture supports the idea that, just by looking at someone and noticing something physically wrong with them, one can assume it is a result of their parents’ or their own sin. In fact, Ezekiel 18 specifically refutes this thinking. Here is how the chapter starts:
The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the
The idea behind the now-banned proverb is precisely the idea that the son pays for the sins of the father. The chapter goes on to describe a man who does what is just and right, giving many details of such a person’s life. It concludes by saying:
That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign Lord. – Ezek. 18:9b
It goes on to suppose that this good man has a bad son, describing again, details. It concludes with the following:
Will
such a man live? He will not! Because he has done all these detestable things,
he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head. – Ezek.
18:13b
Then the passage supposes that this bad son
himself has a son, and this son, the grandson of the first person, is good. It
again gives detailed examples of his conduct and then says,
He
will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. But his father will die
for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did
what was wrong among his people. – Ezek. 18:17b-18
And then to nail it all down, the chapter
says this:
“Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not
share the guilt of his father?’ Since the son has done what is just and right
and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live. The
soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the
father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of
the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked
will be charged against him. – Ezek. 18:19-20
Another passage that the Jews may have misinterpreted in such a way so as to lead to this wrong thinking is Leviticus 21, where it says that the children of the priests, the sons of Aaron, are not allowed to personally make offerings to the Lord in the inner part of the Temple if they have any physical defects, including blindness. Does this mean that God hates them, or views them as broken or unworthy? No, it does not. Such a person was not prohibited from other priestly roles and the passage even specifically explains that such a person was to remain a part of the family and eat the food dedicated to God along with the rest of the priests. I believe the reason God did this was to symbolically emphasize His holiness, that only the “perfect” could come into God’s presence, the perfecting coming from the sacrifice of an innocent unblemished animal in the place of the one who would come in, because all are sinful and none are able to do anything in and of themselves to fix their sin. All of this was a picture for the people to understand the holiness of God, and all of it was a shadow of the once-for-all sacrifice to come, that of Jesus Christ. I am sure it wasn’t easy for a disabled child of a priest to be unable to participate in this one aspect of the priestly duties, but if one had wise parents and teachers and also humility, they might have seen how their staying back served to illustrate to the people the complete holiness of God, that their staying back was a special kind of service to God. In a similar way there are times God chooses not to heal Christians today, and in so doing I think He often has a special role for them, a special kind of worship, a special means of using them to help others. I know it can be hard, terribly hard, but in God’s kingdom, in which up is down and the last is first, it may be a special privilege, with a special reward in the Kingdom to come.
And so how does Jesus answer His disciples’ question? Who sinned, the man or his parents? Should we scorn him (if he is the one who sinned) or pity him (if it was his parents’ fault)? (I am speaking using the wrong logic of the disciples here.)
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work 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.” – John 9:3-5
Now, we need to not misunderstand this – Jesus isn’t saying these people are sinless; He is saying that their sin isn’t the reason the man is blind. And He goes on to say that, just as I have been talking about, this man was blind for a special purpose, that God’s work might be displayed in his life.
You know, this is really profound, really powerful. The truth is that all of us are infirm, one way or another, physically, mentally, in countless little ways. And some of us are infirm in somewhat bigger ways. I would bet that every single one of us knows that we have some weaknesses, that there are things we wish we were better at, but we just aren’t. None of us are that idealized perfect man that Hitler so wanted to create. Although the way of the world may be “survival of the fittest,” the way of Jesus is “specially created so that the work of God may be displayed.” I don’t know about you, but I find this tremendously encouraging but also quite humbling. I know not to presume sin is a cause behind infirmity, but I am still occasionally guilty of thinking “lesser” and “greater” – and this is an equal error, an equal sin. Remember that God’s kingdom is upside down.
This is the second time in two chapters Jesus has called Himself the light, and it is from this verse I have today’s message title. This is also terribly profound, and we could spend an entire message just thinking about the implications. But because we have barely made any headway in our passage so far today, let me just give what I think is the most essential aspect of this statement.
We see only because of light. When there is light, the light reflects off the stuff around us, and some of that reflected light goes into our eyeballs and we see. Without that light, we cannot see anything.
