John 9: 35-41, Spiritual Sight, Spiritual Blindness

Jesus has healed a blind man on the Sabbath.  Because the blind man refused to reject Jesus, he has been thrown out of the synagogue.

John 9: 35-41, Spiritual sight, spiritual blindness

Jesus heard that the Pharisees had thrown the man out of the synagogue. When Jesus found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me, so I can believe in him.”

37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped him.

39 Jesus said, “I have come into this world to judge it. I have come so that people who are blind will see. I have come so that people who can see will become blind.”

40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this. They asked, “What? Are we blind too?”

41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, you remain guilty.

The blind man has now taken a costly stand (but then again, he used to be blind!)  Now when asked if he believes the Messiah, he responds in the affirmative.  And the blind man then worships Jesus.

We have an explanation of Jesus' purpose in the world, that he is here for all those who are blind. The Pharisees correctly interpret this remark -- yes, the concept of "the blind" is a metaphor and they fit the description.

The blind man sees who Jesus is; the seeing Pharisees are instead blind to him.  When they ask, "Are we blind too?" Jesus' answer is, in essence, that once they have come this far and still refuse to recognize him, then Yes, they are blind.

Jesus will elaborate on this spiritual blindness in the next chapter.

John 9: 24-34, Blind but Now I See!

In Jerusalem Jesus has upset the Jerusalem authorities by healing a blind man on the Sabbath. The Jewish leaders continue to question the man and eventually his parents. The parents, aware of the dangers of claiming that Jesus is the Messiah, simply stick to the facts. Yes, that is their son. Yes, he was blind. Yes, he now sees.

John 9: 24-35, I was blind but now I see!

Again the Pharisees called the man who had been blind to come to them. “Give glory to God by telling the truth!” they said. “We know that the man who healed you is a sinner.”

25 He replied, “I don’t know if he is a sinner or not. I do know one thing. I was blind, but now I can see!”

26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

27 He answered, “I have already told you. But you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

The charge in verse 24, "Give glory to God..." is (according to the NIV footnotes) a "solemn charge" on the level of an oath to tell the truth. (An Old Testament example of this phrase occurs in Joshua 7:19.)

The blind man gives a response that is now a classic, used by many a Christian. "No, I don't really understand it.  But once I was blind. Now I see!"

Under repeated questioning, the blind man finally responds with sarcasm. Maybe the religious leaders are asking all these things again so they can become a disciple?

John 9: 24-35, I was blind but now I see!

28 Then they began to attack him with their words. “You are this fellow’s disciple!” they said. “We are disciples of Moses! 
29 We know that God spoke to Moses. But we don’t even know where this fellow comes from.”

30 The man answered, “That is really surprising! You don’t know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does what he wants them to do. 
32 Nobody has ever heard of anyone opening the eyes of a person born blind. 
33 If this man had not come from God, he could do nothing.”

34 Then the Pharisees replied, “When you were born, you were already deep in sin. How dare you talk like that to us!” And they threw him out of the synagogue.

Once again the Pharisees make the claim that they have to correct lineage, Abraham, Moses.... But the miracle cannot be ignored. The previously blind man endorses the miracle and the One who did it, pointing out that this could only come form God.

 The response of the Pharisees returns to the original question that Jesus asked. The Pharisees claim that the man was blind because of sin, therefore he has nothing good to say to them.

John 9: 13-23, Interrogating the Blind Man

Jesus, in Jerusalem, has healed a man born blind. As in many of the healings reported in the gospels, this is on the Sabbath....

John 9: 13-16, Concern over the Sabbath

They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 
14 The day Jesus made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath day. 
15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied. “Then I washed. And now I can see.”

16 Some of the Pharisees said, “Jesus has not come from God. He does not keep the Sabbath day.”

But others asked, “How can a sinner do such signs?” So the Pharisees did not agree with one another.

A sure sign of legalism: getting caught up in little details and missing a larger, glorious result.  So a man who had been blind is no longer!  This is a time for excitement, relief, rejoicing.  Instead the legalists say, "Whoa, that was the Sabbath!"

