Have you ever met a blind person? Your first response may have been pity for the person you met. Your second response may have been curiosity. How do they handle the normal activities of life without being able to see? Even with a cane or a seeing eye dog, there are plenty of challenges for blind people. But they are not completely without senses. After a while they learn to perceive things by hearing what is around them or feeling what is nearby. And sometimes they are able to develop those senses to a higher degree than those who can see. In John chapter 9, we will meet a man who was born blind. For many years, he lived in darkness and depended on others to guide him. Then one day, he met Jesus and everything changed. But what is remarkable about him is that he was able to see what many others could not.
- What does it say? (John 9:1-41)
When they passed a man who had been blind from birth, the disciples asked Jesus if the blindness was the result of the man’s sin or his parent’s sin. Jesus told them that it was neither. He was blind so that God’s works could be revealed in him. Jesus was working while it was day because nobody would be able to work at night. He was the light of the world while in it. He then spat on the ground and made clay which He put on the blind man’s eyes. Then He sent him to the Pool of Siloam to wash. The man did this and came back able to see. His neighbors wondered if he was the same person. He assured them that he was, but they wanted to know how he was able to see. He told them that Jesus had anointed his eyes, told him to wash, and then he could see. When they asked where Jesus was, he didn’t know.
So, they brought him to the Pharisees as it was the Sabbath day when this happened. The Pharisees asked how he was healed. He told them that Jesus put clay on his eyes and he could see. The Pharisees concluded that Jesus was not from God because he didn’t keep the Sabbath. But others wondered how a sinner could do such miracles. They were divided about what had happened. They asked the man what he thought about Jesus. He considered Him to be a prophet. The Jews didn’t believe that the man had been blind, so they asked his parents if he was their son, who was supposedly born blind, and what had happened. His parents carefully answered that the man was their son and that he was born blind. But they didn’t know how he was healed and suggested that he was old enough to speak for himself. They were afraid that they would be kicked out of the synagogue because the Jews were ready to remove anyone who claimed that Jesus was the Christ. The Pharisees called the formerly blind man back and asked him what had happened again. The man told them that he had already answered their questions. He wondered why they wanted to hear it again. Were they wanting to become Jesus’ disciples? This response caused them to accuse him of being Jesus’ disciple while they themselves claimed to be disciples of Moses. They admitted that they didn’t know where Jesus was from. This amazed the man. How could they not know where Jesus was from, since He had restored his sight? They all knew that God doesn’t listen to sinners but only to those who worship God and do His will. As far as he knew, no blind man had ever had his sight restored. If Jesus was not from God, He could not have done it. The Pharisees accused the man of being born in sins and asked how he thought he could teach them. Then they kicked him out of the synagogue.
Jesus heard that the man had been kicked out. When He found the man, He asked if he believed in the Son of God. The man asked who that was so he could believe Him. Jesus told him that he had seen Him and was now talking with Him. The man told Jesus that he believed and then worshiped Him. After that interaction, Jesus stated that He had come into the world for judgment so that those who did not see would see and that those who could see would be made blind. Some of the Pharisees heard that and asked if they were blind. Jesus told them that if they were blind, they would be sinless. However, because they claimed to see, their sin still remained. - What does it mean?
Jesus healed the blind man to show His purpose (John 9:1-12).
As Jesus passed a blind man, His disciples asked Jesus what had caused the man to be born blind. They assumed that his blindness was a result of either his or his parents’ sin. As you read further in the chapter, you will see that the Pharisees believed this as well (John 9:34). While sin does cause a lot of problems, this view caused people to think that any calamity was brought on by the person’s sinful choices. Jesus quickly pointed out that this was not the case in this instance. This man was born blind so that God’s works could be revealed through him.
Jesus healed the man with an interesting procedure. He spat on the ground and made clay to put on his eyes. He then told the man to wash off the clay at the Pool of Siloam. Once the man had done this, he was able to see for the first time. This was such a surprise to his neighbors that they wondered if he was actually the blind man they had known. They all wanted to know how it happened. So, he told them about the clay, washing in the pool, and being able to see. But when they wanted to meet Jesus, the man couldn’t tell them where He was.