To put it another way, without light, we are all blind. We might as well not bother to have eyes, because they won’t do any good. Jesus says, “I am the light.” What that screams at me is that without Him, we cannot see; without Him, we are all blind. We cannot see the stuff “plainly” in front of our faces without Him. Now Jesus means this spiritually. He is using a physical situation to illustrate a deeper spiritual truth. We are all blind spiritually apart from the revelation, the light, of Christ.
As for the statement about day and night, Jesus is also speaking spiritually – that in what the Bible calls these “last days” is the one opportunity for the gospel, that after this, in the age to come, and certainly after you die, it will be too late to turn to Him. But not only is Jesus speaking spiritually, He is also speaking physically. He doesn’t just intend to leave this blind man behind, now that He has made His spiritual points (as we shall now see).
Another passage that the Jews may have misinterpreted in such a way so as to lead to this wrong thinking is Leviticus 21, where it says that the children of the priests, the sons of Aaron, are not allowed to personally make offerings to the Lord in the inner part of the Temple if they have any physical defects, including blindness. Does this mean that God hates them, or views them as broken or unworthy? No, it does not. Such a person was not prohibited from other priestly roles and the passage even specifically explains that such a person was to remain a part of the family and eat the food dedicated to God along with the rest of the priests. I believe the reason God did this was to symbolically emphasize His holiness, that only the “perfect” could come into God’s presence, the perfecting coming from the sacrifice of an innocent unblemished animal in the place of the one who would come in, because all are sinful and none are able to do anything in and of themselves to fix their sin. All of this was a picture for the people to understand the holiness of God, and all of it was a shadow of the once-for-all sacrifice to come, that of Jesus Christ. I am sure it wasn’t easy for a disabled child of a priest to be unable to participate in this one aspect of the priestly duties, but if one had wise parents and teachers and also humility, they might have seen how their staying back served to illustrate to the people the complete holiness of God, that their staying back was a special kind of service to God. In a similar way there are times God chooses not to heal Christians today, and in so doing I think He often has a special role for them, a special kind of worship, a special means of using them to help others. I know it can be hard, terribly hard, but in God’s kingdom, in which up is down and the last is first, it may be a special privilege, with a special reward in the Kingdom to come.
And so how does Jesus answer His disciples’ question? Who sinned, the man or his parents? Should we scorn him (if he is the one who sinned) or pity him (if it was his parents’ fault)? (I am speaking using the wrong logic of the disciples here.)
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work 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.” – John 9:3-5
Now, we need to not misunderstand this – Jesus isn’t saying these people are sinless; He is saying that their sin isn’t the reason the man is blind. And He goes on to say that, just as I have been talking about, this man was blind for a special purpose, that God’s work might be displayed in his life.
You know, this is really profound, really powerful. The truth is that all of us are infirm, one way or another, physically, mentally, in countless little ways. And some of us are infirm in somewhat bigger ways. I would bet that every single one of us knows that we have some weaknesses, that there are things we wish we were better at, but we just aren’t. None of us are that idealized perfect man that Hitler so wanted to create. Although the way of the world may be “survival of the fittest,” the way of Jesus is “specially created so that the work of God may be displayed.” I don’t know about you, but I find this tremendously encouraging but also quite humbling. I know not to presume sin is a cause behind infirmity, but I am still occasionally guilty of thinking “lesser” and “greater” – and this is an equal error, an equal sin. Remember that God’s kingdom is upside down.
This is the second time in two chapters Jesus has called Himself the light, and it is from this verse I have today’s message title. This is also terribly profound, and we could spend an entire message just thinking about the implications. But because we have barely made any headway in our passage so far today, let me just give what I think is the most essential aspect of this statement.
We see only because of light. When there is light, the light reflects off the stuff around us, and some of that reflected light goes into our eyeballs and we see. Without that light, we cannot see anything.
To put it another way, without light, we are all blind. We might as well not bother to have eyes, because they won’t do any good. Jesus says, “I am the light.” What that screams at me is that without Him, we cannot see; without Him, we are all blind. We cannot see the stuff “plainly” in front of our faces without Him. Now Jesus means this spiritually. He is using a physical situation to illustrate a deeper spiritual truth. We are all blind spiritually apart from the revelation, the light, of Christ.
As for the statement about day and night, Jesus is also speaking spiritually – that in what the Bible calls these “last days” is the one opportunity for the gospel, that after this, in the age to come, and certainly after you die, it will be too late to turn to Him. But not only is Jesus speaking spiritually, He is also speaking physically. He doesn’t just intend to leave this blind man behind, now that He has made His spiritual points (as we shall now see).
