Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

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Psalm 83:9–12 “Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon, who were destroyed at En-dor, who became dung for the ground. Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna, who said, “Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.””

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John 9 ESV

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 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 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. 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?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 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.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.” They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 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.” 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. 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 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 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 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.” (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. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”) 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.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 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?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 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. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

Sermon

Two of Jesus’ I AM statements

I am the bread of life (John 6:35)

I am the light of the world (John 8:12)

Jesus has also made clear affirmation to be God

Before Abraham Was, I Am

John 9:1 ESV

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

Immediately after the prior verses

Some people question whether it could be the same day

that the Jews would stone Jesus, being the sabbath

Jesus passes a man blind from birth

John 9:2 ESV

And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Disciples are the people who followed Jesus

These were those who genuinely wanted Jesus to teach them

The prevailing view was that birth defects were due to sin of the one afflicted

surely it couldn’t be his own sin?

surely the sin of his parents this would be unfair?

or could be have sinned in the womb?

According to scripture physical afflictions (defects, hardships, suffering, accidents, sickness and death) can be traced to various moral causes

Sin of Adam

Sins of Parents

One own personal sins

No one has the right to charge God with injustice

Jobs friends traced his sins to the sin of cruelty to the widow and fatherless (inaccurately)

John 9:3–5 ESV

Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents”

“but that the works of God might be displayed in him.”

miracles that shows his power and his love

Society wants to

annihilate the object of their jealousy

ask questions out of curiousity but without an aim of love

Jesus teaches instead

love him and help him!

“We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.”

How can we help this man?

“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Jesus lays down a clear example

John 9:6–7 ESV

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 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.

“he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva”

“he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud”

“Go, wash in the pool of Siloam”

This had no medicinal qualities

any more than Naaman washing himself 7 times in the Jordon, after Elisha commanded him to

eyes can be missing or small

and often modern treatments require covering the eyes while healing takes place

This was to establish an act of obedience

He had to wash his face

Where would he do it?

Obedience to Jesus brought about his restoration

he immediately obeys

Jesus is the Light of the World

restoration was not only imparted to the body

but also to the soul

Obedience is the evidence of salvation

personal choice, faith and obedience are a gift from God

it is not our own natural state

John 9:8–9 ESV

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?” Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.”

“came back seeing” v7

congenital blindness

eyes can be missing or small

rapid eye movements, or cross eye

clouded lenses of the eye

has an impact on their posture, balance and gait

use of facial muscles

Three responses by neighbours

“Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?”

“It is he.”

“No, but he is like him.”

He kept saying, “I am the man.”

John 9:10–12 ESV

So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” 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.” They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

Personal testamony

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.”

They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”

John 9:13–17 ESV

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 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.” 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. 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.”

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.

lepers taken to priests to be declared clean

Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. (v14)

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.” (v15)

Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”

Their logic

All people from God obey the Sabbath

Jesus does not keep the sabbath

Conclusion: Jesus is not from God

Fault in Premise: “observe their sabbath-regulations”

But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?”

it is posed as a question

they start from an assumption Jesus is a sinner

“how can a sinner perform such an act?”

they also had a flawed reasoning: only God performs miracles

And there was a division among them.

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.”

After all that Jesus had said to the jewish leadership

here is a man bearing testamony of a mircle that is humanly impossible

God’s sign of approval for Jesus

The man is changed inwardly and outwardly

Four fundamental concepts they would have to accept

This man was cured of his blindness

Jesus cured him

The cure was through the power and love of God

That Jesus is “a man from God”

They weren’t even accepting step 1

John 9:18–19 ESV

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 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

They do not believe

They question his parents

even to question: is this really your son?

John 9:20–21 ESV

His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 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.”

The parents shy away from answering

Either from self preservation, or the knowledge that he can speak for himself

There is a fundamental issue that people don’t talk directly to disabled people

John 9:22–23 ESV

(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. Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”)

John confirms that it was mainly out of fear

To be a follower of Jesus already had in Jerusalem and major cost

They were disenfranchised from the Synagogue - it was final

deep social, economic and religious implications

John 9:24–34 ESV

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.” He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 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?” And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 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. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.

they said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”

don’t give Jesus the credit for it

“we know this man is a sinner”

its not possible for Jesus to have done it

He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”

I know nothing of the sin to which you refer

“One thing I know”

“I was blind, now I see”

Facts out way opinions

They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

Gaslighting

unless you know exactly how he did it you can’t claim it was him

He answered them

“I have told you already, and you would not listen.”

they are interest is disingenuous

“Why do you want to hear it again?”

“Do you also want to become his disciples”

And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”

In this they question where Jesus derives his authority

The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 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. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”

You who see are blind, but this blind man can see clearer than you

You say you no not of where his authority lies; yet he has healed me

“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.” v31

“ever since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.” v32

“If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” v33

They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?”

They are publically humiliated

Shown for their own sinfulness

declaring any opposition to them as sin

And they cast him out.

John 9:35–38 ESV

Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Daniel 7:13 ““I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.”

Ezra - Nehemiah provide direction of this to divine in nature - rejected by the Jews

Jesus goes to him

“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”

Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”

He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

John 9:39–41 ESV

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

Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

the blind - (unwilling to understand) those who know they are spiritual darkness and seek the light

those who see - (to understand) those who are self deceived and reject the light

Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”

Does jesus mean to place them in the category of the accursed rabble that does not know the law?

Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.

guilt = sin (estranged from God)

if you were without the law you would have no guilt

but you say you know the law, your sin (estrangement) remains

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Closing Prayer

Doxology