John 9: Christ and the Blind Man
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.”
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth... "As he was leaving the temple, John 8:59. This man was in the way in which Jesus was going to escape from the Jews." (Barnes) Yet it is evident that He was not fleeing for His life for He stopped to give this man sight. "Wherever help was most needed thither His merciful heart drew Him." (Boston Homilies)
Who sinned- this man or his parents? "Neither; neither his sin nor theirs was the cause of his blindness- But that the works of God should be revealed in him- the man was born blind, that Christ, by performing the divine work of healing him, might show Himself to be God. God so orders things in His providence as best to display the true character of the Saviour; and men are sometimes left to suffer sore trials, that they may see His goodness, and magnify his power and grace..." (Justin Edwards) He does not always heal, nor remove the stigma; but grace is always given to bear it, according to the saying, "My grace is sufficient for you."
Similarly: "Then Yahweh said to Satan, 'Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?'" (Job 1:8)
"All things were made by Him (Jesus] and without Him was not anything made which was made" (John 1:3)
"And Yahweh God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7) Jesus uses the same raw material of Creation here - dust
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.
"Sight was restored by clay, made out of the ground with the spittle of Him, whose breath had at first breathed life into clay;" (Edersheim)
“Jesus then instructed the blind man to go to the pool of Siloam in southeast Jerusalem and wash the mud off his eyes... He obeyed Jesus, received his sight, and departed from the pool seeing. His obedience evidenced faith that something good would come of obeying Jesus. It is probably significant that Jesus sent the man to that particular source of water. John interpreted the meaning of ‘Siloam’ as ‘sent’ for his readers. Jesus had sent the man, he obeyed, and he received sight. Likewise all who obeyed Jesus' command to believe on Him [being baptized in His name] received spiritual sight.” (Constable’s Notes)
The clay "was then washed away in the Pool of Siloam, from whose waters had been drawn on the Feast of Tabernacles that which symbolized the forthpouring of the new life by the Spirit." (Edersheim)
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.”
12 Then they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”
John 9: The Healed Man Questioned, Excommunicated, and Saved
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.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.”
The man gave a simple testimony of what Jesus had done for him and drew the conclusion that He was indeed a prophet of God, but not the prophet to come. The Pharisees, for their part, were looking at legalities of the law- Sabbath keeping, according to their own standards.
Then they asked his parents three things – if he were their son, if he had been blind, and how he saw -
"They acknowledge two of them... But the third they refuse to speak to. ‘But by what means he now sees, we know not.’ The inquiry in this way ends in confirming the truth of the miracle, by making it rest upon the incontrovertible evidence of the confession of the healed person himself; ‘He is of age, they say, ask him; he can speak for himself.’” (Chrysostom)
His parents said these things because they feared the Jews.. (22)These Pharisees were determined not to believe. “They were resolved that no evidence should change their minds, and no proofs influence their will. They were like men who shut their eyes and tie a bandage over them, and refuse to have it untied. Just as in after times they stopped their ears when Stephen preached, and refused to listen when Paul made his defense, so they behaved at this period of our Lord's ministry. Of all states of mind into which unconverted men can fall, this is by far the most dangerous to the soul. So long as a person is open, fair, and honest-minded, there is hope for him, however ignorant he may be. He may be much in the dark at present. But is he willing to follow the light, if set before him? He may be walking in the broad road with all his might. But is he ready to listen to any one who will show him a more excellent way? In a word, is he teachable, childlike, and unfettered by prejudice? If these questions can be answered satisfactorily, we never need despair about the man's soul.” (J. C. Ryle)
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.
