John 9 (NIV)
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means Sent). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they demanded.
11 He replied, “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.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.
17 Finally they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 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.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
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November 21st, 2007 at 8:49 am
I think it is so cool when I ask God “Is it a or b?” and HE says “Neither!”. This is what happens in these opening verses. Jesus clarifies that its not a whodunnit with sin…its a glory deal. So often we get caught trying to clarify our criticism when glory is flowing past us.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:50 am
Chapter 8 He is writing on the ground…now He is spitting on the ground. What is this about?
November 21st, 2007 at 8:51 am
“I am the man”- your personal story is always the best. Noone can argue with it.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:55 am
My take away for today- DON’T MISS THE MIRACLE by getting bogged down in my little rules and preferences and criticism.
What is your takeaway?
November 25th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Don’t forget the Johnny Cash: I see men like trees walking; I’m beginning to see….
This guy’s story is probably my favorite for describing Jesus as a common-sense kind of savior and his gospel as an every day thing. It wasn’t mystical teachings or crafty arguments for this dude, only one thing:
He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
The life-changing power of Jesus was all that mattered to this guy. When you help other people or do good deeds in Jesus’ name and people know that you’re doing it because of that, it makes more of an impact than all the clever arguments and theological discussion in the world ever could. I was blind, now I can see, case closed!
I am willing to guess this guy was not a trained debate master or anything like that. But boy, did he shut them down in verses 30-33. I wish I could have his face. Despite the fact that these guys could have ordered him stoned, I’m willing to bet my favorite guitar he was laughing when he replied to them. What can they do? This guy they don’t even know just made him see! Their threats and anger probably seemed awfully small compared to the miracle. I am also willing to bet as a blind man that he had not been through all the Bible schooling that they had, and he still came back with this common sense response:
“We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.”
That’s pretty cool. Odds are good that the Pharisees received the Hebrew version of “talk to the hand” from this guy as he walked away.