“8 The neighbors and those who had seen the blind man before as a beggar began to ask, 'Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ 9 Some were saying, 'It is he.' Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.' He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ 10 But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ 11 He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ 12 They said to him, ‘Where is He?' He said, ‘I do not know.'
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ 16 Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.' But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. 17 So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about Him? It was your eyes He opened.’ He said, 'He is a prophet.’
18 The Jews did not believe that He had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ 20 His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.' 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ 25 He answered, 'I do not know whether He is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ 26 They said to him, ‘What did He do to you? How did he open your eyes?' 27 He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?' 28 Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He comes from.’ 30 The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where He comes from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to one who worships Him and obeys His will. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.’ 34 They answered Him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when He found him, He said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ 36 He answered, “And who is He, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in Him.” 37 Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is He.’ 38 He said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. 39 Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near Him heard this and said to him, “Surely we are not blind, are we?’ 41 Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains’” John 9:8-41.
This is the conclusion of one of the most remarkable stories and chapters in the entire Bible. What this text includes are a series of three (3) interrogations of the man born blind and healed by Jesus. Notice that he is first interrogated by his neighbors (verses 8-12), then by the Pharisees (verses 13-34), and finally by Jesus Himself (verses 35-41). What is remarkable is the fact that he learns more about Jesus with each interrogation. To his neighbors he only knows “the man called Jesus” (verse 11). When the Pharisees push him to the edge, he said of Jesus: “He is a prophet” (verse 17). And as we have seen many times in John’s Gospel everything Jesus does seems to produce division within the Pharisees, and then John brings up the theme of judgement. This story resembles greatly the story of Jesus healing the paralytic in Bethesda in chapter 5. What is different in this story is that the Pharisees question whether or not the man was ever blind, supporting their view that there was no healing at all. And while the man’s parents confirm that their son was indeed born blind, they step away from interpreting this miracle because they don’t wish to be expelled from the synagogue. The parents of course resemble you and me at times in our lives when we have shown nothing short of grotesque cowardice when witnessing to the love and power and presence of God in our lives. Oh how we need to bring that to prayer today!
When the Pharisees return to the man for a second time they make him repeat an oath: “Give glory to God!” And then they explain immediately why they are making this man repeat this oath: “We know that this man (Jesus) is a sinner.” All of this is in verse 24. Again, as we have seen many times in John’s Gospel there is irony everywhere. Here the Pharisees are actually telling the truth in order to dispel and deny the truth of Jesus!
And in one of the most beautiful and tender statements by a believer in the entire bible, the man responds to the Pharisees: “I do not know whether He is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” John 9:25. Don’t you just love that statement of great faith!?
The faith and courage of this humble man, unlike that of his parents, puts the Pharisees on the defensive. So they go back to Moses and begin to question once again the origins of Jesus! But it is the man’s response to the Pharisees who are questioning the origins of Jesus that grabs my attention: He says, “Here is an astonishing thing! You (the Pharisees) do not know where He comes from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to one who worships Him and obeys His will. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing” John 9:30-33. Faith in Jesus Christ has always been about “faith seeking understanding” — the classic definition of theology. It is wrong to think that faith does has nothing to do with our intellect. What this man is saying to the Pharisees makes perfect faith sense, does it not? How can Jesus not be God? For who else can heal the sick and die of the cross for us, only to be raised from the dead and return to his Father in heaven?! It just follows that Jesus most certainly is who He says He is!
Lastly we have the man being interrogated by Jesus (verses 35-41)! When Jesus catches up with him He asks the man for a confession go faith in Jesus, at which point the man praises Jesus as the Son of Man! The Son of Man is described in vivid language by Daniel i the Old Testament:
“13 I saw one like a human being coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One and was presented before him.
14 To him was given dominion and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed” Daniel 7:13-14.
We cannot help but compare the man’s remarkable faith and knowledge of Jesus with the blind Pharisees. When Jesus affirms the man’s faith and tells him that He is, indeed, the Son of Man, the man responds: “Lord, I believe” ad then he worshiped Jesus (verse 38).
Jesus concludes this story by telling the man — within clear hearing distance of some Pharisees who were listening — “I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind” John 9:39. When the Pharisees take literally Jesus’ reference to the blind and snicker at Jesus, telling Him that surely they are not blind, suggesting that they are without sin, “41 Jesus said to them, 'If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains’” John 9:41.
And so dear friends, I plead with you to read this story again and bring it to prayer. Ask the Lord to forgive your sins, your blindness, and ask Him for His grace to live faithful, bold lives.
Oh dear Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner. I pray to You dear Lord for your mercy so that I may not live blinded by my will to sin. May I be a faithful person. In Jesus’ name a pray. Amen.
From the Bible:
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” James 4:17.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23.
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” 1 John 1:8-10.
"Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God” Galatians 5:19-21.
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