Jesus is the Light of the World John 9

Blindness in the OT is more than just a physical thing. It is used as a metaphor to illustrate total spiritual failure. This is a major theme in Isaiah:

Blindness is a sign of refusing to see and believe God (Isaiah 29:9; 42:18–25).

In fact God, in judgement, spiritually blinded those who rebelled (Isaiah 6:9, 10). This blindness will be remedied for God’s people when the Messiah comes to rescue them (Isaiah 29:18; 32:3; 35:5; 42:7). God’s saving light will extend to all the nations of the world (Isaiah 49:6). In chapter 9 Jesus is developing the ‘light of the world’ theme, which first appeared in 8:12. In chapter 8 He had offered freedom to His people but they had rejected Him because they were blind. Now, in chapter 9, He gives sight to the blind but blinds those who rebel. Although we study chapter 9 apart from chapter 10, the two form a unit. In chapter 10, Jesus will once again denounce the Pharisees as blind shepherds (ch. 10 refers explicitly to the episode of ch. 9 in verse 21). This sign is striking because Jesus is absent for large parts of the chapter (verses 8-34). This is in contrast to chapter 5, for example, where the healed man passed quickly from view. It may well be that the man born blind is being presented to us as something of a model disciple - one who holds to Jesus’ teaching even when it is hard. Thus we find him speaking in 13 of the 41 verses, and even lecturing the religious authorities who would oppose Jesus. Certainly, those among John’s readers who have known opposition for their allegiance to Jesus will readily be able to identify with him.

Jesus is the Light of the world who gives sight to the Blind (John 9:1-7)

John 9:1–7 ESV

1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

Not uncommonly, the two main players in the chapter are introduced to us in the first verse. As with all the signs in John, the healing of the man born blind has a purpose. Jesus identifies that purpose in verses 3–5. Other translations of ‘displayed’ are ‘become visible’, ‘known’ and ‘revealed’. So the purpose of the man’s blindness is not for the disciples to apportion blame, but so that God’s work might be made visibly apparent; the man was born blind so that Jesus could display His work of bringing people to believe in Him. Verse 5 encapsulates and explains part of John’s Prologue, 1:4–9 – Jesus really is ‘the light of the world’ who gives sight to the spiritually blind, and blinds those who consider themselves sighted. Verse 4 looks tricky, but 13:30 explains it: ‘night’ comes when Jesus is betrayed and taken to the cross. Following His ascension His ‘work’ will continue (14:12).

The healing itself is only reported briefly. As in chapter 5, the initiative rests entirely with Jesus - the blind man neither speaks nor is spoken to before the healing occurs. The blind man is healed through the pool whose name means ‘sent’ by the one who was ‘sent’ (v. 4) to do the work of His Father.

Notice the irony of the chapter: the one who is labelled ‘sinful’ in the opening verses comes to the light, while those who presumed to judge Jesus in chapter 8 remain in their sin (v. 41), partially fulfilling 8:24.

Different responses to the sign (John 9:8-38)

The blind man’s neighbors (John 9:8-12)

John 9:8–12 ESV

8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

Interview with the blind man’s neighbours. The previous chapter had ended with a violent confrontation between Jesus and the Jews, leaving us with the shocking realization that God’s Son was being rejected by God’s historic people. At this point we need to be assured that Jesus really is who He says He is. The giving of sight to the blind is something that only God can do, but did Jesus really perform this miracle? It is important that the fact of the miracle is backed up by clear evidence that it really did happen – hence the value of the blind man’s neighbours (and later his parents) as witnesses. At the same time we will notice the progression in the man’s own understanding as we journey through the chapter. At this stage, he confesses his ignorance as to Jesus’ whereabouts (there is a link between seeing and knowing in John: to see is to know truly) and speaks only of ‘the man called Jesus’.

The Pharisees first meeting (John 9:13-17)

John 9:13–17 ESV

13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”

13–17 Blind man’s first interview with the Pharisees. For the first time we are told that the healing occurred on the Sabbath, and so a sense of foreboding begins to loom (in light of the events of chapter 5) especially because in the Pharisees’ understanding, Jesus has committed two Sabbath violations - making mud and healing were both forbidden (see Carson). In chapters 7–8 we saw the division and blindness of the Pharisees. Both are on display again here as the Pharisees appear to be unable to see beyond the immediate event to the wonderful reality of wholeness that the healing symbolized (see OT notes on the Sabbath for chapter 5). They remain preoccupied, throughout the chapter, with how the blind man was healed (v. 26). He however begins to see more clearly – ‘He is a prophet’ (v. 17). The mixed response to Jesus exhibited by the Pharisees invites the reader to form our own conclusion - who do we say that Jesus is?

