seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
John 9:1 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.
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Here's the link to the commentary I read.Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? The disciples regarded this man as an unsolved riddle. They showed no interest in helping the man, but in discussing the cause for his condition.
Jesus will soon show a different way. He won’t dwell on the theological puzzle, but on actually helping the man. “It is ours, not to speculate, but to perform acts of mercy and love, according to the tenor of the gospel. Let us then be less inquisitive and more practical, less for cracking doctrinal nuts, and more for bringing forth the bread of life to the starving multitudes.” (Spurgeon)
Dods suggested five possible reasons behind their question.
- Some of the Jews of that time believed in the pre-existence of souls, and the possibility that those pre-existent souls could sin.
- Some of the Jews at that time believed in some kind of reincarnation, and perhaps the man sinned in a previous existence.
- Some of the Jews at that time believed that a baby might sin in the womb.
- They thought the punishment was for a sin the man would later commit.
- They were so bewildered that they threw out a wild possibility without thinking it through.
Neither this man nor his parents sinned: First, Jesus said that the man’s blindness — essentially a birth defect — was not caused by some specific sin on the part of the man or his parents.
But that the works of God should be revealed in him: Speaking to this man’s situation, Jesus told them that even his blindness was in the plan of God so that the works of God should be revealed in him.
I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day: Instead of focusing on the man as a theology problem, Jesus saw him as an opportunity to work the works of God. Jesus sensed an urgency to do this while it was still day — the time of His earthly ministry.
The night is coming when no one can work: Jesus understood that opportunities for service and doing good don’t last forever. Jesus knew that healing this man on the Sabbath would bring greater opposition from the religious leaders who already wanted to silence and kill Him. Yet His compassion for the man drove Him to do it anyway.
Go, wash in the pool of Siloam: In this miracle, Jesus took all the initiative. Jesus came to the blind man; the blind man did not come to Him. Even so, He expected the blind man to respond with faith-filled action. The healing would not happen unless the man responded with those faith-filled, obedient actions.
Not many people would appreciate having mud made with spit rubbed in their eyes. Some would look at how Jesus did this miracle and object, saying that it was offensive, inadequate, or even harmful to rub mud made with spit in a man’s eyes.
So he went and washed: This took faith, even when Jesus did not even promise the blind man sight in the doing of this. It was surely implied; but the man acted on faith even in the implied promise of Jesus.
Still as a blind man he had to find his way down to pool of Siloam and down its steps to the pool itself. He likely could think of a dozen reasons why this was a fool’s errand, but he went and washed in faith and obedience, because Jesus told him to (and because there was mud in his eyes).
And came back seeing: This is the first time in the Biblical record a person born blind was healed of their blindness. From Genesis to John, no prophet, priest, or apostle ever gave sight to eyes born blind.
Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he”: It seemed too amazing to believe, but the man convinced them that he was in fact healed from congenital blindness. The transformation in his life was so significant that many found it hard to believe he was the same man.
A Man called Jesus: At this point, the man knew very little about Jesus. He didn’t seem to know that Jesus was from Nazareth, or was the Messiah, or claimed to be God, or the light of the world. He didn’t even know where Jesus was. The man seemed to know nothing about Jesus except His name and that Jesus was the Man who healed him.
The blind man never even saw Jesus until later in the story. His first dealings with Jesus were while he was still blind, and Jesus was not there when he washed his eyes at the Pool of Siloam and could see.
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Well, Jesus worked on the Sabbath again!
When Jesus, and His followers, saw the blind man, no one mentioned the fact it was the Sabbath. They went straight to the philosophical reasons for "blind since birth". The people back in the day were sure that sin is what caused all illness and physical shortcomings. Asking Jesus about "who sinned" was a deep question.
Jesus was of the opinion, "It doesn't matter what caused it. It's a chance to help someone!" Be the solution!
I didn't even realize this healing was accomplished on the Sabbath until I got to the commentary. Did Jesus really care what day it was? Jesus was there to get the word out and healing a man who was blind from birth would be a magnificent sign of His Mission.
I wonder, when God sculpted this blind man, did He show Jesus which human He picked? Was Jesus walking through His Mission here on earth like gamers walk through a game collecting tokens that add up to a gaming victory? Did Jesus remember His Dad made that blind man to be healed by Jesus on this particular Sabbath?
Anyway, Jesus healed the man, on the Sabbath, but the man had to go through quite an ordeal to get healed. He had to make his way to the Pools at Siloam. This was a particularly historical site. He would have known where it was. He might not have had to go around as big a crowd, since it was the Sabbath and everyone was staying put.
I've heard preachers talk about the faith of the blind man. Jesus made a spitwad and planted it over the eyes of the blind man. A spitwad... how gross. Jesus told the blind man to go wash out his eyes. I can totally understand why the blind man would follow His instructions to a T. I went through four surgeries trying to get my sight back [only to fail]. I can understand why the blind man would "work" so hard on the Sabbath to get his sight.
When it worked... No one could believe it. They must have thought he had been faking it all these years. Some people were more convinced a twin came out of nowhere and took the blind man's place!
The blind man couldn't point Jesus out in a crowd though. Jesus put the spitwad on the blind man while he was still blind. Then the blind man had to leave Jesus and go to the pools to wash. He never saw Jesus.... thank God... that's going to be part of verses still to be studied.
This time... the man walked and washed on the Sabbath. That's against the law!!!!
Last time, all the first time Jesus healed someone one, all the healed man had to do was pick up his mat and go home. This time the man has to go on an adventure and wash his eyes and go home. This man really had to work to be healed. That's against the law!!!!
So here we go again.... causing a human to have to work on the Sabbath. Jesus broke the law and caused another to break the law!!!
Jesus worked on the Sabbath again! Pharisees and Sadducees should be coming out of the woodwork now!! Jesus did it again!
Jesus worked on the Sabbath again!
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