If your worldview prohibits any actions (good or bad) on the Sabbath, then a good action on the Sabbath must be bad. This confuses the Pharisees, who cannot step back and examine the assumptions that bring them here.

Meanwhile, the healed man simply tells his story.

John 9: 17-21, More interrogation

Then they turned again to the blind man. “What do you have to say about him?” they asked. “It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”

18 They still did not believe that the man had been blind and now could see. So they sent for his parents. 
19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered. “And we know he was born blind. 
21 But we don’t know how he can now see. And we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is an adult. He can speak for himself.” 

When forced to make a decision, the healed man says, correctly, that Jesus is "a prophet", that is, one acting under the power of God.

The Pharisees wonder if maybe this is all fake.  So they seek out the parents of the healed man. The parents also keep it simple. Yes, this is their son; yes he was born blind and now he can see. Other than that, they pass on how this happened. "Ask him," they say.  Surely, privately, they must be asking each other, "Why aren't these leaders as excited about this as we are?"

John 9: 22-23, Fear of leaders
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. The leaders had already made this decision about Jesus. Anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 
23 That was why the man’s parents said, “He is an adult. Ask him.”

The Jewish leaders  continue to question the man and eventually his parents.  The parents, aware of the dangers of claiming that Jesus is the Messiah, simply stick to the facts. Apparently the leaders had made it known that trusting Jesus as the Messiah would lead to exile from the synagogue.

The Pharisees are not done with their questions.  They will initiate another round in the next passage.

John 9: 8-13, Questions about a Blind Man

Jesus is in Jerusalem. He continues to upset the Jerusalem authorities.  He has just healed a man at the Pool of Siloam.

John 9: 8-13, Questioning the blind man

His neighbors and people who had seen him earlier begging asked questions. “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” they asked. 
9 Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No. He only looks like him.”

But the man who had been blind kept saying, “I am the man.”

10 “Then how were your eyes opened?” they asked.

11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed. Then I could see.”

12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 

In the confusion about healing, the blind man explains that, Yes, this did happen.  "It was me." Of course, he really knows very little -- except that he was healed! -- but they insist on interrogating him anyway.

Unable to find Jesus, the people take the blind man to the Pharisees.

As in many of the healings reported in the gospels, this is on the Sabbath....

Why does Jesus so often heal on the Sabbath?  Does he deliberately pick that day, knowing it will bring confrontation?  Or is it just that the healings on that day are the controversial ones and so are the ones reported in the gospels?

John 9: 1-7, Blindness and Evil

Jesus is in Jerusalem. He continues to upset the Jerusalem authorities.

John 9: 1-2, Blindness and evil
As Jesus went along, he saw a man who was blind. He had been blind since he was born. 
2 Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned? Was this man born blind because he sinned? Or did his parents sin?”

The disciples' question is a natural one.  Who is to blame for this calamity.  Deep down, we need to blame someone for disasters, so that we can assure ourselves they won't happen to us.  In this case, the disciples wonder if the blindness was caused by disobedient sinful parents or by the child himself.

John 9: 3-5, Why  is there evil?

“It isn’t because this man sinned,” said Jesus. “It isn’t because his parents sinned. He was born blind so that God’s power could be shown by what’s going to happen. 

4 While it is still day, we must do the works of the one who sent me. Night is coming. Then no one can work. 
5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

The response of Jesus is not necessarily comforting but closer to the message of the book of Job in the Old Testament: God has plans and, in general, we are not privy to them.  Here we are told that this is so that God will be glorified, that God's power will be displayed. (Is this enough to satisfy long distraught parents or the blind man himself?)

The rest of Jesus' message is that for a short time the disciples get to see God clearly at work. He, Jesus, is the light of the world, but darkness will return.

John 9: 6-7, Mud and healing
After he said this, he spit on the ground. He made some mud with the spit. Then he put the mud on the man’s eyes. 
7 “Go,” he told him. “Wash in the Pool of Siloam.” Siloam means Sent. So the man went and washed. And he came home able to see.

