John 9 Verse by Verse CommentaryWitten and edited by Glenn Pease

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth.

1. It was rare to come across one who was blind from birth. Many became blind in later life, but to be blind from birth was so extreme that people assumed that there had to be some extreme sin somewhere in the family to account for such a radical judgment on a child.

2. In contrast to chapter 8 where Jesus is rejected and the leaders wanted to stone him, this chapter starts off with a scene of Jesus showing divine grace and mercy to one that most would not dream of helping, for he was obviously cursed of God to be born blind. Pink comments, "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man." How blessed. The Savior was not occupied with His own sorrows to the exclusion of those of others. The absence of appreciation and the presence of hatred in almost all around Him, did not check that blessed One in His unwearied service to others, still less did He abandon it. Love "suffereth long," and "beareth all things" (1 Cor. 13). And Christ was Love incarnate, therefore did the stream of Divine goodness flow on unhindered by all man’s wickedness. How this perfection of Christ rebukes our imperfections, our selfishness!"

3. I share the following paragraph to make it clear that many babies have been born blind even in our country due to no sin related activity of the parents. "The World Health Organization estimates that about 100,000 children each year are born with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), a major cause of severe birth defects such as blindness, deafness, heart disease, and mental retardation. When pregnant mothers get rubella, a highly contagious otherwise-minor illness, the results for their babies can be devastating. Most of the 100,000 victims each year are in developing nations – although the first nation to eliminate CRS was Cuba, who did it in the mid 1990s with an aggressive immunization program. On March 21, 2005, the United States formally and officially declared itself free of rubella. This is a major public health milestone. Rubella peaked in the United States in the mid 1960s when one epidemic caused an estimated 12.5 million cases of rubella in the U.S., leading to 20,000 cases of CRS which according to the CDC was responsible for “more than 11,600 babies born deaf, 11,250 fetal deaths, 2,100 neonatal deaths, 3,580 babies born blind and 1,800 babies born mentally retarded.” Cases of rubella

fell rapidly after the vaccine was introduced in 1969. In 1989, the CDC set a goal of eliminating rubella from the United States, and 2005 is the year of celebrating this major success." New babies around the world still suffer from this disease.

4. Blindness was one of the problems that Jesus healed in large numbers. The three synoptic gospels describe a variety of individuals, and numbers of the blind being healed by Jesus, whereas in John's gospel we have only one record. Examples of indefinite numbers include Matthew 21:14 "And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and he healed them." Luke 7:21 "And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight." John's Gospel just focuses on this one blind man.

5. Larry Hiles tells of one man's compassion for the blind that led to his greatest honor. He wrote, "The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies will always be known as the team that suffered one of the great collapses in sports history. They let a huge division lead slip away by losing ten games in a row at the end of the season. Despite the collapse, the Phillies season had its share of memorable moments, including a perfect game and a ninth-inning home run by a Phillie to win the All-Star Game.But the most remarkable moment of the entire season occurred after a game, not during it. Clay Dalrymple, a Phillie pitcher, was asked to assist a blind girl who had requested a chance to walk out on the field. Dalrymple took the girl to home plate where she reached down and felt the plate. Then they walked to first base, second base, and third base before ending up at home plate once again. While Dalrymple was showing the girl around the bases, he never noticed that the fans remaining in the stadium had stopped to watch him and his companion. He just assumed that the silence in the stands meant the fans had gone home. But when the two of them finally reached home plate, the ballpark erupted. Dalrymple was shocked by the applause. When he looked up, he saw thousands of fans giving him a standing ovation. Later, Dalrymple told a Sports Illustrated reporter, “It was the biggest ovation I ever got.”

2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

1. The disciples were products of their time, and they assumed, as was the custom of the day, that all tragedy was the result of some sin. They were interested in knowing just who did the sin that produced a baby that was born blind. It was a terrible tragedy to the parents and the child, and so somebody had to be really guilty of something seriously evil. This kind of thinking never goes away, and so even though they had the book of Job that should have put an end to this thinking, they are still locked into a false view of suffering. The fact is, the parents and grandparents of this child may have been far more godly and sin free than the majority of people who

had perfectly normal children. The blindness had nothing to do with any personal sin of the child or someone among its relatives. Bad things happen to good people all the time, and they have no connection with sin in their lives. These disciples are typical of either/or people at this point. They only have two options. Is it the parents of the man himself. This type of thinking also leads to many false conclusions in life. Quite often their is a third alternative, as is the case here, but people do not consider that as an option, and so the choose one of just two and make the wrong choice either way. Jesus is constantly rejecting either/or, and black or white issues by giving a third way of seeing things.

1b. James Forbes writes, "Now Jesus was upset with that question they were asking him. How disappointing the question was. Had the disciples not heard earlier in the day how Jesus was eager to silence the sin patrollers who had brought that woman just to judge her? Had he not condemned the judgmental spirit about holding traditional understandings so tightly that they are more important than mercy and compassion? Hadn't Jesus told the people, "Don't be so zealous for righteousness that you are willing to condemn everybody who is different from yourself." So can you feel Jesus' disappointment? "Not my own disciples, the ones who have been learning from me these years." How could they now be like the canine crew at the controls for customs on the conveyer belt where the dogs are sniffing frantically trying to find some contraband? Could it be that Jesus' advocates are as blind as his adversaries regarding what Jesus stands for and why he had been sent into the world?"

2. One could answer the question, “Who sinned?” by saying Adam and Eve, for it was a fallen world where many bad things can happen because it is fallen due to their sin, but this was not what the disciples were getting at. They wanted to see a direct link to someone’s sinful acts and this blind child. They wanted to hear that the mother had an affair, or that the parents had sex on the Sabbath, or some other logical reason for this child being cursed with blindness. They had simplistic minds that saw life as black and white, with a clear link between suffering and sin.

3. A few quotes from my sermon on this passage will illustrate the folly of asking this question about anyone's suffering. To read the whole sermon go to http://glennpease.250free.com/ISSUES_OF_SUFFERING.htm

Show me a simple solution to the problem of suffering, and I will show you a heresy that will fit neither the revelation of God, nor the experience of man. The Jews had a simple answer to suffering that was superficial. If you are good you will be happy, and if you are not happy, you are not good. Simple solutions are none the less the most popular and widely held by the intelligent and ignorant alike. Here are the disciples of Christ who are hand picked by the Master Himself, and they view suffering with the same old worn out theory held by the friends of Job. They assume that such a terrible fate as being born blind had to be the result of somebody's sin. It was so logical and obvious to them that they did not even see the cruelty of it. They are asking, who is guilty for such an awful thing: His parents or

himself. In other words, who do we blame when this horrible reality occurs? What kind of parents must they have been to give birth to such a monstrosity as a blind baby? Or what kind of a low life scoundrel must he be that God would punish him at birth for the sins he foresaw that he would commit?

We want life to be simple, and we want to have easy answers that give meaning to life. We want life to be black and white where the good guys are escaping suffering, and the bad guys are getting their due reward of judgment. If life was only like the movies, but it is not, and often the real life story has the bad guys getting by with murder, and the good guys being the ones getting murdered. So it was with Able, John the Baptist, Stephen, and on and on. Simple answers are not always false, but they are so often foolish and cruel when applied to specific situations.

Simple answers are convenient, but they are often worthless or cruel. Harold Kushner in his book When Bad Things Happen To Good People writes, "I once read of an Iranian folk proverb, ' If you see a blind man, kick him; why should you be kinder than God?' In other words, if you see someone who is suffering, you must believe that he deserves his fate and that God wants him to suffer. Therefore, put yourself on God's side by shunning Him or humiliating Him further. If you try to help him, you will be going against God's justice." It is simple solutions like this that make so many religious people cruel and without compassion.

4. These very men would one day be severely persecuted and suffer death that was very unjust, and by then they would have learned that suffering is not linked to sin, but sometimes suffering is due to not sinning. Had they rejected Christ and not preached the Gospel they would not have been imprisoned and killed. They will learn that the righteous often suffer the afflictions that even the most wicked do not have to endure. They will understand that the world is filled with suffering of all kinds that has no relationship to any personal sin of those who suffer. But at this stage they are simple minded and accept the common beliefs of their age, that all suffering is the punishment for some sin.

5. A number of commentators, including Calvin, say the Jews at this time believed in the transmigration of souls, and that means they believed the sins of a former life passed into another body, and that person suffered for those sins of his former life, and so even a baby could be suffering for its sins of the past. A later rabbinic work states that when a pregnant woman worships in a heathen temple the fetus also commits idolatry. This is only one example of how, in rabbinic Jewish thought, an unborn child was capable of sinning. Calvin writes, “It was truly monstrous, that so gross an error should have found a place among the elect people of God, in the midst of which the light of heavenly wisdom had been kindled by the Law and the Prophets.” This would explain how they could possibly believe that the man himself was the cause of his being born blind.

6. John MacArthur points out that today we know of medical reasons for why children are born blind, and it is due to the sins of the parents. He writes,

"Medically the answer would most likely have been his parents. You say, "What do you mean by that?" Just this, gonorrhea, the venereal disease, is in the mother, the most common cause of total blindness in the next generation. When the mother is infected with gonorrhea, the eyes of the baby can become infected even as it passes through the birth canal. This has been a common disease around the world, the infection of gonorrhea of newborn babies is very severe. It scars their eyes so that they cannot see. For example, in Africa and in the East, there are multiplied thousands of blind babies that are born, most of them blinded by gonorrhea." Jesus denies that there is any such sin behind this case of blindness.

7. Intervarsity Press Commentary, “Jesus' statement touches on the theme of suffering. There is a sense in which every aspect of our lives, including our own suffering, is an occasion for the manifestation of God's glory and his purposes. Scripture describes four types of suffering viewed in terms of causes or purposes (cf. John Cassian Conferences 6.11): first, suffering as a proving or testing of our faith (Gen 22; Deut 8:2; Job); second, suffering meant for improvement, for our edification (Heb 12:5-8); third, suffering as punishment for sin (Deut 32:15-25; Jer 30:15; Jn 5:14); and fourth, suffering that shows forth God's glory, as here in our story and later in the raising of Lazarus (Jn 11:4). To these should be added a fifth form of suffering, that which comes from bearing witness to Christ, illustrated by what happens to this former blind man in being cast out of the synagogue.”

8. Maclaren wrote, "That is all that the sight of sorrow does for some people. It leads to censorious judgments, or to mere idle and curious speculations. Christ lets us see what it did for Him, and what it is meant to do for us. 'Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents, but he is born blind that the works of God may be made manifest in him.' That is to say, human sorrow is to be looked at by us as an opportunity for the manifestation through us of God's mercy in relieving and stanching the wounds through which the lifeblood is ebbing away. Do not stand coldly curious or uncharitably censorious. Do not make miserable men theological problems, but see in them a call for service. See in them an opportunity for letting the light of God, so much of it as is in you, shine from you, and your hands move in works of mercy."

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.

1. It must have shocked them to hear Jesus rule out sin as the cause of this tragedy. That put a big hole in their theory that all suffering is the result of sin. Sin is not a

part of the big picture here at all. The disciples and Pharisees, and people in general with a false view of suffering would look down on this family and this man, for they would suspect some sin in their past as the reason for their suffering. This is a sad way of seeing suffering people, for it kills compassion and sympathy. Suffering people need caring for and encouragement, and not judgment that comes from the suspicion that they deserve their misery because of something they have done.Pink wrote, "It is so easy to assume the role of judge and pass sentence upon another. This was the sin of Job’s friends, recorded for our learning and warning. The same spirit is displayed among some of the "Faith-healing" sects of our day. With them the view largely obtains that sickness is due to some sin in the life, and that where healing is withheld it is because that sin is unconfessed. But this is a very harsh and censorious judgment, and must frequently be erroneous. Moreover, it tends strongly to foster pride. If I am enjoying better health than many of my fellows, the inference would be, it is because I am not so great a sinner as they! The Lord deliver us from such reprehensible Phariseeism."

2. This particular tragedy of blindness was a part of the providence of God in this man’s life, so that the special work of God might be put on display in his life, and the miraculous and loving work of God was displayed in him being made to see. In other words, he was an example of the healing power of God to deal with the most difficult problems that life can throw at us. Some people may be blind due to the sinful folly of taking drugs that lead to birth defects, but that is not the case here. This man is blind for the glory of God, for God intends to show his loving power in him by restoring his sight.

3. Weatherhead wrote, "Jesus says, "Neither did this man sin, nor his parents. But that the works of God should be made manifest in him I must work the works of him that sent me while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work." In other words Jesus is saying, "Don't let us argue why the man is blind. Let us make him better. It wasn't his own fault or that of his parents; but instead of arguing about it, what we must get done before nightfall is the work of God in making him better." What Jesus says is: don't argue; get on with the cure. In the cure the work of God is made manifest." My comment here is that Jesus is not concerned with the cause, but with the cure. When you see suffering do not bother to figure out why it exists, but do what you can to eliminate it. You can never know all the why's of suffering, but you can focus on the how to make it better, and that is what the Great Physician did.

4As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

1. Jesus knew it was the Sabbath, and that he would be greatly condemned if he healed this man, but he says there is an urgent need to work while it is day, for night will come and the work will be over. In other words, he will be killed in about 6 months, and there will be no more opportunity to do works that glorify God, like healing a blind man. Jesus is saying I have to do this now, even though it is the Sabbath, for it will soon be too late. Jesus is saying he just cannot put this off. He has to take the risk of causing serious trouble for himself by healing this man.

2. Jesus was a man of action. There is a legend about a man sinking into quicksand when Confucious came by and remarked, "There is evidence men should stay out of such places." Buddha came by and said, "Let that life be a lesson to the rest of the world." Mohammed said, "Alas, it is the will of 'Allah." The Hindu said to him, "Cheer up friend, you will return to earth in another form." But Jesus came by and saw his plight and said, "Give me your hand, brother, and I will pull you out." Jesus did not deal with suffering with philosophy or theology, but with work. The disciples are focused on the origin of the problem, but Jesus is focused on the outcome. Others can sit around and speculate how such a problem ever came to be, but he goes to work to solve the problem and set the victum free.

3. Notice the word "we" in this verse. Jesus includes his disciples, and all believers in the work of showing compassion to a suffering world. Barclay wrote, "Any kind of suffering is an opportunity to demonstrate the glory of God in our own lives. Second, by helping those who are in trouble or in pain, we can demonstrate to others the glory of God. Frank Laubach has the great thought that when Christ, who is the Way, enters into us "we become part of the Way. God's highway runs straight through us." When we spend ourselves to help those in trouble, in distress, in pain, in sorrow, in affliction, God is using us as the highway by which he sends his help into the lives of his people. To help a fellow-man in need is to manifest the glory of God, for it is to show what God is like." Practical Christianity is not in seeking for the sin that causes suffering, but in seeking for the cure of the sufferer. The Pharisees looked for the sin cause, and this led to condemnation, but Jesus looked for the simple cure, and this led to compassion.

4. Matthew Henry wrote, "The period of his opportunity was at hand, and therefore he would be busy; The night comes when no man can work. Note, The consideration of our death approaching should quicken us to improve all the opportunities of life, both for doing and getting good. The night comes, it will come certainly, may come suddenly, is coming nearer and nearer. We cannot compute how nigh our sun is, it may go down at noon; nor can we promise ourselves a twilight between the day of life and the night of death. When the night comes we cannot work, because the light afforded us to work by is extinguished; the grave is a land of darkness, and our work cannot be done in the dark. And, besides, our time allotted us for our work will then have expired; when our Master tied us to duty he tied us to time too; when night comes, call the labourers; we must then show our work, and receive according to the things done. In the world of retribution we are no longer probationers; it is

too late to bid when the inch of candle is dropped. Christ uses this as an argument with himself to be diligent, though he had no opposition from within to struggle with; much more need have we to work upon our hearts these and the like considerations to quicken us."

5. What would you think of a doctor who came upon the scene of a terrible accident, where injured people were laying on the ground broken and bleeding, and he did not begin immediately giving his attention to how he could help these suffering people? What if he began to measure the skid marks, and check the speedometers in the cars involved, and did all kinds of investigating of the cause of the accident, but did not come to the aid of the victums? Such is the case with people who do all kinds of philosophizing about suffering, but do not lift a hand to actually help the suffering. Jesus was the Great Physician because his first concern was not with speculation, or with investigation, but with compassion for the suffering. He acted to heal this man, while others would spend years speculating about why he was blind.