Having said this, He
spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s
eyes. “Go,” He told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home
seeing. – John 9:6-7
The miracle, as is often the case in John’s gospel, is understated. And we aren’t told why Jesus did this miracle with mud and spit – sounds kinda yucky to me! Perhaps it was to make the miracle more, pardon the pun, visible – now you have a blind guy with a bunch of gunk on his eyes making his way to a pool – perhaps it attracted a crowd. But this is just guessing. (Actually I have an idea of maybe why He did it this way – but I’m not going to tell you quite yet.) One thing that is interesting about the miracle is that Jesus just did it. He didn’t even talk to the man to see if he wanted to be healed! Now, part of the reason for this may be that Jesus is in a hurry – after all, in the last chapter, which happened just minutes before this, the Jews were about to stone Him. But really, these details are the central thing here. It is certainly not the emphasis of John, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write exactly what he wrote.
I do think there is symbolism that he was told to go to the “sent” pool, by the “sent” one. This was physical symbolism for the spiritual reality that if we want to go home seeing, our only choice is to go to the One called “Sent.” Again and again in John’s gospel, Jesus refers to Himself in this way, the one Sent by the Father. By the way, this is the same pool that Jesus was at in John 7 wheHe said, if any man is thirsty, let him come unto Me.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” “How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded. – John 9:8-10
I cannot even begin to imagine what a wonder it was for a man blind from birth to see for the first time. But I am sure there was wonderment, joy. You know, I have to confess that we as parents were slow to get Sarah glasses, and when we did, we were shocked at how poor her eyesight really was – she couldn’t find the big E on the vision test! It was really fun to watch her as she put on her glasses for the first time – she was pretty quiet for a while, taking it all in. How much more for this man!
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.” – John 9:11
Why does he say, “the man they call Jesus”? Because he hasn’t seen Him! And Jesus didn’t exactly introduce Himself to the man, saying, “Hi, I’m Jesus.” He only knew this because the men around Him (the disciples) were calling Him Jesus. And so the man recounts, factually and precisely, just what happened.
“Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 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.” – John 9:12-15
I love that they are asking a man who, until just a tiny bit ago, was completely blind, where Jesus is. What do they want, visual directions? And so he answers and then they cart him off to the Pharisees. Do you notice there is no sign of rejoicing with this man? No praising God? One of the hallmarks of a maturing believer is that they “rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). Why? Because such people are not self-centered; they don’t have to interpret every piece of news with a filter of how it affects them. And yet, this is exactly what these men and the Pharisees are doing. As believers we should be known for our rejoicing in the good news of others and in our ministry of compassion and consolation to those who grieve. Notice how the man’s answer is even shorter than before. He obviously doesn’t “feel the love” because there isn’t any.
Notice that Jesus again has healed someone on the Sabbath. To me it is almost like watching a chess match – Jesus is an aggressive player. He just doesn’t let up. Not only is He not afraid to expose people’s stumbling blocks against faith in Him, He seems eager to expose them. As we have mentioned before in this series, nothing that Jesus does is by accident – it is all intentional, all planned. This is not like a mistake in a presidential campaign, this is exactly what Jesus wants to happen.
All right, now I’m going to tell you why maybe Jesus healed the man in just the way He did. There is a written statement by the rabbi Maimonides made several centuries earlier, and I am not making this up, that it is prohibited to put saliva on the eyes on the Sabbath! Now, why in the world would it say this? Well, in general many of the rabbis had added various rules not in Scripture for the Sabbath, and some of these involved the prohibition of healings. In general, and this is going to sound pretty crazy, but in general, it was OK to provide medical treatment to someone on the Sabbath just enough to keep him from dying, but no more than that. It could only keep him from getting worse, not start him getting better. What about saliva on the eyes? Well, perhaps it was viewed as a possible medical treatment. I doubt it worked, though. And so, perhaps the reason Jesus healed the man in just this way was just so that it would violate this rabbi’s ridiculous law!
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 do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided. Finally 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.” – John 9:16-17
Why did he say prophet? Well, a standard definition of a prophet would be someone who was sent from God. I don’t know if this is irony or the fact that the man himself made the connection. I also again appreciate his short answer. It’s almost as if there is a, “well, duuuh” mixed in with this response. And it is a “well, duuuh,” isn’t it. I mean, why is there any debate?