Then they questioned the man again, saying "Give God the glory." We know Jesus is a sinner. "The words are a form of adjuration(see ref. Josh.), to tell the truth, ‘Remember that you are in God’s presence, and speak as unto Him.’" (Alford) “And he gave them another excellent testimony... And when after repeated questionings the healed one expressed his firm belief that He Who gave him sight was ‘of God’, they cast him out.” (Gaebelein)
Of Jesus, the man said before, “He is “a” prophet, not “the” prophet (17); And here He is "from God"- a worshipper of God (31), not "God". “The witness borne by this man was simple and honest. As yet he did not have much light, but he was faithful to the light that he did have; and that is the way to obtain more. He did not speculate nor philosophize, but gave a straightforward account of what the Lord had done to him.” (A.W. Pink)
"Here is a young man born blind: he could not read, he had no friend to defend his cause, and his parents were in unbelief and ashamed of God. His opponents were the lawyers, the judges, and the priests. Yet he defended the divine mission of Christ, and put them all to confusion before the people." (Sutcliffe) So, they cast him out, unable to defeat him.
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.
They cast him out. "But they only cast him into the arms of the loving Lord. He heard of what had been done to the man, and He sought for him... He was thrust outside of Judaism and in that outside place Christ found him... Like everything else in the Gospel of John this anticipates the position of true Christianity. It is outside of the camp of Judaism, outside of that which has rejected Christ. ‘Let us go forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.’ (Hebrews 13:13.)” (Arno Gaebelein)
Jesus we revealed Himself to be the Son of God.
Then the man worshiped Jesus as God (38b). “Here is a man born blind in nature, and equally blind in grace. And by the sovereign act of Jesus.., immediately recovered to the blessed sight, both in body and soul.” (Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary) I read some commentaries that said this was a sovereign active God without anything required of the man. But do these not see that this double salvation came by obedience to Jesus' command to wash in the pool of Siloam (7), as well as his willingness to bear the reproach of Him who had restored his sight.
John 9: Jesus Speaks to the Once-Blind Man & Some Pharisees
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."
The Jews convicted themselves of sin. This blind man- who Jesus had just saved-was always at the temple, but the Jews had failed to give him instructions to assist him in his salvation. In their last dialogue with him they had concluded, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" (34) Then they cast them out, as lost and without hope in the world- a Gentile, forever.
The Master had previously healed him and now saved him and said to him, "For judgment I have come into this world…” (39a) — not to judge the world this time, but “for judgment”, that is just as the Northern Kingdom’s time had expired when the Assyrians came down, the Southern Kingdom of Judea’s probation after the Babylonian captivity was now up. “In a word, salvation shall be taken away from the Jews, because they reject it; and the kingdom of God shall be given to the Gentiles.” (Adam Clarke)
Jesus came "that those who do not see [the Gentiles]", “that is, [those who] are aware of their blindness and ignorance”, 'may see;' and that those who see [Judea] may be made blind.” (Abbott)
Some of the Pharisees heard Him say this to the once-blind, but now saved, man and their consciences were pricked. The meaning was obvious and they asked, “Are we also blind?” Jesus replied, "If you were blind, you would have no sin;" but because you say, “We see”, that is “we have knowledge of the law of God. This they had pretended when they professed to understand the law respecting the Sabbath better than Jesus, and had condemned Him for healing on that day.— 'your sin remains.' You are guilty, and your sin is unpardoned.” (Barnes' Notes)
Jesus came as a Light to the Gentiles— those who knew that they had no Light. ”Knowledge undoubtedly is a very great blessing. The man who cannot read, and is utterly ignorant of Scripture, is in a pitiable condition. He is at the mercy of any false teacher who comes across him, and may be taught to take up any absurd creed, or to follow any vicious practice. Almost any education is better than no education at all.
But when knowledge only sticks in a man's head, and has no influence over his heart and life, it becomes a most perilous possession. And when, in addition to this, its possessor is self-conceited and self-satisfied, and imagines he knows everything, the result is one of the worst states of soul into which man can fall. There is far more hope about him who says, 'I am a poor blind sinner and want God to teach me,' than about him who is ever saying, 'I know it, I know it, I am not ignorant,' and yet cleaves to his sins. The sin of that man 'remains.'
Let us use diligently whatever religious knowledge we possess, and ask continually that God would give us more. Let us never forget that the devil himself is a creature of vast head-knowledge, and yet none the better for it, because it is not rightly used. Let our constant prayer be that which David so often sent up in the hundred and nineteenth Psalm." (J. C. Ryle)