72 Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind [John 9]
The Bible passage: [John 9]
The Story:
As He was passing through a town, He saw a man who was born blind.
His disciples asked Him: “Teacher, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This happened so that God’s works could be seen in him. We have to do the work of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
After He said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and spread the mud on his eyes.
Jesus told him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” He left, washed, and came back able to see.
His neighbors and those who had previously seen him begging said, “Isn’t this the man who was a blind beggar?”
Some said he was the one. Others said he just looked like the beggar. He kept saying, “I’m the one!”
They asked him, “Then how is it that you can see now?”
He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me to go to Siloam and wash. When I went and washed, I received my sight.”
“Where is He now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he said.
They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. The day that Jesus made the mud and healed his eyes was a Sabbath.
The Pharisees asked him how he received his sight.
“He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”
Some of the Pharisees said, “This man cannot be from God. He doesn’t keep the Sabbath!” Others were saying, “How can a sinful man do these kind of miracles?” So, they were divided.
They asked the blind man, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”
“He’s a prophet,” he said.
The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and then received his sight. They sent for his parents. They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How is it that he can see now?”
“We know this is our son. He was born blind,” his parents answered. “But we don’t know how he can see now. Ask him. He can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews, because the Jews had already agreed that anyone who believed that Jesus was the Messiah would be banned from the synagogue.
They summoned the man who had been blind again and told him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner!”
He answered, “I don’t know whether He’s a sinner or not. I only know one thing: I was blind, and now I can see!”
Then they asked him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
“I already told you, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become His disciples too?”
They ridiculed him: “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’ disciples. We know that God has spoken to Moses. But we don’t know where this man is from!”
The man told them, “This is an amazing thing. You don’t know where He is from, but He opened my eyes! We know God doesn’t listen to sinners, but He listens to anyone who is God-fearing and does His will. Throughout history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. This man wouldn’t be able to do anything if He were not from God.”
“You were born in sin,” they replied. “Are you trying to teach us?”, and they threw him out.
When Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, He found him and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
“Who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” he asked.
Jesus answered, “You have seen Him. He is the One speaking with you.”
“I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped Him.
Jesus said, “I came into the world to judge; so those who don’t see will see and those who do see will become blind.”
Some of the Pharisees who were there asked Him, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
Jesus told them, “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be sinners. But since you say, ‘We can see,’ your sin is still with you.
The Lessons:
- The Pharisees‘ biggest concern was that Jesus had broken the law by doing work on the Sabbath. They didn’t care about the blind man. On another occasion, Jesus had pointed out to them that, “The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.” [Mark 2:27] Please note that He wasn’t saying it’s ok to break the law if you’re doing it for a good reason. Jesus was saying that God made the Sabbath for man to have a chance to rest, not to be a hindrance to man. He was talking about the spirit of the law, rather than the letter of the law.
- Jesus was more compassionate than legalistic. That’s grace.
- It was a common belief at the time that disabilities were caused by sin; and that a “righteous“ person would always be healthy. Jesus did point out to them that this is not always the case.
- Near the end of the story, Jesus asks the formerly blind man if he believes in the Son of Man. He asks Jesus, “Who is He? I want to believe in Him.” Jesus gives an interesting answer to the man who was blind up until a few hours before; He says, “You have seen Him.” The blind man didn’t see who healed him. He did see him later. Jesus basically said, “It’s me. I healed you. Believe.”
- He basically told the Pharisees that they were blinded to the truth by their own pride.
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