What is Jesus trying to tell Us? Does he need to heal on the sabbath so the Pharisee can pick on HIm? Does he need to use mud in order to Heal? Think! There is a message! Why did he say that so the seeing will be blind? Jesus say he come to this world to bring judgement! Ponder about this.
Although the healing reveals Jesus as Messiah, the way Jesus goes about healing suggests his identity as Messiah goes beyond anyone's conception of the Messiah. The use of saliva for medicinal purposes was common in the ancient world (Barrett 1978:358), and Jesus himself uses it in his healings at times (Mk 7:33; 8:23). Clay also could have associations with pagan healing practices, in particular with the cult of Aesculapius (Rengstorf 1968:118-19). But for the healer to make clay out of spittle and use it for healing is unusual. John emphasizes this mud in the repeated recounting of the event by the former blind man (9:6, 11, 15) and also by including it where it is unnecessary (v. 14). K. H. Rengstorf suggests that this emphasis may be intended to draw a contrast with Aesculapius, but more likely the allusion is to the biblical picture of God as a potter and human beings as clay (for example, Job 10:9; Is 45:9; 64:8; Jer 18:6; Sirach 33:13; cf. Rom 9:21). Irenaeus picks up this allusion when he interprets this story in the light of the creation of man from the ground (Gen 2:7), for "the work of God [cf. Jn 9:3] is the fashioning of man" (Against Heresies 5.15.2). Thus, "that which the artificer, the Word, had omitted to form in the womb, [namely, the blind man's eyes], He then supplied in public, that the works of God might be manifested in him" (Irenaeus Against Heresies 5.15.2). In this way Jesus revealed his own glory, "for no small glory was it that He should be deemed the Architect of the creation" (Chrysostom In John 56.2). This story illustrates the truth revealed in John's prologue that Jesus, the Word, is the one through whom all things were made, having in himself the life that is "the light of men" (1:3-4). While many modern scholars would agree with C. K. Barrett that Irenaeus's interpretation is "improbable" (Barrett 1978:358), the association with the prologue actually makes it likely--all the more so as this story follows directly Jesus' clear expression of his claim to divinity (8:58).
The healing was not effected until the man obeyed Jesus' command:Go . . . wash in the Pool of Siloam (9:7). Why didn't Jesus just heal him on the spot, as he did others? Why send a blind man, in particular, on such a journey? There must be something involved here that contributes to the revealing of God's work. Perhaps the man's obedience is significant, revealing that he shares a chief characteristic of Jesus' true disciples. Like Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:10-14), this man obeys God's command to go and wash and is healed. Also like Naaman, he is able to bear witness to God as a result (2 Kings 5:15). But John's parenthetical note that Siloam means Sent (v. 7) suggests more than the man's obedience is involved. References to Siloah, the stream associated with the pool of Siloam (Shiloah in Gen 49:10 [NIV margin]; Shiloah in Is 8:6), were seen as messianic (Genesis Rabbah98:8; Gen 49:10 in Targum Onqelos; b. Sanhedrin 94b; 98b). This fits with the emphasis in John's Gospel on Jesus as the one sent from the Father, including such an emphasis in the immediate context (8:16, 18, 29, 42; 10:36). Thus, both the healing itself and the details involved point to Jesus as the Messiah. Here is an example of the triumph of the light over the darkness (1:5).The Man's Neighbors Raise Questions (9:8-12) The crowd had a hard time identifying Jesus (chaps. 7--8), and now they are divided in their recognition of this one whom he has healed (9:8-9). The man uses the same language Jesus has used to identify himself, ego eimi, though here it does not allude to the divine name but is used as an identification formula: I am the man (v. 9; see comment on 6:20).
