After Jesus walked away from those about to stone Him in the
Temple…
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?” John 9:1-2
People always want to know a reason for the adversities we
see in life. Religious Jews assumed that any adversity was brought on by sin.
What could be the explanation, then, for a child being born with such a
handicap as blindness? Was it the curse pronounced in Exodus 20:5, of the
fathers’ sins being visited upon the sons? Could the man himself have committed
some sin before his birth that had caused his blindness?
Actually, this man
represented unregenerate humanity. 1) He was outside the temple, shut out from
God. 2) He was blind, and could not see the Savior standing before him. 3) His
blindness was from birth, just as we are all born in sin. 4) He was beyond
human help. No human treatment could give him sight. 5) He was a beggar. He had
no means to pay for treatment; he could only receive it as a free gift. He was
where he was at that time in order to provide opportunity for Jesus to
demonstrate His power and grace to the blind man himself, to the disciples, and
to the hostile Jews who were watching every move.
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. John 9:3-7
Our Lord had specific works that the Father had given Him to
do in His few years of ministry on the earth. These events leading up to the
time of the cross constituted the “day” wherein the work could be accomplished,
establishing His identity. Then would come the “night,” when it would be too late
for such works, and the final, complete Work of atonement would be finished on
the cross. After that, no further work
would be needed for man’s salvation.
Those who had known the blind man before Jesus gave him
sight were having some trouble recognizing him. The demeanor of the blind is different
from seeing people. The general appearance of one who can focus his eyes is
strikingly different from one who does not. Also, just seeing someone “out of
his element” can be confusing, as we’ve all experienced at times. He knew who
he was, however, and assured them that it was he. If that was true, how then
could he suddenly see?
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.” John 9:8-12
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.” John 9:13-17
Every case of healing had to be brought before the Pharisees
for interrogation and confirmation. This event happened on the Sabbath day,
which is a memorial to the grace of God. God’s grace has provided everything
for our salvation. We are to rest in His completed work of redemption. The Jews
did not commemorate God’s grace on the Sabbath, but had made a burdensome set
of rules about observing the day. The formerly blind man told them all he knew
about how he received sight. Uh-oh. Making mud on the Sabbath?! That
constitutes work. Anyone who works on the Sabbath cannot be from God. Yet, if
He is a sinner, how could He do such a thing? These men were religious and
stubborn, but not stupid. They liked to think and analyze. So, what is the
opinion of the man who was given sight? Maybe he can help us figure this out. Answer:
“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.” John 9:18-23
This guy must be an imposter. Call in the parents to
identify him. Explain this! How can he now see? The parents were intimidated by
the Pharisees’ rule that anyone witnessing to the deity of Jesus would be
excommunicated. In that system, it meant ostracism and likely starvation. They identified him as their son and confirmed
his congenital blindness, but “Don’t put us on the spot. He’s a grown man. He
knows what happened. Ask him.”
Pharisees: “we want you to swear an oath to God about this:”
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.” John 9:24-26
“I know one indisputable fact: I was blind, now I see.” So
the relentless interrogation continued…if he has to keep repeating his story,
we can trip him up.
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.” John 9:27-29
We notice the man’s sarcastic suggestion in verse 27 that
the Pharisees want to be Jesus’ disciples. This process was beginning to
get on his last nerve.
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. John
9:27-34
How dare this beggar express a theological thought in the presence of such learned superiors! That bit of “in your face” testimony infuriated the
Pharisees. They could not dispute it. What they could do was toss the man out,
physically, from the Temple. They had reached the state of furious, fanatical
hostility. The Pharisees had never given this wretched man anything to believe
in, but a stranger just did. That stranger came looking for him, to offer him
an opportunity to acknowledge and express his faith.
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. John 9:35-41
By this time, the man was willing to believe, without
hesitation. “Who is He? I want to
believe.” That is a perfect expression of positive volition toward Jesus
Christ. “I am willing. Please tell me more.” Then he worshiped the One on Whom
he came to believe.
Because of the Judgment of God on human sin, Jesus came as
the executor of God’s perfect plan. We humans are all born with Adam’s sin in
our cell structure. That congenital sin blinds us to the truth of Jesus Christ,
until He Himself gives us sight, by awakening our faith. Those who are
self-righteous religionists think they are seeing, yet they are really blind to
the truth. The more they reject God’s grace in the person of Jesus Christ, the
blinder they become. This is deliberate blindness of those who claim to have
sight, but refuse to see.
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