The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” – John 9:18-19
Since the Jews seemed to get the “well, duuuh” aspect of this, they concluded that their premise must be wrong – this seemed to be the only remaining way out of their predicament. So “the healing must have never happened” is their conclusion. And so now they drag in this man’s parents.
“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 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.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” – John 9:20-23
Without the comment after the parent’s answer we might conclude that they honestly were not in much contact with their son and really didn’t know anything. But the explanation makes it clear that they knew that Jesus had healed him. But they were afraid to admit it, because of this threat that they might be thrown out of the synagogue, that is, to be “cut off” from all of Jewish religious life. This was a very serious threat, a threat of what we might call excommunication, in Greek, aposynagogos. That prefix, apo, we also find in apostate. Many Jews today would call me an apostate Jew precisely because I believe in Jesus; this is the term they would use.
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 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!” – John 9:24-25
As these conversations go on, I like this man more and more. He is not bullied by them. It’s not very complicated, is it? They are the ones with the problem, not him. They are the ones trying to explain away reality, not him. They are the ones desperately trying to deny the truth, not him.
Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 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?” – John 9:26-27
I told you I like this man! Oh, that is just hilarious! I might add that this man who, until just a little bit ago, had been blind his whole life, sees right through them. He knows what they are trying to do and he has no patience for it, and neither is he afraid of them. And they, though they have been able to see their whole lives, are trying desperately to not see what is plainly in front of them; they are trying to become blind!
Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” – John 9:28-29
They won’t even mention His name! That is also ironic, because normally in Judaism the one Person you never mention by name is God. Even today, religious Jews refuse to write His name, even in English. Of course, that’s not how they meant it.
The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” – John 9:30-33
This is the most words this man has yet said. And he is absolutely right. There’s not even a procedure in the Law for how to declare “clean” a man born blind who can now see. (There was a procedure for many other illnesses and ailments, even leprosy though that was an unused piece of law for centuries until Jesus.) But there’s nothing for this. It’s unheard of.
The miracle, as is often the case in John’s gospel, is understated. And we aren’t told why Jesus did this miracle with mud and spit – sounds kinda yucky to me! Perhaps it was to make the miracle more, pardon the pun, visible – now you have a blind guy with a bunch of gunk on his eyes making his way to a pool – perhaps it attracted a crowd. But this is just guessing. (Actually I have an idea of maybe why He did it this way – but I’m not going to tell you quite yet.) One thing that is interesting about the miracle is that Jesus just did it. He didn’t even talk to the man to see if he wanted to be healed! Now, part of the reason for this may be that Jesus is in a hurry – after all, in the last chapter, which happened just minutes before this, the Jews were about to stone Him. But really, these details are the central thing here. It is certainly not the emphasis of John, who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write exactly what he wrote.
I do think there is symbolism that he was told to go to the “sent” pool, by the “sent” one. This was physical symbolism for the spiritual reality that if we want to go home seeing, our only choice is to go to the One called “Sent.” Again and again in John’s gospel, Jesus refers to Himself in this way, the one Sent by the Father. By the way, this is the same pool that Jesus was at in John 7 wheHe said, if any man is thirsty, let him come unto Me.
His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” Some claimed that he was. Others said, “No, he only looks like him.” But he himself insisted, “I am the man.” “How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded. – John 9:8-10
I cannot even begin to imagine what a wonder it was for a man blind from birth to see for the first time. But I am sure there was wonderment, joy. You know, I have to confess that we as parents were slow to get Sarah glasses, and when we did, we were shocked at how poor her eyesight really was – she couldn’t find the big E on the vision test! It was really fun to watch her as she put on her glasses for the first time – she was pretty quiet for a while, taking it all in. How much more for this man!
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.” – John 9:11
Why does he say, “the man they call Jesus”? Because he hasn’t seen Him! And Jesus didn’t exactly introduce Himself to the man, saying, “Hi, I’m Jesus.” He only knew this because the men around Him (the disciples) were calling Him Jesus. And so the man recounts, factually and precisely, just what happened.
