Feast and Fellowship John 9: 1-12

John 9:1 NIV

As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.

Why do you think that Jesus passed by this man?

its very nonchalant… was it an accident?

Jesus was not welcome in the temple any longer..

people were not as amazed by the signs and wonders that He was doing...

many people began to think of Him as a trouble maker...

and yet He still passed by this one man.

talk about the man at the hotel...

Why do you think the disciples asked the question about who sinned.

20 The one who sins is the one who will die.o The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them.

1 The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

5 You shall not bow down to them or worshipj them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,k punishing the children for the sin of the parentsl to the third and fourth generationm of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousandn generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 1

1 The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

19 It is said, ‘God stores up the punishment of the wicked for their children.’z

Let him repay the wicked, so that they themselves will experience it!a

1 The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

For certain the Pharisees thought the man had sinned.. when they question him he tells them that if Jesus was not from God He could not have healed him. in verse 34 they reply

34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth;t how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.u 1

But is the question really about sin? or is that just a way to coupe with the issue of human suffering..

don’t we want to blame someone?.... talk about Jolene..

Lets look at Jesus answer in 3

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.t 4 As long as it is day,u we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”v 1

1 The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), .

how do we wrestle with Jesus answer..... did this man suffer blindness his entire life just so that Jesus could heal him that day? is that what Jesus means by his answer?

What about the spit… every wonder why Jesus did that? This is the second time that Jesus uses spit to heal someones eyes. the other account is in .

He actually anointed the man’s eyes with a solution of saliva and clay. A man’s spittle was supposed to contain the essence of his character, and in popular thought it often had healing properties which enabled it to transfer health from one person to another.

And the pool of Siloam means sent… so by Jesus sending him to the pool He symbolized that Jesus was the one sent by God.

Notice anything about this healing that is different or unique about many of Jesus healing stories?

There is no mention of faith anywhere in it....

Jesus is the one doing the work… He is the light of the world...

and yet the mans faith is tested, because he was not able to see until he washed his eyes.

In this miracle Jesus performed a common medical procedure of the day… and it worked.