Jesus often used stories, parables, and current events to teach a lesson. On this occasion, He used His interactions with a blind man to show His purpose — to be the light of the world. The blind man had been in darkness since birth. But when Jesus healed him, he was able to see the light for the first time. In the same way, Jesus had come to shine light in the dark world of sin. Remember what John said at the beginning of this book? “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:4-5). The world was living in the darkness of sin and would someday face God’s judgment. So, Jesus came and shined the light of His life in the world so that sinners would understand what God thought about their sin.
Jesus healed the blind man to reveal His origin (John 9:13-34).
Because the healing had taken place on the Sabbath, the people took the man to the Pharisees. Apparently, there was a rule that you could not knead clay on the Sabbath as that was considered work. So, Jesus had technically broken the Sabbath rule by spitting in the dirt and making clay. When the Pharisees asked the blind man what had happened, they focused on Jesus making clay instead of Him healing the blind man. They immediately concluded that Jesus was not from God because they thought He had broken the Sabbath. But others wondered how a sinner could do such miracles.
As the man was interrogated, it became clear that the Pharisees were dead set against Jesus while the man was thankful for Him. He considered Jesus to be a prophet because of the miracle. His parents were also called to the meeting. The Pharisees weren’t convinced that the man had been born blind and wanted to know what his parents said. They confirmed that he was their son, who had been born blind, but they were afraid to say anything about Jesus because they didn’t want to be kicked out of the synagogue. So, the Pharisees went back to the man. He got tired of them asking the same questions and not listening to his answers. He asked if they wanted to be Jesus’ disciples. They announced that they were already Moses’ disciples and didn’t know where Jesus was from.
This is where we see another reason for Jesus healing the blind man. In John 9:30-34, the formerly blind man was astonished that the Pharisees couldn’t “see” where Jesus was from after this incredible miracle. He told them that God doesn’t hear sinners. He only hears those who worship Him and do His will. Since this was such a rare miracle, he was confident that Jesus was from God. Otherwise, Jesus couldn’t have done it. He was right. Only God can heal a blind man. As God, Jesus was able to heal this man of his blindness. It should have been clear that Jesus was from God because of all the miracles He did and because of His teaching. But the Pharisees were unwilling to listen to a man whom they thought had been blind because of his own sin. Apparently, they were blind to what these miracles should have shown them about Jesus.
Jesus healed the blind man to judge the world (John 9:35-41).
As a result of his statement about Jesus being from God, the Pharisees kicked him out of the synagogue. When Jesus heard about this, He went to where the man was. He asked if he believed in the Son of God. The formerly blind man asked who the Son of God was so that he could believe Him. Jesus introduced Himself as the Son of God and as a result the man believed and worshiped Him. During this conversation, Jesus showed that He was not merely a prophet. He was the actual Son of God. After experiencing the gracious healing of his eyesight by Jesus, the man was quick to believe that Jesus was God’s Son. And when he realized that about Him, he chose not only to believe but also to worship Him.
This was Jesus’ opportunity to summarize the situation. A lot had happened: (1) The disciples thought the man’s blindness was because of family sin, (2) Jesus restored the man’s sight, (3) the Pharisees questioned Jesus’ integrity, (4) the man defended Jesus’ origin, and (5) the man believed and worshiped Jesus. After all of that, Jesus stated that He had come to earth for judgment. His coming would cause the blind to see and the seeing to be made blind. This caused a kerfuffle with the Pharisees. They asked him if He considered them to be blind. Jesus told them that if they were blind, they would not have sin. But their claim to clear vision showed that their sin remained.