“Where is this man?” they asked him. “I don’t know,” he said. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 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.” – John 9:12-15
I love that they are asking a man who, until just a tiny bit ago, was completely blind, where Jesus is. What do they want, visual directions? And so he answers and then they cart him off to the Pharisees. Do you notice there is no sign of rejoicing with this man? No praising God? One of the hallmarks of a maturing believer is that they “rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15). Why? Because such people are not self-centered; they don’t have to interpret every piece of news with a filter of how it affects them. And yet, this is exactly what these men and the Pharisees are doing. As believers we should be known for our rejoicing in the good news of others and in our ministry of compassion and consolation to those who grieve. Notice how the man’s answer is even shorter than before. He obviously doesn’t “feel the love” because there isn’t any.
Notice that Jesus again has healed someone on the Sabbath. To me it is almost like watching a chess match – Jesus is an aggressive player. He just doesn’t let up. Not only is He not afraid to expose people’s stumbling blocks against faith in Him, He seems eager to expose them. As we have mentioned before in this series, nothing that Jesus does is by accident – it is all intentional, all planned. This is not like a mistake in a presidential campaign, this is exactly what Jesus wants to happen.
All right, now I’m going to tell you why maybe Jesus healed the man in just the way He did. There is a written statement by the rabbi Maimonides made several centuries earlier, and I am not making this up, that it is prohibited to put saliva on the eyes on the Sabbath! Now, why in the world would it say this? Well, in general many of the rabbis had added various rules not in Scripture for the Sabbath, and some of these involved the prohibition of healings. In general, and this is going to sound pretty crazy, but in general, it was OK to provide medical treatment to someone on the Sabbath just enough to keep him from dying, but no more than that. It could only keep him from getting worse, not start him getting better. What about saliva on the eyes? Well, perhaps it was viewed as a possible medical treatment. I doubt it worked, though. And so, perhaps the reason Jesus healed the man in just this way was just so that it would violate this rabbi’s ridiculous law!
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 do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided. Finally 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.” – John 9:16-17
Why did he say prophet? Well, a standard definition of a prophet would be someone who was sent from God. I don’t know if this is irony or the fact that the man himself made the connection. I also again appreciate his short answer. It’s almost as if there is a, “well, duuuh” mixed in with this response. And it is a “well, duuuh,” isn’t it. I mean, why is there any debate?
The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” – John 9:18-19
Since the Jews seemed to get the “well, duuuh” aspect of this, they concluded that their premise must be wrong – this seemed to be the only remaining way out of their predicament. So “the healing must have never happened” is their conclusion. And so now they drag in this man’s parents.
“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 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.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” – John 9:20-23
Without the comment after the parent’s answer we might conclude that they honestly were not in much contact with their son and really didn’t know anything. But the explanation makes it clear that they knew that Jesus had healed him. But they were afraid to admit it, because of this threat that they might be thrown out of the synagogue, that is, to be “cut off” from all of Jewish religious life. This was a very serious threat, a threat of what we might call excommunication, in Greek, aposynagogos. That prefix, apo, we also find in apostate. Many Jews today would call me an apostate Jew precisely because I believe in Jesus; this is the term they would use.
A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” 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!” – John 9:24-25
As these conversations go on, I like this man more and more. He is not bullied by them. It’s not very complicated, is it? They are the ones with the problem, not him. They are the ones trying to explain away reality, not him. They are the ones desperately trying to deny the truth, not him.
Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 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?” – John 9:26-27
I told you I like this man! Oh, that is just hilarious! I might add that this man who, until just a little bit ago, had been blind his whole life, sees right through them. He knows what they are trying to do and he has no patience for it, and neither is he afraid of them. And they, though they have been able to see their whole lives, are trying desperately to not see what is plainly in front of them; they are trying to become blind!
Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.” – John 9:28-29
They won’t even mention His name! That is also ironic, because normally in Judaism the one Person you never mention by name is God. Even today, religious Jews refuse to write His name, even in English. Of course, that’s not how they meant it.
The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” – John 9:30-33
This is the most words this man has yet said. And he is absolutely right. There’s not even a procedure in the Law for how to declare “clean” a man born blind who can now see. (There was a procedure for many other illnesses and ailments, even leprosy though that was an unused piece of law for centuries until Jesus.) But there’s nothing for this. It’s unheard of.
To this they replied,
“You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him
out. – John 9:34
How we come full circle! They now say he was steeped in sin at birth. Remember the disciples’ question at the start of the chapter? How ironic that they use this argument. And if he was steeped in sin at birth, if this was God’s punishment for sin, what in the world is he doing all healed now? How wrong they are, about this, and about everything else in this chapter.
