I have covered this passage before, but I feel led to revisit it. Every time I read it, I can’t help but be amazed at the nature of man.
Who sinned?
1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
How often do we pass judgment on others without knowing their story (or God’s purpose perhaps)? When we see a homeless person, do we automatically assume they are a wino, drug addict, a bum? For some, this may be true, but for others, it is a whole different story. I plan to come back to this later, so for the time being, let’s move on.
Jesus heals the blind man
6 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. 7 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.
I have read that the reason Jesus had the man go and wash was because Jesus required the man to step out in faith. I don’t argue this, but I would like to voice other possible motives (that could go along with this). First, Siloam means “sent.” Jesus “sent” the man to the pool, but He also “sent” him to testify of what the Lord had done for him. I believe Jesus wanted others to see the healing; obviously they did. I believe our Lord orchestrated the whole event to show 1) His deity, 2) His power, 3) the faith of this man, 4) the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, 5) the failure of the parents, and 6) as a witness throughout time.
Doubt and a testimony
8 Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”
9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.”
He said, “I am he.”
10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
11 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.”
9 Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.”
He said, “I am he.”
10 Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
11 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.”
12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”
When God has blessed you, have you ever had family and friends that immediately tried to take away your joy? I think we all have. The people mentioned in verses 8 &9 saw what they saw but refused to believe. This was not the first miracle Jesus had done and no doubt they had heard; but yet they could not bring themselves to rejoice with the man and seek Christ. No, they take him to their spiritual leaders.
The Religious Leaders
13 They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 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.”
16 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.
16 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.
Great friends (sarcastically); they bring him to the Pharisee’s (they had to know this would be a problem). Have you ever had someone go to others in the church about you with the intent to hurt you? If you don’t believe this happens, start asking people you see who don’t go to church and ask why they stopped going. Many gave up on church because they have been hurt.
The Pharisee’s (vs. 16) never disappoint do they? The first thing they have to say is “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.”
They are so controlled by the devil, they can’t even rejoice with the man for receiving his sight. Unfortunately I have seen this play out time and time again within the church. The Pharisee’s are more worried about the Sabbath (actually, they are worried about the laws they created pertaining to the Sabbath) than they are about a brother who has been healed. I feel I ought to stop here before I say something I shouldn’t. I will stop with this, if you are trying to steal a brother or sister’s joy, STOP IT!
17 They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 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. 19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20 His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 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.” 22 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. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
Looks like an old fashioned lynch mob to me. The Pharisee’s were out for blood.
Notice what they say in vs. 19, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
Two thousand years later and I am still getting mad over this.
Why would they drag his parents in? As always, they are not going to stop until they get something on Jesus. Do we not see this hatred today? Not just from the religious leaders but from the world. Jesus warned that because the world hates Him, it will hate us. I guess we just don’t expect it from religious leaders.
But what about the parents? They throw their very own son under the bus.
Verse 22 gives the reason. They were more afraid of being thrown out of the synagogue than they were to stand up for their son and seek the Christ.
If we could speak with them today, I wonder what they would have to say about this now.
24 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.”
25 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.”
26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 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?”
28 Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
30 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! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.
I love the guts this man showed. While all others cowered in fear, he went toe to toe with the religious leaders. I believe this had to be the Holy Spirit talking through him. I know the Holy Spirit had not come to indwell man yet, but we know that at times He would fill a person (I Sam. 10:9-10, Exodus 35:30-32, 2 Kings 2:9-18, etc.). We don’t know how much this man had heard of Jesus, but what he did know was that this Jesus had given him sight. As he stated, no man had cured one blind from birth. He obviously had faith, and great faith at that. He showed boldness and didn’t care what the Pharisee’s did to him.
Famous last words
35 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?”
36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39 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.”
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
36 He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39 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.”
40 Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”
41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
This poor blind man met the Savior. No doubt he is with the Lord today. The Pharisee’s on the other hand had a very bad day. First the blind man disrespects them, and then Jesus (yet again).
If we could go and interview each person in this story today, I wonder what they would say.
Today you and I have a chance to share what Christ has done for us. Are we willing to do that? Despite what others think or say, are we willing to defend Christ against those who attack His holy name?
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