Jesus Heals A Man Born Blind
JESUS HEALS A MAN BORN BLIND
JOHN 9:1-12
After Jesus healed the man born blind, the man didn’t know much about Jesus, but told his neighbors what he did know.
While the sign of the feeding of the five thousand had preceded the discourse about the bread of life, the sign of the healing of the blind man succeeds the discourse about the Light of the World. John does not record many miracles compared with the other Gospels, but when he does, it is usually with full detail and careful explanation, in order to illustrate a divine truth. It was one of the marks of the Messiah that he would open the eyes of the blind (Isaiah 35:5; 61:1f.; Luke 4:18; 7:21f.). Here Jesus is shown in action demonstrating the truth of his claim that he is the Messiah and the Light of the World.
As Jesus was going along, perhaps from the temple on the last day of the festival, he noticed a man who was blind from his birth. This pitiful condition is assumed by the disciples to be punishment for sin. As the man was born in this state the possibilities were that he had committed some ante-natal sin (Genesis 25:22; Psalm 51:5), or that he had sinned in a previous existence. If neither of those explanations seemed satisfactory, then it must be assumed that parental sin was the reason (Exodus 20:5). Such speculation failed to take into account the fact that, while there is a connection between human sin and human suffering as a whole, there is not necessarily a direct connection between a man’s suffering and his own sin. (This was pointed out in Job.) Jesus in any event looks not to the past (as we usually do) but to the future and sees it as an opportunity to glorify God (cf. Luke 13:1-5). He had only limited time to work in his rôle as the Light of the World. He therefore anointed the man’s eyes and sent him off to wash. When he returned with his vision restored, so incredulous were those who had known him that they questioned his identity.
Notes 9:1: “from his birth.” he had never known the realm of sight for himself. This illustrates men’s spiritual condition. 9:3: Jesus does not deny that either party are sinners but asserts that this is not the point at issue. 9:6: this was an ancient remedy but its use on the Sabbath was specifically forbidden by Jewish tradition. 9:7: “Sent”—the mention of the meaning of the name suggests symbolic significance. The name was due to the water being sent from another pool. Jesus, the source of living water, is also “sent” (3:17; 4:34; etc.). As the Jews “refused the waters of Shiloah” (Isaiah 8:6) so they refused him. The pool was the source of the libations at the festival.
For meditation “We must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day” (9:4). The plural “we” emphasizes both the privilege of the disciples in being associated with the work of the Master and the responsibility we all have to use our time to the best advantage (cf. Ephesians 5:16).