Session 11 John 9:24-38
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JOHN 9:24-38
MEMORY VERSE: JOHN 9:25
Many of us take endless photos on our phones, each with a story. Some photos carry greater significance than others, especially if the scene is a once-in-a-lifetime moment or our first time to see a place, thing, or person. We can get frustrated when others do not find our photos important or if they question the image. A man born blind was granted sight by Jesus, while some who had sight became blinded to the truth and tried to discredit him.
(In PSG, p. 100)
Following His confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus encountered a man who had been born blind. His disciples posed a theological question that revealed their lack of spiritual understanding. Like many people, they associated illness with sin, and they wanted to know whose sin led to this disability. With their limited insight, the disciples were looking for cause and effect. Certainly, sin results in God’s chastisement, but not all illness is triggered by sin.
Jesus said that God allows some conditions as a way to reveal His glory. Sometimes, He gains praise through healing. Other times, He gets glory through our response to the infirmity. This story not only magnifies God’s power as a Healer, but also the greater blessing of being a Christ follower.
Jesus’s methods differed depending on His purposes. Sometimes, He simply spoke a word. On other occasions, He touched people and made them whole. We don’t know why Jesus chose mud and spit for this miracle. But we know that Jesus again healed on the Sabbath (9:14).
As with other Sabbath healings recorded in John’s Gospel, Jesus’s action provoked the Pharisees. With self-righteous superiority, they rebuked the man for his testimony about Jesus. They even pulled his parents into the dispute. Regardless of their attacks, the man who had been healed continued to defend Jesus. Finally, because of his affirmation of Jesus, the Pharisees threw him out of the synagogue.
Compassionately, Jesus found the man and revealed Himself as the Messiah. The man believed Jesus and received a greater blessing than physical sight. The unbelieving Pharisees, however, remained spiritually blind because of the hardness of their hearts.
EXPLORE THE TEXT
24 So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”
Unbelief often involves more than a lack of facts; it requires steadfast refusal to accept proof already offered. When Jesus healed a man born blind, He demonstrated God’s compassion, as well as His divine power. Incredulous neighbors brought the man to the Pharisees, who predictably refused to accept Jesus’s role in restoring a blind man’s sight.
Having interviewed the man, the leaders also interrogated his parents. The warning in verse 22 and expulsion in verse 34 suggest this incident occurred in a synagogue. Fearful of being excluded from the synagogue, the father and mother simply affirmed that their son had been born blind and now could see. They could not say who had restored his sight or how.
Since the Pharisees subsequently summoned the man who had been blind, their questioning of his parents took place without his presence. This interview was the second time they talked to the man. Unable to deny an incredible miracle, the Pharisees persisted in attempts to discredit the Healer. They called Jesus a sinner, referring to him scornfully as this man. They argued that Jesus should not get credit for the miracle, ordering the man to give glory to God. Some scholars see this phrase as an exclamation rather than a command. The Pharisees would acknowledge that God had healed the man, but they rejected Jesus’s claim to be the Messiah.
25 He answered, “Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”
The man answered even though they had not asked him a question. This simply meant that he responded to their assertion. It contains an element of seeking validation. Unlike his parents, the man was not intimidated by the Pharisees’ aggression. Walking in the light after a lifetime of blindness produced undeterred confidence.
The man also did not try to argue about Jesus being a sinner. He knew the scribes and Pharisees were experts in the law, but he had experience on his side. While his questioners knew the law, he was certain of one undeniable reality: I was blind, and now I can see. People may argue dogma, but they have difficulty denying someone’s testimony.
Objective experience provides a powerful argument, especially when supported by physical evidence. Believers must examine their beliefs in light of the Scriptures. In this case, the man’s testimony supported Scripture rather than contesting it (Ps. 146:8; Isa. 35:4-5).
(In PSG, p. 103)
26 Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 “I already told you,” he said, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?” 28 They ridiculed him: “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s disciples. 29 We know that God has spo-ken to Moses. But this man — we don’t know where he’s from.”
Persistent unbelief clouds reason. These religious leaders were scholars and experts in the law, but their hatred of Jesus skewed their ability to think rationally. When the man continued to assert that Jesus had healed him, the Pharisees asked the same questions posed earlier: What did he do to you? They couldn’t shake the testimony of the healing or the identity of the Healer, so they returned to the issue of mechanics. They insisted on explaining the miracle away. How did he open your eyes? implies an answer that doesn’t require a supernatural source.
