The True Cure for our Blindness (John 9)

I can’t imagine losing the ability to see. One moment everything is bright and clear, and the next moment you’re in complete darkness. In John 9 we’re introduced to a man who has only known darkness. He has never seen light, never seen beauty, never experienced sight. He serves as an illustration of fallen mankind. We are spiritually blind and cannot see the beauty of God.

The Miracle (9:1–7)

We’re intended to understand this miracle in connection with what Jesus taught during the Festival of Shelters. Jesus stood before the crowd and said he was “the light of the world” (8:12). He makes the same claim here in verse 5, and this miracle authenticates his claim. He is indeed the light of the world. He has the power to remove the darkness and give light. Healing a blind man is the perfect illustration of his unique power and prerogative.

Prior to the healing, his disciples ask whose sin caused the man’s blindness (v. 2). Was it the man’s sin or his parents’? This question reveals a legalistic outlook on life—an outlook fostered by the example of the religious establishment.

Legalism. The term “legalism” commonly denotes preoccupation with form at the expense of substance.

Legalism is the attempt to earn God’s favor through our own righteous works. A legalist operates under the (usually unspoken) assumption that people earn or keep God’s favor through righteous deeds, so legalists begin to view themselves as deserving of certain blessings. In other words, if I can earn God’s favor by my good works, then the more good works I do, the more God becomes indebted to me. He must reward my good deeds with blessings. If something “bad” happens to me, it must be because I did something bad.

New Testament (Second Edition) 9:1–12: Healing the Blind

Jewish people acknowledged punishment for ancestral sin; many believed in prenatal activity; and some allowed even for prenatal sin.

The disciples look at this man born blind and conclude that he or his parents had sinned, because if they had not done something wicked, then God would be forced to respond with blessing. That’s textbook legalism. Jesus has no sympathy for legalism. This man’s blindness had nothing to do with his sin (though birth defects and disease are indicators of the world’s fallen state due to sin in general). His blindness had a far greater purpose. This man was born blind so Jesus could teach the profound truth of spiritual blindness and reveal himself as the light of the world. That puts a different perspective on trials we face.

Whenever I face a trial, I struggle with viewing it legalistically: “God, how could you allow this to happen to me? Haven’t you noticed everything I’m doing for you?” My next response is to see how quickly I can make the trial stop, all the time missing the fact that God has a bigger purpose in mind for my suffering. To short-circuit the trial would be to miss out on the display of God’s glory in the trial.

John–Acts 9:1–7. The Miracle

God “formed the man of dust from the ground” in Genesis 2:7, so when John 9:6 says that Jesus “spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva,” there might be an overtone of the one through whom all things were made (1:3) doing a new-creation work in this blind man’s life.

Jesus is going to display his glory by healing this man. He bends over, makes little mud balls, places them in the man’s eyes, and sends him off to wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. He chooses that particular pool for two reasons. First, the word Siloam (as we’re told in v. 7) means “sent.”

Jesus has repeatedly referred to himself as the one sent by God. This action is another reminder of who he is. Second, the waters of Siloam are mentioned in Isaiah 8:6, a chapter that contains a prophecy about the Messiah. God warns the Israelites of impending judgment because they refused the waters of Shiloah (the Hebrew name for Siloam) that God provided. Will history repeat itself? Will the Jews again reject what God has sent? Regardless of what others will decide, this blind man obeys the words of Jesus and is miraculously healed (John 9:7).

John records the healing in an understated way. A man born blind can now see. For the first time he sees colors and shapes. He’s heard people describe a flower. Now he sees one. He’s heard men talk of physical beauty, and now he understands. Jesus’s amazing power makes this man see. It’s not the combination of clay and saliva, the chemicals in the pool of Siloam, or the man’s obedience. It’s the power of Jesus. This man could do nothing to make himself see. The only thing he could do was do what Jesus said.

The Reaction (9:8–12)

His neighbors don’t know what to make of the miracle, so they bring him to the Pharisees for their perspective. The Pharisees are the religious establishment. They don’t like Jesus, primarily because he condemns their self-righteous hypocrisy. They decide to investigate the miracle, and the purpose of their investigation is to squelch the story and condemn Jesus. Their investigation consists of three interrogations.

Interrogation 1 (9:13–17)

Right from the start, the Pharisees have determined Jesus is guilty (v. 16). Their regulations about the Sabbath were more significant than a never-before-seen display of healing power, even though the regulations were man-made, not divinely given. Since they’re unsure how to reconcile this apparent violation with the miraculous power, they ask the (formerly) blind man, “What do you say about him?” He responds, “He’s a prophet” (v. 17). In other words, “He must be from God if he can do something like this.” Unsatisfied with his answer, they begin a second interrogation.

Interrogation 2 (9:18–23)

Their new goal is to disprove the miracle, so they question the parents about his blindness: “Was he really blind from birth?” “Yes. We don’t know how he can see, but he can. He’s an adult, why don’t you ask him?” (vv. 19–21; my paraphrase). Well, they had; they just didn’t like his answer. Verse 22 is an important editorial comment by John. Believing on Jesus and publicly confessing belief was not a popular thing to do. Public faith in Jesus had serious consequences.

New Testament (Second Edition) 9:13–23: Interrogating the Witnesses

Excommunication was one of the severest forms of discipline administered by a synagogue community and was apparently rare and thus very harsh in the time of Jesus.

Unsuccessful, the Pharisees embark on a third interrogation.