6. The work of God in the world is to eliminate the defects that come about due to a fallen world. G. Campbell Morgan put it forcefully when he wrote, "Every clrippled childl is contrary to the willl of God; every mentally deficient man or woman is contrary to the will of god; every spiritually inefficient being is contrary to the will of God." He is saying that it is God's will to do all we can to eliminate all the defects that hinder people from living a normal life. Thank God there are doctors all over the world doing just what Jesus did, and they are finding more and more ways to prevent and cure the defects that cause people to be born abnormal, or develop abnormally. Much has been done, but there is alway more to be done, and it is all because it is God's will that it be done.

7. Mike Fogerson gives some historical examples where putting things off led to the night coming when work could be done no more. He wrote, "Billy Graham was at a hotel in Seattle, fast asleep when he was awakened with a powerful burden to pray for Marilyn Monroe. (The next morning his burden was stronger and he had his assistant call Monroe to set up an appointment.) A Monroe’s agent made it difficult. She was too busy, she would meet with the Reverend Graham-sometime. "Not now, maybe two weeks from now."Two weeks were too little too late. She committed suicide.

D.L. Moody was preaching in Chicago on October 8, 1871. He was preaching a message "What will you do with Jesus?" He concluded his sermon by saying, "I wish you would seriously consider this subject, for next Sunday we’ll speak about the cross. Then I’ll ask you, ‘What will you do with Jesus?’" They concluded the service with a hymn, but the hymn never got completed-the roar of the fire engines filled the auditorium. The famous Chicago fire of 1871 broke out that very night and almost wiped the city off the map. That sermon on the cross never came. Afterward Moody often said, "I have never since dared to give an audience a week to think of their salvation." It haunted him . How many were ready? How many were hearing the voice of God, and would have laid their souls before Christ that evening?"

8. In the year 1269 the Mongal Emperor, Kublai Khan, sent an envoy to Rome asking for a hundred missionaries to be sent to his capital in order that his people might be taught a better understanding of Christ, and that the East and the West might be tied together by religious devotion. All China, Central Asia, and Russia were under the rule of the Mighty Kublai Khan... But Rome was too busy. The college of Cardinals was quarreling over which one shoud be Pope, and political squabbles went on for months. Eventually two Dominican friers were sent, but it was too late. The church missed the chance of a lifetime to have impacted half of the world for Christ. They did not work while it was day, and the night came when they could work no more.

9. Maclaren has a gem of an insight into the word "must" on the lips of Jesus in this text. He wrote, "There are two kinds of 'musts' in our lives. There is the unwelcome necessity which grips us with iron and sharpened fangs; the needs-be which crushes down hopes and dreams and inclinations, and forces the slave to his reluctant task. And there is the 'must' which has passed into the will, into the heart, and has moulded the inmost desire to conformity with the obligation which no more stands over against us as a taskmaster with whip and chain, but has passed within us and is there an inspiration and a joy. He that can say, as Jesus Christ in His humanity could, and did say: 'My meat'--the refreshment of my nature, the necessary sustenance of my being--'is to do the will of my Father'; that man, and that man alone, feels no pressure that is pain from the incumbency of the necessity that blessedly rules His life. When 'I will' and 'I choose' coincide, like two of Euclid's triangles atop of one another, line for line and angle for angle, then comes liberty into the life. He that can say, not with a knitted brow and an unwilling ducking of his head to the yoke, 'I must do it,' but can say, 'Thy law is within my heart,' that is the Christlike, the free, the happy man." It is not the must of I have to do this, but the must of I get to do this that makes doing the will of God life's greatest pleasure.

10. Great Texts says, "Christ felt this necessity. With Christ it was not, " I may if I will " ; not, " I can if I like " ; not the mere possibility and the mere potentiality of work, but an imperious necessity "I must! He could not help Himself. If we may use such words concerning One who was none the less Divine that He was human, He was under restraint ; He was bound ; He was compelled. The cords which bound Him, however, were the cords of His Deity. They were the cords of love which bound Him who is love. " I must work." It was because He loved the sons of men so well that He could not sit still and see them perish. He could not come down from heaven and stand here robed in our mortal flesh, and be an impassive, careless, loitering spectator of so much evil, so much misery. His heart beat high with desire. He thirsted to be doing good, and His greatest and grandest act, His sacrifice of Himself, was a baptism with which He had to be baptized, and He was straitened until it was accomplished.

As Christ s followers, this necessity is ours. " We must

work." Christ associates His disciples with Himself in His Divine enterprise of mercy. They, too, are commissioned to " destroy the works of the devil," and the range of their activity must be co extensive with their Lord s. Physical suffering, and all that makes for physical suffering unjust conditions of living, insanitary dwellings, inadequate and misdirected education, harsh and unequal laws, oppressive social conventions all the perennial springs of human misery and disgrace are within the sphere of that redemptive mission which was Christ s in Palestine nearly two millenniums ago, and is Christ s still, wherever His true disciples are found."

If you go back and read item 3 under the first verse you will see that compassion for suffering people led to the development of a vaccine that ended the massive number of babies being born blind. That is the continuing work of Christ in the world, and medical missionaries are carrying on this work all over the world in the name of Jesus who was compelled to heal this man born blind.

5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

1. What better way to reveal that I am the light of the world than by opening this man’s eyes to the light so that he can see for the first time in his life? I cannot let him remain in darkness, for I am the light of the world and must let this man see the light I bring to all the world. This man would not only see the light of the sun, but he would see the light of the Son. As long as he was alive in this world Jesus had to bring light to people, and he had to heal this blind man, for giving light was his purpose in life. Even Jesus had a limited time to show forth the love and grace of God in the world. He had to redeem the time and make every Sabbath count, for this is when people would be gathered as on no other day. I am the Light.I will be kind.I will end the night,Of this man born blind.

2. John MacArthur expresses the urgency of Christ this way, "He is still the light but He is not in the purest sense in the world physically ministering and He says I've only got so much time as long as I'm in the world I'm the light of the world and I've got to get at it. The Father put Me here to light this world, now let's go. You've got a man here who needs light, let's get at him." "I like that. Don't you like that compulsion of Jesus? If anybody could have sat back and depended on sovereignty,

He could, right? Relax, guys, (snap) it's all in My control. No, let's work, let's work, we've got a blind man, let's give him light, see. Urgency was in Jesus Christ's attitude. And He was God and He knew the end from the beginning and He was in a hurry. And so He says I'm the light of the world as long as I'm here. You know, He was light physically for this man, wasn't He? He was going to touch those eyes, those sightless eyes, those motionless eyes and He was going to open them and recreate their sight and that blind man was about to behold the light of day. For the first time in his life He'd see the glory of the dawn. He could look at the sky, the sunset, the irresistible hills of Jerusalem and the surrounding country and most of all, he could see the valleys and the rivers and the people that he loved. He was the light physically. But, oh, far beyond that, Jesus was the light of his soul. Jesus was going to open his soul. And He did. Over in verse 38 He opened that man's soul. That man said to Him, "Lord...what?...I believe," and he fell down and worshiped Him."

3. Henry points out that Jesus wasted no time in letting his light shine, but went right to the task of meeting the need. He wrote, "He did not defer it till he could do it either more privately, for his greater safety, or more publicly, for his greater honour, or till the sabbath was past, when it would give less offence. What good we have opportunity of doing we should do quickly; he that will never do a good work till there is nothing to be objected against it will leave many a good work for ever undone, Ecclesiastes 11:4, which says, "He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap."

6Having said this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes.

1. Charles W. Holt wrote, "It is a fallacy and misunderstanding to think that God always works according to certain clearly defined laws of logic and decorum. It is a mistake to think that He cannot deviate from conventional, acceptable methods that are easily understood by the majority. Scripture, and life’s experience, show God is not limited by anything. These verses are a case in point.Peter’s shadow passing over people in the street and their being healed is another.Cloths and handkerchiefs from Paul that brings healing to the sick and drives out demons is another.Jesus used several "unconventional" methods to bring healing.1. He touched a leper2. He spoke a word while miles away from a sick person3. He made a mudpack by spitting upon the clay soil. Placing it upon a man’s eyes he told him to go and wash it off.4. He forgave a man’s sins to bring healing.

5. He took a dead girl by the hand and raised her from the dead6. He stood in front of the tomb of Lazarus and called loudly for the dead to come out.7. He put his fingers in a deaf man’s ears, spit,touched his tongue.8. He spit on a blind man’s eyes after leading him out of town.9. Jesus stood over Peter’s mother-in-law and rebuked the raging fever. Etc., Etc.

1B. Spittle was a known medicine in that day, and Jesus was just using something that had meaning to the blind man. He could have just said to him to begin seeing, or “be healed,” but the man was blind and could not see Jesus. Jesus gave him something he could feel on his eyes, and this gave the man a physical reason to have faith that something was going to happen. The feel of the mud would stimulate hope and expectation. In other words, faith needs some foundation. There has to be some evidence to believe, and this mud was just the thing that could give the man hope. There was no real healing power in the mud to heal blindness. It was a miracle of Christ’s power, but he used the mud as a prop, or what we mean by the use of a sugar pill to arouse hope and faith. Calvin wrote, “The intention of Christ was, to restore sight to the blind man, but he commences the operation in a way which appears to be highly absurd; for, by anointing his eyes with clay, he in some respects doubles the blindness Who would not have thought either that he was mocking the wretched man, or that he was practicing senseless and absurd fooleries? But in this way he intended to try the faith and obedience of the blind man, that he might be an example to all.”

2. William Barclay has several paragraphs on the use of spittle in the ancient world that makes it likely that Jesus used it to give the blind man a sense of being treated by a doctor. He writes,

"This is one of two miracles in which Jesus is said to have used spittle to effect a cure. The other is the miracle of the deaf stammerer (Mk.7:33). The use of spittle seems to us strange and repulsive and unhygienic; but in the ancient world it was quite common. Spittle, and especially the spittle of some distinguished person, was believed to possess certain curative qualities. Tacitus tells how, when Vespasian visited Alexandria, there came to him two men, one with diseased eyes and one with a diseased hand, who said that they had been advised by their god to come to him. The man with the diseased eyes wished Vespasian "to moisten his eye-balls with spittle"; the man with the diseased hand wished Vespasian "to trample on his hand with the sole of his foot." Vespasian was very unwilling to do so but was finally persuaded to do as the men asked. "The hand immediately recovered its power; the blind man saw once more. Both facts are attested to this day, when falsehood can bring no reward, by those who were present on the occasion" (Tacitus, Histories 4: 8 1).

Pliny, the famous Roman collector of what was then called scientific information, has a whole chapter on the use of spittle. He says that it is a sovereign preservative against the poison of serpents; a protection against epilepsy; that lichens and

leprous spots can be cured by the application of fasting spittle; that ophthalmia can be cured by anointing the eyes every morning with fasting spittle; that carcinomata and crick in the neck can be cured by the use of spittle. Spittle was held to be very effective in averting the evil eye. Perseus tells how the aunt or the grandmother, who fears the gods and is skilled in averting the evil eye, will lift the baby from his cradle and "with her middle finger apply the lustrous spittle to his forehead and slobbering lips." The use of spittle was very common in the ancient world. To this day, if we burn a finger our first instinct is to put it into our mouth; and there are many who believe that warts can be cured by licking them with fasting spittle.

The fact is that Jesus took the methods and customs of his time and used them. He was a wise physician; he had to gain the confidence of his patient. It was not that he believed in these things, but he kindled expectation by doing what the patient would expect a doctor to do. After all, to this day the efficacy of any medicine or treatment depends at least as much on the patient's faith in it as in the treatment or the drug itself."

Vincent's N. T. word studies adds this information: "The spittle was regarded as having a peculiar virtue, not only as a remedy for diseases of the eye, but generally as a charm, so that it was employed in incantations. Persius, describing an old crone handling an infant, says: "She takes the babe from the cradle, and with her middle finger moistens its forehead and lips with spittle to keep away the evil eye" ("Sat.," 2, 32, 33). Tacitus relates how one of the common people of Alexandria importuned Vespasian for a remedy for his blindness, and prayed him to sprinkle his cheeks and the balls of his eyes with the secretion of his mouth ("History," 4, 81). Pliny says: "We are to believe that by continually anointing each morning with fasting saliva (i.e., before eating), inflammations of the eyes are prevented" ("Natural History," 28, 7)."

3. The Intervarsity Commentary adds this note about the spittle not being used alone, but by making a sort of clay paste to put on the eye. "But for the healer to make clay out of spittle and use it for healing is unusual. John emphasizes this mud in the repeated recounting of the event by the former blind man (9:6, 11, 15) and also by including it where it is unnecessary (v. 14). K. H. Rengstorf suggests that this emphasis may be intended to draw a contrast with Aesculapius, but more likely the allusion is to the biblical picture of God as a potter and human beings as clay (for example, Job 10:9; Is 45:9; 64:8; Jer 18:6; Sirach 33:13; cf. Rom 9:21). Irenaeus picks up this allusion when he interprets this story in the light of the creation of man from the ground (Gen 2:7), for "the work of God [cf. Jn 9:3] is the fashioning of man" (Against Heresies 5.15.2). Thus, "that which the artificer, the Word, had omitted to form in the womb, [namely, the blind man's eyes], He then supplied in public, that the works of God might be manifested in him" (Irenaeus Against Heresies 5.15.2). In this way Jesus revealed his own glory, "for no small glory was it that He should be deemed the Architect of the creation" (Chrysostom In John 56.2). This story illustrates the truth revealed in John's prologue that Jesus, the Word, is the one through whom all things were made, having in himself the life that is "the

light of men" (1:3-4). While many modern scholars would agree with C. K. Barrett that Irenaeus's interpretation is "improbable" (Barrett 1978:358), the association with the prologue actually makes it likely--all the more so as this story follows directly Jesus' clear expression of his claim to divinity (8:58)."

4. Jesus was practicing medicine on the Sabbath, and this was a major issue with the Pharisees who forbid such things. Jesus said by his acts that it is nonsense to forbid healing and doing acts of kindness on the Sabbath.

5. Jesus used spittle in the healing of a deaf mute (Mark 7:33) and in the healing of a blind man (Mark 8:23) “The Marcan spittle miracles seem to have been deliberately omitted by Matthew and Luke. The use of spittle was part of the primitive tradition about Jesus but left him open to a charge of engaging in magical practice.” (Raymond Brown, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN, V. I, p. 372)

6. Maclaren wrote, "In the other Gospels He heals sometimes because of the pleading of the sufferer; sometimes because of the request of compassionate friends or bystanders; sometimes unasked, because His own heart went out to those that were in pain and sickness. But in John's Gospel, predominantly we have the Son of God, who acts throughout as moved by His own deep heart. That view of Christ reaches its climax in His own profound words about His own laying down of His life: 'I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world. Again, I leave the world and go unto the Father.' So, not so much influenced by others as deriving motive and impulse and law from Himself, He moves upon earth a fountain and not a reservoir, the Originator and the Beginner of the blessings that He bears.

7.Jesus healed this poor blind man’s eyesBy a method that comes as quite a surprise.He just used the nearest thing he found,And spit his saliva out on the ground.The end result, you would think, was just crud,But Jesus turned it into eye healing mud. The blind man could have said, “I feel like a fool.”But he obeyed what Jesus said, and washed in the pool.That act of obedience changed his whole being,For he came home with eyes that were seeing. Glenn Pease

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.

Jesus the Sent One sent him to the pool of sent. He went and reveals that miracles are only possible by the power and grace of God, but sometimes God expects acts of cooperation without which the miracle will not happen. He got his miracle because he went to sent; adding his consent and content to this awesome event. Had he gone home in disbelief in the nonsense of mud on his eye, he would have been blind from birth till the day of his death. It is wise when we pray for a miracle to do all that we know that may be what is expected of us if we really believe it will happen. In other words, we are to assume that God wants us to cooperate and do our part in seeing the miracle happen. The spit, the clay, and the water of Siloam may have had no power to bring about the miracle, but the obedience of the blind man certainly did.

