John 9. Talk about the blind leading the blind! Today s chapter in the Gospel of John is a well-known miracle of Jesus healing a blind man

Transcription

1 Jhn 9 One day during rush hur, the Gerge Shearing (American jazz pianist wh had been blind since birth) fund himself at a busy Manhattan intersectin, waiting fr smene t help him acrss the street. After waiting fr sme time, he was finally tapped n the shulder. Unfrtunately, it was anther blind man, seeking similar assistance. What did Shearing d? "What culd I d?" Shearing later laughed. "I tk him acrss - and it was the biggest thrill f my life!" Talk abut the blind leading the blind! Tday s chapter in the Gspel f Jhn is a well-knwn miracle f Jesus healing a blind man Jesus grants sight t blind men at several pints in the Gspels In fact, the mst cmmn miracle Jesus perfrms acrss all the Gspels is restring sight t the blind Because restring sight physically is a simple and beautiful picture f Gd granting understanding t the spiritually blind In fact, the Old Testament regarding the ability t restre sight t the blind as a uniquely divine pwer and a sign f the Messiah While each such event is remarkable, this particular example in Jhn 9 stands apart In his ninth chapter, Jhn tells the stry f a blind man healed by Jesus This miracles is clsely cnnected t the events f the prir chapters All Israel was celebrating the Feast f Tabernacles Meanwhile, they were disputing and debating ver the identity f Jesus Therefre, the natin was frfeiting the pprtunity t receive the Kingdm in this generatin But we said last week that thugh the natin as a whle rejects Jesus, the pprtunity remains fr individual Jews t receive the Gspel 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

2 Jhn 9 2 f 21 And chapter 9 recrds ne such example And it serves t illustrate the cntrast between the natin s leaders, wh rejected Jesus And the utcasts f Israel wh received Jesus And nce again, the nature f salving faith is frnt and center in this stry Let s read the text that pens the chapter Jhn 9:1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind frm birth. Jhn 9:2 And His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, wh sinned, this man r his parents, that he wuld be brn blind? Jhn 9:3 Jesus answered, It was neither that this man sinned, nr his parents; but it was s that the wrks f Gd might be displayed in him. Jhn 9:4 We must wrk the wrks f Him wh sent Me as lng as it is day; night is cming when n ne can wrk. Jhn 9:5 While I am in the wrld, I am the Light f the wrld. As Jesus is leaving the temple n the final day f the Feast f Tabernacles, He cmes acrss a blind man, ne brn blind The disciples decide t use this man s plight as an bject lessn in thelgy They ask Jesus why this man was brn blind? Clearly, they are assuming Gd made this man t be brn blind fr sme purpse (it s nt a randm act f nature) And they prpse tw pssible reasns First, they suggest that this man may have been brn blind as a result f his parents having sinned prir t his birth The disciples are repeating a cmmn miscnceptin amng Jews in their day It cmes frm a misunderstanding f Ex 34:6-7 which states in part that the Lrd will visiting the iniquity f fathers n the children and n the grandchildren t the third and furth generatins 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

3 Jhn 9 3 f 21 S they assumed that blindness was Gd s way f visiting the iniquity f parents n the children As strange as this thinking may be fr us, the disciples secnd pssible explanatin is even mre bizarre They suggest that this man s wn sin was t cause fr his blindness And yet since he was brn blind, hw culd he have sinned s as t result in this punishment? The Pharisees taught the idea that a child culd have an inclinatin tward evil even while still in the wmb They wuld cite the struggle between Jacb and Esau while in the wmb in Gen 25 as prf f this cncept Even if s, hw culd a prenatal child cmmit sin while in his mther s wmb? The Pharisees taught that when a baby kicked in the wmb, he was striking the mther in vilatin f Exdus 21:15 which says it s a sin t strike yur mther r father Therefre, they prpsed that it was pssible fr a child t sin in the wmb and then be brn blind as Gd s punishment Bth these suggestins are false teaching brn ut f a serius misunderstanding f Gd s wrd And Jesus quickly dispels these myths by His answer He says that neither ptin they suggested is crrect Gd desn t transfer the guilt f ne persn t anther Neither can a child sin in the wmb, thugh it is true that all peple pssess an evil nature frm birth Instead, this man was made t be blind by Gd s that the wrks f Gd might be displayed in him The wrks f Gd Jesus is describing is the healing miracle He s abut t perfrm, f curse 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