Interrogation 3 (9:24–34)

The religious leaders are stuck. They can’t dispute the miracle, nor can they acknowledge that Jesus is from God. If they do, that would mean his diagnosis of their spiritual hypocrisy is true. It would require them to humble themselves before him. Their last-ditch effort is to have this healed man denigrate the character of Christ. At least this might save some face. They tell him to “give glory to God” (v. 24). In other words, “With God as your witness, tell the truth. This man (Jesus) is a sinner.”

We see clearly the deceptive power of sin. Sin has twisted their minds so much they find it impossible to see things clearly. Sin causes confusion and breeds spiritual ignorance. Their foolishness is exposed by the simple, logical answers of the man who has been healed. All he knows is he was blind but now he can see (v. 25). What a great truth we’ve sung many times: “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.”

He answers their questions honestly, but you can hear the sarcasm dripping from his lips. “Are you kidding me? You don’t know where he’s from. Look at what he’s done!” (vv. 30–33; my paraphrase). Then he uses their own words against them. He says, “We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners” (v. 31). This is in response to their earlier question, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.… How can a sinful man perform such signs?” (v. 16). Their question implies that a sinner could never do these signs because God would not listen to him. The blind man is saying, “You’re right. Only someone who is from God can do these things. That means Jesus must be from God.” What a clear, logical deduction! In spite of the overwhelming evidence, the religious leaders continue to find reasons to ignore what’s so clear. So a blind beggar shames the spiritually elite by seeing what they could not.

The Pharisees respond by excommunicating him from the synagogue. He’s cut off religiously and socially for stating the obvious: Jesus must have come from God. God never promises following his Son will make life easier. You may have heard some wrong teaching that claims turning to Jesus will make your problems go away. That’s not what Jesus says. Jesus says, “Don’t be surprised if they hate you. They hated me, and you follow me” (15:18–21; my paraphrase; cf. 1 Pet 4:12–17; 1 John 3:13). Following Jesus is worth it; the difficulties of following Christ on this earth cannot even be compared with the future joy still to be revealed (Rom 8:18). He is the greatest treasure! We come to him because we understand that in his “presence is fullness of joy” (Ps 16:11 NKJV). But that doesn’t always correspond with earthly happiness. Sometimes your faith will bring rejection and mistreatment.

John 9:35 says Jesus “found him.” Do you see the divine initiative? Without any prompting, Jesus reached down when this man was blind and gave him physical sight, and now he seeks him out and gives him spiritual sight. Before people can receive spiritual sight, they must first acknowledge they need it. Jesus pointed out this man’s need in verse 35. He essentially asked, “Have you placed your faith in the Son of God who became a man? Do you recognize your need of a Savior, and are you willing to turn from your own attempts and trust in him alone to save you?” The man asks, “Who is he?” Jesus responds, “You have seen him.” This man was blind, and Jesus doesn’t just say to him, “I am the Son of Man.” He says, “You have seen him” (vv. 35–36). Earlier in the day this man could not see anything, but now he’s seen the Messiah. His eyes have beheld the Savior. Instantly he begins to worship Jesus.

If You Recognize Your Blindness, Jesus Will Give You Sight (9:39)

Imagine if the story began this way. Jesus and his disciples meet a man born blind. Jesus promises to heal the man’s eyes. He makes little mud packs, places them in the man’s eyes, and tells him to go wash his eyes in the pool of Siloam. A couple of hours later, a friend of the blind man walks by and sees him begging in his normal spot, but his eyes are caked with mud.

“What’s going on?” his friend asks.

“Not much! What’s up with you?”

“Nothing. What’s all over your eyes?”

“It’s mud. Some guy came by and put this mud on my eyes and said it would help me see. I let him do it, but it didn’t make sense. I’m fine. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

Could it be possible for a man who was born blind to assume he was fine? Only someone who realized he was blind would long for sight. Only the one who understands his condition will allow Jesus to fill his eyes with mud and then go through town looking ridiculous in the hopes of healing. Only when a person understands his spiritual blindness will he turn to Jesus for healing. We are blind, and once we realize that, then we can come to Jesus to receive sight.

If You Think You Can See on Your Own, You Can’t (9:39–41)

Those who think they see are blind to their own blindness and will remain that way. They reject the light because they live in and love the darkness.

Those who [are] blind are the ones who do not realize their need. Those who receive sight are the ones who sense their darkness. The Pharisees thought they had it all together, that they had arrived. Through their acquaintance with the Law they knew they were not perfect, but they did not understand how deeply infected they were with sin. So they adopted the external appearance of having dealt with sin though actually they had never faced the darkness of their hearts. They were self-satisfied. They said, “We see” when in reality they were blind. (Hughes, John, 259)

One of the great promises God made to his people was that he would send a Savior to help those who were desperate

English Standard Version Chapter 42

6  “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;

I will take you by the hand and keep you;

I will give you as a covenant for the people,

a light for the nations,

7  to open the eyes that are blind,

to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

from the prison those who sit in darkness.

—a promise that would be fulfilled by Jesus (Isa 42:6–7). God’s people were in the darkness of sin and unbelief, and the Messiah came to bring them light. But the religious leaders missed him because they could not perceive their own blindness. Charles Spurgeon wrote,

It is not our littleness that hinders Christ; but our bigness. It is not our weakness that hinders Christ; it is our strength. It is not our darkness that hinders Christ; it is our supposed light that holds back His hand. (“Sermon #1795,” 30:489)

If we want more of Christ, we must recognize a growing need for him. Those who drink the most are the ones who feel the thirstiest. Those who eat the most are the ones who feel the hungriest. Those who see and enjoy and experience the most are the ones who flee the darkness and run to the light!