So, how did these statements bring judgment to the world? Jesus divided the people into two categories: those who were blind and those who could see. The blind Jesus referred to were sinful people who were lost in their sin. But when they met and believed Jesus (as the formerly blind man had), their spiritual eyes would be opened. When that happened, they would turn from their sin and trust in Jesus for forgiveness. The seeing Jesus referred to were sinful people who thought they were sinless. He was referring to the Pharisees who thought they were sinless because of their supposed good deeds. But Jesus made it clear that they were blind to their sinfulness from God’s perspective. And because they refused to repent of their sins and believe in Jesus, they would remain blind to the truth. - How does it apply?
Do you think that certain people deserve trouble?
The disciples thought that the blind man’s blindness was a result of his or his parents’ sins. While sin has caused a lot of problems for the human race, is trouble always the result of someone’s personal choices? It was easy for the disciples to point to this man and blame him or his parents for his blindness, but was that really fair? Jesus pointed out that his misfortune was specifically part of God’s plan. As Kent says, “God must not be held morally responsible for the evils in the world, but nevertheless he often incorporates such situations into His plan to accomplish the ends He desires.”1
For instance, if someone has cancer today, is it because they did something wrong? If someone dies in a car accident, is it because they deserved it? If someone loses his job, is it because he did something wrong? The truth is that we don’t know. Perhaps God allowed that circumstance in that person’s life for a purpose. Maybe the person with cancer will be drawn closer to the Lord, will share Christ with their doctors and nurses, or become stronger in their faith because of it. Maybe the car accident that took someone’s life had nothing to do with the person at all. And maybe the lost job was God’s way of moving that person to a better location where he could be more useful. Trouble isn’t always the result of someone’s sinful choices. Sometimes God allows those things to happen for a greater purpose.
Do you think that you are better than other people?
The Pharisees had taught the people to be scrupulous about obeying the traditions of the elders. It got to the point where even spitting on the ground and making clay on the Sabbath was a supposed criminal offense. The problem was that the Pharisees were more focused on obeying rules than obeying God. If they had been thinking of pleasing God, they would not have stared at others and would have focused on their own needs. But instead, they created a group of people who became proud of their accomplishments and looked down on those who never achieved what they had.
This was not what Jesus wanted. He wanted each person to see his own sinfulness in the light of His perfect example. Nobody has been or will ever be perfect like Jesus. But if you compare yourself to others, you will be blind to your own sinfulness. But when you compare yourself to Jesus, you quickly see that you are not better than other people. You are a sinner who needs to be changed by God. But this will never happen until your spiritual eyes are opened to your own condition. You are a sinner who needs to repent of sin and be forgiven by God.
Do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
In this chapter, we have seen two responses to the healing of the blind man. Some thought that Jesus was a sinner because He made clay to heal the man on the Sabbath Day. But others thought that Jesus must be from God because of the miracles done by Him. The great argument between the blind man and the Pharisees showed these differences. When the Pharisees claimed that they couldn’t figure out where Jesus was from, the blind man was incredulous. The formerly blind man saw what Jesus had done for him and knew that Jesus was from God. Because of this, he was quick to believe and worship Jesus when he found out who He was.
What about you? As you have read through this event, have you come to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God? Jesus healed a blind man and caused him to see. This could only be done by God’s power. Jesus knew the hearts of men. He saw the blindness of the sinful Pharisees and judged them to be spiritually blind. Who could know these things unless He was God? After seeing all that Jesus did, you should come to the conclusion that Jesus is the Son of God.
Conclusion
I find it interesting how the formerly blind man responded to the unbelief of the religious leaders. As things turned out, he saw what they could not and would not. Their hard hearts kept them from receiving Jesus for who He was despite the evidence. But the formerly blind man saw the truth. That is what often happens when someone meets Jesus. God changes his perspective about everything, and he finally sees the truth.
Bibliography
Blum, Edwin A., “John” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary New Testament, USA: SP Publications, 1983.
Kent Jr., Homer A., Light in the Darkness, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974. Reprint 1986.
Footnotes
- Kent 132. ↩︎