Once they have established that he is indeed the blind beggar they had known, they ask the obvious question of how he came to have his sight (v. 10), and he recounts what happened (v. 11). This question will be asked four times in this story, stressing that something highly unusual has taken place, something that cannot be explained in the categories of this world (Beasley-Murray 1987:156). Unlike the man by the pool of Bethesda, this man does realize from the beginning that Jesus is the one who has healed him (v. 11; cf. 5:12-13), but he does not know where Jesus is (v. 12). This ignorance will be resolved soon enough. The deeper ignorance of the opponents, who do not know where Jesus is from (v. 30), does not improve as a result of this act of mercy and glory on Jesus' part. The man's admission of ignorance is an attribute of a true disciple, revealing him to be honest and humble. He stands in marked contrast to the Jewish opponents in this story, for they claim to know what in fact they realize they do not really know (v. 24; cf. v. 16). It is precisely this lack of integrity and self-awareness that Jesus criticizes in his conclusion to this story (vv. 39-41).The Pharisees Interrogate the Man (9:13-17) The neighbors bring the man to the Pharisees, presumably because something unusual has taken place and they are the recognized experts on the things of God. There does not seem to be anything sinister in their going to the Pharisees, unlike the contact between the Jewish opponents and the man at the pool of Bethesda (5:15).
The fact that this healing took place on the sabbath is mentioned in dramatic fashion midway in the story (v. 14; so also 5:9). In healing the blind man Jesus broke the sabbath rules in several ways, at least as they appear in later texts. Healing was permitted on the sabbath since "whenever there is doubt whether life is in danger this overrides the Sabbath" (m. Yoma 8:6; cf. b. Yoma 84b-85b; Lohse 1971:14-15). But, as in the case of the man at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus again heals what is not a life-threatening condition. Furthermore, just as his command to the man to carry his mat violated sabbath rules (5:11), so now Jesus' own activity of making mud violated the prohibition of kneading on the sabbath (m. shabbat 7:2). It is possible that his use of spittle also violated sabbath rules, since later at least "painting" the eye, that is, anointing it for healing, was clearly prohibited (b. 'Aboda Zara 28b), and some included the use of spittle in this prohibition (y. 'Aboda Zara 14d; cf. Beasley-Murray 1987:156-57). Finally, it was unlawful to take a journey of more than 2,000 cubits (1,000 yards) on the sabbath (cf. m. 'Erubin 4-5). A trip to Siloam and back from the nearest wall of the temple, for example, would be about 1,300 yards. It is perhaps likely that the trip to and from Siloam was further than was allowed, though we cannot be sure since we do not know where the healing took place. Jesus may be not just breaking the sabbath, but trampling on it, at least according to the views of these Jewish opponents!
Law is for the sinner, but for the righteous who are redeem in Christ it is not about the Law but about Loving God and man, not to judge your brothers and sisters. So why are men inventing new rules to tell christian what they should do when they already have the Bible…
History always repeat itself! Frankly does it matter if man see a doctor or not? Or pray for miracle healing? Only a Pharisee will want to dictate more laws for men to follow….. Whatever we do is to glorify God, if it goes against that principle then question it….. Love and Mercy is the Word to emphasize!
Teachings about what doctor to see or not to see or food to eat or not to eat, are just not Biblical! It is the same with having to keep the Sabbath or be condemn! Please read John chapter 9 below.
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 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.
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
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.
Spiritual Blindness
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.
Introduction
In this miniseries on the miracles of Jesus in John's gospel, we come now to the sixth miracle—in which Jesus heals a man born blind.
The Setting
This miracle took place in Jerusalem, near the Pool of Siloam. Read 9:1,2. The disciples ask this question because it reflected rabbinic theology. The rabbis wrongly extrapolated the general principle that sickness is a result of human rebellion against God (the Fall) to a rigid casuistic system which attributed each and every sickness to specific sins. In congenital cases like this one, some rabbis argued that the cause was pre-natal sin by the fetus; others argued that the cause was the mother's sin while pregnant.
Read 9:3. Jesus rejects this explanation, and explains instead—not that God caused this sickness—but that God's sovereign purpose included both permitting this man's sickness and effecting his healing.
The Miracle
Read 9:4-7. Why did Jesus heal the man in this way, instead of in his usual way (instantaneous upon speaking the word)? The best explanation is that he was again provoking a controversy with the Pharisee's concerning their Sabbath laws. 9:14,16 tell us that Jesus healed the man on a Sabbath. As we have seen earlier in this series, rabbinic teaching perverted this humane Old Testament provision into a straight-jacket catalogue of Blue Laws. In healing this man on the Sabbath, Jesus violated four of their rules: plowing (spittle rolling on the dirt), kneading (making the clay), anointing (putting clay on the man's eyes), and of course healing (illegal unless a life-threatening emergency). Jesus hated the way man-made religion elevated ritual observance over human need, and never hesitated to break its rules. Once again, his actions precipitate a conflict over his identity . . .