4 Jhn 9 4 f 21 When He says wrks f Gd, Jesus is referring t a Jewish teaching that said when the Messiah came t Israel, He wuld be knwn by His ability t perfrm certain miracles These Messianic miracles wuld be things that nly Gd Himself can perfrm, and therefre they wuld be clear prf f the Messiah The three Messianic miracles were healing leprsy, casting ut a mute demn, and giving sight t a man brn blind In the Law there is a prvisin fr what the priests are t d shuld a persn be healed f leprsy - But in all Israel s histry, there is n recrd f any Jew ever being healed f leprsy And rabbis had a means fr exrcising demns, but nly if the demn within the persn chse t speak - They had n pwer t cast ut mute demns And blindness that cmes upn a persn after birth is smetimes crrected in time, either by the natural healing f the bdy r ther remedies - But a persn brn blind had never been healed by anyne S by His wrds, Jesus was annuncing His intentin t demnstrate His divinity and His claim t Messiah by healing this man f his blindness And when Jesus takes this step, He will be perfrming a wrk f Gd And therefre, this man was brn blind s that n this day Jesus culd heal him This cncept runs cmpletely cunter t ur mdern view f life and health and physical well being We rarely stp t cnsider that Gd s plan fr ur lives almst certainly includes physical ailments and limitatins It likely includes sickness, injury r defects f ne kind r anther And it each case, these cnditins are His prergative 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

5 Jhn 9 5 f 21 They exist t give pprtunity fr His glry The questin is, d we use them that way? As we face these trials in ur life, d they influence ur perceptin f urselves and f Gd? D we even cnsider and understand this principle that Gd may assign us infirmities fr His glry? Fr example, cnsider the man brn blind He was helpless with n hpe fr a cure This blind man had n reasn t ever expect t receive his sight Only the healing act f the creatr Himself culd reverse a cnditin that had existed frm birth On the ther hand, we ften have many ptins fr crrecting ur physical ailments Are we as quick t credit Gd when we are healed? And if healing desn t cme when we want r at all, can be cntent trusting there is smething glrifying in it? Jesus then says we (meaning Jesus and the Spirit) must d the wrk f the Father as lng as it is day because night is cming when n ne can wrk Jesus is speaking f the unique time while He walked the earth t testify t the Father It was abslutely essential that Jesus, wrking by the Spirit f Gd, shuld d these miracles They were an eternal testimny t His claims, and everything the Father had purpsed fr the Sn t d must cme t pass As lng as Jesus and the Spirit are in the wrld, it is a time f Light n earth, which Jesus calls day Once Jesus departs, the earth will experience a perid f night in the sense that the Light f Christ will have left the earth fr a time Nt until Pentecst will the pwer f Gd s Spirit return t wrk miracles thrugh the Apstles 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

6 Jhn 9 6 f 21 S having explained this man s predicament and set up the reasn fr Jesus acting n His behalf, Jesus then prceeds t heal him Jhn 9:6 When He had said this, He spat n the grund, and made clay f the spittle, and applied the clay t his eyes, Jhn 9:7 and said t him, G, wash in the pl f Silam (which is translated, Sent). S he went away and washed, and came back seeing. There are several aspects t this stry that are unique and intriguing First, ntice that this man never requests Jesus healing nr des Jesus ask the man if he wants t be healed Jesus actin is in keeping with His explanatin that Gd purpsed t bring this man int the wrld blind fr this reasn But frm a persnal pint f view, yu have t imagine the blind man is taken by surprise One minute he s sitting there... The next mment he s being assaulted by sme passerby (r s he might think) The secnd unique aspect f this healing is the way Jesus chse t heal this man This is the nly healing recrded in scripture where Jesus uses a physical substance in the healing prcess Specifically, He makes clay frm dirt and spittle and applies it t the man s eye lids This unexpected, and presumably unnecessary extra step has always intrigued readers Was there smething supernatural in the substance? Was there sme special message hidden in it? The answer cmes later in the stry Befre we read further in the stry, we need t take nte f an imprtant subtext in this accunt We have a lt mre in cmmn with this man than yu might think 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

