John 9

Religious doctrines can keep us from knowing God. We can become so concerned about doing it right that we miss the relationship that God sent His Son to have with us. We can become so focused on outward appearances that we miss the miracle of the inside changes taking place. We can become so afraid of the opinions of others that
we stand up for nothing, so that no one can find fault with us. We become more concerned with the opinions of man than the opinion of the Maker of man. How sad!

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."

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.

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."

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.

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."

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."

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.

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.

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 NKJV says this: It was commonly supposed that sickness was a result of sin. It would follow that sins committed by a baby still in the womb or sin committed by parents could result in a baby being born with a disease. Jesus rejected both suggestions. God allowed the man to be born blind so that Jesus could heal him and thus reveal the works of God, His healing power. The Pharisees could not believe that Jesus was from God because He had healed on the Sabbath, thereby breaking the oral traditions that had grown up around the Law. But those who fairly evaluated Jesus' miraculous signs came to the conclusion that He was from God. To be put out of the synagogue was to be excommunicated. These judgments were very serious because no one could conduct business with a person who was excommunicated. Attempting to put words in the man's mouth, the Jewish leaders said they knew Jesus was a sinner. In their view, healing on the Sabbath was breaking the Law. So to them, Jesus was a sinner. In this account, the Pharisees' spiritual blindness is clearly contrasted with the vibrant faith of the blind man. After being healed, this man told others about Jesus and correctly concluded that He was from God. The blind man saw clearly what Jesus' sign meant, and believed.
But the Pharisees refused to believe. They ridiculed the man's faith and arrogantly questioned Jesus. For John, all these signs pointed to the two miracles that are the greatest of all: Jesus' incarnation and resurrection. Jesus is God's only Son become man. Although He died for our sins, He was raised from the dead. Today, He still lives and intercedes for all who believe in Him. Jesus did not come into the world to execute judgment. Nevertheless, the inevitable result of His coming is judgment, because some refuse to believe. As the light of the world, Jesus came that the blind might see and those who think they can see will be made blind.