Preface
This chapter continues the theme introduced in chapter 8, verse 12, which is that Christ is the “Light of the World.” Yet light cannot be seen unless someone is present to see it. Just as a tree that falls in the woods makes no sound (energy waves, yes) when no one is present to hear (and convert with their ears the sound waves into) sound, the same is true of light. Unless eyes are present to convert light energy waves into light, there is no light. Physical light (and sound) energy waves must have man to interpret (convert) them into light (and sound). There is a major difference with spiritual light. Jesus Christ is the (spiritual) Light of the World, but man by himself is helpless in his ability to understand this Light. This chapter reveals that it is also the “work of Christ” that alone can open the eyes of man to see this Light.
It is true that Christ uses His children to present Him, the Light of the World (the Gospel), to those who are blind (lost). This is the responsibility of all believers. Yet, this is where the believer’s responsibility ends. The believer cannot make someone see the Light, i.e., the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is solely the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to convict (John 16:8, Gk. elegcho--to show to be wrong or to convince of error) the spiritually blind of sin, righteousness and judgment. In conjunction with the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, it is the responsibility of the spiritually blind person who is then convinced of his condition, and how to be delivered from it, to make a decision of will either to receive or reject the spiritual illumination of the Holy Spirit. The believer can only present the message. He cannot “make” the lost person understand or act upon it. No amount of prayer or sacrifice by the believer will force God to violate the “free agency” of the unbeliever. Christians who present the Gospel to the lost are equally as “successful” when they do not win a soul to Christ as when they do.
John 9:1-5
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
This is the only record of Jesus Christ healing a person with congenital blindness. The incident takes place sometime (uncertain) after Jesus leaves the temple. It is important to note that Jesus sees the man. The man didn’t see Jesus. Those who are spiritually blind will never see Christ. They will never see their need of Him. It is Jesus Christ who comes in the person of the Holy Spirit and sees the spiritually blind and then makes the person spiritually conscious. When this occurs the person may then either accept Jesus by faith alone, or he may reject Him.
The disciples of Christ either genuinely wanted to know what caused this person’s blindness, or they wanted to establish who was at fault for the disease. They posed this question to Jesus. There were only four normal answers to such a question. The pagans back then believed in reincarnation and held that congenital disease could be the result of sins committed during a former life, but the Jew would summarily reject this. There was the argument of heredity, that the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children to the third and fourth generations (Exodus 20:5). There was the explanation that the sin of Adam was passed to each member of the human race so that all are subject to sin and disease. And finally, the Jewish rabbis believed that a child in the womb could sin.
Jesus didn’t give them the answer they expected. He stated that neither the man nor his parents were responsible for his blindness from birth. Jesus didn’t say that the man or his parents hadn’t sinned. He did though in fact say that the man’s sins or the sins of his parents were not responsible for his congenital condition. God has His own reasons for permitting sickness, disease, suffering and trouble. But He doesn’t always reveal to man why He permits such things. In the case of this individual Jesus said that he was born blind so that the “works of God should be revealed in him.” In other words, his blindness was permitted so that God would be glorified. Jesus knew before the man was born that He would heal him at a specific time on a specific day. Christians should understand that ultimately they exist in whatever condition they are in for the glorification of God.
Jesus understood that He had three years of public ministry before He would be crucified. He intended to make every moment count for the glory of God. He knew that His public ministry would be over soon, and He had much to do while in His physical state for the glory of the Father. This serves as a sober reminder to all believers. Their life is swiftly passing, and the night is coming soon when the ability to serve will be over. Christians must take advantage of every opportunity to serve their Savior.
Jesus reverts to His original statement, “I am the Light of the World.” The night has all mankind in spiritual blindness. No one can see. Christ is the spiritual Light of the World. Unless the Son of God, by means of the Holy Spirit, opens the eyes of the spiritually blind so that they can see, they will remain in their world of Godless night. Once they see and by faith accept the Light (Jesus Christ), then they will live eternally in God’s glorious day.
John 9:6, 7
When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
These two verses embody several significant truths. This portion of the commentary will center around three of them--(1) the condition of all persons who are spiritually blind and without Christ, (2) the order of the salvation process, and the typology of the God-man witness.
Condition of the Spiritually Blind (aka the unsaved or lost)
J. Vernon McGee in his commentary entitled Thru the Bible most effectively draws the parallel between the blind man and the condition of those who are spiritually blind. His commentary follows.