7 Jhn 9 7 f 21 Like him, we were all brn blind We each had a birth defect When we entered the wrld, we came with a fallen nature, a defective spirit, ne we inherited frm Adam Even David, the king f Israel, said s f himself when he wrte Psa. 51:5 Behld, I was brught frth in iniquity, And in sin my mther cnceived me. Our sin nature was handed dwn t us by ur parents, wh inherited it frm Adam and Eve Irnically, the Pharisees were n t smething when they said a man culd be brn blind because f his parents sin There was mre truth in their wrds than they realized But it isn t blindness f the bdy but rather blindness f the spirit that cmes frm ur parents As Paul taught Rm. 5:12 Therefre, just as thrugh ne man sin entered int the wrld, and death thrugh sin, and s death spread t all men, because all sinned Our sin prevented us frm seeing Gd truly, much less knwing him in a persnal way In fact, the Rmans als says that we were brn enemies f Gd Isn t irnic that thugh the wrld is bsessed at times with finding Gd r religin, in reality it is His enemy and incapable f finding Him Which explains why it ends up wrshipping gds f its wn making Since the wrld dn t have access t the ne true Gd, ur cnscience seeks t fill that vid with ther gds Gds in the frm f ther religins, r perhaps gds f the material wrld like mney, pwer, sex, career, relatinships But nne f it ever fills a vacuum that nly an infinite Gd can satisfy 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

8 Jhn 9 8 f 21 Our spiritual blindness is similar t the blind man in that way as well There is n slutin fr ur defect t be fund amng men This man had n hpe fr a cure n earth The nly hpe fr his cnditin was that the Creatr Himself might prvide a slutin Unless Gd healed Him, he wuld remain blind frever Obviusly, Jhn wants us t see the parallels between this man s physical cnditin and the wrld s spiritual cnditin S as we mve ahead, we ll cntinue seeking thse parallels Meanwhile, there is still mre mystery t uncver in this Jesus applies the clay t his eye lids, and tells the man t g wash in the pl f Silam And then the man went and washed, after which he gained his sight Cnsider this mment frm the perspective f the man himself As we already nted, he never asked t be healed, thugh n dubt he welcmed it S what was he thinking when Jesus applied the clay? Jesus never addresses him prir t applying the mud The nly thing he heard Jesus say was g and wash in the pl He must have been thrughly cnfused by the whle affair S Jesus tells this man t g wash his eyes in a pl, but the man still had a chice in the matter Why shuld he d what Jesus said? Jesus didn t mentin that He intended t perfrm a healing He merely tld the man t walk t the pl and wash ff This pl was a cnsiderable distance dwn a steep hill frm the temple curtyard where Jesus encuntered him 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

9 Jhn 9 9 f 21 And Jesus tld him t g t a fairly unimprtant pl in Jerusalem...there were prbably clser places t g All f this truble t wash ff mud frm his eyes, mud he never asked fr and fr reasns he desn t understand Why wuld he d it? Why d smething s flish? This cmmand was the wrd f Gd, spken by Jesus And while the wrd might have seemed flish t sme, it is pwerful in the heart f man chsen by Gd S he went, withut a wrd and washed The pl Jesus sends the man t was the pl f Silam, a pl the clsely assciated with the Feast f Tabernacles, which had just cncluded This pl yu may remember was the surce fr the water the priests carried t the temple fr the water drawing ceremny It was nt a pl knwn fr healing at all It s significance was primarily in the way it supplied the water fr the feast And f curse we remember that Jesus declared Himself t be the surce f living water while He taught in the temple Secndly, this pl wuld have been a busy, bustling place during this week, with crwds gathered t see the priests and share in the ritual S it seems Jesus selected this pl fr maximum symblism and maximum public expsure As this blind man entered the pl stumbling abut, the peple wuld have taken n ntice, since they were prbably used t him stumbling abut n accunt f his blindness But as he came up ut f the water healed, it wuld certainly make an impressin Sure enugh, it has its intended effect: 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