The “Sign”
But there is more going on here than a spectacular healing miracle that doubles as a protest against unbiblical Blue Laws. Like all of the miracles in John, this miracle not only helped a real person by meeting his real physical need (blindness). It was also a "sign" (sumeion)—an "attesting miracle," meaning that its ultimate significance is not in the miracle itself, but in what it reveals symbolically about Jesus' unique ability to meet humanity's spiritual needs (Jn. 20:31). In other words, this "sign" is a picture of the salvation that Jesus offers to the world, including you and me. John makes the specific meaning of this miracle clear.
John is careful to tell us that Jesus performs this miracle “having said these words” (9:6). What words? The words of 9:5—“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” The miracle follows the claim in order to validate it. 9:5 echoes Jesus’ claim in 8:12 (read), spoken shortly after the Feast of Tabernacles which lit huge lamps at the Temple to commemorate the pillar of fire in the wilderness—signifying God’s presence and guidance. Jesus is claiming to be the sole source (“I and I alone”) of spiritual enlightenment to a spiritually blind humanity (contra pantheism: “We already have the divine light; we’re just ignorant of this”). In other words, Jesus' unique ability to restore physical sight to a congenitally blind man both illustrates and validates his claim to be the only One who can provide spiritual revelation and understanding to a spiritually blind humanity.
But although Jesus graciously grants all of us access to his spiritual light, this does not automatically enlighten us. Jn. 8:12 tells us it is our response to this light that determines its effect on our lives. Like the sun that softens butter but hardens mud, so Jesus is the light who has radically different effect on our lives depending on how we respond to him. Light received results in more sight; light rejected (exposes and) results in greater blindness. The rest of chapter 9 illustrates this principle positively in the man and negatively in the Pharisees. As I read the narrative, look for this (read 9:8-41) . . .
Light rejected results in greater blindness: The Pharisees
This healing was unique in Israel’s history, and the Old Testament prophets predicted that this kind of healing would herald the Messiah (cf. Isa. 29:18; 35:5; 42:7). As leaders of the synagogue, the Pharisees had a responsibility to investigate such claims carefully and fairly for the spiritual welfare of the people. But this is not a fair appraisal. They were unwilling to re-examine their Sabbath or and their view of Jesus. Instead, they expose and increase their spiritual blindness by suppressing the light.
First, they try to claim that the man wasn't healed (9:18a): “You were never really blind.”
When his parents testify that he was in fact blind from birth (9:18b-23), they posit another explanation (implied from 9:24): “Someone else other than Jesus must have healed you.”
When the man reiterates his testimony (9:25-27a), they revile him (9:27b-29): “You're too ignorant to know what you're talking about.”
When that doesn't intimidate the man into withdrawing his testimony (9:30-33), they get rid of him (9:34): “You’re a big-time pre-natal sinner—we excommunicate you!”
To the very end, they insist they see clearly, but Jesus disagrees (9:40,41). Claiming to see, they have become spiritually blind, and they are morally culpable for their own blindness.
This passage teaches us an important lesson about the relationship between faith and evidence. We often think that if God gives us enough of the right kind of evidence, our faith will follow naturally and inevitably. But this passage clearly disagrees. Evidence is important (contra BLIND FAITH), but it is not the final and decisive issue. Both parties got the same abundance of evidence—yet they responded in totally different ways. Why? Because the main obstacle to faith in Jesus is not insufficient evidence, but rather unwillingness to bow to God.
When it comes to the God of the Bible and Jesus Christ, no one is completely neutral in his perspective. We all have a bias—a “grid” through which we interpret the evidence. If you are biased against bowing to God, you will interpret the evidence accordingly and find it (however irrationally) unpersuasive. If you are biased toward bowing to God, you will find the evidence sufficient.
