Lesson 11 - John 9:8-11, 13-17, 35-41 - SO THE BLIND MAY SEE
INTRODUCTION: Last week, in John 8:12, 15-18, 23-27, 42-47, at the Temple in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths, we heard Jesus publically proclaim to the Jews there, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life." Very simply, His statement means that if you believe Jesus is the true light-the final revelation of God to the world-and follow Him in faith, you will be forgiven of your sins and receive eternal life in the presence of God forever. However, despite all the overwhelming evidence that Jesus was who He claimed to be-the Son of God (e.g.: the spoken approval of God, the confirmation of the OT, the testimonies of John the Baptist and Jesus' own disciples, His recorded miracles, and His sinless life) the Jewish religious officials, out of stubborn arrogance, not only refused to believe in Him but wanted Him dead. We learned that anyone who denies this truth has allowed themselves to be deceived by Satan.
This week, in John 9:8-11, 13-17, 35-41, we'll cover the story of Jesus' healing a man who had been blind since birth. Like the previous lesson, this event transpires in Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths. The first seven verses of this chapter (we skip), report that Jesus and His disciples walked past a man who had been blind since birth, and His disciples inquired whether the man's condition was due to his own sin or that of his parents, to which Jesus replied, neither; "but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." After repeating "I am the Light of the world," Jesus spit on the ground, made mud from the saliva, and applied it to the eyes of the blind man and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam (see map, S.E. corner). The man left, washed, and came back seeing.
Read John 9:8-11 - HOW WERE YOUR EYES OPENED?
8 Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, "Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?" 9 Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one." 10 So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight."
v. 8: "Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, 'Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?'" - The blind man's neighbors are puzzled: they don't know whether they are actually seeing him or someone who looks like him. Now that he can see, the man's whole demeanor has radically changed. He's no longer the pitiful figure crouching by the road but up moving around, looking at the people near him.
v. 9: Others were saying, "This is he," still others were saying, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the one." - Obviously taken-aback, some of the people are convinced he is the same man, while others are unable to fathom how it could be possible for someone blind since birth to now see. Noticing their obvious perplexity, the formerly blind man steps up to them and announces, "I am the one." We can only imagine them standing there, gaping at this man, mouths wide-open.
v. 10: "So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" - This is first of four interrogations to which this formerly blind man will ultimately be subjected. The first one is by his astonished neighbors; the next three will come from the Pharisees.
v. 11: "He answered, "The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash'; so I went away and washed, and I received sight." - When questioned about this miracle, the formerly blind man could only testify to the bare facts of the case and the name of Jesus, whom he had not yet seen. Notice that the man's reference to Jesus gives no indication that he was a believer at this point. Therefore, Jesus hadn't performed this healing because the man believed He was God's Son or even the Messiah, but like the earlier healing of the crippled man at the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2-17), He did it simply as an expression of God's grace that would become another opportunity for teaching.
Read John 9:13-17 - IT WAS THE SABBATH WHEN JESUS OPENED HIS EYES
13 They *brought the man who was previously blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath on the day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied mud to my eyes, and I washed, and I see." 16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was dissension among them. 17 So they *said again to the man who was blind, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" And he said, "He is a prophet."
v. 13: "They *brought the man who was previously blind to the Pharisees." - Since the man's neighbors are completely confused about this event and don't know who or what to believe (the condition of many lost people today, yes?), they take him to the local religious experts, the Pharisees, with the hope that they can make some sense of this mysterious healing.
v. 14: "Now it was a Sabbath on the day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes." - This verse introduces the man's second interrogation, this time by the Pharisees. The mention of the "Sabbath" should immediately remind us of the earlier incident when Jesus healed the man who had been a cripple for 38 years and then ordered him to, "get up, pick up your pallet and walk" (John 5:6). John's evident purpose here is to enable readers see that the actions of Jesus as the 'Light of the world' in this view, inevitably results in judgment against those whose natural habitat is darkness.
v. 15: "Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied mud to my eyes, and I washed, and I see." - The man very simply states the facts of what Jesus did. We should notice that the Pharisees aren't interested in this man's amazing and miraculous healing but are completely zeroed-in on the fact that Jesus did something on the Sabbath.