I want to stop here and show how the condition of the blind man parallels our condition as sinners before we were saved.
1. The blind man was outside the temple shut out from God. Remember that Paul says in Ephesians 2:12 that we were strangers from the covenants of promise, that we had no hope; we were without God in the world. That is the condition of everyone before he is saved. Without God, with no hope, shut out!
2. The man was blind. He was unable to see the Savior. John Hancock heard a sermon of John Witherspoon on the text “I am the door by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved” (John 10:9). As he walked home he thought to himself, “I have always admired John Witherspoon but tonight I didn’t follow him. He impresses me as being a great preacher, but tonight I couldn’t understand him.” When he got home he put the key in the lock and pushed open the big door of his colonial home. He said, “Oh, I see!” His family laughed and said, “Of course, you see. You were out in the dark and now you have come into the light.” He answered, “Yes, but I mean that I now see that Jesus is the door, and faith is the key that turns the lock, I now trust Christ, and I see Him.” We were blind without Christ. Did you see Him as your Savior before you were saved? Was He the wonderful One to you then? No. We were blind.
3. The man had been blind from birth. We were born in sin. We came into this world as sinners.
4. The blind man was beyond human help. Nobody had a cure for his blindness. We were helpless sinners in this world and no one had a cure for us.
5. He was a beggar. This is what hurts a lot of people. They hate to admit they are beggars. They would be willing to pay for salvation, but it is not for sale. You have to come to God for salvation as this beggar did. God gives it away. This beggar could never have bought salvation because he had nothing with which to buy it. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat; come, buy wine and milk without money and without price” (Isa. 55:1).
6. He made no appeal to Jesus. Blind Bartimaeus was loud and insistent, but this man just sat there. He didn’t know Jesus. It took him a long time to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Friend, did you really want to get saved? Were you looking for salvation? Were you looking for the Lord Jesus? If you are the average person, you were not. You were not looking for Him, but He was looking for you. That is the story of man and his salvation.
7. There was no pity shown to him by others. The Jews passed him by on their way to the temple. The disciples wanted to argue about him. They had no intention of showing any mercy to this man, and they were not prepared to do anything for him. This is a picture of the human family. Christ feels compassion for us, and Christ alone can help us.
It must be emphasized that the spiritually blind can in no way influence their spiritual healing. The Bible from its very beginning to its very end illustrates only two methods relevant to man’s quest to achieve the approbation (approval) of God. One is by man’s self-efforts (good works, noble intentions, religious ceremony, etc.), and the other is solely by grace (God reaching out to man and providing through His Son the payment for man’s sins on the cross of Calvary). Even if man could somehow by his own efforts save himself, the condition would not be permanent. Somewhere along the line, He would fail and thereby lose his salvation--making it no salvation at all in the first place. On the other hand when God affects the salvation of a person, which is based on the one-time and truly effectual shedding of the blood of His Son on the cross, salvation is then surely permanent regardless of man’s subsequent failures to live up to God’s standards.
The Order of the Salvation Process
The order is quite simple and never changes. First, man is lost (cannot see and is apart from God) and can do nothing to change his condition. Second, God reaches out to man and touches him so that he may see (spiritual enlightenment). Third, man must make a decision of faith in order to obtain his personal salvation. This three-fold process is acted out in this passage of Scripture. The man was blind from birth, and he was helpless to do anything about it. Jesus came to him and touched him. The man could have decided to disbelieve Jesus and remain seated in his blind state, but he decided to believe Christ and follow His instructions--which gave him sight.
One may question why Jesus used this particular method to heal this blind person. He healed others by employing other methods. The answer is that the method is not the important issue (although the three-fold process never changes as it relates to salvation), but the Person who heals is the important issue. It was Christ who opened the blind man’s eyes. The blind man’s part was to trust and obey. Likewise, Christ in the Person of the Holy Spirit touches the lost person and enables him to see his condition and how he may be saved. It is up to the lost person to accept through the vehicle of faith alone the free gift of salvation from Jesus Christ alone. There is no other way!