Agitated by their relentless attacks, the man reminded them that he had already told you and you didn’t listen. People who do not want to believe something can hear multiple testimonies but continue to deny what they have heard. Perhaps with more than a little sarcasm, the man questioned why they would want to hear it again. His inquiry dripped with irony: You don’t want to become his disciples too, do you? The obviously expected answer would be “No.”
The man challenged their unrelenting interrogation. The use of too reflects an addition to something. Most scholars think the phrase applied to Jesus’s other disciples, meaning the man questioned whether the Pharisees would join Jesus’s followers. The scribes and Pharisees demanded respect; yet this poor, uneducated man dared to argue with them. In response, they ridiculed him. Ridiculed implies strong personal insults. When people find themselves on the losing side of an argument, they often attack the person rather than the issue.
The Pharisees accused the man of being that man’s disciple. They would not even speak Jesus’s name. The phrase that man’s was filled with derision toward Jesus and the man Jesus had healed. They also mocked him by calling him a disciple of Jesus. By comparison, they asserted spiritual superiority by identifying themselves as Moses’s disciples. Jewish mentality placed Moses at the pinnacle of their religious heritage. With Moses, the Pharisees positioned themselves above all other authorities.
The Pharisees also reminded the man that God has spoken to Moses. Everyone in Israel knew the history of God’s dealings by the hand of Moses—not only in leading the people out of Egypt, but also in receiving the law which formed the foundation of their faith.
The Pharisees contemptuously contrasted what they knew about Moses with this man, again derisively referring to Jesus. They said they did not even know where he’s from. The issue was not ignorance of Jesus’s hometown. He was commonly known as “Jesus of Nazareth.” Their point emphasized Jesus’s relative obscurity compared to the historic fame of Moses. Their point also challenged His purpose relative to the work of God.
The Pharisees’ aspersions could also be taken to question Jesus’s parentage. However, their underlying supposition was that God would never use someone like this itinerant rabbi. Ironically, the religious leaders blindly refused to accept a blind man’s ability to see as evidence of God’s miraculous work through Jesus.
30 “This is an amazing thing! ” the man told them. “You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will, he listens to him. 32 Throughout history no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”
Undaunted, the man issued a strong reply. He noted the irony of their statement, calling it an amazing thing. He was not professing intellectual surprise at their lack of knowledge regarding Jesus. Instead, his attitude boldly threw the Pharisees’ taunts back into their faces. He thought it incredible that they didn’t know where he, meaning Jesus, is from since Jesus opened his eyes.
The man went on to counter the Pharisees’ claim that Jesus was a sinner. Although not theologically trained to the extent of the religious leaders, the man knew that God doesn’t listen to sinners. For him, it didn’t take an expert in the law to know that God would not use a sinful person to achieve His purpose. Some leaders raised this same issue earlier as they debated the issue among themselves (John 9:16). This statement should not be taken to mean God does not hear the supplication of a repentant sinner, nor that He is incapable of knowing the cries of unbelievers. Rather, listen to means to heed or to give attention.
On the other hand, if someone is God-fearing and does his will, then God listens to him. The man’s argument placed the Pharisees in a philosophical bind. If God had truly performed a miracle through Jesus, the act itself proved that Jesus was God-fearing and was committed to doing God’s will. The facts argued for a logical conclusion they were fighting hard against.
Some healings could be attributed to medical treatment or natural means, but the man pointed out that throughout history, no one could point to someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. The phrase throughout history was not a claim of extensive historical knowledge. Rather, he was pointing out the incredibly unique aspect of his experience. Some people might have lost sight due to an accident or illness and later regained use of their eyes. A person who was born blind was different. Having never been able to see, such people had never been healed.
Consequently, the man argued that Jesus opening his eyes was proof that God was with Him. The Pharisees’ attacks on Jesus failed because the evidence could not be refuted. A man born blind was conversing with them with full capability of sight. He maintained if this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything. Jesus later asserted this same argument with Philip. The works that Jesus did were evidence of His Father’s approval and of His identity as Messiah (John 14:10-11).
The man had not only successfully countered each of the Pharisees’ objections to Jesus, but he had turned the arguments back onto them. However, they stubbornly refused to accept his logic or his experience.
34 “You were born entirely in sin,” they replied, “and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.