The blind man’s parents (John 9:18-23)

John 9:18–23 ESV

18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”

18–23 Parents interviewed by the Jews. This part provides further authentication that Jesus’ miracle was genuine. At the same time we see the stubbornness of the Jews who will not believe, despite the evidence; they have already made up their minds. For the first time we see their hostility being transferred to someone who has decided to follow Christ. Eventually this hostility will lead to action against the blind man. The parents, for their part, are so afraid of the Jews that they leave their son to fend for himself.

The Pharisees second meeting (John 9:24-34)

John 9:24–34 ESV

24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

24–34 Blind man’s second interview with the Pharisees. This part is full of tragic irony. The Pharisees refuse to see who Jesus really is (in fact, despite the illusion of gathering evidence in the chapter, they have already made up their mind about Jesus - they think that He is a sinner), and so they urge the man to ‘give glory to God’ by condemning Jesus. Their illogical position (see v. 33) drives the man one step further towards his conversion, as he gives glory to God by saying, ‘If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.’ The harshness and bitterness of the Pharisees, these ‘false shepherds’ (cf. ch. 10), is confirmed by their reaction both to the man and to his parents. They throw him out of the synagogue. As in chapters 5–8, the Pharisees continue to claim to be Moses’ disciples, but even the man born blind can see that their claim is hollow. (We of course know that if they were true disciples of Moses, they would come to Jesus for life - 5:39-40.)

The blind man responds to Jesus (John 9:35-38)

35-38 The blind man worships Jesus. The reappearance of Jesus makes us wonder why He hasn’t been around to help the blind man. He seems to have healed him and then left him to it! We are not given the answer to this question, but the man’s perseverance, sticking with Jesus in spite of hostility, shows that he has the persevering faith we read of in chapter 8, e.g. verse 12b. Once a genuine work of God has begun in a person, then no-one can snatch that person out of God’s hands – Jesus will ‘lose none of all that He [the Father] has given me’ (6:39). Jesus seeks out the blind man because he is ready to believe, in spite of opposition, and his faith grows. Once again, Jesus gives Himself the title ‘Son of Man’. In chapter 5 we saw that it is the Son of Man who speaks God’s final words of life and judgement now (5:27), and later we understood that unless a person eats and drinks the Son of Man’s flesh and blood that person has no life (6:53). The blind man now ‘sees’ and worships this life-giving, self-giving Son of Man. This is model ‘belief’ indeed.

Jesus responds (John 9:39-41)

John 9:39–41 ESV

39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

In explaining His action (v. 39) Jesus enables us to understand what has been going on all through chapters 5–8. He is ‘the light of the world’, but His light does two different things. It blinds the hardhearted who, like the Pharisees in this chapter, are convinced that they see everything, but who are in reality blind (and so their sin ‘remains’ cf. 3:36). But it illumines those who are willing to believe in the significance of the signs.

Thus ‘the light of the world’ brings rescue and fulfils the prophecy in Isaiah 42. The work of the Son of Man is to bring this judging, life-giving light.

Application

To them then: Jesus’ explanatory comments in verses 39–41 indicate how He intended the sign and following dialogue to be interpreted. His words help us to make sense of the shock of chapters 5–8. The sign has provided clear and convincing proof that Jesus is the Messiah, and that the messianic rescue really has come. But the surprise is that Jesus’ work as ‘the light of the world’ is both to give sight to the blind and to blind those who think they can see. The application of this to John’s readers is clear: it means that they should not be disturbed, shaken, or put off by the fact that God’s historic people have rejected His Son. Nor should they be unnerved by the hostility of God’s historic people. They should not be dismayed at the apparent impossibility of anyone being able to recognise God’s Rescuer, because it is Jesus Himself who gives sight to the blind, and He will ‘keep’ those in whom He is working. The only qualification required, for sight to be given, is a recognition of blindness. But, for those who think they can see there is no hope.

To us now: Once we see the application to John’s readers then, the application to us now should be very clear. This passage explains what has been going on in the previous four chapters: after studying it we should come away convinced that Jesus really is the Messiah - if we are worshipping Jesus with the blind man, we are doing the right thing! At the same time, we should come away humbled as we understand why and how we have believed, and clear that Jesus’ work as ‘the light of the world’ involves spiritual blinding as well as the giving of spiritual sight. This should encourage and reassure us in our evangelism, because the opening of blind eyes is His work and He will do it completely, whatever the world’s reaction to those who believe.

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