The God-man Witness
Why did Christ spit on the ground in order to make clay for application to the blind man? Although the Bible doesn’t clarify this act, the following seems apparent. It is man who God chooses to spread the Gospel so that mankind may be saved. Yet man without God working through him in the Person of the Holy Spirit cannot accomplish this end. The spit from Christ represents the Holy Spirit in combination with the “dust of the ground,” which is a representation of man, and by application of this combination to the spiritual blindness of man the healing (salvation) of man may occur.
One other question should be considered. Why the application of water in the healing of this person? The water represents the Word of God in many passages of Scripture. There can never be a conversion without the Word of God. The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple (Psalm 119:130). The water was found in the pool of Siloam. The word Siloam means “sent.” This may well be a reference to the Messiah, the “Sent One.” It is only the Word of God, employed by Jesus Christ in the Person of the Holy Spirit that can clarify the issue and give sight to the spiritually blind.
John 9:8-12
Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?” Some said, "This is he.” Others said, "He is like him.” He said, "I am he.” Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?” He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight” Then they said to him, "Where is He?” He said, "I do not know.”
The change in the man born with congenital blindness was dramatic, and it drew the attention of all those who had known him. Some doubted that he was the person they previously knew as blind, but he removed all doubts by declaring that he was once blind but now could see. He also gave clear testimony as to how he received his healing. He was factual, and he gave the credit to Jesus Christ.
This account has parallel applications to the spiritually blind who receive the Light of the World (Jesus Christ). When a person is saved those around will notice the change in his life. This will create curiosity in them, and they will inquire as to the reason for his transformation. The new believer then has the opportunity to “step up to the plate” and factually testify for his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
John 9:13-16
They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
The people then brought the formerly blind man to the religious leaders in the area, the Pharisees. The text doesn’t reveal their motivation in taking this action. They may have been sincerely happy to see that the man was healed and were eager to share this miracle and the man’s story with their religious leaders. Or they may have been suspect regarding the situation and hoped to receive clarification from the Pharisees.
Since the Pharisees were totally committed to a system of works and strict adherence to the Mosaic Law, they questioned the man as to how anyone from God could perform such an act on the Sabbath. They completely overlooked the fact that God never intended the Sabbath to prevent an act of mercy or of kindness. In any case, after the man took advantage of again testifying to the facts of healing, the religious leaders were divided in their evaluation of the matter.
John 9:17-29
They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?” He said, "He is a prophet.” But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.” His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him.” So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.” He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.” Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?” Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
The religious leaders (Pharisees), in this passage referred to by the word, Jews, wouldn’t let the matter drop. Their legalistic and self-serving “religious” system was at stake. Next they asked the once-blind man his opinion of Jesus. At this point he had not yet seen Jesus and was not yet a “believer.” But he knew that at the very least Jesus was from God in some capacity, so he answered that He was a prophet. This only further frustrated the Pharisees, and quite frankly they never believed he was healed of any blindness in the first place. To expose the man the Pharisees called upon his parents to inform them of the truth. To their surprise and dilemma his parents verified that he had been born blind from birth. They also acknowledged that he had been granted sight. Yet due to fear of being excommunicated from the synagogue and then being ostracized from Jewish society, they sheepishly admitted ignorance as to how their son was healed. They referred the matter back to their son.
The Pharisees attempted another ploy. They knew that they had to put to rest any possibility that Jesus was from God, so they again addressed the once-blind man. They ordered him to give glory to God for his healing and therefore, in essence, abdicate his testimony regarding Jesus Christ. This would have been an easy way out. Surely the man knew that God healed him, but he also realized that Jesus was somehow the instrument God used in his healing. He also was no coward and smart. His reply to the Pharisees was skillful, curt (brief) and truthful. Although at this point he did not know Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, he would not deny that it was through Jesus that God gave him his sight. His testimony was factual and to the point.
There is always the need for testimonies among believers. Testimonials are Biblical in nature, e.g., Paul testified of his past and his conversion. Yet often they can be overdone and made so flamboyant as to draw attention primarily to the person who is converted rather than to Jesus Christ. The following remarks by J. Vernon McGee in reference to this passage from his Thru the Bible commentary are noteworthy.
