Chapter 9

An Expository Study of John’s Gospel
CHAPTER 9

Scripture Reading: John 9 (KJV)

This chapter is a change from chapter 8. The upcoming event happened after the Lord left the Temple, on His mission somewhere in the city of Jerusalem.

THE REVELATION OF THE SON OF GOD TO ISRAEL

9:1, 2 … “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?” Even the Lord’s disciples believed that sin was the cause of disease and disease was caused by sin. This belief was inherited by the disciples from a national attitude through the years.

9:3, 4 … “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” This is not the best translation, because, ordinarily the translators will put in a parenthesis to indicate an elliptical sentence. The disciples’ question was, “Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?” And the Lord answered, “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, (that he should be born blind).” He is answering their question and this is the rest of His answer, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” When we read it in this context it changes the whole story. When that sentence is changed to an elliptical sentence, which it obviously is, then the Lord is not forced to say, in effect, “This man was born blind and has been living blind all these years, so I would have an opportunity to heal him when I came along.” God has never visited such as that on anyone. He has never and will never do such a thing simply to have an object lesson. Notice how it reads putting in the elliptical sentence, “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents (that he should be born blind): but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is yet day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” The Lord says, in effect, “My Father and I have a work to do by virtue of the fact that this man was born blind and his blindness is not attributable to his sin or the sin of his parents.” The Lord has already said that in order for the works of God to be made manifest, both He and His Father work. With the challenge of this blind man, the Lord has a golden opportunity. But, the challenge was not created simply for the Lord to have the opportunity. The man was born blind according to nature. But, now that the Lord has discovered him, He must work the works of His Father, “for the night cometh, when no man can work.” The Lord knew His hora (hour) was near. The Lord is now within the last six months of His earthly life and we can see, from John’s Gospel, how the people reacted to Him during His last fall and spring on earth. These are becoming important hours for the Lord.

9:5-7 … “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Sounds like v. 12 of chapter 8. “When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) . . .” The translators put in the parentheses because it helps us understand. “He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.” The act of obedient faith, though not described, is implied and because the blind man did exactly what the Lord commanded, he came back seeing. The blind man understood that in order to receive any benefit from the Lord, he had to do what the Lord said. That is the same as obedient faith. The fact that the blind man went to the pool and washed is a response of faith. He was blind; Jesus told him to go and wash in the pool; He did as the Lord told him; and he came back seeing. This is a parallel to salvation, later to be described in Scripture. When the Lord came, all men were sinners. He told mankind what must be done to eliminate sin. He taught us, that unless we believe He is the Son of God, we will die in our sins (Mark 16:16). He also commanded us to confess Him before men, and if we do, He has promised to confess us before His Father in heaven (Matt. 10:32). Then, in Acts 2:38, Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” In v. 36 of Acts 2, the people are convicted of killing the Son of God. “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). Peter told them what to do – they did it, and were forgiven. This is a Biblical example of obedient faith.

9:8, 9 … “The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind . . .” In other words, those well acquainted with him “said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.” The man is not saying, “I am eternal,” but, “I am the one you are talking about.” They asked, “Are you the One?” He answered, “I am.”

9:10, 11 … “Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?” His answer is brilliant. “He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.” Here is the way to become a good personal evangelist: someone says to you, “How did you become a Christian?” Then you simply tell them exactly what you did and results will follow. That is what the former blind man did. He did not go into a theological discussion. He simply said to them, in effect, “He told me to go and wash in the pool. I did and came back seeing.”

9:12 … “Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.” He was blind when Jesus first met him and we are not told that he came back to Jesus. He does see the Lord later in this chapter, but at this time, it appears he came back, able to see, to the community. This man believes in the Lord, as we soon see. This blind man offered to the Lord, a special opportunity to display His powers. Up to this time, in God’s Word, no one had ever been healed of blindness from birth. It was a remarkable miracle. The Lord, at this point in His ministry, did not need to demonstrate further powers. He had already demonstrated His powers. It is interesting that He would do this on the Sabbath Day, having already incurred a great deal of public disfavor when, in chapter 5, he healed the lame man on the Sabbath Day. But the Lord knew that the Pharisees, with only one exposure, were not likely to learn a true lesson about the nature of the Sabbath, so, He probably chose this case because of its difficulty and because it would be one more opportunity to help the Pharisees understand that He was Lord of the Sabbath. The average Pharisee, as well as perhaps the average person in the population, did not seem to be aware that the Sabbath Day was the hardest work day of the week for the Levites and Priests. They worked in the Temple:

1. Handling all the firewood,
2. Lighting all the fires,
3. Stoking them,
4. Burning all the sacrifices,
5. Providing water for the Priests to wash,
6. Slaying of the animals,
7. Disposing of the blood, and
8. All services of the Tabernacle and later the Temple.