This bias is not something culturally or sociologically determined; it is something you choose, something you can change, and therefore something for which you are morally responsible. That’s why Jesus says Jn. 7:17 (read). We would reverse the order of his statement (rephrase), but his order is correct. If God exists, we should be willing in principle to bow to him and submit our lives to him. It is immoral not to choose this bias, and our unwillingness to do so will both expose our blindness and increase it.
As a tragic example of this principle, consider this death-bed interview of existentialist Jean Paul Sartre in 1974.
INTERVIEWER: How did your atheism begin?
SARTRE: . . . I don’t know where the thought came from or how it struck me, yet all at once I said to myself, "But God doesn’t exist!" . . . I remember very well, it was on that day and in the form of a momentary intuition, that I said to myself "God doesn’t exist." It's striking to reflect that I thought this at the age of eleven and that I never seriously asked myself the question again until today, that is to say for sixty years. (Did he become an atheist based on objective evidence?)
SARTRE: . . . Even if one does not believe in God, there are elements of the idea of God that remain in us and that cause us to see the world with some divine aspects.
INTERVIEWER: What, for example?
SARTRE: . . . As for me, I don't see myself as so much dust in the world (the inevitable conclusion of atheism), but as a being that was expected, prefigured, called forth. In short, as a being that could, it seems, come only from a creator; and this idea of a creating hand that created me refers me back to God . . . (This idea) contradicts many of my other ideas; but it is there, floating vaguely. And when I think of myself I often think rather in this way, for want of being able to think otherwise. (This is a HUGE contradiction!)
INTERVIEWER: (Then) what is the benefit to you of not believing in God?
SARTRE: It has strengthened my freedom and made it sounder: at the present time this freedom is not there to give God what he asks me for; it is there for the discovery of myself and to give me what I ask of myself. That is essential . . . This life owes nothing to God; it was what I wanted it to be . . . (Here is the BIAS, the “GRID.”)
What about you? Are you willing to tell God that you are in principle willing to bow to him and his will for your life? If not, no amount of evidence will convince you. But if you are willing, he will give you all the evidence you need to entrust yourself to Jesus—just like he did for this man . . .
Light received results in more sight: The man born blind
First, he responds to Jesus' Word . . . and receives his physical sight (9:7). But this is only the beginning, because as we saw, this healing is a picture of a far greater healing . . .
Next, he stands by his testimony that Jesus healed him (9:25: “I don't know about him being a sinner, but I know he healed my sight;” 9:27: “Why are you trying to discredit this?”) . . .
. . . And as a result, he receives increasing spiritual insight into who Jesus is (9:11: “the man;” 9:17: “a prophet;” 9:32,33: God's unique servant). And notice how Jesus seeks him out to give him the crucial light he needs (9:35: “Son of man;” 9:38: “Lord”/God to be worshipped). (Notice in 9:36 that he is willing in principle to believe.)
Do you identify with this man? Over the past several weeks, I have talked to many of you who have been traveling this same path.
You have been willing to admit your need for light from God, and to expose yourself to the light by coming here week after week to hear God's Word. Many of you have also talked with some Christians and heard their testimony of how Jesus has changed their lives.
As a result, your view of Jesus has begun to change (“Jesus is just one of many ways” >> “I never realized his claims and his offer of grace” >> “It sounds like this may be what I'm looking for”).
You've come a lot closer to Jesus, and that's great. But while this light increases over a period of time, it leads to the crisis of decision. Like this man, Jesus is asking you” Will you entrust yourself to me as your Messiah and Lord?” When you do this, you'll get even more light (assurance). And then as you follow Christ, you will get ever more light (direction; purpose; illumination on every major area of life). But don’t get the CART before the HORSE—make the decision to entrust yourself to him.
The power of your testimony
This passage also applies to you if you have recently received Christ. You may feel like you can’t bring others to Christ because you don’t know very much Bible, you may not have much spiritual experience, etc. But (like this man) you have the most powerful resource of all—you have your testimony, your personal story of how you came to Christ and how he has changed your life. Ask God to give you opportunities to share your testimony to others, and allow him to work through you to draw others to Christ!
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