Last
week, we saw that Jesus supernaturally gave the blind man sight – both natural
and spiritual sight. He instructed this blind man to go to the pool of Siloam
which means “sent,” and cleanse. When the blind man obeyed Jesus’ Word, he
received his sight. (see John 9:7) After being given his sight through his
obedience to Jesus, this man acted and walked differently.
Blind Faith
The healed man
had not seen Jesus at this point. He merely heard His voice (Word) and obeyed it in blind faith. When
the Pharisees questioned the healed man, he fearlessly and boldly identified
himself. “I am the man.” John 9:9 This
man’s healing not only changed his sight, it changed him as a man. He now
boldly and fearlessly witnesses of Jesus and His mighty work. “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.”( John 9:10-11) He obeyed Jesus’ Word and now he sees. In
today’s world, the spiritually blind also have to go to the living water of the
Holy Spirit and Word to remove spiritual blindness. It is the Word and the Holy
Spirit that opens our eyes to the Truth.
Healed but Not Yet
Saved
Those
questioning the healed man ask, “Where
is this Man?” (Jesus) The healed
man said, “I don’t know.” This man
knew Jesus by name and had heard His voice, but the man didn’t know where to
find Him. Jesus will find him! Jesus came to seek and save those who are lost
and don’t know where to find Him.
Doing Works on the
Sabbath
They take this
man to the Pharisees who are the religious rulers and keepers of the Law who
investigate and judge religious matters. It was on the Sabbath that Jesus
healed this blind man thus violating the Law in the minds of the Pharisees. (see Exodus 20:10) The Pharisees will
use the breaking of the Law to prove that Jesus is a sinner and not from God. However,
there were others who believed that Jesus was sent by God. “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided. V16 Because
of their division, the audience turned to the man again and said, “What have you to say about Him (Jesus)? It was your eyes He opened.” The man replied, “He is a prophet.” v17 The
healed blind man still doesn’t know Jesus totally. Jesus will soon give the
healed man further knowledge about Him. Jesus is not just any prophet; He is
the Supreme Prophet of God – the very Word of God brought to life in the flesh.
Instead of
praising God for His mercy in healing this man born blind, the Pharisees want
to find Jesus guilty of being a sinner and not from God. Works of grace and mercy can never be forbidden by One who is called Grace and whose nature is love. There was one Pharisee, Nicodemus, who said just the opposite about Jesus -- "No one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with Him." John 3:2 As God rested on the 7th
day of creation, Jesus rested after His finished work of salvation on the
cross. Jesus is the Sabbath. All who know and believe in Jesus rest upon His
finished work on the cross. We can’t rest upon anything else. Jesus did it all.
Jesus himself said that He is Lord of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5) The
Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit will do acts of mercy any day of the week
including the Sabbath until the final Sabbath when believers in Christ will be
in eternal rest in God’s heavenly abode. God is the God of mercy and grace.
The Pharisees
thought that this healed man was a phony, so they called his parents to ask if
this man was indeed their son and had he been born blind. His parents assure
them that the healed blind man is their son and yes, he was born blind.
However, these parents were fearful because the Pharisees had threatened that
anyone who confessed that Jesus was the Christ would be cast out of the temple.
It would be awful to be excommunicated, but even worse to not know the Savior
of the world – the true Sabbath rest. Out of their fear they respond. “We know he is our son, and we know that 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.” John 9:20-23 In other
words, he is an adult and can speak for himself. So ask him! As an adult, he is not the
responsibility of his parents. This got the parents off the hook.
Healed Man Interrogated
Again
Again
the Pharisees summoned the healed blind man. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this Man is a sinner.” John
9:24 Instead of obeying the
Pharisees, the healed man speaks what he doesn’t know and what he knows. In
other words, he speaks the truth. As a man, he had no idea whether Jesus is a
sinner. But what he does know is “though
I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25 He
knew this truth and reality!
Again, these
Jewish religious leaders who are against Jesus ask the healed man what Jesus
did to open his eyes. He says that he already told them and they didn’t listen.
