Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”
But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this,[b] because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses!29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
Spiritual Blindness
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?[c]”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus told him,[d] “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see[e] that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
Questions and Answers
What was the purpose given by Jesus for the man being born blind in John 9:3?
So that the work of God might be displayed in his (the man born blind) life
Read the following passages of Scripture:
After reading these passages and John Ch,9, what can we conclude about sin and its relationship to suffering or sickness?
Sometimes sickness and suffering are caused by sin and sometimes they are not.
How was the work of God displayed in the life of the man born blind?
He worshipped Jesus, he was healed, and many saw the power of God
Put yourself in the man born blind’s shoes. What words do you think he might have said aloud or to himself at each stage of his story as provided here in the Gospel of John, Chapter 9?
Read the following passages of Scripture:
- Numbers Chapter 12
- Job Chapter 2
- Mark 2:1-5
- Gospel of John 5:1–14
- I Cor 11:23-30
- II Cor 12:7
- Gal 4:13
- James 5:14-15
After reading these passages and John Ch,9, what can we conclude about sin and its relationship to suffering or sickness?
Sometimes sickness and suffering are caused by sin and sometimes they are not.
How was the work of God displayed in the life of the man born blind?
He worshipped Jesus, he was healed, and many saw the power of God
Put yourself in the man born blind’s shoes. What words do you think he might have said aloud or to himself at each stage of his story as provided here in the Gospel of John, Chapter 9?
- When the mud was placed on his eyes - "Mud? Really? I’ll try anything!"
- When he washed in the pool of Siloam - "Wow! God is up to something...Praise God!"
- When he returned to his home - "Look at me now!"
- When he was questioned by the Pharisees - "These idiots!"
- When he was thrown out - "Haters gonna hate!"
- When Jesus found him - "Thank you Jesus!"
Why was the man born blind brought to the Pharisees?
Because he was healed on the Sabbath and they thought a law was broken
Why were the Pharisees having a hard time with the blind man’s story?
Because they could not believe that a man could be healed on the Sabbath or by a sinner who broke the Sabbath to heal him
Why did the Pharisees summon the blind man’s parents as provided in the John 9:18?
Because they were the only ones who could verify that the man was born blind
What did the Pharisees try to persuade the blind man to say in John 9:24 and what does it indicate about their character?
That Jesus was a sinner and that he was not from God.
This indicates that the Pharisees were prideful and would do anything to discredit Jesus.
Where is it prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind?
Isaiah 29:18-19 18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Isaiah 35:5 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Isaiah 42:7 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness
What 2 places in the New Testament did Jesus indicate that opening the eyes of the blind was an indication he was the Messiah?
Luke 4:16-19 - He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Matt 11:2-7 - When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" 4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Jesus stated the Pharisees claimed they were not blind and could see in John 9:41. What could they not see and what do you think was the sin they were they guilty of?
They could not see Jesus was the Messiah and they rejected him. Their sins were many – pride, judgment of the innocent to condemnation, misleading the Jewish people, valuing their tradition more than the truth of Scripture.
Because he was healed on the Sabbath and they thought a law was broken
Why were the Pharisees having a hard time with the blind man’s story?
Because they could not believe that a man could be healed on the Sabbath or by a sinner who broke the Sabbath to heal him
Why did the Pharisees summon the blind man’s parents as provided in the John 9:18?
Because they were the only ones who could verify that the man was born blind
What did the Pharisees try to persuade the blind man to say in John 9:24 and what does it indicate about their character?
That Jesus was a sinner and that he was not from God.
This indicates that the Pharisees were prideful and would do anything to discredit Jesus.
Where is it prophesied in the Old Testament that the Messiah would open the eyes of the blind?
Isaiah 29:18-19 18 In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
Isaiah 35:5 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Isaiah 42:7 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness
What 2 places in the New Testament did Jesus indicate that opening the eyes of the blind was an indication he was the Messiah?
Luke 4:16-19 - He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Matt 11:2-7 - When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" 4 Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 6 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me."
Jesus stated the Pharisees claimed they were not blind and could see in John 9:41. What could they not see and what do you think was the sin they were they guilty of?
They could not see Jesus was the Messiah and they rejected him. Their sins were many – pride, judgment of the innocent to condemnation, misleading the Jewish people, valuing their tradition more than the truth of Scripture.
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