John 9:1-41
Jesus Heals a Blind Man
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”
But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?” So they were divided.
17 Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”
The man replied, “He is a prophet.”
18 They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. 19 “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”
20 “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”
25 He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27 He answered, “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”
28 Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses! 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will. 32 Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”
37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
I believe that the Pharisees, and many of the religious leaders who listened to Jesus thought of Him as A Difficult Person...They could not and would not believe that He was the Messiah sent from God...Since they did not believe this, then Jesus became a Difficult Person for them to question and figure out who He really was -even after seeing many of His miracles...But what is a Difficult Person?...And how could Jesus be One?...
As we read about Jesus healing a blind man from birth, the Pharisees just could not see that He was not only a Great Healer, but Someone special...They somehow did not see the miracle as others saw this healing miracle...Jesus has just healed a blind man, whose blind condition was congenital...After the blind man was healed, the Pharisees met with the now seeing man on two different occasions and peppered him with questions about Jesus, which the healed man was having trouble to answer...Yet, the blind man knew that Jesus was Someone Special and Someone from God...It was on the Sabbath that Jesus healed this man...He had made mud and put it on the blind man's eyes and opened the man’s eyes on a Sabbath...Therefore, the Pharisees asked the man how he had received his sight...“He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”...For the first time in his life his eyes were open and he could see...A true miracle...But some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”...But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?”..So the people were divided about who Jesus was...Then the Pharisees turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about Him?...It was your eyes he opened.”...The man replied, “He is a Prophet.”...
The Pharisees still did not believe that Jesus had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents...So, the Pharisees proceeded to question the blind man's parents...The Pharisees ask the parents, “Is this your son?”...“Is this the one you say was born blind?...How is it that now he can see?”...The parents would not know about Jesus being Divine...And they answered, “We know he is our son and we know he was born blind...But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know...Ask him...He is of age; he will speak for himself.”...His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue...That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”...
Having been born blind the man now had never seen anything in his life...And yet, Jesus was able to heal his blindness...How can this be done by a Man?...The Pharisees continued to investigate this healing and ask the healed man about Jesus again, “Now that is remarkable!...You don’t know where He comes from, yet He opened my eyes...We know that God does not listen to sinners...He listens to the Godly Person who does His will...Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind...If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”...To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!”...And they threw him out...
The Pharisees just could not believe what just happened, and the former blind man and Jesus were not making it easy on them in understanding what just happened...Just being blind one minute and then seeing the next, was not enough for the Pharisees to believe...To the Pharisees this healing was just something that happened, and Jesus had just happened to have been there...The Pharisees were Spiritually blind...
Jesus heard that they had thrown the healed man out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”....“Who is He, Sir?” the man asked...“Tell me so that I may believe in Him.”...Jesus said, “You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you.”...Then the man said, “LORD, I believe,” and he worshiped Him...Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.”...The blind man could see clearly that Jesus was the Son of Man...
Believing that a person is difficult sometimes can be a matter of faith...