1. Many times Jesus heals on the spot with no action called for on the part of those healed, but here he sends him away to wash in the well-known pool. Jesus is asking this man to demonstrate his faith by action, and the man does just that, and is greatly rewarded for his faith in action. He comes home seeing. Notice, the first place he goes is to his home to see for the first time the parents who have loved him through all these years of blindness. Can you imagine the joyful response of that whole family? Henry notes, "The evangelist takes notice of the signification of the name, its being interpreted sent. Christ is often called the sent of God, the Messenger of the covenant (Malachi 3:1); so that when Christ sent him to the pool of Siloam he did in effect send him to himself; for Christ is all in all to the healing of souls. Christ as a prophet directs us to himself as a priest. Go, wash in the fountain opened, a fountain of life, not a pool."

2. Calvin points out, “The astonishing goodness of God is displayed in this respect, that he comes of his own accord to cure the blind man, and does not wait for his prayers to bestow help. And, indeed, since we are by nature averse to him, if he do not meet us before we call on him, and anticipate by his mercy us who are plunged in the forgetfulness of light and life, we are ruined.” Calvin is pointing out that sometimes God answers prayer even before it is uttered. This is relevant to a study we will be doing at verse 31 on the prayers of non-believers.

3. John MacArthur has this comment, "...this is the only miracle in the gospels where Jesus is recorded to have healed a congenitally ill person...that is it's the only case of somebody born with a disease that Jesus healed. And I believe John makes a key thing out of this to show that there's no possibility of criticism that Christ had absolute and total divine miracle power to do things without the natural processes, without any medical assistance, without any psychological dramatics, pure creative healing."

4. The Intervarsity Commentary says, "The healing was not effected until the man obeyed Jesus' command: Go . . . wash in the Pool of Siloam (9:7). Why didn't Jesus just heal him on the spot, as he did others? Why send a blind man, in particular, on such a journey? There must be something involved here that contributes to the

revealing of God's work. Perhaps the man's obedience is significant, revealing that he shares a chief characteristic of Jesus' true disciples. Like Naaman the Syrian (2 Kings 5:10-14), this man obeys God's command to go and wash and is healed. Also like Naaman, he is able to bear witness to God as a result (2 Kings 5:15). But John's parenthetical note that Siloam means Sent (v. 7) suggests more than the man's obedience is involved. References to Siloah, the stream associated with the pool of Siloam (Shiloah in Gen 49:10 [NIV margin]; Shiloah in Is 8:6), were seen as messianic (Genesis Rabbah 98:8; Gen 49:10 in Targum Onqelos; b. Sanhedrin 94b; 98b). This fits with the emphasis in John's Gospel on Jesus as the one sent from the Father, including such an emphasis in the immediate context (8:16, 18, 29, 42; 10:36). Thus, both the healing itself and the details involved point to Jesus as the Messiah. Here is an example of the triumph of the light over the darkness (1:5)."

5. It is almost shocking how simply this miracle is recorded. He went, he washed, and he came home seeing. Henry says it reminded him of Caesar saying, "I came, I saw, I conquered."

6. Bob Deffinbaugh points out, "It is not without significance that Jesus is recorded to have performed more miracles of restoring sight than of any other kind of healing (cf. Matthew 9:27-31; 12:22f.; 15:30f.; 21:14; Mark 8:22-26; 10:46-52; Luke 7:21f.)."

7. Maclaren wrote, "He heals at a distance. We have here a parallel with the story of the nobleman's son at Capernaum, which we have already considered. There, too, we have the same phenomenon, the healing power sent forth from the Master, and operating far away from His corporeal personal presence. This was a test of faith, as the use of the clay had been a help to faith. Still He works His healing from afar, because to Him there is neither near nor far. In His divine ubiquity, that Son of Man, who in His glorified manhood is at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, is here and everywhere where there are weakness and suffering that turn to Him; ready to help, ready to bless and heal. 'Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.' "

8. “The pool of Siloam was (and still is) a real place in Jerusalem, at the southern end of the tunnel that King Hezekiah built to bring in water to the city when it was under seize by the Assyrians. Originally part of King Hezekiah’s tunnel, Siloam was excavated in 1880, complete with an inscription enabling its identification.”

9. Ray Stedman tells of his being here, and he wrote, "Last June my youngest daughter and I were in Jerusalem, and we walked one afternoon from the temple area down the deep declivity of the Kidron ravine to the pool of Siloam. It was a hot, dusty afternoon, and there were many obstacles along the way. For a blind man to traverse this would be very difficult. He would have to ask for directions and for help, and he might easily fall into some of the crevices alongside the road on the way down. It was a difficult journey the Lord sent him on, but when he found his way to the pool, whose meaning is "Sent," then his eyes would be opened and he would be washed and cleansed." What he is illustrating is that it took a great deal of faith on the part of the blind man to make this journey, and so he believed Jesus was going to heal him, and so it was worth all the effort to get to this difficult place. In other words, it was a challenge to see if he really believed, and he did, for he made it. His miracle did not come without a price.

10. W. Hall Harris III in his commentary gives this valuable information that shows Jesus was fulfilling prophecy in this special miracle. He writes, "In the OT it is God himself who is associated with the giving of sight to the blind (Exod 4:11, Ps 146:8). In a number of passages in Isaiah (29:18, 35:5, 42:7) it is considered to be a messianic activity:

Isa 29:17,18—”Is it not yet just a little while before Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field, and the fertile field will be considered as a forest? And on that day the

deaf shall hear words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see…”

Isa 35:4-5—”Say to those with anxious heart, ‘Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but he will save you.’ Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.”

Isa 42:6,7—”I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon, and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

It is in fulfillment of these prophecies that Jesus gives sight to the blind. As the Light of the world he has defeated the darkness (cf. 1:5). Thus the miracle recorded here has significance for John as one of the seven “sign-miracles” which he employs to point to Jesus’ identity and messiahship. Because light and darkness is such an important theme in the Fourth Gospel, the imagery here is particularly significant."

8His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?"

1. This blind man was a regular part of the environment, for he sat and begged for a living for many years. It was the only occupation he could do, and so a good many people were aware of who he was, for they had, no doubt, thrown a coin or two into his lap. They are mystified now, for he is not sitting and begging but walking around as a normal seeing man. He was a perfect man to receive this miracle, for he had a place in the community that many people knew of, and so many would be touched by this miracle. He would be the talk of the town.

9Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No, he only looks like him." But he himself insisted, "I am the man."

1. People can never agree on anything, and so here you have two sides to the issue of is this really the blind man we have seen for years? There has to be two sides to

every issue it seems, for some know this is the man, for they have paid attention to him over the years. Others are not sure, for they never really paid attention and got to know him as a person. They felt it could not be the same man, for he was blind from birth and nobody that is blind from birth ever sees again, and this guy is seeing. How funny is this scene? The man himself has to get into the argument and insist that he is the guy that has been sitting and begging for many years. “I am that man,” he shouts to the skeptics. “I ought to know who I am, and I am the man.” It is a hurorous scene to see this man trying to convince others that he is really the man who was blind. He was fighting to prove his identity. The skeptics say, “You have got to be kidding. How can you be the man when you are not a blind man?” We don’t know all that went on before all the people were convinced, and maybe some went home and never did believe he was the same man.

10"How then were your eyes opened?" they demanded.

1. The believers in the crowd asked him how it could be that he now sees when he was always blind from birth? They were more than just curious, for they demanded to know how this miracle happened, for it was beyond anything they ever saw, or even heard about.

11He 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."

1. He was a man of few words, for he told the whole story of his marvelous miracle in three sentences, but he had all the basic information that anyone could ask for. He had the who, the what, the where, and the how.

12"Where is this man?" they asked him. "I don't know," he said.

He never went back to Jesus, but went on home, and had no idea where Jesus went after he put the mud on him and sent him to the pool. It was quite a trip for him, and he did not know what happened to Jesus in the meantime. This could have been several hours from the time of the mud being applied to the time when he would be seeing.

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.

1. This man is seeing for the first time in his life, and not all that he is seeing this first day is beautiful. He is going to see pride and arrogance, and unbelievable blindness in the leaders of his people. He is going to see to what lengths men of power will go to in order to reject what they do not want to be. He is going to see hatred for a man who does only good, and who bring light and love to others. He is going to see just how ugly man can be, and so his first day of sight will be far from a pleasant one, for he has to see the Pharisees at their worst.

14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath.

1. Calvin has some strong language about why Jesus deliberately chose to do miracles on the Sabbath, and thereby provoke the Pharisees. He wrote, “Now it was the Sabbath. Christ purposely selected the Sabbath-day, which must have given ground of offense to the Jews. He had already found, in the case of the paralytic, that this work was liable to slander. Why then does he not avoid the offense -- which he could easily have done -- but because the defense malignantly undertaken by men would tend to magnify the power of God? The Sabbath-day serves as a whetstone to sharpen them, to inquire more eagerly into the whole matter. And yet what advantage do they reap from a careful and earnest examination of the question but this, that the truth of the Gospel shines more brightly? We are taught by this example that, if we would follow Christ, we must excite the wrath of the enemies of the Gospel; and that they who endeavor to effect a compromise between the world and Christ, so as to condemn every kind of offenses, are altogether mad, since Christ, on the contrary, knowingly and deliberately provoked wicked men. We ought to attend, therefore, to the rule which he lays down, that they who are blind, and leaders of the blind, (Matthew15:14,) ought to be disregarded.”

2. Jesus was not ignorant of the laws of the Sabbath that the Pharisees treasured so much, and so his actions here are a direct rejection of their whole system of legalism. Barclay gives us this information on the laws of that time.

"(i) By making clay he had been guilty of working on the Sabbath when even the simplest acts constituted work. Here are some of the things which were forbidden on the Sabbath. "A man may not fill a dish with oil and put it beside a lamp and put the end of the wick in it." "If a man extinguishes a lamp on the Sabbath to spare the lamp or the oil or the wick, he is culpable." "A man may not go out on the Sabbath with sandals shod with nails." (The weight of the nails would have constituted a burden, and to carry a burden was to break the Sabbath.) A man might not cut his finger nails or pull out a hair of his head or his beard. Obviously in the eyes of such a law to make clay was to work and so to break the Sabbath.

(ii) It was forbidden to heal on the Sabbath. Medical attention could be given only if life was in actual danger. Even then it must be only such as to keep the patient from getting worse, not to make him any better. For instance, a man with toothache might not suck vinegar through his teeth. It was forbidden to set a broken limb. "If a man's hand or foot is dislocated he may not pour cold water over it." Clearly the man who was born blind was in no danger of his life; therefore Jesus broke the Sabbath when he healed him.

(iii) It was quite definitely laid down: "As to fasting spittle, it is not lawful to put it so much as upon the eyelids."

15Therefore 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."

1. Now his story is even shorter than before, and he has it boiled down to one sentence. It was the greatest experience of his life, and he had it summed up in one sentence. Some people would have had paragraphs of detail, but he was truly a man of few words.

16Some 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.

1. Here we have another controversy with two sides. He cannot be from God for he does not keep the Sabbath says one side. The others side counters with, how can someone not from God do things that only God can do? They could not get everyone on the same page, for there were too many questions for a simple answer. The doubters had their simple answer: if a man does not keep the Sabbath laws in the way we interpret them, he has to be an enemy of God. In other words, those who disagree with us are disagreeing with God. They then become the standard by which all others are judged. People tend to do this, and are not open to the possibility that they might be wrong. It is wise to always keep an open mind to exceptions to your legalistic rules. The other side realized that it is hard to conclude that a sinner could do such a miraculous thing. They were open to the possibility that Jesus was from God.

2 Calvin wrote, “They bring to the Pharisees. The following narrative shows that wicked men are so far from profiting by the works of God, that, the more they are urged by their power, so much the more are they constrained to pour out the venom which dwells within their breasts. The restoration of sight to the blind man ought undoubtedly to have softened even hearts of stone; or, at least, the Pharisees ought to have been struck with the novelty and greatness of the miracle, so as to remain in doubt for a short time, until they inquired if it were a divine work; but their hatred of Christ drives them to such stupidity, that they instantly condemn what they are told that he has done.”

3. Here we have something of a comedy, for we have blind Pharisees trying to figure out how a man born blind has come to be able to see. They have no clue, except the obvious one that Jesus is who he claims to be, and can give sight to the blind because he is the Son of God. Even among these blind guides of the people you have some who see the folly of making Jesus look all bad, for he is able to do what no other man has ever done. It is a dilema for these leaders. Some are stubbornly blind, and others are seeing slightly, but none are willing to accept the evidence as sufficient to prove that Jesus is from God. They have been smacked in the face with a miracle beyond any other, and yet they cannot make up their mind if it is God at work in him. This is comedy because it is so ridiculous for learned men to be acting so stupid. They were so blind that even Jesus could not cure it with such radical evidence of God's power.

4. Edward Markquart wrote, "Some people are forever “the legalists.” Jesus is not from God? Why? He doesn’t obey the laws that we think are important. He does not fit our understanding, our perceptions, our expectations of what a genuine man of God is. Jesus was not from God. Why? He didn’t observe the proper religious rules. This narrow logic proves mixed up the Pharisees were. As one Biblical scholar said, “They were obsessed with the observances of the law.” They were infatuated with

the intricacies of religious rituals. They were passionate about the particulars of little details of the religious law. For some people, that is what it means to be religious (keep the religious rules and regulations) and that is what it meant for the Jews/Pharisees to be “good, strict Jews.”

5. Intervarsity Commentary says, "The Pharisees face a dilemma for Jesus' sabbath breaking suggests he is not of God whereas his extraordinary power to heal suggests he is of God. Some of the Pharisees ask, How can a sinner do such miraculous signs? (v. 16). The plural, signs, indicates a larger familiarity with Jesus' activity. Perhaps we may assume that we are hearing the voice of Nicodemus, who has already said the same thing to Jesus himself (3:2). If so, then the one who came to Jesus at night is now sticking up for him once again (7:50-51) while it is day."

Divided amongst themselves, the Pharisees ask the blind man for his opinion of Jesus, given that it was his eyes Jesus had opened (v. 17). It is ironic that these Jewish leaders, who are so proud of their possession of the law and their ability to evaluate religious claims, are asking this man for his opinion on a religious matter. The Christians in John's own day would have loved this verse, since they were being persecuted by these same authorities for their loyalty to Jesus. This scene is like an underground political cartoon that deflates the self-important persecuting officials."

6. Pink comments, "A striking contrast is this from what has just been before us. These Pharisees had turned their backs upon the Light, and therefore was their darkness now even more profound. Devoid of spiritual discernment they were altogether incapable of determining what was a right use and lawful employment of the Sabbath and what was not. They understood not that "The sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27), that is, for the benefit of his soul and the good of his body. True, the day which God blest at the beginning was to be kept holy, but it was never intended to bar out works of necessity and works of mercy, as they should have known from the Old Testament Scriptures. In thus finding fault with Christ because He had opened the eyes of this blind beggar on the Sabbath day, they did but expose their ignorance and exhibit their spiritual blindness."

17Finally 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."

1. They asked the healed man what his opinion was of Jesus, and he replied that he considered him a prophet. In other words, the power that healed me was from God, and it came through this man Jesus. There was no question in his mind that Jesus

was a man of God

2. Barclay wrote, " They brought the man and examined him. When he was asked his opinion of Jesus, he gave it without hesitation. He said that Jesus was a prophet. In the Old Testament a prophet was often tested by the signs he could produce. Moses guaranteed to Pharaoh that he really was God's messenger by the signs and wonders which he performed (Exo.4:1-17). Elijah proved that he was the prophet of the real God by doing things the prophets of Baal could not do (1Kgs.18). No doubt the man's thoughts were running on these things when he said that in his opinion Jesus was a prophet. Whatever else, this was a brave man. He knew quite well what the Pharisees thought of Jesus. He knew quite well that if he came out on Jesus' side he was certain to be excommunicated. But he made his statement and took his stand. It was as if he said: "I am bound to believe in him, I am bound to stand by him because of all that he has done for me." Therein he is our great example."

3 Calvin wrote, "What sayest thou of him? When they ask the blind man what is his opinion, they do so, not because they wish to abide by his judgment, or set any value on it, but because they hope that the man, struck with fear, will reply according to their wish. In this respect the Lord disappoints them; for when a poor man disregards their threatenings, and boldly maintains that Christ is a Prophet, we ought justly to ascribe it to the grace of God; so that this boldness is another miracle. And if he so boldly and freely acknowledged Christ to be a Prophet, though he did not as yet know that the Lord Jesus [263] was the Son of God, how shameful is the treachery of those who, subdued by fear, either deny him, or are silent respecting him, though they know that he sitteth at the right hand of the Father, and that he will come thence to be the Judge of the whole world! Since this blind man did not quench a small spark of knowledge, we ought to endeavor that an open and full confession may blaze forth from the full brightness which has shone into our hearts."

4. Pink wrote, "He said, He is a prophet." This is not the first time we have had Christ owned as "prophet" in this Gospel. In John 4:19 we read that the woman of Samaria said to the Savior at the well, "I perceive that thou art a prophet." In John 6:14 we are told, "Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world." Once more, in John 7:40 we read, "Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the prophet." These references are in striking accord with the character and theme of this fourth Gospel. A prophet was the mouthpiece of God, and the great purpose of John’s Gospel, as intimated in its opening verse, is to portray the Lord Jesus as "the Word"!

18The Jews still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents.

1. They were still skeptics about the identity of the man. How can this man blind from birth be seeing? It could be a hoax, and this is not the blind man at all. They needed more proof, and so they sent for the parents. They did not want this miracle to be a fact, and so they kept digging in hopes they would find a flaw in the whole story, and be able to prove it was all a hoax.

2. Calvin wrote, "But the Jews did not believe. There are two things here which ought to be observed; that they do not believe that a miracle has been performed, and that, being wilfully blinded through a perverse hatred of Christ, they do not perceive what is manifest. The Evangelist tells us that they did not believe. If the reason be asked, there can be no doubt that their blindness was voluntary. For what prevents them from seeing an obvious work of God placed before their eyes; or, after having been fully convinced, what prevents them from believing what they already know, except that the inward malice of their heart keeps their eyes shut? Paul informs us that the same thing takes place in the doctrine of the Gospel; for he says that it is not hidden or obscure, except to the reprobate, whose understandings the god of this world hath blinded, (2 Corinthians 4:3, 4.)"

19"Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

1. These three questions could reveal a plot to deceive, but the first two they answered outright. He is our son, and yes, he was born blind. The third question they could not answer because they were not there when he was healed.

20"We know he is our son," the parents answered, "and we know he was born blind.

1. They were open to identify their son and acknowledge his being blind from birth,

but they were reluctant to go beyond this basic information, for they knew the Pharisees could use anything they said against them if they began to praise Jesus as the one who gave them back their son as a seeing person. They kept quiet about any opinion they had about the miracle, and they were wise to do so.

2. Henry wrote, "These parents were poor and timorous, and if they had said that they could not be sure that this was their son, or that it was only some weakness or dimness in his sight that he had been born with, which if they had been able to get help for him might have been cured long since, or had otherwise prevaricated, for fear of the court, the Pharisees had gained their point, had robbed Christ of the honour of this miracle, which would have lessened the reputation of all the rest. But God so ordered and overruled this counsel of theirs that it turned to the more effectual proof of the miracle, and left them under a necessity of being either convinced or confounded."

21But 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."

1. Legal age for giving testimony in court was 30, and so this man was 30 at least. He was not old, however, for you do not say of an old man that he is of age, for that is too conspicuous to mention. Other commentaries say the age 13 was when a boy would be considered of age.

2. Intervarsity Commentary says, "This scene is full of tragedy, for these parents are not allowed to give thanks to God for the great thing he has done for their son. They must have agonized over his blindness and the begging he was forced into. Now he has been miraculously healed, and they must put aside the overwhelming parental joy and knuckle under to the goons from the committee for the investigation of un-Jewish activity, as it were. The parents' agony would have been very great, given the guilt over the possibility that it was their sin that had been responsible for their son's blindness. In such a situation Jesus' healing would have far-reaching implications concerning God's gracious acceptance of sinful humanity. Not only was their son released from the bondage of his blindness and its related life of begging, but they and their son would see themselves in a new relation to God. Yet they had to stifle all of these feelings of joy and gratitude when they were called in by the authorities for questioning."

22His 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[a] would be put out of the synagogue.

1. The parents had an opinion about Jesus, but they kept quiet rather than expose themselves to the Pharisees who had threatened people with expulsion from the synagogue if they acknowledged Jesus as the Christ. They were being dishonest out of fear, and who can blame them? They were not willing to challenge the Pharisees and lose their standing in the community. They may have come to believe in Jesus as their Messiah, but why tell this to the people who would use it against them? It is true that they did not take a stand for Jesus, if they did, in fact, believe in him, but it was not a necessary sacrifice, for they could pass the buck to their son to see how he would handle the pressure.

2. Barnes give us an idea of the problem they faced. He writes, “It refers to excommunication from the synagogue. Among the Jews there were two grades of excommunication; the one for lighter offences, of which they mentioned twenty-four causes; the other for greater offences. The first excluded a man for thirty days from the privilege of entering a synagogue, and from coming nearer to his wife or friends than 4 cubits. The other was a solemn exclusion for ever from the worship of the synagogue, attended with awful maledictions and curses, and an exclusion from all intercourse with the people. This was called the curse, and so thoroughly excluded the person from all communion whatever with his countrymen, that they were not allowed to sell to him anything, even the necessaries of life (Buxtorf). It is probable that this latter punishment was what they intended to inflict if anyone should confess that Jesus was the Messiah; and it was the fear of this terrible punishment that deterred his parents from expressing their opinion.”

3. Barclay adds some detail that makes it clear why his parents had such fear."The synagogue authorities had a powerful weapon, the weapon of excommunication, whereby a man was shut off from the congregation of God's people. Away back in the days of Ezra we read of a decree that whosoever did not obey the command of the authorities "his property should be forfeited and he himself banned from the congregation" (Ezr.10:8). Jesus warned his disciples that their name would be cast out for evil (Lk.6:22). He told them that they would be put out of the synagogues (Jn. 16:2). Many of the rulers in Jerusalem really believed in Jesus, but were afraid to say so "lest they should be put out of the synagogue" (Jn. 12:42).

There were two kinds of excommunication. There was the ban, the cherem

(HSN2764), by which a man was banished from the synagogue for life. In such a case he was publicly anathematized. He was cursed in the presence of the people, and he was cut off from God and from man. There was sentence of temporary excommunication which might last for a month, or for some other fixed period. The terror of such a situation was that a Jew would regard it as shutting him out, not only from the synagogue but from God. That is why the man's parents answered that their son was quite old enough to be a legal witness and to answer his own questions. The Pharisees were so venomously embittered against Jesus that they were prepared to do what ecclesiastics at their worst have sometimes done--to use ecclesiastical procedure to further their own ends."

4. What we see here is a valid program of God built into the religious system of his people to eliminate that which contaminates it. Evil people who pervert the ways of God need to be cast out, and false teachers need to be excluded from the people of God, and so excommunication is a good thing ordained of God. Yet this good thing could be used to hurt people who were innocent of any evil. It was power, and power in the hands of tyrants is always used for evil. Good things are never safe when they are in the control of those who are not good themselves.

5 Calvin comes down strong on these parents, but there is little basis for it. We have no idea how much they knew, or how convinced they were of who Jesus was. The son himself was not yet sure just who Jesus was, and so why do we expect that his parents knew more than he did. And why should we expect them to take a stand for Jesus which would cost them so dearly when they would just be falling into the hands of those who hated Jesus? Here are the comments of Calvin, which I consider unjustified. "By their silence they show their ingratitude; for, having received so distinguished a gift of God, they ought to have burned with desire to celebrate his name. But, struck with terror, they bury the grace of God, as far as lies in their power, with this exception, that they substitute in their room, as a witness, their son, who will explain the whole matter as it happened, and who will be heard with less prejudice, and will be more readily believed. But though they prudently avoid danger, and continue this middle path, of testifying indirectly about Christ by the mouth of their son, yet this does not prevent the Holy Spirit from condemning their cowardice by the mouth of the Evangelist, because they fail to discharge their own duty. How much less excuse then will they have, who, by treacherous denial, utterly bury Christ, with his doctrine, with his miracles, with his power and grace!"

23That was why his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."

1. This statement is recorded twice to make it clear that the parents were not going to stick their neck out where the Pharisees could chop it off. They were not eye witnesses to the healing, and they did not meet with Jesus, or claim to know anything about him. They could quickly see that the Pharisees were on a witch hunt against Jesus, and they had no reason to make them angry at themselves.

24A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. "Give glory to God," they said. "We know this man is a sinner."

"Give glory to God," This is a technical term meaning tell the truth!

1. The man had been kept under watch someplace, and they brought him before the Pharisees again. They urge him to give glory to God and denounce this Jesus as a sinner. They were so sure that he was such, and they wanted him to feel just like they felt about Jesus. When leaders try to impose their feelings about someone on other people they are tyrants, and that is what the Pharisees were. They would not allow for freedom in this matter. Jesus was a sinner to them, and they made it their law that all must agree that he was a sinner.

2. Barclay wrote, "They did not believe at first that the man had been blind. That is to say, they suspected that this was a miracle faked between Jesus and him. Further, they were well aware that the law recognized that a false prophet could produce false miracles for his own false purposes (Deut.13:1-5 warns against the false prophet who produces false signs in order to lead people away after strange gods). So the Pharisees began with suspicion. They went on to try to browbeat the man. "Give the glory to God," they said. "We know that this man is a sinner." "Give the glory to God," was a phrase used in cross-examination which really meant: "Speak the truth in the presence and the name of God." When Joshua was cross-examining Achan about the sin which had brought disaster to Israel, he said to him: "Give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and render praise to him; and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me" (Josh.7:19)."

3. Vincent's N. T. Word Studies says, " Give God the praise (dov doxan tw Qew). Rev., give glory to God. Compare Josh. vii. 19; 1 Sam. vi. 5. This phrase addressed to an offender implies that by some previous act or word he has done dishonor to God, and appeals to him to repair the dishonor by speaking the truth. In this case it is also an appeal to the restored man to ascribe his cure directly to God, and not to Jesus."

4. Intervarsity Commentary says, "They begin their interrogation on a solemn, formal note: Give glory to God (v. 24). This is not an invitation to sing a hymn of praise for his healing! The expression means the man is being exhorted to confess his guilt (cf. Josh 7:19; m. Sanhedrin 6:2). The man has told them the truth, but they don't really want the truth, they want their own answer. These people, whom Jesus called liars (8:55), are trying to force this man to lie, and they are doing so in the name of truth. (Double talk is not an invention of the twentieth century.) The terms they use are full of irony. These people who care only for the glory of men, not God (12:43; cf. 5:44), are telling him to give glory to God. They are demanding that he give glory to God by confessing his sin, but the man has given glory to God by bearing witness to Jesus."

5. Pink wrote, "The passage before us records the persistent efforts of the Pharisees to shake the testimony of this one who had received his sight. Their blindness, their refusal to be influenced by the most convincing evidence, their enmity against the beggar’s Benefactor, and their unjust and cruel treatment of him, vividly forecasted the treatment which the Lord Himself was shortly to receive at their hands. On the other hand, the fidelity of the beggar, his refusal to be intimidated by those in authority, his Divinely-given power to non-plus his judges, his being cast out of Judaism, and his place as a worshipper at the feet of the Son of God on the outside, anticipated what was to be exemplified again and again in the history of the Lord’s disciples following His own apprehension."

25He replied, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"

1. They were trying to trap him, but he was wise enough to know that he was not qualified to make a judgment on whether he was a sinner or not. All he knew for sure was that he was blind, but now he could see. That was a sure thing, and that is all he knew for sure. He was not going to make some big profession of belief in Jesus as the long awaited Messiah, for he was not stupid. He could see his parents being wise in what they would say, and he followed their example. Don’t cooperate with evil men by falling into their trap. He just told them what he knew, and that was that he had experienced an amazing miracle, and that was the issue they had to deal with. In other words, the facts say he was a man of God, and if you disagree, it is up to you to explain how he could do a miracle like this. I won’t say it, but the evidence is clear to me that he is a man of God, and all I lay before you is this evidence. You do with it what you will.

2. He was a plain man blind from birth and so had limited education, and no ability to argue theology with these men of learning, but he knew what he had experienced, and there was no argument against that. Barclay wrote, ""Say what you like," he said, "about this man; I don't know anything about him except that he made me able to see." It is the simple fact of Christian experience that many a man may not be able to put into theologically correct language what he believes Jesus to be, but in spite of that he can witness to what Jesus has done for his soul. Even when a man cannot understand with his intellect, he can still feel with his heart. It is better to love Jesus than to love theories about him."

3. Stedman wrote, "That is one of the greatest models of how to bear a witness as a believer. Many people are afraid to say anything about the Lord because they think they will be dragged into a theological argument that will be over their heads. But witness is simply doing what this man did -- saying what Jesus did for you, that is all. "Once I was blind, now I can see" -- that is what a witness is. You are the world's greatest authority on what happened to you. As someone has well said, "A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with only an argument." When you stand on your experience no one can deny what the Lord has done in your life. You are a positive, powerful witness for Christ. This man teaches us great things in that regard."

4. Pink wrote, ""One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." These are words which every born-again person can apply to himself. There are many things of which the young believer has little knowledge: there are many points in theology and prophecy upon which he has no light: but "one thing" he does know—he knows that the eyes of his understanding have been opened. He knows this because he has seen himself as a lost sinner, seen his imminent danger, seen the Divinely-appointed refuge from the wrath to come, seen the sufficiency of Christ to save him. Can a man repent and not know it? can he believe on the Lord Jesus Christ to the saving of his soul and not know it? can he pass from death unto life, be delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, and not know it? We do not believe it. The saints of God are a people that "know." They know Whom they have believed (2 Tim. 1:12). They know that their Redeemer liveth (Job 19:26). They know the), have passed from death unto life (1 John 3:14). They know that all things work together for their good (Rom. 8:28). They know that when the Lord Jesus shall appear they shall be like Him (1 John 3:2). Christianity treats not of theories and hypotheses, but of certainties and realities. Rest not, dear reader, till you can say, "One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see."

26Then they asked him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

1. They had nowhere else to go, and so they go back to the same old question. They were hoping to catch him in some contradiction that would blow up in his face and prove the whole thing was a hoax.

2 Pink wrote, ""Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?" This illustrates again how that unbelief is occupied with the modus operandi rather than with the result itself. How you were brought to Christ—the secondary causes, where you were at the time, the instrument God employed—is of little moment. The one thing that matters is whether or not the Lord has opened the sin-blinded eyes of your heart. Whether you were saved in the fields or in a church, whether you were on your knees at a "mourner’s bench" or upon your back in bed, is a detail of very little value. Faith is occupied not with the manner in which you held out your hand to receive God’s gift, but with Christ Himself! But unbelief is occupied with the "how" rather than with the "whom."

27He answered, "I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"

1. This blind man now healed almost blew it here, for he could not resist being a smart aleck. He says you guys just don’t listen when I tell you what happened. Why do you want to hear it again? Is it because you too want to become his disciples? He was being sarcastic, but they took him seriously and did not like his tone. He was not blind to their motives, for he could see that they did not want to see the truth. They just wanted him to cooperate in trying to bring Jesus down. He could see clearly that they could not see who Jesus really was.

2. His use of the word "too" implies that he is saying, "Do you want to follow this man just as I do?" "Are you as convinced as I am that he is a true prophet of God worthy of being the godly leader we should all be following?" "Are you so insistent in hearing the facts over and over again because you cannot wait to join with his disciples, which is exactly how I feel?" He knows this is not the case,and so he is being sarcastic.

3. Pink wrote, "With honest indignation he turns upon his unscrupulous inquisitors and refuses to waste time in repeating what he had already told them so simply and plainly. It is quite useless to discuss the things of God with those whose hearts are manifestly closed against Him. When such people continue pressing their frivolous or blasphemous inquiries, only one course remains open, and that is "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit" (Prov. 26:5). This Divine admonition,, has puzzled some, because in the preceding verse we are told, Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him." But the seeming contradiction is easily explained. When God says, "Answer not a fool according to

his folly, lest thou also be like unto him," the meaning is, I must not answer a fool in a foolish manner, for this would make me a sharer of his folly. But when God says, "Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own conceit," the meaning is, that I must answer him in a way to expose his folly, lest he imagine that he has succeeded in propounding a question which is unanswerable. This is exactly what the beggar did here in the lesson: he answered in such a way as to make evident the folly and unbelief of his judges."

4. Henry wrote, "But it rather seems to be spoken ironically: “Will you be his disciples? No, I know you abhor the thoughts of it; why then should you desire to hear that which will either make you his disciples or leave you inexcusable if you be not?” Those that wilfully shut their eyes against the light, as these Pharisees here did, First, Make themselves contemptible and base, as these here did, who were justly exposed by this poor man for denying the conclusion, when they had nothing to object against either of the premises. Secondly, They forfeit all the benefit of further instructions and means of knowledge and conviction: they that have been told once, and would not hear, why should they be told it again? Jer_51:9. See Mat_10:14. Thirdly, They hereby receive the grace of God in vain. This implied in that, “Will you be his disciples? No, you resolve you will not; why then would you hear it again, only that you may be his accusers and persecutors?” Those who will not see cause to embrace Christ, and join with his followers, yet, one would think, should see cause enough not to hate and persecute him and them."

28Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are disciples of Moses!

1. They start calling the man names as they hurl insults at him and accuse him of being a disciple of Jesus. It was one of the worst things they could say of him. In pride they identify themselves as disciples of Moses, which they considered the highest level of loyalty. You are a disciple of this man we don't even know where he is from. You are willing to follow an uneducated nobody, but we have the wisdom to follow the known leader God appointed for our people. You are an ignorant layman, and we are the educated and trained leaders. Do you think we are so stupid that we will listen to you?

2. Pink wrote, "The Greek word signifies that the Pharisees hurled their anathemas against him by pronouncing him an execrable fellow. How true to life! Unable to fairly meet his challenge, unable to justify their course, they resort to villification. To have recourse to invectives is ever the last resort of a defeated opponent. Whenever

you find men calling their opponents hard names, it is a sure sign that their own cause has been defeated."

3. Henry wrote, "For this they scorn and revile him, Joh_9:28. When they could not resist the wisdom and spirit by which he spoke, they broke out into a passion, and scolded him, began to call names, and give him ill language. See what Christ's faithful witnesses must expect from the adversaries of his truth and cause; let them count upon all manner of evil to be said of them, Mat_5:11. The method commonly taken by unreasonable man is to make out with railing what is wanting in truth and reason.

First, They taunted this man for his affection to Christ; they said, Thou art his disciple, as if that were reproach enough, and they could not say worse of him. “We scorn to be his disciples, and will leave that preferment to thee, and such scoundrels as thou art.” They do what they can to put Christ's religion in an ill name, and to represent the profession of it as a contemptible scandalous thing. They reviled him. The Vulgate reads it, maledixerunt eum - they cursed him; and what was their curse? It was this, Be thou his disciple. “May such a curse” (saith St. Augustine here) “ever be on us and on our children!” If we take our measures of credit and disgrace from the sentiment or rather clamours of a blind deluded world, we shall glory in our shame, and be ashamed of our glory. They had no reason to call this man a disciple of Christ, he had neither seen him nor heard him preach, only he had spoken favourably of a kindness Christ had done him, and this they could not bear."

29We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."

1. Barnes forces us to be honest here and not use fellow as a basis for criticism of the Pharisees. There is plenty by which they are to be judged without using what is not authentic. He writes, "As for this fellow. The word fellow is not in the original. It is simply "this." The word fellow implies contempt, which it cannot be proved they intended to express."

2. The whole battle of the Pharisees with Jesus is over the law of Moses. They interpret the law as legalists, but Jesus interprets it as one whose focus is on the idea that the Sabbath was made for man's good and benefit. It was legitimate to do what is good and helpful to those who are suffering on the Sabbath. They hated this idea, for it made for exceptions to the rule, and that would lead to a great deal of grace and mercy, which would rob them of the right to maintain legalistic control of people's lives.

30The man answered, "Now that is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.

1. This healed blind man is getting bolder by the minute under that onslaught of all these questions by the skeptics. He is making a joke of them, for they are the ones in the know, and yet here you have a man doing miracles on the same level with Moses, and you guys don’t even know where he is from. Do you see why I question your intelligence on this matter? Leaders are supposed to be up on what is coming down, and you guys don’t seem to have a clue as to who Jesus really is. You would think that God would keep leaders like you better informed when he sends someone like Jesus into your midst. You guys are really out of the loop on this miracle worker. Don't you think this is strange?

2. Pink wrote, "Quick to seize the acknowledgement of the ignorance as to whence Christ came, the beggar turned it against them. Though he spoke in the mildest of terms yet the stinging import of his words is evident. It was as though he had said, "You who profess yourselves fully qualified to guide the people on all points, and yet in the dark on a matter like this!" A poor beggar he might be, and as such cut off from many of the advantages they had enjoyed, nevertheless, he knew what they did not—he knew that Christ was "of God" (verse 33)! How true it is that God reveals things to babes in Christ which He hides from the wise and prudent! hides because they are "wise"—wise in their own conceits. Nothing shuts out Divine illumination so effectively as prejudice and pride: nothing tends to blind the heart more than egotism. "If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise" (1 Cor. 3:18); "Proud, knowing nothing" (1 Tim. 6:4)."

3. Henry wrote, "Those that are ambitious of the favours of God must not be afraid of the frowns of men. “See here,” saith Dr. Whitby, “a blind man and unlearned judging more rightly of divine things than the whole learned council of the Pharisees, whence we learn that we are not always to be led by the authority of councils, popes, or bishops; and that it is not absurd for laymen sometimes to vary from their opinions, these overseers being sometimes guilty of great oversights.”

4. So often in history it is the leaders of religion who are the least aware of what God is doing in the world around them. Anne Graham Lotz, as the daughter of Billy Graham, had a terrible time in her ministry because of the leaders in the church who opposed her being a public speaker. She gives us this interesting testimony that revolves around this very passage we are studying. She wrote, "God told me to tell you that you are supposed to marry me." I received that astonishing bit of information on a lined sheet of notebook paper that had food stains on it when I was fourteen years of age! It was a personal letter to me from some delusional young man that had been forwarded from my father's organization. I remember writing

back rather crisply, "Well, He hasn't told me!" As amusing as that incident was, a similar attitude was conveyed to me at the beginning of my ministry that was not so humorous. Some church leaders publicly expressed disapproval of my ministry because I was willing to speak when there were men in the audience. And their stand was based on what they said God says.

A typical argument from one of these men was something like this: "God told me that you as a woman are not to speak to an audience in which there are men. God has also told me women are not to be preachers." My initial reaction was the same as it was when I was fourteen: "Well, God hasn't told me!" But because this argument was made by those with seminary degrees and reputations for being spiritual, by godly men who held positions as shepherds in their congregations, this little sheep needed to hear her Shepherd's voice. I did not want to hear what others said He said. I wanted to hear from Him directly. I wanted to hear His voice in the ears of my spirit.

Do you have a similar dilemma in your life? Have you been confronted with those who, in essence, have said, "God told me to tell you if you only had more faith, you would be healed," or "If God really loved you, that bad thing would not have happened to you," or "It's God's will that your loved one died"? Such "words of knowledge" spoken by sincere people within our circle of Christian friends can put us in a tailspin of emotional devastation and spiritual doubt. It is especially traumatic and confusing when those words are uttered by someone in a position of religious leadership. How can you and I know which voice speaks the truth and is therefore authentic? The Bible tells us that God does speak to His children and that we will hear and know His voice even as sheep hear and know the voice of their shepherd.

God speaks primarily through the Scriptures, and at times, through other people-which is where we must be careful. One of the most familiar teachings of Jesus is one He launched into after a confrontation with the "shepherds," or religious leaders, of His day who professed to speak for God. John recorded that the confrontation had taken place after an incident involving one of the many blind beggars in the city. Jesus had been walking through the congested streets of Jerusalem when His attention was caught by a beggar who had been born blind. Stopping, Jesus had patiently explained to His disciples and to the man that the blindness was the result of no one's fault. Instead, it was an opportunity to reveal the glory of God. The resulting display of God's glory as Jesus created sight in eyes that had never seen before should have caused everyone, including the religious authorities-especially the religious authorities!-to fall at His feet in worship. Instead, it provoked a confrontational exchange between the man and the religious leaders that resulted in the man's excommunication from the temple. Try to enter into the drama of the former blind beggar's experience:

In one day, the former blind man's life had turned upside down and inside out. As

he must have wandered in a daze through the narrow, crowded streets, surely he tried to comprehend all he had experienced, realizing that although he had gained his physical sight he had lost any social acceptance he would ever hope to have. Did he wage an almost superhuman battle to force his attention away from all he was seeing for the first time to all the thoughts he was thinking for the first time? And where would he go? Back to the alleyway where he had begged all of his life? Back to his home where his parents resented the disgrace he had brought on the family? Back to his "friends" who had turned him over to the authorities in the first place? Since he had received his sight, not one person had congratulated him or shaken his hand or slapped him on the back or even smiled joy and approval. Having lived in a world of darkness all of his life, surely he had never felt so alone as he did in the light. Until he heard that familiar voice. It was coming from an ordinary-looking Man standing in front of him-

a Man Who had heard of his excommunication from the temple,

a Man Who knew what it was to be lonely in a crowd,

a Man Who understood what it felt like to be treated like a criminal because of God's presence in His life,

a Man Who would Himself experience being outcast, not just from the temple and the city, but from the human heart-

a Man Who had heard, Who understood, Who loved, and Who had searched until He found the formerly blind beggar to whom He had given sight.

Praise God! Jesus draws near to those who are afflicted and persecuted and criticized and ostracized. Jesus draws near to those who are suffering-especially when the suffering is for His sake. As the former beggar heard the voice he would never forget, did his heart leap? Did his newly focused eyes cling to the Man's face, drinking in every detail, listening to every syllable, as the Man gently inquired, "Do you believe the Son of Man?" Eagerly the man responded, "Who is he, sir? . . . Tell me so that I may believe in him." And "Jesus said, 'You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.' Then the man said, 'Lord, I believe,' and he worshiped him" (9:35-38).

Jesus then gave a scathing condemnation of the Pharisees who had stood in judgment over the man and were still hounding him. He declared that the man who had been blind could now see, not only physically, but also spiritually because he recognized Jesus as the Son of God and placed his faith in Him. But the Pharisees, who claimed with all of their religious training and knowledge and experience that they could see spiritually, remained blind because they rejected the truth of Who Jesus is (9:39-41). The haughty, superpious, elaborately dressed Pharisees who had slipped through the temple courtyard to spy on the beggar caught him in conversation with Jesus. So Jesus used what was inevitably another imminent confrontation with the religious leaders to make a point that I believe needs to resonate in the ears of Christians today. With eyes that surely flashed with righteous

indignation, and with the same breath that indicted the religious leaders for their spiritual blindness, Jesus warned His followers that not all religious leaders, or "shepherds," were authentic."

5. My response to the above testimony is that I too have had people of authority tell me that certain authors were not people I should read, and I went and did it anyway and discovered they were far superior in Biblical insight and wisdom than those who warned me against them. I learned, as did Anne Graham Lotz, that there is much prejudice in the Christian world, and we cannot rely on the subjective opinions of Christian leaders. We need to be students of the Word, and listen for the voice of the Shepherd, or we will be led by the prejudices of others rather than by the Scriptures. It would be folly to say we ought not to listen to authorities, for they are more often right than wrong, but it is equally folly to listen to them in areas that reveal their prejudices, and where they seek to twist the Scriptures to suit those prejudices. This healed blind man was fully aware of just how blind these leaders were, and he had the wisdom to cast them out as his guides before they cast him out as a rebel.

31We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will.

1. This uneducated man uses common sense logic to confound these learned men. He says we all know one thing for sure, and that is that God is not in the business of listening to sinners and doing miracles through them. Where are the godless men going around like Jesus and doing wonders that only God could do? It is the godly man whom God will use to do such wonders, and not the ungodly, as you are determined to call Jesus. You are saying that Jesus is a sinner that God is using in this wonderful way, when you know he cannot be a sinner and be so used. Listen to yourselves, and you will see how mixed up you are when it comes to being honest about this man Jesus. You have to make a choice. He is either a sinner and, therefore, he cannot be doing miracles in the power of God, or he is a godly man who is doing the will of God by his wondrous power. The first choice does not fit the facts, for he is doing miracles that show forth the glory of God. Common sense says the second choice is the only one that makes sense.

2. Barclay wrote, "They were annoyed because they could not meet the man's argument which was based on scripture It was: "Jesus has done a very wonderful thing; the fact that he has done it means that God hears him; now God never hears the prayers of a bad man; therefore Jesus cannot be a bad man." The fact that God did not hear the prayer of a bad man is a basic thought of the Old Testament. When Job is speaking of the hypocrite, he says: "Will God hear his cry when trouble

comes upon him?" (Jb.27:9). The psalmist says: "If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened." (Ps.66:18). Isaiah hears God say to the sinning people: "When you spread forth your hands (the Jews prayed with the hands stretched out, palms upwards), I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood" (Isa.1:15). Ezekiel says of the disobedient people: "Though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them" (Eze.8:18). Conversely they believed that the prayer of a good man was always heard. "The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, and his ears toward their cry" (Ps.34:15). "He fulfils the desire of all who fear him, he also hears their cry, and saves them." (Ps.145:19). "The Lord is far from the wicked; but he hears the prayer of the righteous" (Prov.15:29). The man who had been blind presented the Pharisees with an argument which they could not answer.

3. Calvin wrote, "It is the uniform doctrine of Scripture, that God does not listen to any but those who call upon him with truth and sincerity. For while faith alone opens the door to us to go to God, it is certain that all wicked men are excluded from approaching to him; and he even declares that he detests their prayers, (Proverbs 28:9,) as he abhors their sacrifices, (Proverbs 15:8.) It is by a special privilege that he invites his children to himself; and it is the Spirit of adoption alone that crieth out in our hearts, Abba, Father, (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6.) In short, no man is properly disposed to pray to God, unless his heart be purified by faith. But wicked men profane the sacred name of God by their prayers, and therefore they deserve rather to be punished for this sacrilege, than to obtain any thing for salvation. Accordingly, the blind man does not reason inconclusively, that Christ has come from God, because God lends a favorable ear to his prayers."

Pink does not agree with Calvin and many others in the way they use this verse. He writes, "This verse like many another must not be divorced from its setting. Taken absolutely, these words "God heareth not sinners,’’ are not true. God "heard" the cry of Ishmael (Gen. 21:17); He "heard" the groanings of the children of Israel in Egypt, long before He redeemed them (Ex. 2:24); He "heard" and answered the prayer of the wicked Manasseh (2 Chron. 33:10-13)." The entire argument over the issue of God answering the prayer of sinners is settled with this one chapter in II Chron. 33. Read this chapter and you will see God answering the prayer of one of the worst sinners and most wicked rebellious men in all of Bible history. We need to go on to see more, however, for those who hold to the view that God would never do this are not convinced just because God does it once. We must pile up the evidence to persuade the stubborn doubters.

4. BELIEVE IT OR NOT

This text is used to prove that God will not hear the prayers of those who are not believers, and thus denies that God ever responds to anyone who is not a Christian. The most absolute author on this issue who takes this statement as an absolute that God does not hear sinners is Dr. Lester Hutson. His opening paragraph should give you an idea of just how strong his opinion is on this issue. He writes, "We believe

that prayer is exclusively for the children of God. We reject the contention that any unbeliever can pray a prayer which God would hear. (Note that in this study we use the word hear in the sense of honor or respect. We recognize full well that God knows of the prayers of all men: even the prayers of unbelievers are audible unto Him. Consider Ps. 139:1-12 and Heb. 4:13. So, in this sense God hears (or knows) all prayers; but He only honors or respects the prayers of believers, who are His children). We believe the idea that an unbeliever, even a sinner desiring to be saved from the penalty of sin, can pray and God will hear him is without scriptural foundation. Thus, we do not believe in the so called "sinner's prayer", which some claim is an exception to God's teaching that He hears not sinners."