10 Jhn 9 10 f 21 Jhn 9:8 Therefre the neighbrs, and thse wh previusly saw him as a beggar, were saying, Is nt this the ne wh used t sit and beg? Jhn 9:9 Others were saying, This is he, still thers were saying, N, but he is like him. He kept saying, I am the ne. Jhn 9:10 S they were saying t him, Hw then were yur eyes pened? Jhn 9:11 He answered, The man wh is called Jesus made clay, and aninted my eyes, and said t me, G t Silam and wash ; s I went away and washed, and I received sight. Jhn 9:12 They said t him, Where is He? He said, I d nt knw. The blind man s healing causes a real stir amng the peple in Jerusalem They are s astnished, they begin t questin if it s even the same guy All the while, he s telling them plainly it s me, yur buddy the blind man As they begin t realize what s happened, they ask the bvius questin, wh healed yu? He tells them that Jesus healed him Clearly, the man knew f Jesus, prbably because f the cmmtin Jesus teaching had been causing in the temple Or perhaps frm Jesus past healing in Jerusalem He retells Jesus actins and wrds and f hw he listened and beyed Jesus wrds And then finally, he declares I received sight At this, the crwd at the pl asks the bvius questin where is this guy? And at this pint, we can piece tgether the reasn Jesus used the clay t heal the man s eyes First, we knw this man was blind when Jesus first apprached him and perfrmed the healing miracle using the clay We can safely presume that this man s eyes were healed in the very mment Jesus tuched him, fr that s the way Jesus always heals in the Gspels 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

11 Jhn 9 11 f 21 But because Jesus applied mud t the man s eyes, he was unable t pen them at the mment f his healing Thugh the man culd see, he was prevented frm seeing by the mud pressing n his eyelids S he had n chice by t walk with his eyes clsed until he culd wash them ff in the pl Secndly, we nw understand Jesus sent the man t wash in the pl, It wasn t because the water in the pl pssessed the pwer t heal It was because f the pl s significance It reminds us f the living water in the Feast f Tabernacles And it s surrunded by witnesses, wh culd see the man s testimny Can yu see a beautiful picture f salvatin frming here? We are saved because the Lrd des a wrk in ur hearts, causing us t be brn again We all cme frm dirt, fashin int the first man, Adam And likewise, we must be brn again, int the likeness f Christ\ Secndly, that salvatin cmes upn us when we dn t expect it, as a gift given t us befre we even knw t ask fr it We are struck by the Gspel and it arrests ur heart It heals us f ur spiritual blindness But this wrk f Gd has a purpse f glrifying Him In fact, we are brn blind s that the wrks f Gd may be dne in us Thirdly, fllwing ut cnversin, the Lrd cmmands us t wash in water We are sent t a pl t wash, a ritual called baptism And this washing is accmplished in a public way s that witnesses may see ur cnversin and inquiry abut its surce 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

12 Jhn 9 12 f 21 And there is yet anther reasn Jesus uses mud in this healing By the time the blind man culd pen his eyes, he was a lng way frm where he met Jesus And he had never set eyes upn his healer In ther wrds, the blind man culdn t have identified Jesus even if he were t see Jesus again S as he declared Jesus t be his healer, he was giving praise t a faceless Savir Wh he knew nly by the Savir s wrds S nw when the peple ask fr him t prduce the persn wh did this healing, the man is withut an answer He can t identity the persn He can t satisfy the crwds skepticism And yet his new fund sight cntinues t intrigue them If they are t ever knw the truth f what happened, they must accept the testimny f this man r remain uncnvinced Jesus devised a clever means f healing that allwed Him t remain in the shadws while placing His wrd frnt and center This man has nly the wrd f Christ t credit fr his transfrmatin It was Christ s wrd that cured Him and led him t the pl And nw it s that wrd which this man testifies t nw As yu might imagine, this event caught the attentin f the religius leaders wh were everywhere in Jerusalem in this festival week And they were particularly interested in stries f Jesus antics Jhn 9:13 They brught t the Pharisees the man wh was frmerly blind. Jhn 9:14 Nw it was a Sabbath n the day when Jesus made the clay and pened his eyes. Jhn 9:15 Then the Pharisees als were asking him again hw he received his sight. And he said t them, He applied clay t my eyes, and I washed, and I see Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