v. 16a: "Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." - Here, we see a prime example of John's use of irony: The miraculous healing of this blind man is an unmistakable sign pointing to Jesus Christ as the True Light of the world. The formerly blind man sees it, but these hardliner Pharisees are blinded to the truth. They stubbornly refuse to believe the mind-boggling evidence right in front of their faces. Their simple test formula-if it violates God's Law, it can't be from God-was fatally flawed. It resisted the Light.
v. 16b: "But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was dissension among them." - The term "others" isn't defined. It might have been some of the Pharisees or simply other Jews. In any case, there was division among them. Some of them had seen the light-that Jesus Christ was from God; and this division continues up to the present age, yes?
v. 17a: "So they *said again to the man who was blind, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?" - This continued interrogation of the formerly blind man suggests that some of those who believed were Pharisees, insofar as asking the healed man to render his opinion was highly unusual, something that Pharisees wouldn't never lower themselves to do.
v. 17b: "And he said, "He is a prophet." - We need to notice the formerly blind man's progression of faith: At first, the man only identified Jesus as his healer. Now, he confesses Jesus "is a prophet," a person sent by God. So, his faith is growing, but still incomplete. This should remind us of the Samaritan women at the well (John 4:19), who was another marginal person who believed in Jesus and became His witness.
Read John 9:35-41 - WE ARE NOT BLIND TOO, ARE WE?
35 Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 He answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" 37 Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." 38 And he said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped Him. 39 And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." 40 Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains.
v. 35a: "Jesus heard that they had put him out," - When the healed man very positively and bravely proclaimed that he believed Jesus was a prophet sent by God, the Pharisees cast him out of the Temple. Knowing this, Jesus sought the man out to give him further revelation that would fully bring him into the Light.
v. 35b: "He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" - Jesus probably used this title because it expressed the fact that He was the man who came from God. In essence, Jesus was asking him if he trusted in the 'God-man,' though, at this juncture Jesus hasn't identified Himself as that Man. We need to keep in mind that this healed man had never before seen Jesus and had no idea who He was.
v. 36: "He answered, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" - The man honestly replied by asking Jesus to point the Son of Man out to Him. He's appears ready to believe in Him and thought Jesus could help to identify Him.
v. 37: "Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you." - In this statement, Jesus now connects the miracle to the miracle-worker. Until this day, the healed man has never seen anyone. And now he has seen the Son of Man-God in the flesh.
v. 38: "And he said, 'Lord, I believe.' And he worshiped Him." - This healed man completes the transaction by confessing faith in Jesus and bowing down before Him. Although this man was no longer welcome in the Temple, he took his new place of worship at Jesus' feet. This a wonderful example of a person's progression from incomplete understanding to complete faith.
v. 39a: "And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world," - This verse explains the purpose of Jesus' incarnation-why He came to earth in the form of a man. Jesus' primary purpose was to seek and to save, but in doing so, He also had to pass judgment.
v. 39b: "so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." - His coming involved exposing spiritual blindness of some so that they might recognize their blindness, turn to Jesus, and see. But on the other hand, His coming inevitably included exposing the spiritual blindness of those who claimed to 'see' but were really spiritually dead because of their unbelief. As one commentator explained, "Jesus is the pivot upon which all human destiny turns." And another said that "a humble recognition of one's spiritual blindness is an indispensible attribute for anyone who seeks to receive spiritual sight-true revelation-at the hands of Jesus."
v. 40: "Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, "We are not blind too, are we?" - Some of the Pharisees had overheard Jesus conversation with the healed man and evidently wondered if Jesus was referring to them when He spoke of the 'spiritually blind.'
v. 41a: "Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin;" - Jesus' answer is another example of irony. "If you were blind," could be paraphrased to say, if you are willing to admit that you are spiritually blind and confess that you need a Savior, then your sins can be forgiven, and you can be saved. In short, you must admit your blindness before you can see the True Light of the world.
v. 41b: "but since you say, 'We see,' your sin remains." - Likewise, the phrase "We see" could be paraphrased to say, if you claim to be righteous and reject the need for additional light, the revelation of Jesus as Savior, then "your sin remains"-i.e., you are spiritually dead and facing condemnation. In short, these Pharisees were wise in their own eyes but in reality were fools (Prov. 26:12)
APPLICATION-'Seeing' the Light:
