When The Blind Received Sight 3-9-25 AM

I.            The question of the disciples (John 9:1-2).

a.      Jesus and the apostles were walking near the temple and came across a man who had been born blind.

                                                              i.      We don’t know how they knew he was born blind, although we know how Jesus would have known.

                                                            ii.      It is believed that this man was well known in Jerusalem because he would have been at this place nearly every day.

b.      The disciples asked Jesus an interesting question: who had sinned to cause this man to be born blind.

                                                              i.      This was the thinking of the time.

                                                            ii.      If there was some type of physical problem in a person, it was because of sin.

                                                          iii.      This was the attitude of Job’s friends long ago.

                                                          iv.      This was the teaching of those who professed to be Old Testament scholars of that day.

c.       For his condition to be his own sin is ridiculous because he would have had to have sinned inside his mother’s womb for it to be his fault.

                                                              i.      I have no idea why the disciples even offered that up as a possibility.

                                                            ii.      The only way it would even make sense is if they thought God punished that man from the womb for something that God knew he would do at a future point.

d.      We discussed the miracle of John 5 where the man was by the pool but couldn’t get in it.

                                                              i.      Jesus healed that man.

                                                            ii.      Later, Jesus told him Do not sin anymore lest something worse happen to you.

                                                          iii.      It seems, by the way that Jesus spoke to the man at least, that sin had caused him to become lame.

e.      Sometimes physical problems are the result of sin.

f.        Sometimes physical problems from birth are the result of the sins of a parent.

g.      They are never the result of the sin of an unborn baby.

h.      However, the disciples limited this man’s condition to either him having sinned in the womb or his parents having sinned.

i.        They never thought about a third option.

II.            The observation of Jesus (John 9:3-5).

a.      Jesus looked at the situation in a completely different way than the disciples.

b.      Jesus saw a man who needed help while the disciples saw a question to be answered.

c.       Jesus let them know that both options they had presented were wrong in this case.

d.      Some believe that Jesus is saying the man was born blind in order for this exact moment to come to pass.

                                                              i.      Think about what that would say about God.

                                                             ii.      Causing a man to suffer for so many years would be terrible.

                                                           iii.      I like what F.F. Bruce said: “This does not mean that God deliberately caused the child to be born blind in order that, after many years, his glory should be displayed in the removal of the blindness; to think so would again be aspersion on the character of God. It does mean that God overruled the disaster of the child’s blindness so that, when the child grew to manhood, he might, by the recovering of his sight, see the glory of God in the face of Christ, and others, seeing the work of God, might turn to the true Light of the World.”

e.       This man’s condition in now going to bring glory to God through the effort of Jesus.

f.        Jesus knew He was not going to be around long and had to work while He had the opportunity.

                                                              i.      The word “must” indicates the urgency Jesus had in His life.

                                                            ii.      He had a limited amount of time to work for God on earth and He was going to take advantage of His opportunities.

g.      Jesus repeats one of His great I am statements that are found in the book of John.

                                                              i.      It is not in the exact Greek form found in John 8:12.

                                                            ii.      It seems to be limited to this moment here, enabling a blind man to see.

                                                          iii.      The overall meaning is: If I can allow a blind man see physically, I can allow blind men to see spiritually.

h.      When you read this chapter, you see a constant battle between darkness and light, sight and blindness.

i.        Sometimes the phrases are used literally with the blind man, but often they are used to talk about the spiritual blindness or sight of those in this chapter.

III.            The demonstration of power (John 9:6-7).

a.      Jesus does something interesting in performing this miracle.

b.      Jesus spit on the ground, used His saliva to make mud, and placed the mud on the eyes of the man.

c.       This is not the only time that Jesus used saliva in some manner while performing a miracle.

                                                              i.      Mark 7:32-33.

                                                            ii.      Mark 8:22-23.

d.      We don’t know why Jesus did this, though several ideas have been floated as to why Jesus did it this way on this occasion.

                                                              i.      A Physical Demonstration of His Power – Jesus often healed with just a word or touch, but here, He uses a tangible, physical action. This could emphasize that healing comes from Him and is not merely symbolic or coincidental.

                                                            ii.      A Test of Faith – The blind man had to obey Jesus’ command to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. This act required faith and obedience, much like other biblical healings where action was required (e.g., Naaman washing in the Jordan in 2 Kings 5).

                                                          iii.      A Connection to Creation – Some scholars see this as an allusion to Genesis 2:7, where God formed Adam from the dust of the ground. Jesus, as the Creator (John 1:3), is symbolically "re-creating" the man’s sight using the same elements.

                                                          iv.      Challenging Legalistic Traditions – Making mud (kneading) was considered "work" under the Pharisaic Sabbath laws, and by doing this on the Sabbath, Jesus intentionally challenged their rigid interpretation of the law (John 9:14-16).

                                                            v.      A Symbol of Humility and Simplicity – Using saliva and dirt, rather than elaborate rituals or objects, demonstrates that God's power does not require grand displays. The simplicity of the act contrasts with the religious leaders' expectations of how healing should occur.

e.      When Jesus had anointed the man’s eyes, He then told the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam.

                                                              i.      As is usual with John, he provided the translation for the Aramaic word.

                                                            ii.      Siloam means “sent.”

f.        The man did exactly what Jesus told him to do.

g.      We are left with some questions about this.

                                                              i.      How did the man know the name of who healed him (John 9:11)?

                                                            ii.      What all did Jesus say to the man besides to go and wash in the pool?

                                                          iii.      What caused this man to do exactly what Jesus told him to do?

h.      There has to be some things said that we are not told during this encounter.

i.        What we do know is that this man did exactly what Jesus told him to do and his sight was restored.

                                                              i.      This man had faith.

                                                            ii.      He had to walk to the pool.

                                                          iii.      He had to get the water from the pool to wash his eyes.

                                                          iv.      I wonder the thoughts that went through his mind as he made his way to the pool.

j.        Whatever those thoughts were, they led to his believing Jesus and his sight being restored.

IV.            The reaction of various groups.

a.      The neighbors were astonished and some couldn’t believe it was him.

                                                              i.      John 9:8-12.

                                                            ii.      Some said this is him, some said he is like him.

                                                          iii.      Finally the man had to say it’s me.

                                                          iv.      They wanted to know how it was done and who did it.

                                                            v.      He told them but said all he knew was the name of the man who did it, Jesus.

                                                          vi.      One sermon I read in preparation for this said this group was blinded by distraction.

                                                        vii.      They were more concerned about the how of the miracle than the one who performed the miracle.

b.      The Pharisees are the next group that we see.

                                                              i.      The neighbors brought the man to the Pharisees.

                                                            ii.      What we read in John 9:14 is important – Jesus did what they would consider work on the Sabbath.

                                                          iii.      There was division among them though because of the fact the man had his sight given to him (John 9:15).

                                                          iv.      Some, if not most of them, refused to believe he had been born blind, so they called in the parents.

                                                            v.      We will notice the parents next so continue with the Pharisees.

                                                          vi.      They tried to get the man to say Jesus was a sinner.

                                                        vii.      To his credit, he told them that he did not know if Jesus was a sinner but he did know that Jesus had given him sight.

                                                      viii.      They asked him again how his sight was given him and he had enough of them.

                                                          ix.      The man stuck to his guns and did not back down until they cast him out of the synagogue.

                                                            x.      The sermon I mentioned earlier said the Pharisees were blinded by religion.

c.       The next group is one we mentioned and that is the parents.

                                                              i.      The Pharisees called for the parents to prove the man was their son indeed and had indeed been blind from birth.

                                                            ii.      Listen to their part of this (John 9:19-23).

                                                          iii.      He is our son, he was born blind but you’ve got to ask him how he got his sight, he is of age.

                                                          iv.      The sermon said the parents were blinded by fear.

d.      The last group is the man himself.

                                                              i.      When first asked, he just knew the name of Jesus.

                                                            ii.      A little later he says that Jesus is a prophet (John 9:17).

                                                          iii.      He stood up for Jesus and said He came from God (John 9:30-33).

                                                          iv.      This is when they kicked him out of the synagogue.

                                                            v.      When he meets Jesus the man acknowledges Jesus as Lord and worshiped Jesus (John 9:35-38).

e. This man gained both his physical and spiritual sight.