13 Jhn 9 13 f 21 Jhn 9:16 Therefre sme f the Pharisees were saying, This man is nt frm Gd, because He des nt keep the Sabbath. But thers were saying, Hw can a man wh is a sinner perfrm such signs? And there was a divisin amng them. Jhn 9:17 S they said t the blind man again, What d yu say abut Him, since He pened yur eyes? And he said, He is a prphet. Jhn 9:18 The Jews then did nt believe it f him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents f the very ne wh had received his sight, Jhn 9:19 and questined them, saying, Is this yur sn, wh yu say was brn blind? Then hw des he nw see? Jhn 9:20 His parents answered them and said, We knw that this is ur sn, and that he was brn blind; Jhn 9:21 but hw he nw sees, we d nt knw; r wh pened his eyes, we d nt knw. Ask him; he is f age, he will speak fr himself. Jhn 9:22 His parents said this because they were afraid f the Jews; fr the Jews had already agreed that if anyne cnfessed Him t be Christ, he was t be put ut f the synaggue. Jhn 9:23 Fr this reasn his parents said, He is f age; ask him. The final day f the week-lng feast was cnsidered a Sabbath day and a high hly day in the Law S tales f Jesus healing n the Sabbath were f great cncern t the Pharisees The Pharisees fllw a typical in their apprach t a wrk f Gd First, they reject the healing n the basis that it vilated the Sabbath Under their man-made rules, n ne culd perfrm a healing n the Sabbath since it was cnsidered wrk S they say the healer culdn t be frm Gd (therefre he must be frm Satan) and be a sinner But ther Pharisees disputed this finding, since a sinner culdn t have perfrmed a healing What they re arguing abut is really whether Gd was invlved One grup says n because He wuld never be invlved in a wrk n the Sabbath 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

14 Jhn 9 14 f 21 The ther grup says certainly Jesus was nt be a sinner since Gd wuld never perfrm such a wrk thrugh a sinner S was Gd invlved in this healing r nt? Because if Gd were at the heart f it, then we had better seek ut this healer and wrship Him But the Pharisees aren t lking fr a new gd they already have a gd f their wn making It was the Law f Mses, and it suited their purpses just fine The Pharisees aren t interested in uncvering the truth; they are nly interested in discrediting thse they ppse S in this case, they lk fr a way t discredit the miracle They dispute the man s stry He was never blind, they say They are wrking s hard t discredit this man s claims because if they agree that a man brn blind has been healed, then by their wn teaching, they must admit Jesus is the Messiah But since they refuse t accept this teaching, they are determined t undermine the facts S they call the parents hping t hear that this man was nt brn blind after all But his parents testify that their sn had been brn blind And they claim ignrance abut hw he gained his sight Because f curse they dn t knw And they stp shrt f making any cnclusins abut the man wh healed their sn They were afraid f the Pharisee Because if they accepted their sn s testimny cncerning Jesus, they wuld becme a target f the authrities And these men were clearly disinterested in any testimny that supprted Jesus as Messiah 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

15 Jhn 9 15 f 21 S the parents say their sn can speak fr himself S they call the blind man t testify again Jhn 9:24 S a secnd time they called the man wh had been blind, and said t him, Give glry t Gd; we knw that this man is a sinner. Jhn 9:25 He then answered, Whether He is a sinner, I d nt knw; ne thing I d knw, that thugh I was blind, nw I see. Jhn 9:26 S they said t him, What did He d t yu? Hw did He pen yur eyes? Jhn 9:27 He answered them, I tld yu already and yu did nt listen; why d yu want t hear it again? Yu d nt want t becme His disciples t, d yu? Jhn 9:28 They reviled him and said, Yu are His disciple, but we are disciples f Mses. Jhn 9:29 We knw that Gd has spken t Mses, but as fr this man, we d nt knw where He is frm. Jhn 9:30 The man answered and said t them, Well, here is an amazing thing, that yu d nt knw where He is frm, and yet He pened my eyes. Jhn 9:31 We knw that Gd des nt hear sinners; but if anyne is Gd-fearing and des His will, He hears him. Jhn 9:32 Since the beginning f time it has never been heard that anyne pened the eyes f a persn brn blind. Jhn 9:33 If this man were nt frm Gd, He culd d nthing. Jhn 9:34 They answered him, Yu were brn entirely in sins, and are yu teaching us? S they put him ut. The blind man stands befre these esteemed religius leaders and engages in smething f a debate They want him t testify that the man wh healed him was in sme way a sinner Their angle is nce again t discredit Jesus s they can avid crwning Him Messiah S if Jesus culd be said t be a sinner, then He culd be disqualified as the Messiah And if Jesus is just a sinner, then His healing was nt an act f Gd It wuld be explained as an act f Satan But the man wn t give in t their pressure 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