Offended by the man’s audacity, the scribes and Pharisees began attacking him personally. Having claimed Jesus was a sinner, it was no great leap for them to claim that this man was also born entirely in sin. Like Jesus’s disciples who questioned the reason for the man being born blind, the Pharisees associated his blindness with sin. His sin had set him apart from God, yet he dared to teach them.
The Pharisees would not accept that this man could speak to them in such a way. They were the spiritual leaders of the nation. Who was he to refute them? In their minds, the discussion was over. Unable to deny the man’s healing and unwilling to accept Jesus as its source, the Pharisees threw him out. Some scholars argue this action did not involve excluding him from the synagogue, which would have required judgment by the Sanhedrin. If this interpretation is correct, they merely cast him from their presence. On the other hand, part of the fear experienced by the man’s parents involved possible expulsion from the synagogue (John 9:22). It seems likely that the man was somehow excommunicated for his stand.
Believers can share the difference Christ makes in their lives with others. People may debate theological points, but they cannot deny the change Jesus works in us. The most effective apologetic may not lie in doctrinal arguments but in the witness of a transformed life.
(In PSG, p. 105)
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, Sir, that I may believe in him?” he asked.
As important as physical sight was to the man, he was about to receive an even greater gift. Jesus heard that the religious leaders had thrown him out. With divine omniscience, Jesus knew everything, but this wording suggests someone told Jesus what had happened. Being excluded from the synagogue not only affected the man’s freedom to worship, but it also altered his participation in Jewish corporate life.
Jesus did not happen across the man, but intentionally looked for him. Jesus is the heavenly Seeker, searching for the lost. Imagine the man’s delight when Jesus found him. However, Jesus had a greater purpose. He posed the most vital question the man had faced that day. The Pharisees attacked the nature and source of his healing, along with the validity of the One who had healed him. Jesus’s question was quite different: Do you believe in the Son of Man?
Son of Man was a favorite self-identifier for Jesus. He used it to connect with humanity while, at the same time, declaring Himself the Messiah. Christ knew the man had enough spiritual understanding to comprehend the question, even if he did not yet know the answer.
Although translated Sir, the man’s address used the same root word as “Lord.” The man formerly identified Jesus as a prophet, and his appreciation for the miracle he experienced gave him great respect for Him. As a result, the man was willing to believe in the Son of Man. The question, who is he, implies openness. His follow up, that I may believe in him, demonstrates willingness. The man was ready to take a step of faith.
37 Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”
Jesus could have responded, “I am He.” Instead, He referred to the man’s experience of healing as one evidence of the Messiah’s identity: You have seen him. Obviously, the man had seen many people that day, but this statement connected Jesus and the miracle of receiving sight.
Lest there be any doubt, Jesus took the conversation a step further by telling the man, “he is the one speaking with you.” Jesus used a similar statement in His encounter with the Samaritan woman (John 4:26). He was not playing a guessing game. He wanted the man to understand exactly who He was. We do not have to wonder about Jesus’s nature or God’s will. He wants us to know Him and be saved.
38 “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped him.
Again, the man referred to Jesus as Lord. The Greek wording is the same as “sir” in verse 36, but the syntax and emotional nature of his statement justifies a translation of Lord with the full meaning of that title. Prior to understanding that Jesus was Christ, the man respected Jesus. Now, he embraced Jesus as Christ by faith and acknowledged Him as Lord.
The term I believe involves more than mental assent. It implies full confidence that comes from having been persuaded of a fact. Believing also suggests complete reliance based on absolute trust. Transformational belief views Christ as the object of one’s faith. We are not saved by faith in itself but by faith in Jesus as God the Son who died and rose again.
The man’s subsequent action further demonstrated his commitment to Jesus. He worshiped Him. This term literally means to bow down or show homage. The posture of worship can involve various positions, but the portrait of falling to one’s face before the Lord displays not only acknowledgment, but also submission. Jesus received worship as entirely appropriate because He was and is God.
Believers can worship Jesus in faith and action. Intellectual assent of Christ’s existence or even His identity is not enough. If we truly believe that He is the divine Messiah, the Son of God, our faith response requires worship through word and deed, in Spirit and truth.
(In PSG, p. 107)
Evangelism and Missions
It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and of every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations. (See Isaiah 49:6; John 20:21.)
Use multiple Scripture passages to understand a major doctrine.
Use a concordance to make a list of the occurrences of the title “Son of Man” in the Gospel of John. Review the verses, paying attention to the surrounding passages. How do these passages help you understand Jesus’s teach-ing about Himself? Write a summary of your findings.