John 9
Healing a Man Born Blind
{ME}  At age 31 I found myself with nothing and nobody. I had not yet come to understand that I could do nothing without the Spirit of God dwelling within me. Yes, I thought I was a good person and loving to others. But it was the type of love given with the intention of getting something I wanted. My life was purposed in trying to make money for myself so that I could party. I did not know how blind I was until the following Easter where I sat in church and felt the warmth of the Holy Spirit falling upon me. Bringing me to tears over the years which amounted to nothing but nevertheless being welcomed home. Home to Jesus.

{background}
Characters: the blind man, Jesus, the disciples, the pharisees, the people, the blind man’s parents.
Purpose of the Miracle: That all may know their sin and see that Jesus is Lord.
Setting: Jesus had just finished an argument with the Pharisees in the temple and left because they were ready to stone him. Along the way he and His disciples encounter a man born blind, begging.

{transition}
The Storyline: The disciples ask Jesus what was the cause of this man’s blindness. The Jews believed that all suffering was punishment for sin.Therefore, they surmised that either this man sinned while in the womb and if not he, then his parents must have been the ones who sinned. Else, why would he be blind?

{the problem} Don’t we all have this question? Why do bad things happen to good people? Or why do the innocent suffer? This man was born blind. How could he sin before he was born? And why would his parent’s sin cause his blindness? And if so, why would God allow that to happen to the innocent?

We remember the story of Job who had not sinned and yet suffered greatly. Again, God let Satan torment Job for the purpose of showing what real faith is. That genuine faith would continue to praise God even if he lost everything else. “Naked I came into this world, naked I leave. God giveth and taketh away. God is all in all.”

Sometimes, as is the case in this healing of the blind man, God allows suffering in order to show us something. Something bigger than ourselves.

{YOU} We are ALL born blind, spiritually blind. This man was born physically blind so that God could use him as a testimony of His healing power and to show others that Jesus is Lord.

{GOD} Read John 9:1-7
The man was told to go wash the clay off his eyes in the pool of Siloam. Nothing had yet happened. He was still blind and had clay on his eyes. He must have faith to follow the Lord’s instructions and go to that pool and wash. This man was born blind. His eyes never worked. It isn’t like he got injured and that a surgery could put his eyes back together. They had never worked. This healing created eyes that could now see!

The Neighbors' Reaction to the Healing
Read John 9:8-12

There was division as to the truth of the matter. There was doubt and disbelief. Ha; even to the point of wondering if he was just a “look-alike”!! Yet the man in his simplicity said, “I went and washed and now I see”. The facts alone testify. Everyone knew this man for many years, since birth, and that he had always been blind. They wanted to ask Jesus about this but Jesus was not around anymore.

The Pharisees' Reaction to the Healing
Read John 9:13-16

The Pharisees questioned the man as to the source of the miracle. They refused to believe it was Jesus because they viewed him as a blasphemous sinner; therefore a sinner could do no such miracle. The Pharisees has much division among themselves. They were not teachable. They were blinded by pride even though their physical eyes could see. One wonders who was the worse off — the blind man or the Pharisees.

Read John 7:12,43; and John 10:19. Note how much division was caused among the learned because of Jesus. They simply could not say that Jesus is Lord and they kept trying to find other explanations.

The Pharisees had all knowledge but the blind man had the Truth. He testified very simply to the Truth. The Pharisee’s hearts were hard and they would not believe the blind man. They decide to bring his parents in for questioning.


Read John 9:17-23

They ask his parents the same question. The parents tell them to ask the young man since he is of age. He could answer the question himself. The parents did not want to answer the question because the obvious answer — Jesus healed him — would get them thrown out of the synagogue. It is a sad commentary when we are more concerned about our comforts and status that we will evade testifying to the Truth. They were asked a simple question and they could have easily answered it.

Read John 9:24-27

They call the blind man in again and question him. They wanted him to change his story, to quit hiding the “truth” from them. To tell them what they wanted to hear. The blind man would not. He was resolute. He pointed out that they were simply not wanting to listen. And isn’t this the way many of us are. The Truth is told to us, offered to us, and yet we refuse to listen. We want to believe what we want to believe. We want to force our “truth” into being the actual truth.

Read John 9:28-34

The Pharisees put their pride in their ancestry and in their book knowledge. They refused to believe that Jesus was the Messiah they had read about. They elevated Moses above Jesus. They had just been presented the truth of Jesus by Jesus himself (in the previous chapter 8). It seems that the Pharisees could not appropriate into their life the things they read. Sure they could quote it in the synagogue but couldn’t see the forest through the trees! The net effect is that the Pharisees who could physically see were spiritually blind due to the condition of their heart. Their heart was full of pride and hate. They looked down on this man who had no schooling. Yet, whose life do you think was more fulfilled — the blind man who now sees or the Pharisees who are full of knowledge but hard of heart?

The Man's Response to Jesus
Read John 9:35-41

Jesus sought out the formerly blind man to comfort him. The man declares his belief that Jesus is Lord. Jesus says that he came into this world for judgment; so that people could learn to spiritually see the truth. In John 3:16-17 Jesus says that he came not to judge the world but to save it. In verse 18 Jesus says that all who believe in Him are not judged and those who do not believe in him have been judged already because they did not believe. Verse 19 tells us that the judgment is this: that men loved the deeds of darkness rather than the Light (Jesus).

{WE} In John 3:3, Jesus points out to Nicodemus that one must be born-again, born into the Kingdom of God. Else he cannot see, spiritually see the truth. The bible and the Truth are but foolishness to the carnal man, those who are not spiritually reborn.

{YOU} What is Your Response to Jesus?
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.