16 Jhn 9 16 f 21 First, he says yu re nt interested in the facts r in knwing the truth Irnically, the blind man has discernment t see thrugh the tricks f these men He says t them yu evidently didn t listen t my stry clsely enugh the first time And therefre he cncludes that they dn t want t listen And then he begins t mck them a little He asks if their intense interest in knwing mre abut Jesus was because they wished t becme his disciples As the blind man prbably expected, this suggestin enrages the Pharisees They say they are already disciples f Mses - Ntice they dn t say f Gd Then the healed man mcks the Pharisees again He says isn t this an amazing thing... Yu dn t knw where this healer came frm yet yu knw He pened a blind man s eyes His pint is yu knw exactly what this means, but yu re unwilling t admit it Since there had never befre been a man cured f blindness frm birth, the cnclusin cncerning Jesus identity is bvius He must be the Messiah, and yet these men refuse t cntemplate that pssibility This man has been transfrmed by Christ, s that nw he testifies with bldness and cnfidence And yet he s never laid eyes n Jesus This is the cnfidence faith in Christ imparts We see ur wn transfrmatin by the wrd f Christ And yet we have n prf fr ur understanding 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

17 Jhn 9 17 f 21 And still the cnclusin seems all t bvius t us: the wrld is unwilling t acknwledge the truth And s it was with Israel in the presence f the Messiah Nevertheless, thugh this man lived n faith in Gd s wrd fr a time, eventually he was able t see Jesus face-t-face Jhn 9:35 Jesus heard that they had put him ut, and finding him, He said, D yu believe in the Sn f Man? Jhn 9:36 He answered, Wh is He, Lrd, that I may believe in Him? Jhn 9:37 Jesus said t him, Yu have bth seen Him, and He is the ne wh is talking with yu. Jhn 9:38 And he said, Lrd, I believe. And he wrshiped Him. Finally, the blind man meets the One Wh healed him Ntice that Jesus seeks the man ut, the man desn t find Jesus This makes sense, since the man desn t even knw wh t lk fr When Jesus finds the man again, He asks Him if He believes in the Messiah? The man says yes And then he asks t knw this Messiah (Sn f Man), s He can demnstrate His faith T this, Jesus replies that He is the ne speaking t him But ntice als Jesus says yu have als seen Him Jesus is saying that even befre this mment happened, the blind man had seen Jesus Hw had he seen Jesus? By accepting the wrd f Christ, this man had cme t knw Jesus already T knw the wrd f Christ is t knw Him T have experiences the wrd is t have been in His presence If yu want t knw Jesus, t recgnize Him, just knw His wrd 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

18 Jhn 9 18 f 21 S this man had knwn Jesu and nw was speaking with Him face t face S as Jesus declared Himself t be that One, the man wrshipped Him Clearly, the man understd he was in the presence f the Living Gd And in the prcess he creates a beautiful picture f the fulfillment f the Feast f Tabernacle He represents the way Jesus grants believers eyes t see and ears t hear spiritually speaking s we might knw Him truly But at first we dn t knw Him expect by His wrd, which is t knw Him truly And while He is gne, as Jesus said in the beginning f the chapter, we will be in darkness But when He returns, we will see Him face-t-face And we He will dwell with us, as the Feast f Tabernacles cmmemrates And we will wrship Him truly And all this is happening in the midst f a wrld that has all the data t draw the right cnclusin And yet they refuse t believe because they remain spiritually blind Ntice hw Jesus ends this encunter Jhn 9:39 And Jesus said, Fr judgment I came int this wrld, s that thse wh d nt see may see, and that thse wh see may becme blind. Jhn 9:40 Thse f the Pharisees wh were with Him heard these things and said t Him, We are nt blind t, are we? Jhn 9:41 Jesus said t them, If yu were blind, yu wuld have n sin; but since yu say, We see, yur sin remains. Jesus says that He came int the wrld fr judgment s sake He came t draw a cntrast between thse the Father is granting sight and thse wh are t remain blind 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