Calvin implies as much, and some great preachers of our day teach this, and many sermons are preached with this as their theme. A good number of those who give answers to questions that Christians ask them on the internet also teach that God does not hear or respond to the prayers of non-Christians. Each of them goes on to quote the many Bible verses that deal with unanswered prayer due to the wickedness of those praying, who are primarily God's people who have gone astray into idolatry. This is a radical teaching that flies in the face of the facts, and so my desire is to show what Scripture teaches on this issue.

First of all we need to see that this text has nothing to do with the issue. The healed man knows they are saying Jesus is a sinner for healing on the Sabbath, but he responds that sinners do not pray like this and see miracles. Only a man of God can pray and see wonders like this. He is simply saying that the evidence is that this is a man of God and not a sinner. Sinners do not go around doing miracles in answer to prayer like this man is doing. Face the facts and admit you are wrong about him. He is not a sinner but a man of God whom God is using in a marvelous way. This defense of the character of Jesus is used to conclude that God just does not pay any attention to the prayers of unbelievers, but what does God say about it? To use this text to dismiss all of the Scriptures that reveal God does respond to the prayers of sinners is a clear case of abuse of the text. G. Campbell Morgan, the Prince of Expositors said, "Nothing is more to be deprecated than the habit of formulating systems upon disjointed Scripture phrases apart from their connection with the context." That is what is being done with this text, and you will see it as we now list the texts that reveal God does hear and respond to the prayers of sinners, and those who are not yet a part of his family of believers.

1. First we look at the famous sinners prayer. Luke 18:9-14 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that

exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. (KJV)" Millions of sinners who are far from the kingdom of God come into the kingdom by a prayer of repentance in which they confess their sin and cry out for the mercy of God. This is one prayer of the sinner that God always hears and welcomes. Even most of the opponents of what I am trying to establish accept this exception.

2. Cornelius's prayers were heard. He was a godly pagan who sought for more knowledge of God, and God gave him the Gospel through Peter. God spoke to him to prepare him and we read in Acts 10:4 "And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God." (KJV) God heard these prayers of a man who was not a believer. He believed in God, but did not know Christ until Peter shared the Gospel with him. He was heard by God before he became a believer, and this opens up the door to the possibility of God hearing the prayers of masses of those outside of the kingdom of God. After Peter talked with Cornelius and heard his testimony he says in verse 34, "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." Peter accepts the reality that God works all over the world with people who are truly God fearing people who want to do the right thing. God is hearing their prayers, as he did those of Cornelius. Peter learned a lesson that he passed on in 1 Pet 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." Even pagan people who are good people can have their prayers answered. Naturally God is not answering prayers said by evil people to promote their evil, but not all unbelievers are evil people, for the Bible has many pagans in the Old Testament who were good and just and God used them and gave them blessings.

Peter, you will recall was prejudiced against Gentiles in the Acts 10 chapter that deals with Cornelius, and God was teaching him a lesson that changed his whole spirit toward Gentiles. Those who have prejudice against unbelievers need to learn that same lesson that Peter had to learn. Some have not yet gotten there in spiritual maturity, and that is the case in the following story. In Capetown, South Africa an official of a church confronted a Zulu entering the building and said, "Don't you know this church is for whites only?" the Zulu replied, "I'm just toing in to sweep the church sir." He responded, "That's all right then, but heaven help you if I catch you praying."

3. O Thou who dost hear prayer, To Thee all men come. (NASB) Psalms 65:2Mark 11:17 And He began to teach and say to them, "Is it not written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER FOR ALL THE NATIONS '? But you have made it a ROBBERS' DEN." The temple had a place for Gentiles to come and pray, and none was to be excluded from this opportunity to pray.

4. I Tim. 2:2-4 " It is proper to pray and give thanks for all men

1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

It can be assumed that God was open to hear the prayers that he commends, and so some of these people who are being prayed for are not believers, and they would be offering their own prayers as well, and so many of their prayers would be answered, for the Christians would be praying for them as well. The point is many prayers of the non-believer are answered by the grace of God for the good of all who are under their authority. And if they pray for guidance in the decisions they need to make, the will be guided by God for the good of the people they rule, and so they are getting answers to their prayers.

5. Mark 7:24-30

24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it: but he could not be hid.

25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet:

26 The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.

27 But Jesus said unto her, Let the children first be filled: for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.

28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.

29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter.

30 And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.

Here we have a clear case of Jesus answering the prayer of a person who was outside of the people of God. She was a sinner whose prayer was heard and answered. We have no idea what kind of religion she followed, and to what god she may have often prayed, but when she persisted in her request to Jesus he relented and answered her plea for mercy and healed her daughter. He gave her a miracle, and who knows how many others outside of the people of God have had such answers to their prayers because of the mercy of Christ?

6. Matt. 5:44-45, "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven." It follows that if God wants us to love and bless our enemies, he should be willing to do the same, and so God has to be willing to hear and grant answers to some of the prayers of those who do not

love him, but serve other gods. Who dares to say that God will never do what he expects us to do in being a blessing to those who are our enemies? Sometimes it is the goodness of God in healing or some other blessing that leads the sinner to repentence. They are overwhelmed by the grace of God who will answer a prayer of one who has shown no love or respect for him. Will you refuse an unbelieve who comes to you with a need you can meet? No, you will not, for by being kind you have an opportunity to share your faith. If you seek by kindness to respond to the sinners requests, you make yourself greater and more loving than God if you teach that he will not do what you do, and respond to the sinners prayer for help and guidance. There are those who will say to the sinner, I will not help you, for God will not respond to your prayer, and so why should I. Such people are teaching the blasphemy that God will not practice what he preaches to his people, and that he will choose to live on a lower level of love than he demands of his people. All of the texts you can quote about God not hearing the prayers of the wicked are dealing mostly with his own people who are under judgment for their idolatry and other folly, and are not dealing with the unbeliever who is seeking the favor of God in the sincere hope that God will hear and have mercy. God will not respond to believer or unbeliever to aid them in doing what is evil or contrary to his will, but he will gladly respond with common grace and providential guidance in the lives of both believers and unbelievers in goals that are consistent with his will. There have been pagans by the millions who have prayed "God, spare my child from starvation." And by the grace of God there are Christian organizations who supply food to masses of these pagan people, and their children are saved physically so they can grow up to hear the Gospel and be saved spiritually as well. God is hearing and answering pagan prayers by the millions all over the world daily. The bottom line is this: Can I respond to the prayer of the sinner? If the answer is yes, then it is also yes for God, for He is the one who desires me to so respond.

The healed man is just saying that God would not have healed him if Jesus had been an evil man, for God does not cooperate with those who are evil. This is not a theological statement meant to deny all of the other passages of the Bible that reveal God’s love and grace shown to the unbeliever. To reject the whole revelation of God’s nature in relation to the world based on this text is to abuse the Word of God and reject the teachings of Jesus by holding the words of this man in higher esteem than those of the Son of God. To elevate this to the level of a universal principle is to put God in a box of your own making, and cease to listen to the rest of His Word.

7. Jesus is my authority on this issue, and no one else. He goes on in Matt. 5:46-48, “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The most ungodly people are still willing to pitch in and help out those who love them and care for them, and who are in their status of life. If we do not rise above this and become willing to respond to the cries of those who are totally different and even anti-Christian, then we are no better than the world. And if the God of the Bible will not ever respond to the prayer of the unbeliever, then he is living in direct violation to his own standard revealed through His Son. Jesus

never asked any of the masses he healed to identify themselves as believers. He healed because healing was needed, and he asked for no qualifications. If you study healing you will discover that non-Christians have had some marvelous answers to their prayers for healing. It is Pharisaical to think that God only cares for Christians, and has no concern for those who are not his people. We need to be reminded that God so loved the world, and that Jesus died for the sins of the world.

8. Watchman Nee tells the story in his book Kneeling Christian that shows that a heathen can come to a Christian and get his prayer answered, for that is what we see in Cornelius and what we see in all who came to Jesus even when they were not convinced of his being the Messiah. They never even came back to thank him for a miracle, but their prayers were answered for healing. Healing takes place in unbelievers because God is good even to his enemies. The following story can be multiplied over and over by missionaries around the world. Here is the story:

Some little time ago, a Chinese boy of twelve years old, named Ma-Na-Si, a boarder in the mission school at Chefoo, went home for the holidays. He is the son of a native pastor. Whilst standing on the doorstep of his father's house he espied a horseman galloping towards him. The man -- a heathen -- was in a great state of perturbation. He eagerly enquired for the "Jesus-man" -- the pastor. The boy told him that his father was away from home. The poor man was much distressed, and hurriedly explained the cause of his visit. He had been sent from a heathen village some miles away to fetch the "holy man" to cast a devil out of the daughter-in-law of a heathen friend. He poured out his sad story of this young woman, torn by devils, raving and reviling, pulling out her hair, clawing her face, tearing her clothes, smashing up furniture, and dashing away dishes of food. He told of her spirit of sacrilege, and outrageous impiety, and brazen blasphemy and how these outbursts were followed by foaming at the mouth, and great exhaustion, both physical and mental "But my father is not at home," the boy kept reiterating. At length the frenzied man seemed to understand. Suddenly he fell on his knees, and, stretching out his hands in desperation, cried, "You, too, are a Jesus-man; will you come ?"

Think of it -- a boy of twelve! Yes, but even a lad, when fully yielded to his Savior, is not fearful of being used by that Savior. There was but one moment of surprise, and a moment of hesitation, and then the laddie put himself wholly at his Master's disposal. Like little Samuel of old he was willing to obey God in all things. He accepted the earnest entreaty as a call from God. The heathen stranger sprang into the saddle, and, swinging the Christian boy up behind him, he galloped away. Ma-Na-Si began to think over things. He had accepted an invitation to cast out a devil in the name of Christ Jesus. But was he worthy to be used of God in this way? Was his heart pure and his faith strong? As they galloped along he carefully searched his own heart for sin to be confessed and repented of. Then he prayed for guidance what to say and how to act, and tried to recall Bible instances of demoniacal possession and how they were dealt with. Then he simply and humbly cast himself upon the God of power and of mercy, asking His help for the glory of the Lord Jesus. On arrival at the house they found that some of the members of the

family were by main force holding down the tortured woman upon the bed. Although she had not been told that a messenger had gone for the native pastor, yet as soon as she heard footsteps in the court outside she cried, "All of you get out of my way quickly, so that I can escape. I must flee! A 'Jesus-man' is coming. I cannot endure him. His name is Ma-Na-Si."

Ma-Na-Si entered the room, and after a ceremonial bow knelt down and began to pray. Then he sang a Christian hymn to the praise of the Lord Jesus. Then, in the name of the Risen Lord, glorified and omnipotent, he commanded the demon to come out of the woman. At once she was calm, though prostrate with weakness. From that day she was perfectly whole. She was amazed when they told her that she had uttered the name of the Christian boy, for she had never heard of it or read of it before, for the whole of that village was heathen. But that day was veritably a "beginning of days" to those people, for from it the Word of the Lord had free course and was glorified. Beloved reader, I do not know how this little narrative affects you. It is one that moves me to the very depths of my being. It seems to me that most of us know so little of the power of God -- so little of His overwhelming, irresistible love. Oh, what love is His! Now, every time we pray, that wonderful love envelops us in a special way."

9. Rev. Richard D. Phillips rejects the teaching that God limits his grace to believers. He gives us these insights into possible answers to prayer in the lives of apostates.He writes, "Hebrews chapter 6, in a difficult passage, tells the story of people who had made false professions of faith, church members who later fell away and thus showed that they never had been saved. Yet its description nonetheless speaks of considerable spiritual experience. Though unsaved, they have, through their participation in the church, “tasted of the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, and tasted of the goodness of the Word of God and the powers of the age to come.” I don’t see why such people might not have had prayers answered by our gracious God, even though they turned out not to have ever been born again.

One category we hear little about today is that of common grace. God is good to all his creation. He is the God of every living creature. God may do all sorts of good to even his enemies, including answering their prayers, simply because it brings him glory. One thing that concerns me about the teaching that non-Christians cannot pray is the logical implication that we should not invite or encourage them to pray in times of need. It is true that a sinner’s greatest need is salvation through faith in Christ, and yet a non-Christian neighbor may receive terrible news of a sickness or the loss of a job, and we should invite them to take their cares in prayer to the only true God. How do we know that God is not leading them to himself, starting a relationship in this way that will lead to salvation."

10. Rabbi Kenneth L. Cohen writes that, "when religion causes us to forget that other people are created in the divine image, when we are prepared to sacrifice others on the altar of our beliefs, we become fanatics. When we use religion to make

God small like ourselves...we are fanatics." Their is something arrogant about a Christian who thinks that God limits his love and grace to them alone, for this does make God small, and not the God of the Bible. I cannot imagine God saying as a non-Christian approaches him in prayer, “I know my Son died for the sins of this man, but he is on too low a level for me to bother, and so I will not give him any encouragement as he seeks to find me and come to know what I have done for him in Christ.”

11. An unknown author wrote, "One case well known to the writer may be given as an illustration. My friend told me that he had been an atheist many years. Whilst an infidel, he had been singing for forty years in a church choir because he was fond of music. His aged father became seriously ill two or three years ago, and lay in great pain. The doctors were helpless to relieve the sufferer. In his distress for his father, the infidel choirman fell on his knees and cried, "O God, if there is a God, show Thy power by taking away, my father's pain!" God heard the man's piteous cry, and removed the pain immediately. The "atheist" praised God, and hurried off to his vicar to find out the way of salvation! Today he is out-and-out for Christ, giving his whole time to work for his newly-found Savior." 12. Another radical example is the following: "Although possessed of beauty, wealth, position and friends, she found that none of them satisfied, and at length, in her utter misery, she sought God. Yet her first utterance to Him was an expression of open rebellion to and hatred of Him! Listen to it -- it is not the prayer of a "child": -- "O God, if Thou art a God: I do not love Thee; I do not want Thee; I do not believe there is any happiness in Thee: but I am miserable as I am. Give me what I do not seek; give me what I do not want. If Thou canst, make me happy. I am miserable as I am. I am tired of this world; if there is anything better, give it me." What a "prayer"! Yet God heard and answered. He forgave the wanderer and made her radiantly happy and gloriously fruitful in His service. In even savage bosoms There are longings, servings, yearnings For the good they comprehend not. And their feeble hands and helpless. Groping blindly in the darkness, Touch God's right hand in the darkness, And are lifted up and strengthened.

13. Paul had just the opposite view of the narrowness that says God hears only the prayers of the Christian, for he says God is happy to hear the prayers of all people, for his delight is when people seek him and try to find him. Note that Paul considered all men the offspring of God in the sense of his being their Creator. They are made in his image, and so have a basis for seeking him in prayer. Read this well known passage in Acts 17:22-28, "Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you

worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'" Paul does not hesitate to quote a pagan poet, for he knew pagans can have wisdom, and they can have some relationship to God. It it not the same as those who are fully redeemed children, but still it is a relationship that he acknowledged, and God interacts with these offspring, and hears their prayers.

14. The concept of common grace is too vast a subject to deal with in depth, but a little light on it opens up the obvious reality that God answers the prayers of many who are not Christians. Here are just a couple of paragraphs on the subject. "Scripture is full of examples of God's providential goodness, particularly in the Psalms. "The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing" (Ps. 145:9, 16). Some Christians think that regeneration confers special benefits that render believers superior artists, politicians, businesspeople, and even parents. But both these Scriptures and experience confirm that unbelievers may excel in their vocations and believers may fail in theirs. In the field of common endeavor ruled by God's creation and providence, there is no difference in principle between believers and unbelievers in terms of gifts and abilities.Of course, we must not confuse common grace with God's special or saving grace.

Common grace benefits fallen humanity in the sphere of creation but not in the sphere of redemption. It does not save evildoers nor does it redeem art, culture, the state, or families. Unlike saving grace, it is restricted to this world before the last judgment and will not stay God's hand of justice on that dreadful day. But this reality does not mean that it is at odds with saving grace. As Murray says, "Special grace does not annihilate but rather brings its redemptive, regenerative and sanctifying influence to bear on every natural or common gift; it transforms all activities and departments of life; it brings every good gift into the service of the kingdom of God. Christianity is not a flight from nature; it is the renewal and sanctification of nature." He rightly observes that this perspective challenges ascetic and monastic versions of spirituality because "its practical outlook has been, 'For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer' (1 Tim. 4:4, 5)."