After answering the disciples' question, Jesus then takes steps to heal the man.  In this case, the healing seems to take some extra steps.  (Why? Jesus seems to be forcing the man to take some action himself.) 

Is there a reason for the parenthetical comment about the name of the pool?

John 9, A Blind Man and the Sabbath (Overview)

Jesus is in Jerusalem. He continues to upset the Jerusalem authorities.

John 9: 1-7, Blindness and evil
As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.  As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.

The disciples' question is a good one.  It is a part of a larger question, "Why is there evil and pain?" or "Why do bad things happen?"

This healing seems to take some extra steps.  Why?  And is there a reason for the parenthetical comment about the name of the pool?

John 9: 8-13, Questioning the blind man

His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" Some claimed that he was. 

Others said, "No, he only looks like him." 

But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.

He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see."

"Where is this man?" they asked him.

"I don't know," he said.

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

The blind man has to defend himself.  Of course, he really knows very little but they insist on interrogating him anyway.

As in many of the healings reported in the gospels, this is on the Sabbath....

John 9: 14-23, More interrogation

Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. 

"He put mud on my eyes," the man replied, "and I washed, and now I see."

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

But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" 

So they were divided.  Finally they turned again to the blind man, "What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened." 

The man replied, "He is a prophet."

The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents. "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind. But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don't know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself."

His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

The Jewish leaders  continue to question the man and eventually his parents.  The parents, aware of the dangers of claiming that Jesus is the Messiah, simply stick to the facts. Yes, that is their son. Yes, he was blind.  Yes, he now sees.

John 9: 24-34, I was blind but now I see!

A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"

Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."

The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.

The blind man gives a response that is now a classic, used by many a Christian. "No, I don't really understand it.  But once I was blind. Now I see!"

The response of the Pharisees returns to the original question that Jesus asked. The Pharisees claim that the man was blind because of sin, therefore he has nothing good to say to them.

The charge in verse 24, "Give glory to God..." is (according to the NIV footnotes) a "solemn charge" on the level of an oath to tell the truth. (An Old Testament example of this phrase occurs in Joshua 7:19.)

John 9: 35-41, Spiritual sight, spiritual blindness

Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."

Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."

Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

The blind man sees who Jesus is; the seeing Pharisees are blind to him.  When they ask, "Are we blind too?" Jesus's answer is, in essence, that once they have come this far and still refuse to recognize him, then Yes, they are blind.

Jesus will elaborate on this spiritual blindness in the next chapter.

Requiring more thought and meditation: Why does Jesus so often heal on the Sabbath?  Does he deliberately pick that day, knowing it will bring confrontation?  Or is it just that the healings on that day are the controversial ones and so are the ones reported in the gospels?

John 8: 48-57, Before Abraham, I Am!

The Jewish leaders, in dispute with Jesus, claim that they have Abraham as their father and suggest that he, Jesus, is illegitimate. Jesus responds that he is doing the work of his Father (in Heaven) and that they don't realize that because they are not interested in the things of God. This is a significant insult to men who consider themselves religious leaders.

John 7: 48-51, Demon-possessed and Samaritan!
The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 
50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 
51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

The Jews make a racial slur, "You are a Samaritan", and then throw in "demon-possessed".  Jesus denies the demon-possession but ignores the Samaritan charge.  Then he returns the conversation to his previous claims to (1) obey the Father and (2) offer eternal life.

John 7: 52-59, Before Abraham, I AM
At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed!Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 
55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 
59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

The Jewish leaders first respond to Jesus's claim that one can avoid death.  "Ha!" they say, "Even Abraham died".  But they misunderstand Jesus's meaning.  This allows Jesus to discuss Abraham further.  When the Jews sarcastically asked, have you seen Abraham, Jesus says, "Yes!"  He then goes on claim to have existed before Abraham.  But he says more than that.  When Moses, before a burning bush in the Wilderness (Exodus 3: 13-14), asked for God's name, God responded with "I am!" Jesus uses that same phrase, identifying himself with God. The Jews catch this meaning and prepare to stone him for blasphemy. But Jesus hides, then slips away.

Why must God-in-the-flesh first "hide" and then "slip away"? Why would God run?