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when He found him, He said, “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.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Him. – John 9:35-38
I just love this encounter. Jesus seeks him out, not the other way around. And then when asked if he believes in the Son of Man, this man replies, tell me who he is – so I can decide? No, tell me who he is so I may believe in Him. That is awesome. This man is yielded to the Spirit – he is hungry to believe, to believe in what is true. I love Jesus’ answer: you have now seen Him. What a miracle that is! That he can see at all, and now, that he can see his Savior! And, yielded to the Spirit, he knew that what this man he has never seen before was saying was true. And he responds with faith, and with worship.
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” – John 9:39
Doesn’t that summarize this chapter well? In this one experience a blind man has been saved through both a physical bringing of sight and a spiritual one. We will see this man in heaven. And in this one experience we have seen the religious establishment continue to heap judgment upon judgment on itself. The more they reject the plain evidence before them, the more they become blind.
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. – John 9:40-41
The Pharisees who asked this asked in a way that expects an answer confirming that they aren’t blind. It’s a bit hard to translate this effect into English, but you see it in a number of ancient languages. Perhaps one loose way would be “You know we’re not blind, don’t you? I mean, come on.”
But these seeing people are blind. And Jesus’ sobering answer, is, in effect, “if you agreed you were blind, you could find forgiveness from sin, through Me. But because you deny it, I cannot help you.” This reminds me of how in the other gospels, Jesus says that it is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. To complete the analogy, people who think they are healthy aren’t going to go to the doctor.
Jesus desires that all would come to Him, but He won’t force them. For there really is no way to come to Him until you admit you are sick, that you are blind, that you need a doctor, that you need a Savior. There is no other path to God except the one in which you personally admit your bankruptcy, your failure, your total inadequacy – your blindness. That is the starting point – and from there, when you believe in Him, when you tell Him this, saying “Lord, I believe,” then He brings you from darkness to light, from death to life, and then, now and forever, we respond to Him in worship.
How we come full circle! They now say he was steeped in sin at birth. Remember the disciples’ question at the start of the chapter? How ironic that they use this argument. And if he was steeped in sin at birth, if this was God’s punishment for sin, what in the world is he doing all healed now? How wrong they are, about this, and about everything else in this chapter.
Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when He found him, He said, “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.” Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Him. – John 9:35-38
I just love this encounter. Jesus seeks him out, not the other way around. And then when asked if he believes in the Son of Man, this man replies, tell me who he is – so I can decide? No, tell me who he is so I may believe in Him. That is awesome. This man is yielded to the Spirit – he is hungry to believe, to believe in what is true. I love Jesus’ answer: you have now seen Him. What a miracle that is! That he can see at all, and now, that he can see his Savior! And, yielded to the Spirit, he knew that what this man he has never seen before was saying was true. And he responds with faith, and with worship.
Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” – John 9:39
Doesn’t that summarize this chapter well? In this one experience a blind man has been saved through both a physical bringing of sight and a spiritual one. We will see this man in heaven. And in this one experience we have seen the religious establishment continue to heap judgment upon judgment on itself. The more they reject the plain evidence before them, the more they become blind.
Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. – John 9:40-41
The Pharisees who asked this asked in a way that expects an answer confirming that they aren’t blind. It’s a bit hard to translate this effect into English, but you see it in a number of ancient languages. Perhaps one loose way would be “You know we’re not blind, don’t you? I mean, come on.”
But these seeing people are blind. And Jesus’ sobering answer, is, in effect, “if you agreed you were blind, you could find forgiveness from sin, through Me. But because you deny it, I cannot help you.” This reminds me of how in the other gospels, Jesus says that it is not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. To complete the analogy, people who think they are healthy aren’t going to go to the doctor.
Jesus desires that all would come to Him, but He won’t force them. For there really is no way to come to Him until you admit you are sick, that you are blind, that you need a doctor, that you need a Savior. There is no other path to God except the one in which you personally admit your bankruptcy, your failure, your total inadequacy – your blindness. That is the starting point – and from there, when you believe in Him, when you tell Him this, saying “Lord, I believe,” then He brings you from darkness to light, from death to life, and then, now and forever, we respond to Him in worship.
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