Here is a teaching on chapter 9 of the book of John. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added into that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.
First I want to say a quick prayer with you guys before we get into this Bible study... Lord I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. I pray for knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we're reading and how to implement it in our daily life. I pray that you open up our eyes to see the truth of your words, that we open up our ears, our mind, our heart, and our souls to you Lord. I pray that you show your truth to every single person reading this right now. I pray that we take the truth that you show us and we spread it to other people and let other people know about you and how amazing you are. I love you so much Lord. In Jesus' name, Amen.
John Chapter 9:
1 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 work of God might be displayed in his life. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in this world, I am the light of the world."
So I'm going to stop right there and discuss a few things with you guys here. So the first thing that I want to discuss is whenever Jesus' disciples saw the blind man, they didn't want to help him, they just wanted to know what was the reason for his condition and if it was him or his parents that had sinned. Jesus said that neither him nor his parents sinned and the reason why he was born blind is so that the work of God may be displayed in his life. This just goes to show in our everyday life that things may happen that's out of our control or things that we may think we're being punished for something that we did, and these could be things that are in our lives to show the goodness of God and that Jesus is loving, merciful, gracious, and that he heals the broken and the wounded. So everything that we may see that's bad in our life or things out of our control, the reason for them happening may be so that the work of God might be displayed in our lives and revealed in our life.
Now I want to discuss what he says in verse 4, so when he says "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me," this is an illustration of the time of his ministry on earth. There's going to come a time (and he said this to them before in previous Bible studies) where he goes back to where He came from, which is in heaven, after his resurrection. So while it's still day, while he still is on earth to do his ministry, he must do the work of God the Father, which is who sent him. The illustration that he uses about night where he says, "Night is coming, when no one can work," this just means that the opportunities for him to show the work of God the Father and show his disciples all of that is not going to last forever, because he's going to be going back to heaven.
So it's very important for Jesus to show the work and to do the will of God the Father while he's still on earth, because like he says in verse five, while he is in the world, he's light of the world. He has to show his disciples the light also, because people live in darkness. A lot of people at that time lived in darkness and a lot of people in this time also live in darkness that's why it's so important for us to go out and spread the gospel and let other people know about Jesus and how amazing he is and all of the good that he does in our lives and the good that he can do in their lives also. So he has to let that light shine through to his disciples and whenever it's his time to go and he goes to heaven after his resurrection, then God sends the Holy spirit down to his disciples, down to us, to counsel his disciples.
6 Having said 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 demanded. 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.
I'm going to stop right there and discuss few things with you guys here. So in verses 6 and 7, Jesus spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, put it on the blind man's eyes, and then told him to go wash. Jesus healed people before in different ways. In chapter four he told the Royal official to go and his son would live, in chapter five he told the man at the pool to pick up his mat and go; these are just some of the miraculous signs of him healing people in the book of John. This just goes to show that that the power was in God and not in the method. If Jesus was constantly healing people doing the same exact thing, other people may think that they can do that also, and try to do the exact same thing that Jesus was doing to heal people. It's important to know that the power's not in the method of how he heals, but the power is in God himself.
In verse 7 when he tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, he could have easily just put the mud on the man's eyes, washed it himself, and he would have been able to see, but by Jesus telling the man to go wash in that pool was a call for that man to show obedience and faith filled action. If the man didn't go wash in the pool, then the healing wouldn't happen because the man wasn't obedient. This is important for us to understand in our daily lives that sometimes whenever we ask for Jesus to do something or for God to do something for us, and we're wondering why we're not getting results, you may want to ask yourself, "Have I done what Jesus has asked me to do? Am I being obedient? Am I trusting in God completely and allowing his will to be done? Or am I asking for selfish things and just wanting selfish rewards?" That's really something that we have to reflect on and really think about whenever we're asking for Jesus to do things or we're wanting healing and we're not getting it. So then here in verses 8-10, it was hard for people to believe that he was the same man that was begging and that was blind. Some people claimed that it was the same man and then some people were saying, "No, he only looks like him," because they couldn't understand how he could just be able to see now out of nowhere, when he's been blind this whole time.
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 do such miraculous signs?" So they were divided.
17 Finally 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 The Jews 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 now that 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 Jews, for already the Jews had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
So the day that Jesus had healed the man was on a Sabbath, which we see in chapter five that Jesus had healed the man at the pool on a Sabbath, and because of that the Jewish leaders and Pharisees sought to kill him because of the rabbi's interpretation of the law (that you shouldn't work on the Sabbath). So again here with Jesus healing this man on a Sabbath, putting mud on his eyes and having the man go wash was considered work, so that was against the law. Before Jesus healed this man he knew that it was on a Sabbath and that it would make the teachers of the law and the Pharisees even more angry with him, but this just goes to show that he was on a mission to save lives. Jesus was submitted to the will of God the Father and he didn't care about these petty traditions of these people and the interpretations of the law, that wasn't even right or just, because he was fully submitted to doing the work of God the Father and he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of that.