19 Jhn 9 19 f 21 Thse wh d nt see are thse wh are unenlightened spiritually Thse wh recgnize they d nt knw Gd and desire t d s They are blind, and they are nt self-satisfied They have a hunger fr Gd, which Gd Himself places in them But n the ther side are thse wh are spiritually satisfied thugh they live in ignrance t Gd and d nt knw Him truly T this grup, Jesus says, thugh they think they see, they will remain spiritually blind t the truth They will nt find Gd fr He will nt reveal Himself t them At this pint the Pharisee, wh were verhearing the cnversatin, ask if Jesus is calling them blind? They think he means physically, and they are mcking Jesus assuming He is speaking in nnsense Jesus simply respnds with a fundamental spiritual truth If a persn is t gain spiritual sight, they must first understand and acknwledge their blindness The Bible calls this repentance And the expectatin is that anyne wh wuld cme t Jesus as Lrd must first humble themselves in recgnitin that they are sinners We acknwledge we are in need f a Savir t cure ur spiritual blindness And s then the Lrd can d a wrk within us t grant us sight As Paul writes 2Cr. 7:10 Fr the srrw that is accrding t the will f Gd prduces a repentance withut regret, leading t salvatin, but the srrw f the wrld prduces death. And t the persn wh stubbrn claims t have spiritual understanding thugh they remain ignrant, Jesus says yu remain in yur sins 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

20 Jhn 9 20 f 21 Withut the repentance that leads t salvatin, n may will see Heaven And s it was with the Pharisees S hw can smene be cured f their spiritual blindness? If we are blind t Gd at ur birth, what hpe d we have t cure ur spiritual blindness? T recncile urselves t Gd? Certainly we can t cure urselves, fr if that were pssible, there wuld be n blindness in anyne And we can t turn t anther man fr a cure when he cannt even cure himself Hw are we t be recnciled t a hly and just Gd wh demands perfectin as the test fr entering His presence? Our sinful fallen nature prduces in us sinful thughts and actins Fr the Bible says that if we have brken even ne f Gd s laws, we have brken the entire law And all wh have sinned have fallen shrt f the glry f Gd and must face His wrath We face a truly hpeless cnditin One much like the blind man We cannt hpe t face Gd n ur wn merits, and yet we cannt repair the defect in us that prduced the failure We have every pprtunity that blind man had We have heard the wrd f Christ, and that wrd can save yu Rm. 10:17 S faith cmes frm hearing, and hearing by the wrd f Christ. I was nce that blind man t But nw by the pwer f Gd thrugh faith in Jesus Christ, I see And like that blind man, I cme t yu nw a witness t what He has dne fr me, declaring Him t yu and calling upn yu 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.

21 Jhn 9 21 f 21 Be recnciled t Gd Behld His Sn, Jesus, wh died in yur place, that yu might live t Him If yu knw this t be true but yet yu have never made yu re a public cnfessin, then dn t let anther day pass withut that cnfessin Rm. 10:9 that if yu cnfess with yur muth Jesus as Lrd, and believe in yur heart that Gd raised Him frm the dead, yu will be saved; If yu have been given the gift f sight spiritually, yet yu have never made that faith knwn t anyne, then make it knw nw Luke 12:8 And I say t yu, everyne wh cnfesses Me befre men, the Sn f Man will cnfess him als befre the angels f Gd; 2015 Verse By Verse Ministry Internatinal ( May be cpied and distributed prvided the dcument is reprduced in its entirety, including this cpyright statement, and n fee is cllected fr its distributin.