John 9, Part 1
Notes
Transcript
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.
Jesus passed by (just where is not stated). As He passed by, He saw a man who had been blind since birth. There was something about the man that attracted both Jesus and the disciples.
⇒ Jesus “saw” him, which indicated interest, care, concern, compassion.
⇒ The disciples apparently felt the same interest and concern for the man, for they began to wonder why he had been doomed to suffer so terribly throughout his life.
It was a common belief that a man suffered because of sin, either his own sin or his parents’ sin. The disciples were attracted to the man and wondered about him. Was he suffering because of some great sin committed by his parents or because God had foreseen that the man would be a great sinner before he was born?
The question is often asked: How can a man who is not yet born be punished for sin he has not yet committed? Apparently, Jewish belief was that a person’s sin was foreseen; therefore, the person was “born in sins” and thereby punished [see v.34]).
Jesus said that the man’s suffering was not due to sin but that he suffered so that the works of God could be demonstrated in his life.
Jesus carried the discussion beyond the man’s blindness. The disciples were perplexed over this man’s situation, wondering and asking questions about the problem of suffering and sin. How could a man such as this be punished from birth? Jesus picked up the question, moving it to His worldwide mission as the Light of the world (v.5). He dealt with the problem of suffering and sin throughout the whole world. His very mission upon earth was to work the works of God.
4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
Jesus came to work the works of God.
Note the words “sent me.” God sent Jesus. Jesus had come into the world on God’s mission. He was of God, from God’s very presence, from the closest possible relationship with God.
Note that Jesus came to do the works of God. It was God’s works that had to be done. Four works are stressed in this passage.
1) There is the work of seeking man. God seeks man. Jesus took the initiative with this man, reaching out to help him. It was not the man who reached out for help. In fact, the man was blind; he did not even know that help was available. If Jesus had not reached out for him, he would have remained blind and been in darkness forever.
2) There is the work of caring for man. God cares that man is blind.
3) There is the work of loving and having compassion. God loves and has compassion for man in his blindness and darkness.
4) There is the work of delivering from darkness and giving sight.
Note the urgency of the mission. This is stressed by two things.
1) The word must (dei) means compulsion and necessity. There are no questions, no suggestions, no urgings about the matter. The works of God must be done.
2) The time for work is limited. Christ and His followers do not have forever to do the work. It has to be done now or the opportunity will be lost. Only so much time has been given. Whatever is to be done must be done today, while there is still some daylight left. Night is coming, the time when no man can work. Time will end and the opportunity will be gone forever.
Note: the better texts read us or we (emas) instead of “I” (eme, v.4): “It is necessary for us to work” or “We must work the works of God.” If this is accurate, then a wonderful truth is stated. Jesus ties us to His mission from the Father. We, too, are in the world to do the works of God. Our very purpose for being on earth is to proclaim and show forth the works of God.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Jesus came to be the Light of the world. If man wishes to be delivered from darkness, he must come to Christ. Christ is the only One who gives sight to man and His 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.
Jesus came to demonstrate the power to give sight. Note that Jesus did not just speak the word of healing to the man. His Word alone was the method He often used in healing, but this was not the case with this man. He did much more, and by His act He demonstrated two things to the world:
⇒ He will do everything He can to deliver a man from darkness and give him sight.
⇒ He has the power to deliver man and to give him sight.
The man’s faith needed to be aroused and stirred. Jesus used two things to awaken the man’s faith.
a. He used a point of contact, the touch of His hands upon the man’s eyes. Note that He used clay made moist by spittle. People of that day believed spittle had some curing qualities, and perhaps Jesus used spittle because of this. The man’s faith would certainly be helped by thinking of its healing qualities. However, Jesus would not want the man thinking that it was spittle that cured him. The man must know beyond question that Jesus was the One who healed him. So at most, the spittle would be used to stir the thoughts of healing in the man’s mind.
b. Jesus sent the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. Note the parenthesis “which is by interpretation, Sent” (v.7). Jesus was using the pool as a symbol of the Messiah who was sent by God to give sight to the world. The blind man, by obeying Jesus and going to the pool, would receive his sight. His obedience would demonstrate to the blind of the world that they, too, could receive their sight by coming to Jesus and obeying Him.
The man washed and “came seeing.” He received his sight because He did exactly what Jesus said.
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.”
The first stage of spiritual sight is seeing Jesus as a man (v.11). Note: all the healed man knew was that “a man that is called Jesus” had commanded him to do certain things, and he did them and received his sight.
Note what happened to the blind man.
⇒ He was confronted by Jesus.
⇒ He was commanded to do some things.
⇒ He obeyed the commands of Jesus.
⇒ He was delivered from darkness and given sight.
The blind man was blessed by Jesus despite an inadequate understanding of Christ. But note the crucial point: his heart was right toward Jesus. It was tender and willing to do what Jesus said.
The first stage in a man’s spiritual journey is to learn about Jesus. A man must learn about Jesus before he can ever learn of Jesus, before he can ever come to know Jesus personally. But once a man has learned about Jesus, it is imperative that he move on and come to know Jesus personally. The blind man could have stopped at any stage and failed in his spiritual journey.
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.”
The second stage of spiritual sight is seeing Jesus as a Helper or a Healer (v.15). The delivered man was brought before the religionists (by whom we are not told) because the Sabbath law had been broken. This was a serious offense to the Jews.
Note the man’s answer to the religionists’ question. He said that “He [the man, Jesus] put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.” He still saw Jesus only as a man, but as a man who had done a great thing by helping him and healing him. He saw Jesus as a great Helper and a great Healer. Note: this is a confession; the man was giving an answer to some questioners. He was confessing Jesus to be the great Helper and Healer.
Many confess Jesus just as the man confessed Him. They confess that He is a great man, a great …
• teacher
• moralist
• martyr
• healer
• preacher
• helper
• law-giver
• example
But note the critical point. This concept still comes far short of the truth. The delivered man did not yet know Jesus personally. He had not reached the stage of belief, of true salvation and worship (see vv.35–38).
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.”
The third stage of spiritual sight is seeing Jesus as a prophet (v.17). The man really progressed in his view of Jesus at this point. The people saw a prophet as the highest office a man could hold, the most authoritative voice among the people.
A prophet was a man chosen by God …
• to walk close to God
• to represent God among the people
• to proclaim the message of God (see Amos 3:7)
• to demonstrate the power of God
• to help people by demonstrating God before them and by guiding and warning and ministering to them
But again, Jesus was still seen only as a man, a godly man yes, but only a man. Such a concept was still short. The blind man’s concept was still inadequate. He had not yet reached the stage of belief and worship (vv.35–38).
Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 2004. The Gospel according to John. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership Ministries Worldwide.