Not only can unbelievers, by common grace, sustain their own goods, truths, and beauties; they can also enrich believers' lives. One example of Calvin's theological balance is that he can appreciate not only the depth of human depravity but also the depth of human dignity because of his awareness of God's creation and common

grace. In a celebrated passage, he pleads against the fanaticism that would forbid all secular influence on Christians, concluding that when we disparage the truth, goodness, and beauty found among unbelievers, we are heaping contempt on the Holy Spirit himself:"

15. Consider this text of Luke 6:35 where we are told of God's kindness to those who are not thankful, but are evil. "But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil." If God is kind to those who are unthankful and evil, then it is obvious that he will at times answer their prayers. And finally, consider "For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion…. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth" (Rom. 9:15, 18). God is not limited to anyone's theology and judgments. He can respond to anyone's prayer or not, and it is folly and presumption for any man to say God will not answer the prayer of a non-Christian, for that is a matter of his sovereign choice and not for any man to determine. The evidence, however, makes it clear that he will choose sometimes to make a favorable response to the prayers of unbelievers. Those who claim that he does not do so should at least be as honest as the student who handed in his exam paper with this note: "The views expressed in this paper are my own, and not necessarily those of the textbook." Scripture is our textbook, and it is the final judge on this issue, and it is plain to me that it teaches that God in his grace and mercy does answer prayers that come from those who are not believers.

32Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.

Barnes wrote, "Neither Moses nor any of the prophets had ever done this. No instance of this kind is recorded in the Old Testament. As this was a miracle which had never been performed, the man argued justly that he who had done it must be from God. As Jesus did it not by surgical operations, but by clay, it showed that he had power of working miracles by any means. It may be also remarked that the restoration of sight to the blind by surgical operations was never performed until the year 1728. Dr. Cheselden, an English surgeon, was the first who attempted it successfully, who was enabled to remove a cataract from the eye of a young man, and to restore sight. This fact shows the difficulty of the operation when the most skilful natural means are employed, and the greatness of the miracle performed by the Saviour."

33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

1. Intervarsity Commentary says, "On the surface this story may look like a showdown between personal experience and Scripture, but it is more complicated than that. The man's statement that if Jesus were not from God, he could do nothing (v. 33) is not true, strictly speaking. The works of the Egyptian magicians show as much (Ex 7:11, 22; 8:7). Indeed, Jesus warns against false Christs and false prophets who "will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect" (Mt 24:24) and speaks of those who prophesy in his name, cast out demons in his name and do many mighty works in his name, whom he does not know at all (Mt 7:22-23). So much for experience being an infallible guide! But then the Scriptures, in and of themselves, are not an infallible guide either, as the example of the Jewish opponents reveal. It depends on one's interpretation. The Christian claim is that the Scriptures are an organic whole that make sense when interpreted in the light of Jesus the Christ under the guidance the Spirit has provided the church (Jn 14:26; 15:26). The bottom line is that we need God to guide our understanding of both the Scripture and our experience. Once again we see the importance of humility and openness to God as a core attribute of true discipleship. If the opponents of Jesus had really been loyal to God, open to him and holding to his truth, then they would have been able to see him when he came, as did Nathanael, the true Israelite."

2. Here was a man who had received a marvelous miracle, and one who was open to following Jesus as his Master, but he makes a statement that will not hold up to all the evidence, even though it is in defense of Jesus. This becomes an important warning to all of us to take note, for even the best of godly men, and women, can make statements that are exaggerations, and, in the big picture are false. That is why we need to examine even the positive things people say to see if they are the truth, or are they exaggerations that confuse the truth. We are so prone to love positive things that we do not question them, and this is not good.

34To this they replied, "You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.

1. This is what you do when your opponent has you backed into a corner with an argument that is so solid that there is no way to refute it. You scream and start calling him names and end the debate, for it is too embarrassing to admit that he has you without a comeback. You do not admit defeat, but call the one who has

defeated you a scum bag not worthy of debating. You do all you can to make the opponent look bad so people do not see how bad you look. Such is the way the Pharisee deals with irrefutable evidence. The only way to deal with truth that you hate is to cast it out of your presence, and that is what they did. It is no wonder that even God could not get through to these leaders who ended up killing the Son of God. Calvin points out that we are never wise when we are too proud to listen to an inferior person with a message that God may have to us from him. God often uses those of less stature and education to teach his people, and we ought not to let foolish pride shut out the truth that comes through anyone. Pink wrote, "Alas, how tragically does history repeat itself. These men were too arrogant to receive anything from this poor beggar. They were graduates from honored seats of learning, therefore was it far too much beneath their dignity to be instructed by this unsophisticated disciple of Christ."

2. Here is what you get when you have blind men examining the evidence. They did all they could to get to the bottom of this event, and all of the evidence pointed to it being a marvelous miracle done by Jesus who claims his power is from God. The case should be closed with adoring worship of the presence of God in Jesus Christ, but it is closed by these blind leaders by throwing the evidence out and shutting themselves off from any of the clear light of the whole event. They had not one slight detail of doubt to hang on to for their rejection, but they, nevertheless, rejected the whole account as the worthless ravings of a man steeped in sin from birth. How can we trust a man who was so sinful that he was born blind is their way of seeing things, and so they gave him the boot. Better that we see him as evil than that we see ourselves as blind.

3. Bob Deffinbaugh wrote, "There was an obvious note of sarcasm in this indictment of the Pharisees by the one who had been healed. How could they possibly conclude that He was not sent from God when He did that which no other prophet had done? How could they defend their position as religious leaders when they had no explanation for His appearance or actions? Their position was so weak and indefensible that even this untrained layman could shoot holes in it. He had lost all respect for their authority, and no longer feared whatever penalty they might mete out to him. He wanted no part of their religion anyway. Let them throw him out."

4. John MacArthur wrote, "And they refused to believe that Jesus had done it because the Pharisees had already concluded that Jesus was a sinner. How did they know that? They just decided it, they didn't have to be told. They knew everything. So they had decided that Jesus was not the Son of God, He was a fake and that He couldn't have done this miracle. So they denied the testimony of the blind man and they kept harassing the blind man. The more they harassed him, the stronger his testimony became till finally they had deteriorated to the lowest levels of conflict. They started calling him names, cursing him. And then they picked him up bodily and threw him out of the building they were in and unsynagogued him. Which means they put him out of the life of Israel. They eliminated him. They wouldn't

tolerate his testimony for Christ. They would not tolerate it because they said...they made a rule: if anybody said Christ is the Messiah, they're out of the synagogue...aposunagogos, unsynagogued. And they did it to him. His testimony was clear and concise and they rejected it and threw him out."

5. J. C. Ryle wrote, "These verses show us, secondly, the desperate lengths to which prejudice will sometimes carry wicked men. We read that the "Jews agreed that if any man did confess that Jesus was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue." They 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."

6. We note here that Jesus delivered this man from blindness, but he did not spare him from having to deal with the Pharisees, and getting himself kicked out of the fellowship of God's people. Jesus seldom delivers from all obstacles because they are part of the process of getting us to make a clear cut commitment to him. An elderly woman watching a tennis match for the first time saw how ofter the ball hit the net, and she declared, "Why in the world don't they take down that blasted net?" She could not comprehend that the net was indeed a pain, and the players did hate to hit it, but the whole meaning of the game rode on that obstacle being there, and the exhilaration of not hitting it as ofter as the other guy. Obstacles are often what gives life greater meaning by overcoming them, and this blind man did a great job of holding his own against the far better trained Pharisees. He had to look back and thank God for the courage he had to stand up to them.

7. Henry wrote, "How they disdain to learn of him, or to receive instruction from him: Dost thou teach us? A mighty emphasis must be laid here upon thou and us. “What! wilt thou, a silly sorry fellow, ignorant and illiterate, that hast not seen the light of the sun a day to an end, a beggar by the way-side, of the very dregs and refuse of the town, wilt thou pretend to teach us, that are the sages of the law and grandees of the church, that sit in Moses's chair and are masters in Israel?” Note, Proud men scorn to be taught, especially by their inferiors, whereas we should never think ourselves too old, nor too wise, nor too good, to learn. Those that have much wealth would have more; and why not those that have much knowledge? And those are to be valued by whom we may improve in learning. What a poor excuse was this for the Pharisees' infidelity, that it would be a disparagement to them to be instructed, and informed, and convinced, by such a silly fellow as this!

Spiritual Blindness

35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

1. Jesus just happened to find this man along the way the first time, but here he goes in search of him, for he heard of his being cast out of the synagogue. This man had been healed by a great miracle, but now he is suffering a great loss due to his refusal to deny it was from God. Jesus has compassion again and goes in search of the man, for he is determined that this man will find far more than what he has lost. He goes to make sure that he will be a part of his eternal kingdom where he will never be cast out. Edward Markquart writes, "Up to this point, the man born blind did not know that Jesus was the Son of man, the Messiah, the Anointed leader, the Son of God. According to the story, it was at this point that the blind man finally began to comprehend the true identity of Jesus and worshipped him. This story is not an example of “faith healing.” The gospel does not mention nor emphasize that this blind man had faith in Jesus before his healing and that his faith has made him well. Rather, the blind man did not know the identity of Jesus. He did not know the identity of Jesus nor did his parents nor did his friends. But Jesus still healed him."

2. Jesus was always asking questions of people, and that is because questions get them to thinking and acting in ways that bring out into the open who they really are. He asks this man if he believes in the Son of Man, which means, of course, do you believe in me. Spurgeon writes on this question: "This is the way by which God's mercy enters the heart of man, and therefore the Lord Jesus Christ himself begins there; and in all our dealings with the unconverted, it will be wise for us also to begin there. That is the place where the decisive battle will have to be fought; for, upon the believing or the non-believing on the Son of God, the eternal destiny of each individual will turn. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." That wrath abides even now upon him if the life of God is not in him. Let us hammer away at that all-important point of faith in Christ. This is the Thermopylae, of Christian experience. If this pass can be stormed and carried, we can capture the citadel of men's hearts; but if unbelief continues to guard that narrow passage to eternal life and to hold it against the gospel and its invitations, and exhortations, and promises, and threatenings, then nothing whatever can be done. So, in this enquiry of our Lord, we have most instructive teaching. His object, no doubt, was to bless this man by working in him saving faith, and therefore he said to him, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?"

3. Barnes wrote, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God? Hitherto he had understood little of the true character of Jesus. He believed that he had power to heal him, and he inferred that he must be a prophet, John 9:17. He believed according to the light he had, and he now showed that he was prepared to believe all that Jesus said. This is the nature of true faith. It believes all that God has made known, and it is prepared to receive all that he will teach. The phrase Son of God here is equivalent to the Messiah.

4. Calvin writes of the being cast out of the Catholic church in his day. He wrote, "We have known the same thing by experience in our own time; for when Dr Martin Luther, and other persons of the same class, were beginning to reprove the grosser abuses of the Pope, they scarcely had the slightest relish for pure Christianity; but after that the Pope had thundered against them, and cast them out of the Roman synagogue by terrific bulls, Christ stretched out his hand, and made himself fully known to them. So there is nothing better for us than to be at a very great distance from the enemies of the Gospel, that Christ may approach nearer to us." The point is, it is not always a bad thing to be an outcast, for by being cast out of the synagogue this man got the opportunity to be among the first of those who would become a part of the church of Christ.

36"Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in him."

1. This man was ready and willing to believe anything Jesus told him to believe, for he had received the greatest gift of his life from this man. He was eager to believe, and so wanted more information to have a foundation for his belief. You cannot believe anything or anyone without some knowledge. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. People need to have knowledge of truth to believe in truth. That is what he wanted, some knowledge of who he was to believe in.

2. MacArthure wrote, "Boy, I like that, that is really terrific. That is outstanding. That man is really right there. He is one of the most prepared people I've ever met. That guy is so ready for salvation, it's just a matter of "Lord, what do I do now?" he is literally a little ball of faith waiting to stick somewhere. He just wants to know where do I attach. That's all. I believe, I'm ready, point it out. Listen, he had so much confidence in Jesus, he would...if Jesus said, "There's the Son of God," whish...he'd be there. If Jesus said, "There's..." swish...he'd just...whatever you say....where? I'll go."

37Jesus said, "You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you."

1. Some point out that the blind man went home after he was healed, and did not come back to Jesus, and so he heard the voice of Jesus, but did not see him. This could be the first time that he laid his new seeing eyes on Jesus. Jesus says, you are looking at him now, and he is the one speaking to you. Now you both hear and see the one who gave you the gift of sight.

2. Pink points out this interesting fact: "This is one of the four instances in this Gospel where the Lord Jesus expressly declared His Divine Sonship. In verse 25 He foretold that "the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." Here He says "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?... it is he that talketh with thee." In John 10:36 He asked "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?" In John 11:4 He told His disciples "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." Nowhere in the other Gospels does He explicitly affirm that He was the Son of God. John’s record of each of these four utterances of the Savior is in beautiful accord with the special theme and design of his Gospel."

38Then the man said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.

1. He needed no more persuasion, for seeing the man who did this for him made him believe on the spot, and in that emotional moment when he had that miracle worker in his presence. He had to be the easiest convert in history, for he believed the moment he saw the Savior. He knew before this that he had to be a prophet at least to be able to do what he did, and he knew he had to be a man of God, but now in the presence of Jesus he knew he was the Messiah, the Son of God, and the only one he ever met who was worthy of worship. When he said, "Lord, I believe," he no doubt fell on his knees, or on his face, and in this position of worship acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of his life. A number of versions make it clear that he did fall in his worship: "The Syriac renders the phrase, "he worshipped him," thus: "and, casting himself down, he adored him." The Persic, "and he bowed down and adored Christ." The Arabic, "and he adored him." The Latin Vulgate, "and, falling down, he adored him."

2. If Jesus was not the Son of God he would have rebuked the man and told him to stand up and not give him adoration that belongs to God only. Jesus did not do so, and by this silence and acceptance of worship acknowledges that he is God, and that he is one who is worthy of worship, praise and thanksgiving.

3. Edward Marquart wrote, "That is what Jesus wants from us as well. Jesus wants us to come to that time in our lives when our spiritual blindness is healed and we call him “Lord.” This is what Jesus wants from us. Jesus wants to heal our blindness so that we too can believe in Christ and worship him as our Lord. That is what the Gospel of John and Christianity is all about. When Jesus heals our spiritual blindness, we gradually perceive who Jesus is. His Spirit, the Spirit of his love, then fills us. Like the healed blind man, we come to believe and worship him."

4. William Barclay concludes his study of this chapter with his study of the progressive revelation of the healed blind man.

"Before we leave this very wonderful chapter we would do well to read it again, this time straight through from start to finish. If we do so read it with care and attention, we will see the loveliest progression in the blind man's idea of Jesus. It goes through three stages, each one higher than the last.

(i) He began by calling Jesus a man. "A man that is called Jesus opened mine eyes" (Jn. 9:11). He began by thinking of Jesus as a wonderful man. He had never met anyone who could do the kind of things Jesus did; and he began by thinking of Jesus as supreme among men.

We do well sometimes to think of the sheer magnificence of the manhood of Jesus. In any gallery of the world's heroes he must find a place. In any anthology of the loveliest lives ever lived, his would have to be included. In any collection of the world's greatest literature his parables would have to be listed. Shakespeare makes Mark Antony say of Brutus:

"His life was gentle, and the elements So mix'd in him that Nature might stand up And say to all the world, `This was a man!'"

Whatever else is in doubt, there is never any doubt that Jesus was a man among men.

(ii) He went on to call Jesus a prophet. When asked his opinion of Jesus in view of the fact that he had given him his sight, his answer was: "He is a prophet" (Jn. 9:17). Now a prophet is a man who brings God's message to men. "Surely the Lord God does nothing," said Amos, "without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets" (Am.3:7). A prophet is a man who lives close to God and has penetrated into his inner councils. When we read the wisdom of the words of Jesus, we are bound to say: "This is a prophet!" Whatever else may be in doubt, this is true--if men followed the teachings of Jesus, all personal, all social, all national, all

international problems would be solved. If ever any man had the right to be called a prophet, Jesus has.