All this was certainly physical labor and toil. But, no one ever thought about them violating the Sabbath Day. And, as the Lord mentioned earlier, eight days after a boys birth he was to be circumcised, even if that day fell on the Sabbath. So, they would circumcise a young lad on the Sabbath Day. They thought nothing about performing a surgical procedure on the Sabbath Day. Many works of mercy were to be done on the Sabbath. Certainly, the healing of the lame man and here the blind man, were works of mercy. The Lord’s miracles should have presented no problem to the people. Actually, we suffer from the same problem they had. We often read a Scripture and think, “I know that story. I’ve read it many times before and heard it preached and taught many times. I know it forward and backward.” But, has it been applied to our present concept of truth and our expanding knowledge of what is right in the larger scene of things? There are some things which are improper for us to do on the Lord’s Day. This day is not called The Lord’s Day simply because we partake of the Lord’s Supper, though it is the central purpose for our assembling. The day can be rightly used for anything relating unmistakable to the Lord. The Lord was a man of mercy and compassion. He healed people on the Sabbath because He knew healing people took priority over the required observance of a day set aside to keep people from doing their own menial labor; for their own income and self-interest. That was the real purpose of the Sabbath Day. We can perform any amount of merciful work on the Lord’s Day. This man born blind became a topic of discussion by the Lord's disciples. Seemingly, at the beginning, it did not enter their minds that this man would be healed by the Lord. They simply wanted to know, “Lord who sinned? This man or his parents?” They wanted only a theological discussion of what causes blindness. The blind man may have heard them and, if he did, probably thought that once again he was a topic of debate for that day. When the neighbors learned about the healing, they said, in effect, “He looks like the man who begged every day.” To them, he was only a beggar; another mouth to feed. They were not unkind toward him, just indifferent. They felt about the blind man, like the rich man felt toward Lazarus, in Luke 16. There is no indication that the rich man ever kicked Lazarus or told him to get out of the way. He simply ignored him. Often, the worse thing we can do to people who need help is ignore them. You would think the neighbors, after seeing this blind man healed, would rejoice, because now this beggar, this mouth to feed, was no longer a burden on the community resources. But, they were content to talk only about his identity. To the leaders of the Jews, this former blind man was only a tool in their hands. They were not concerned about him being healed, but only that he was healed on the Sabbath Day. They desired to use this to the fullest extent in order to put Jesus in His place. Their only desire was to bring Jesus down. The Lord knew this. Still, like in all other such situations, when He was aware that hundreds of people held negative feelings about Him, He seemed so undisturbed and well-adjusted. If we know that just one person is upset with us, most of us cannot rest well. Not that we have harmed anyone, but perhaps our statements were not understood or something may have been said wrong. If this happens, over one person becoming upset with us, imagine how the Lord must have felt when hundreds wanted to kill Him. He knew early in His ministry, they would, with any opportunity, kill Him, and only the hindering will of God stopped them. But, we see in the Gospels that the Lord continued on with His ministry as though He did not have an enemy in the world. Today, if we are doing what is right, we must continue in the same way. There are people who strongly desire an end to the preaching of the Gospel and anything else pertaining to the Lord. But, we cannot allow this to stop our work for the Lord.

9:13-16 … “They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.” He has already told them once. This man is not yet a strong believer in Jesus. No doubt he is deeply grateful to have his sight. But, he knows little about the Lord. He did not see the Lord before going to wash, because of His blindness. And, the Lord was not present when he came back, so, he still has not seen the Lord. He knows His voice and he soon hears it. But, at this point in time, he only knows that some kind man felt compassion for him and helped him recover his sight. He is simply revealing the facts to these Pharisees. His eyes were anointed, he went and washed and he came back able to see. “He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day.” It is amazing how we sometimes make judgments through ignorance or some small bit of information. These people were as ignorant of the Sabbath Day as one could be. Yet, they were the Pharisees and students of the Law. They prided themselves on being role models for all other Jews. Even they did not understand the real inner purpose of the Sabbath. In their judgment, anyone who violated the Sabbath was nobody, not worthy of respect. To them, Jesus fell into that category. “Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?” This is a provoking question. If a man is a sinner how could he heal a man born blind? How much this group believed in the Lord, we do not know. At least they had a balance in their thinking. Some said outright, “This man . . . keepeth not the Sabbath,” therefore, He is a sinner. The others said, “How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.” This was often the situation in the ministry of the Lord.

9:17 … “They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.” At least this former blind man had the perception to know that not just anyone could restore his sight. He knew that no ordinary man had such power. But in his mind, a prophet might have that power. He probably knew of miracles done by the prophets of the Hebrew Bible. So, to his credit, he puts the Lord in that category.

9:18 … “But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.” It is difficult to convince someone who does not want to believe. The old saying is true: A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still. One can receive all the logic possible, but if his mind is against accepting it, he will not believe. These people knew this former blind man. They had seen him begging in the area probably most of his life. Yet, they could not identify him? They knew who he was, but could not accept him, because to do so would mean accepting the miracle. So, they call the parents asking them if this man is their son.

9:19 … “And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?” Complex question. The parents are realistic. They know that if they go too far in their testimony, they will be in trouble. Notice how they protect themselves.

9:20, 21 … “His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son . . .” No doubt about this; “and that he was born blind . . .” No doubt about this. “But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.” This answer left them without problem with the leaders of the Jews. They gave no testimony about who, why or how regarding the miracle on their son. They did not want to lose fellowship. So, they testified only to that which they knew would be accepted. He is our son. He was born blind. Beyond that they had no comment.

9:22, 23… “These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.” This is something the Lord lived with everyday. He knew anyone supporting Him, for any reason, faced the possibility of the Pharisees hearing about it, and being thrown out of the synagogue. In that day, accepting Jesus Christ as Messiah was a major crime. These parents knew the situation and did wish to be put out of the synagogue, so, they left it up to their son to answer for himself. “Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.” After all, he was a man and the one who had been healed. So, they left it to their son, alone, to bear the burden of testimony concerning who healed him.

9:24… “Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.” This is the third interview. Are they searching for information? No; they are searching for confirmation of their own predetermined decision regarding the Lord. All they need is someone who will give them a shred of reason and they will seek openly to carry out their intent.

9:25… “He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” It would be difficult to argue with this statement. He is still simply reporting to the Jewish leaders only facts. In effect, he says, “Is He a sinner? I don't know. One thing I know: yesterday I was blind and today I can see.” You would think at this point they would have said, “We have been blind to the facts. A miracle has been performed. And, as Nicodemus said in chapter 3, nobody can perform miracles if God is not with Him. And if God is with Him, who are we to call Him a sinner? Who are we to say He violated some law on the Sabbath since God has given Him power to heal a man born blind?” But, they did not.

9:26, 27 … “Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?” Sounds like he is becoming irritated. This fourth request is for him to tell how. He tells them, in effect, “I’ve said it over and over. Why do you want to hear it one more time? Are you about ready to become one of His disciples?” That must have made them angry. It was a stinger.

9:28 … “Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples.” They were not correct in that he was not yet His disciple. They were also not correct in saying they were disciples of Moses. A disciple is one: who learns; who receives instructions; who follows the role model we seek to imitate. In none of these ways were they disciples of Moses.

9:29, 30… “We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.” The former blind man is not an attorney, but notice how he picks up on obvious truths. “The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.” In other words, “How could there be such a man in your midst, who can heal a blind man, and you don't even know Him. You are learned ones and instructors. You tell people what to believe and what not to believe. Who to follow and who not to follow. And here’s a man who opened the eyes of a man born blind and you don’t even know Him.” He could have added yet another sentence, “You people are ignorant.” One would certainly be ignorant to fly into the face of this kind of evidence, denying all of it. That is exactly what these leaders were doing.

9:31 … “Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.” This is a misunderstood verse. The statement, “God heareth not sinners,” by the former blind man, is not true. Under some conditions, God does hear sinners. There are cases in Scripture where someone sought the truth and, even though not saved, God heard their prayer. Consider Cornelius, “A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway” (Acts 10:2). A devout man who prayed, but not a Christian. One day, while praying, an angel appeared to him and said, “Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter . . . he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do” (Acts 10:4-6). The angel told him that his prayer had been heard by God. So, God heard his prayer before he became a Christian. God hears many prayers before people became Christians, when they are praying for truth, insight and understanding. This is what God wants every person to do. He wants everyone in the world to hunger and thirst for truth. Such a prayer, God will Hear. God is not going to hear a sinner who continues in sin, disregarding the Father as the authority in their life. But, God does, under certain conditions, hear sinners.

9:32 … “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.” Here is another statement of fact, evidently unknown to the Pharisees.

9:33, 34 … “If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?” Nobody, not even the Lord, could teach them. They were totally unteachable. They were living expressions of the saying, “My mind is made up, don't confuse me with facts.” They are a good definition of prejudice. One’s mind is made up and facts do not make a difference. Earlier, they said Jesus was a sinner. Now, they are saying this former blind man was born a sinner. These Pharisees were, in effect, saying, “Anyone disagreeing with us is a sinner. We know enough and are not interested in anyone trying to teach us; not even the Son of God.” These Pharisees are audacious people. “And they cast him out.” They put him out of the synagogue; but the miracle remains unexplained, and they still do not accept the Lord.

9:35 … “Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” When Jesus found out they had thrown the former blind man out of the synagogue, He sought and found him. The Lord asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” The healed man had no frame of reference for that question. How would he know whether or not he believed in the Son of God? He knew nothing about the Lord. As He healed the blind man, Jesus did not announce that He was the Son of God. As far as we know, nothing had been said in the presence of the blind man about Jesus being the Son of God. So, this wonderful man does not want to commit himself until he knows more. Even as a blind man, he knew more than most sighted people. In his dealings with the Pharisees, we have already seen some of his insight and logic. This ability did not come with the removal of his blindness. Insight and logic were both present in his mind, even though he could not see. One does not have to see for the mind to work. The Pharisees could physically see, but their minds did not function.

9:36 … “He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?” What a marvelous question. “Lord, just tell me who He is and I am ready to believe.” There is an old saying, “Seeing is believing.” The Word of God reverses this idea. In the Word of God, “Believing is seeing.” This is clearly said by the Lord in chapter 11 at the raising of Lazarus. The former blind man is saying, in effect, “Let me know who He is. I am ready to believe on Him.”

9:37, 38 … “And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.” The man had probably seen the Lord in the crowd, but, because of his blindness, he could not identify the Lord. So, in effect, the Lord says, “You have seen Him; He is talking with you.” The Lord has now identified Himself as the One who healed him and as the Son of God. “And he said, Lord, I believe.” No qualifications. Simply, “Lord, I believe.” “And he worshipped him.” From this example and others, John’s account of the Life of Jesus shows us how some, like these Pharisees, became more and more disenfranchised from the Lord, while others, like this blind man go, in one day, from a state of no knowledge of the Lord to belief. Jesus now gives a parable.

9:39 … “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind." The Lord has been talking about a man born blind, but now He takes us to another kind of sight. The Lord came into the world, so that those who see not, whether it is because of physical blindness or their lack of exposure to Truth and Light may see. The Lord desires the unseeing to see. And, He wants those who think they already see and know everything, to recognize their blindness. One can see well through space and still not see beyond the invisible God.

9:40, 41 … “And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.” They could physically see. They were not blind. In this chapter, we have a clear demonstration of people who could not see Truth. They could not see the invisible. Therefore, their blindness and ignorance remained. The blind man could not physically see and was ignorant about many spiritual things, but now he can see with his eyes, heart and mind. Notice how their roles changed: One was blind and healed and could saw clearly. The Pharisees, with the ability to physically see clearly, were pronounced blind by the Lord. So, both belief and unbelief continue to increase. We are in the period of conflict, and the conflict is increasing.