That is the testimony of any sinner who has been saved. Once I was blind but now I see. Once I was in spiritual darkness but now I am in spiritual light. Once I did not know Christ, but now I know Him as my Savior. I don’t know about you, but I get a little weary of long-winded testimonies. I suspect that many of them are padded and embellished and polished up to make them attractive. Sometimes the emphasis is placed on the past, so much so that the people actually come out as heroes in their testimony. They were leaders in crime, they were rubbing shoulders with the gang leaders, they knew all the great ones, they were the worst alcoholics, the worst gamblers, and on and on. Then they heard the gospel and were converted. The people who hear such testimonies go home and call their friends, “My, have you heard the testimony of So-and-So?”--and they are so busy telling about So-and-So and all the things he had done that they hardly even mention Christ. Friend, the important part of any testimony that I want to hear is simply this, “Once I was blind; now I see.”
The fact is that the testimony of the greatest crime lord or drug addict is no greater than that of the person who accepted Christ by faith as his personal Savior at a very early age. In both cases a totally lost soul, bound for hell, was given eternal life. Again, this is not to discourage the giving of a testimony. Every believer should want to declare the events that brought him to Jesus Christ. But when this is done, it should be done in a manner that will highlight and glorify Jesus and not just the person conveying the event. In addition, any testimony should be utilized as a springboard to convey God’s marvelous and most merciful plan of salvation--just in case some lost person is listening.
In any case, this simple and direct testimony by the once-blind man really got under the skins of the Pharisees. Now they were deeper in the “pickle jar.” They had tried desperately to find some flaw that they could seize upon to explain away the miracle that had been performed. They could not simply dismiss it as theologians and professors often do today. Too many had seen it, and too many had heard the testimony of this man. So they continued to grill him over the matter.
It then appears that the man began to understand the tactics of the Pharisees, so he became somewhat sarcastic with them. He essentially accused them of being poor listeners and maybe even a little dim-witted. Then came his coup de grace (finishing blow)--“Do you also want to become His disciples?”
This really infuriated the Pharisees. After all, who did this poor uneducated beggar think he was to talk in such a fashion to the most religious elite of the day? They then turned on him and began to abuse and insult him. They accused him of being a follower of Jesus, for whom they had only disdain; whereas they claimed association with Moses. If they had believed the writings of Moses, they would have accepted Jesus as the Messiah and their Lord and Savior. Also, they should have realized that Moses never gave sight to anyone born blind. A greater than Moses was in their midst, and they did not realize it. They were truly the (spiritually) blind ones.
John 9:30-34
The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.” They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.
Now the courage of the once-blind man rose to a new height. His sarcasm became acutely biting. In essence he told the Pharisees that as the religious leaders and teachers of the Jewish people, they should have known the origin and authority of Jesus. He stated quite frankly that his healing could only have come from God, and as a general principle “God does not hear sinners.” Therefore it was his conclusion that Jesus Christ came from God, and Jesus exercised the power of God in healing him.
This was the last straw with these “religious leaders.” They reviled him by again declaring that he was completely born in sins, which in their minds was validated by his blindness. Because of this, they were above being charged with anything from such a lowly sinner. They then excommunicated him from the temple. Why? Because he would not speak evil of the One who healed him.
John 9:35-41
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, "Lord, I believe”" And he worshiped Him. And 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.” Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?” Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.”
Upon hearing that the man was thrown out of the temple by the “religious leaders” of the day, Jesus again found him and ask him the question, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” [some translations have “Son of Man”] And when Christ revealed Himself as the Son of God to the man, he then accepted Jesus by faith and was given eternal life. Immediately the once-blind man began to worship Jesus Christ, knowing (by faith) that He was God in the flesh--the Anointed One, the Messiah, his Savior.
The next few verses, which are the words of our Lord, depict the two-sided reason He came into the world--both involve the righteous judgment of God. They tend to be difficult to understand upon a casual reading, but are immediately made clear in light of the context of Christ as the Light of the World and continuous discourse with and evident blindness of the Pharisees. These two sides are as follow.
Those who do not see, that is, who admit to their spiritual blindness and need will be given spiritual light and eternal life through Jesus Christ.
On the other hand, Christ will be unable to help those who profess to see and have no need. They will remain in their spiritual blindness.
This is verified by the words of our Lord to the Pharisees in the last verse. They overheard Him and therefore asked Him if this applied to them. Christ tells them that if they would have admitted to their spiritual blindness, then they could have come to the Light and received eternal spiritual sight. But instead they were of the opinion that they had all the spiritual light they needed and surely didn’t need Jesus; therefore, they would remain in their lost state of blindness (sin).
|