In verse 18 they had to bring in the parents of this man, because they still didn't believe that he had been blind. It was easier for them to believe that he was never blind in the face first place then for them to believe that Jesus had healed him. They thought that Jesus was deceiving the people, that he wasn't from God, and he was just this crazy man that was making all these claims, going against the law, and deceiving these people. They didn't want to believe that Jesus actually healed the man.
24 A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," 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 already told you 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 man 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.
So I'm going to stop right there and discuss a few things with you guys here. So first I just wanted to point out in verse 24 where it says, "Give glory to God," this was a command to tell the truth. We also see this same command in the book of Joshua, which I'm going to put the verse here: "Then Joshua said to Achan, 'My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and give him the praise. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.'" -Joshua 7:19 So here in verse 24 of chapter 9 of John when they said "Give glory to God," they were commanding the man that was born blind to tell the truth, and by the glory of God, he would tell the truth.
In verse 25 the man says that he doesn't know if Jesus was a sinner or not, but one thing he does know is that he was blind and now he sees. This man couldn't speak on things that he didn't know, he could only speak on what he did know, which was that he was blind, he was born blind, and now he could see because of Jesus. The Pharisees were still questioning him because they just didn't believe that Jesus healed the man. They thought that Jesus was a sinner and they were trying to find ways to find him guilty. What the man had said in verse 27 made the Pharisees very angry. They were so curious about what Jesus had done and how he healed the man and the man had already told them, so when they asked him again he said, "Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?" They were angry at this because he was basically saying that he was one of Jesus's disciples. They said they were disciples of Moses, which like we know, you can't be disciples of Moses if you're not a disciple of Jesus Christ. Moses followed what God the Father said and he even talked about Jesus Christ.
Then verse 29 they say that they don't even know where Jesus comes from and of course they don't know where Jesus Christ comes from, because they have hatred in their heart and they don't truly know God. If they truly knew God, they would know that Jesus came from heaven and that he was the Son of God the Father. In verses 30-33 the man says, "You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. He goes on to say that if Jesus wasn't from God, he would be able to do nothing, because they've never seen it happen before where someone was to heal a man that was born blind. So automatically in verse 34, the Pharisees hurled insults at him again and said that he was steeped in sin from birth. They just didn't want to listen to what the man had to say. They were just so focused on thinking that Jesus Christ was bad and he was a sinner and they had hatred in their heart. They were just so focused on judging by mere appearances, they didn't want to believe what this man was saying about Jesus.
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.
So whenever Jesus found this man he asked him if he believed in the Son of Man, and not only did Jesus heal the physical blindness of this man, but he also healed the spiritual blindness of this man. The man didn't know who the Son of Man was, but when Jesus said that "He is the one speaking with you," the man automatically said "Lord, I believe," and he started worshiping him. This man's eyes were opened, he was no longer blind spiritually or physically, and he could clearly see that what Jesus Christ was saying was true, that he was the son of man, and he started worshiping him.
In verse 39 Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind." So just like this man that was born blind, Jesus came so that the people that were spiritually blind would be able to see, put their faith in Jesus Christ, know that he is the son of man and he is God the Son. So those that admit that they are blind and they didn't know who the Son of Man was, they would find sight through Jesus Christ. The people like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law that claim that they can see, just like they said here in verse 40, "What? Are we blind too?" like being snarky and trying to claim that they can see, those people will be made blind.
In verse 41 Jesus says "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin." If these Pharisees would just admit that they were blind then they could be forgiven and set free. Because these Pharisees claim that they can see and they really thought that they knew God based on the scriptures and they didn't think Jesus was the Christ, their guilt remained. They were falsely claiming to know more than Jesus Christ, and no one knows more than Jesus Christ. Just like you've heard me say before in previous Bible studies, "Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and no one can come to the Father except through him." So these people that were claiming to be able to see, but not believing in Jesus Christ, their guilt was going to remain and they wouldn't be forgiven or set free.
John Ch 9 Study Guide
1. In verse 4, what illustration is Jesus using about day and night?
2. Why did Jesus tell the man to go wash at the pool instead of just healing him right away?
3. Why did Jesus heal this man on a Sabbath, knowing that it would make the Pharisees even more angry?
4. Why did the Jews not believe that the man had been born blind?
5. Why did the Pharisees insult the man after what he said in verse 27?
6. What else did Jesus heal the man from other than physical blindness?
7. In verse 38, why did the man start worshipping Jesus?
8. What did Jesus mean in verse 39?
9. What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible Study?
So that concludes our Bible study on chapter 9 of the book of John. Next week we will go over chapter 10, so stay tuned for that.
I love you guys so much.
Never forget to choose faith over fear.
-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)
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