They didn’t want to hear the truth! He throws them off balance with his next
statement. “Why do you want to hear it
again? Do you want to become His disciples too? John 9:27 The healed man
took a risk with this statement. Angered, the Pharisees hurled insults at him. ”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.” John 9:28-29 Jesus had told them that He was from God,
but they didn’t believe Him. They were still looking with fleshly eyes. They
knew Jesus as a human from Nazareth born of a woman. How could He possibly be
from God?
The man answered, “Now that is
remarkable! You don’t know where He came from, yet He opened my eyes! We know
that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to a 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.” John 9:30-33 This healed blind man thought it was
incredible that they did not believe that Jesus was from God since He gave this
man his sight. Many scriptures in the Older Testament speak of God not hearing
sinners. (see Psalm 66:18; Psalm 34:15;
Proverbs 15:29; Isaiah 1:15; Ezekiel 8:18) The healed of the Lord is saying
that Jesus was doing God’s will. Believers are to also live in obedience to
God’s will. This is the greatest worship we can give God because it honors and
glorifies Him. Jesus brought honor to God because He obeyed Him. This man felt
that if God heard Jesus and healed this man then Jesus must be from God. The
Pharisees were so angered that they threw this man out of the synagogue. “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare
you lecture us! These Pharisees show their true colors! They are upset that this commoner and outcast was teaching them! Their words open up
the hatred and arrogance in their hearts. How dare this sinner and beggar lecture
them! They wanted this man to call Jesus a sinner without proof.
Jesus Found the Healed
Man
Jesus
heard that the man He healed had been thrown out of the temple, so the Lord of
the Temple sought and found him. He came to save those who are lost! Jesus draws the outcast to Him. Now Jesus will teach on true vision and true
blindness. He has healed this man’s natural blindness. Now Jesus will teach him
about spiritual blindness. Jesus begins by asking this healed blind man, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” The man answers, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe?” Jesus has touched the man.
He isn’t sure who Jesus is but he is willing to believe if Jesus shows him the
Son of God.
Jesus Opens the Man’s
Spiritual Sight
And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is
He who is talking with you.” V37 Before this man was healed, he heard Jesus. Now he sees Him.
The Light of the world gave this man fuller light! When Jesus revealed Himself
as the Son of God, the man said, “Lord I
believe,” and he worshiped Him.” V38 He heard, he saw, he believed and he
worshiped Him. “The ear and the seeing
eye, the Lord has made them both.” Proverbs 20:12 The Pharisees wouldn't let this healed man worship in the temple anymore, but Jesus received his worship! We are all spiritually blind from birth. Jesus wants to recreate us through the washing of the blood, the Word and the Holy Spirit. These will wash our "dirt" away so we see and walk in the Holy Spirit of God.
Jesus’ next
words were for the unbelieving Pharisees. Jesus
said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may
see, and that those who see may be made blind. V39 The healed blind man knew he was blind, but the Pharisees were self-deceived. They closed their eyes to Jesus. Jesus came to earth to
save people. Unfortunately, however, those who don’t believe in Him bring judgment upon themselves because they remained spiritually blind. The Pharisees
thought that they were the ones who knew the truth. Jesus revealed the truth to
the humble, begging blind man and gave him physical and spiritual sight, but
the Pharisees remained self-righteous and spiritually blind even though they thought they understood
the Truth. When some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard His words, their
conscience was pricked and they asked Him, “If
you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, “We see. Therefore your
sin remains.” V41 Jesus is the Only One who can reveal Truth because He is
sinless. Sin has not blinded Him. He has perfect spiritual vision because He is
Truth personified. Jesus with the Holy Spirit opens His Word so we can
spiritually hear and see. We must let Jesus and the Holy Spirit open our
spiritual eyes and spiritual ears so that He can be truly known to us in all of
His fullness. Then Jesus will use us to open the eyes of those who are still
spiritually blind “that they may know
Jesus and the power of His resurrection”
(Next week: The Shepherd and His Flock)
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