(iii) Finally the blind man came to confess that Jesus was the Son of God He came to see that human categories were not adequate to describe him. Napoleon was once in a company in which a number of clever skeptics were discussing Jesus. They dismissed him as a very great man and nothing more. "Gentlemen." said Napoleon, "I know men, and Jesus Christ was more than a man."

"If Jesus Christ is a man And only a man--I say That of all mankind I cleave to him And to him will I cleave alway. If Jesus Christ is a god-- And the only God--I swear I will follow him through heaven and hell, The earth, the sea, and the air!"

It is a tremendous thing about Jesus that the more we know him the greater he becomes. The trouble with human relationships is that often the better we know a person the more we know his weaknesses and his failings; but the more we know Jesus, the greater the wonder becomes; and that will be true, not only in time, but also in eternity."

5. Intervarsity Commentary says, "This coming to faith is the crucial point of this story. In the physical healing of the man's eyes we see the agent of creation at work within his world. But the even more astounding work takes place as Jesus leads the man to faith in himself, for this is not just a creative work on the man's body, but the bringing of that essential life that was lost in Eden. That life had existed by virtue of the relationship of intimacy between Creator and created, and now in this man's worship of God in Jesus we see the return to the proper relationship that had been severed by the rebellion. The worship of the man who has found God in Christ is his entrance into eternal life (17:3)."

6. Calvin has some mixed feelings about the level of his faith at this point as he writes, "And he worshipped him. It may be asked, Did the blind man honor or worship Christ as God? The word which the Evangelist employs (prosekunesei) means nothing more than to express respect and homage by bending the knee, or by other signs. For my own part, certainly, I think that it denotes something rare and uncommon; namely, that the blind man gave far more honor to Christ than to an ordinary man, or even to a prophet. And yet I do not think that at that time he had made such progress as to know that Christ was God manifested in the flesh. What then is meant by worship? The blind man, convinced that Jesus was the Son of God, nearly lost the command of himself, and, in rapturous admiration, bowed down before him."

7. Henry wrote, "The poor man readily entertains this surprising revelation, and, in a transport of joy and wonder, he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshipped him. (1.) He professed his faith in Christ: Lord, I believe thee to be the Son of God. He would not dispute any thing that he said who had shown such mercy to him, and wrought

such a miracle for him, nor doubt of the truth of a doctrine which was confirmed by such signs. Believing with the heart, he thus confesses with the mouth; and now the bruised reed was become a cedar. (2.) He paid his homage to him: He worshipped him, not only gave him the civil respect due to a great man, and the acknowledgments owing to a kind benefactor, but herein gave him divine honour, and worshipped him as the Son of God manifested in the flesh. None but God is to be worshipped; so that in worshipping Jesus he owned him to be God. Note, True faith will show itself in a humble adoration of the Lord Jesus. Those who believe in him will see all the reason in the world to worship him. We never read any more of this man; but, it is very likely, from henceforth he became a constant follower of Christ."

39Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind."

1. Jesus hit us here with a great paradox, for he says that one of the purposes of his coming into the world was that the blind might see, and that those who see might become blind. So Jesus opens eyes and shuts them at the same time. He heals blindness and causes blindness. He opened the eyes of the blind man so that he could see physically and spiritually, and he saw his way into heaven by faith in Christ. He closed up the eyes of the Pharisees, however, so that they did not see the obvious in front of their face. They were blinded by their prejudice and missed their chance of seeing the way of salvation. The door was open in front of them, but they could not see it because they were being judged for their stubborn refusal to see what God was doing through Jesus. The world is composed of the blind who see, and the seeing who are blind.

2. THE BLIND WHO SEEJohn Milton went blind in his old age, but he could see with purer light than ever before. He wrote, " I AM old and blind! Men point at me as smitten by God's frown; Afflicted and deserted of my kind, Yet am I not cast down. I am weak, yet strong; 5I murmur not that I no longer see;

Poor, old, and helpless, I the more belong, Father Supreme! to Thee. All-merciful One! When men are furthest, then art Thou most near, When friends pass by, my weaknesses to shun, Thy chariot I hear. Thy glorious face Is leaning toward me, and its holy light Shines in upon my lonely dwelling-place,— And there is no more night."

Another poet wrote,Give unto me thy light, O God,For I am blind to Thee;My way is dark, my path is rough,Send Thy Spirit to me;Take all my hate and sin awayAnd give me sight to see.

Henry Van Dyke states what ought to be the attitude of every believer as he comes to the Scriptures.

Grant us the knowledge that we needTo solve the questions of the mind.

Light Thou our candles while we read, To keep our hearts from going blind.

Enlarge our vision to beholdThe wonders Thou hast wrought of old!

Edwin Markham wrote,

We all are blind, until we see that in the human plan,

Nothing is worth the making, if it does not make the man.

3. Barclay wrote, "Jesus came into this world for judgment. Whenever a man is confronted with Jesus, that man at once passes a judgment on himself. If he sees in Jesus nothing to desire, nothing to admire, nothing to love, then he has condemned

himself. If he sees in Jesus something to wonder at, something to respond to, something to reach out to, then he is on the way to God. The man who is conscious of his own blindness, and who longs to see better and to know more, is the man whose eyes can be opened and who can be led more and more deeply into the truth. The man who thinks he knows it all, the man who does not realize that he cannot see, is the man who is truly blind and beyond hope and help. Only the man who realizes his own weakness can become strong. Only the man who realizes his own blindness can learn to see. Only the man who realizes his own sin can be forgiven."

4. THE SEEING WHO ARE BLIND

Paul was a great leader and learned man before he bacame a Christian, but he was, like most Pharisees, blind to the reality of the incarnation of the Son of God in Jesus Christ. The Lord confronted him on the road to Demascus and knocked him blind, but his blindness led him to see for the first time who Jesus really was. Jesus then gave him a commission to go and help other blind people see the light in Christ. In Acts 26:15 to 18 we read Paul's testimony, " "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?' " 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'" The point is, all people not in the kingdom of God by faith in Christ are normal seeing people, but they are blind to the most important truth in life, and it was Paul's God given task to take the Gospel to these people, both Jews and Gentiles, that they might see and no longer be blind. Helping blind people see is the ministry of the whole church.

5. It is not only the lost, but even the saved, who can be blind and in need of radical enlightenment to be able to see God's will and purpose. In Rev.3:17-18 we read these words of Jesus to his church, "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see." Blind believers are a reality in every age, and so there is never an end to the need for more light from God's Word to keep believers on the right path.

6. Gene Bartlett tells of being in the college library and saw an olf friend. He ask why he was there and was told that he was waiting for his girlfriend to come from her dormitory to meet him there. It was the only place she could go to get out of the dormitory. Another girl came and told him his girlfriend would be 20 minutes late. The friend looked as if tragedy had struck. He said, "Can you beat it? I am stuck in the library for 20 minutes with nothing to do." Bartlett says he was in the midst of the greatest learning center in the world and had nothing to do. He was blind to all

the riches at his fingertips, and felt no need to take advantage of the opportunity to enrich his life.

7. Harry Kemp wrote, THE SPRING blew trumpets of color;Her Green sang in my brain—I heard a blind man groping“Tap—tap” with his cane; I pitied him in his blindness; But can I boast, “I see”?Perhaps there walks a spiritClose by, who pities me,— A spirit who hears me tappingThe five-sensed cane of mind Amid such unguessed glories—That I am worse than blind.

8. Barnes wrote, "For judgment. The word judgment, here, has been by some understood in the sense of condemnation-- "The effect of my coming is to condemn the world." But this meaning does not agree with those places where Jesus says that he came not to condemn the world, John 3:17; 12:47; 5:45. To judge is to express an opinion in a judicial manner, and also to express any sentiment about any person or thing, John 7:24; 5:30; Luke 8:43. The meaning here may be thus expressed:

"I came to declare the condition of men; to show them their duty and danger. My coming will have this effect, that some will be reformed and saved, and some more deeply condemned."

That they, &c. The Saviour does not affirm that this was the design of his coming, but that such would be the effect or result. He came to declare the truth, and the effect would be, &c. Similar instances of expression frequently occur. Comp. Matthew 11:25; 10:34: "I came not to send peace, but a sword "--that is, such will be the effect of my coming. That they which see not. Jesus took this illustration, as he commonly did, from the case before him; but it is evident that he meant it to be taken in a spiritual sense. He refers to those who are blind and ignorant by sin; whose minds have been darkened, but who are desirous of seeing. Might see. Might discern the path of truth, of duty, and of salvation, John 10:9. They which see. They who suppose they see; who are proud, self-confident, and despisers of the truth. Such were evidently the Pharisees. Might be made blind. Such would be the effect of his preaching. It would exasperate them, and their pride and opposition to him would confirm them more and more in their erroneous views. This is always the effect of truth. Where it does not soften it hardens the heart; where it does not convert, it sinks into deeper blindness and condemnation."

9. Calvin wrote, "It is true that we are all born blind, but still, amidst the darkness of corrupted and depraved nature, some sparks continue to shine, so that men differ from brute beasts. Now, if any man, elated by proud confidence in his own opinion, refuses to submit to God, he will seem -- apart from Christ -- to be wise, but the brightness of Christ will strike him with dismay; for never does the vanity of the human mind begin to be discovered, until heavenly wisdom is brought into view. But Christ intended, as I have already suggested, to express something more by these words. For hypocrites do not so obstinately resist God before Christ shines; but as soon as the light is brought near them, then do they, in open war, and -- as it were, with unfurled banner, -- rise up against God. It is in consequence of this depravity and ingratitude, therefore, that they become doubly blind, and that God, in righteous vengeance, entirely puts out their eyes, which were formerly destitute of the true light." "We ought to be the more careful that none of us, through a foolish and extravagant opinion of his wisdom, draw down upon himself this dreadful punishment. But experience shows us the truth of this statement which Christ uttered; for we see many persons struck with giddiness and rage, for no other reason but because they cannot endure the rising of the Sun of righteousness. Adam lived, and was endued with the true light of understanding, while he lost that divine blessing by desiring to see more than was allowed him. Now if, while we are plunged in blindness and thus humbled by the Lord, we still flatter ourselves in our darkness, and oppose our mad views to heavenly wisdom, we need not wonder if the vengeance of God fall heavily upon us, so that we are rendered doubly blind This very punishment was formerly inflicted on the wicked and unbelievers [280] under the Law; for Isaiah is sent to blind the ancient people, that seeing they may not see: blind the heart of this people, and shut their ears, (Isaiah 6:9.)"

10. John MacArthur wrote, "Now the whole subject of blindness is a very important subject in the Bible. All through Scripture, blindness is a spiritual metaphor. And it is used to represent the spiritual inability to see God's truth. As a man is physically blind, he cannot see God's visible revelation. That is he can't see the trees and the earth and the sky. But as a man is spiritually blind, he cannot see God's invisible revelation; love, truth, holiness, forgiveness, blessing, eternal life, grace, joy, peace, etc. As the blind does not see the vast blue of the clear sky, so the blind spirit does not see the vast holiness and purity of God. As the blind eye does not perceive the blanket of green that covers the earth, so the blind spirit cannot see the grace of God. As the blind eye does not see the immensity of creation, so the blind spirit does not see the limitless power of God. And as the blind eye sees no rainbow of colors that speckles the earth, so the blind spirit sees not the love of God which colors every revelation. As the blind eye cannot see light, so the blind spirit cannot see the light, the light of the world, Jesus Christ." "So, the world is divided into two

groups: those that are in darkness, the spiritually blind and those that have sight, the spiritually seeing. There are only two kinds of people. There's no half sight. There are no partially blind. You either see or you are totally blind. My dad told me that my grandfather used to say there's only two kinds of people in the world, the saints and the ain'ts, and that's all. Now this entire issue of blindness and the entire issue of sight is really what governs chapter 9 of John."

11. Paul Tillich has a wonderful message on this text dealing with the goal of seeing God and truth in Jesus Christ. I quote it in full, for it deals with a number of paradoxes that Jesus is dealing with here. It is paradoxical that the blind see, and that the seeing are blind. He writes, "The Bible of both Testaments, like much other religious literature, speaks again and again of "seeing." "Come and see." These words of the disciple sound through the writings of prophets and apostles. We have seen: this is the message of Gospels and Epistles. It is not true that religious faith is belief in things without evidence. The word "evidence" means "seeing thoroughly." And we are asked to see. We have present with us what we see; therefore, we want to see what we love, what is significant for us. The great men of God wanted to see God; Moses asked this as the highest of all favors of Jahveh. Isaiah was made the most powerful of the prophets after he had seen God in the temple. Jesus blesses the pure in heart as those who will see God. In the Fourth Gospel He says about Himself that He has seen the Father, and that whoever has seen Him has also seen the Father. In pious imagery the angels and the saints are described as those who see God face to face. And the ultimate fulfillment, the end of all moving and striving, is pictured as the eternal vision of God.

But doubts and questions arise when we look at our present human predicament. Is faith not the opposite of vision? Must we not believe without seeing? Does Jesus not bless those who have not seen and yet believe? Is not faith defined as the evidence of things not seen? And does not Paul write, "We walk by faith, not by sight"? "We look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal"? All this seems to indicate that faith must be based on hearing and not on seeing. You hear about something you do not see. You believe him who tells you. You accept the word of the authorities in humility and obedience. You believe what the Bible says because the Bible says it. You accept what the Church teaches because it is taught by the Church. You call the word of the Bible and of the Church "Word of God." You hear, you believe, you obey, but you do not see.

In former centuries there was a long-lasting struggle in the Church about the religious significance of hearing and seeing. First, seeing prevailed, but then hearing became more and more significant. Finally, in the days of the Reformation hearing became completely victorious. The typical Protestant church-buildings bear witness to this victory. They are halls to hear sermons, emptied of everything to be seen of pictures and sculptures, of lights and stained windows, of most of the sacramental activities. Around the desk of the preacher a room was built to listen to the words of the law and the gospel. The eye could not find a place to rest in contemplation.

Hearing replaced seeing, obedience replaced vision.

But Jesus says, "I came into this world, that those who do not see may see." And the apostle says, "That which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon—we proclaim to you." Both speak not about the future, but about something they have seen and still see. And they certainly do not feel as do old and new theologians that there is a conflict between seeing and hearing, between seeing and believing. "That which we have seen and heard," writes the apostle. "Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him," says Jesus. And most important and surprising: That which we have seen with our eyes according to our gospel is the Word, the eternal Word or Logos in whom God speaks, who can be seen through the works of creation and who is visible in the man Jesus. The Word can be seen, this is the highest unity of hearing and seeing, that is the truth which can bridge the Protestant and the Catholic half-truths.

Seeing is the most astonishing of our natural powers. It receives the light, the first of all that is created, and as the light does it conquers darkness and chaos. It creates for us an ordered world, things distinguished from each other and from us. Seeing shows us their unique countenance and the larger whole to which they belong. Wherever we see, a piece of the original chaos is transformed into creation. We distinguish, we recognize, we give a name, we know. "I have seen"—that means in Greek "I know." From seeing, all science starts, to seeing it must always return. We want to ask those who have seen with their eyes and we ourselves want to see with our eyes. Only the human eye is able to see in this way, to see a world in every small thing and to see a universe of all things. Therefore the human eye is infinite in reach and irresistible in power. It is the correlate to the light of creation.

But seeing means more than the creation of a world. Where we see we unite with what we see. Seeing is a kind of union. As poetry has described it, we drink colors and forms, forces and expressions. They become a part of ourselves. They give abundance to the poverty of our loneliness. Even when we are unaware of them they stream into us; but sometimes we notice them and welcome them and desire more of them.

Not all seeing has this character of union. If we look at things and observe them merely to control and to use them, no real union takes place. We keep them at a distance. We try to bring them into our power, to use them for our purposes, as means for our ends. There is no love in this kind of seeing. We glimpse the beings that shall serve us coldly; we have for those which we use a look, curious or indifferent, sensational or aggressive, hostile or cruel. There is abuse in the looking at those which we use. It is a seeing that violates and separates. This is the look of the masses who in medieval paintings are looking at the Crucified. But even this kind of seeing creates some union, though union through separation.

But the seeing that really unites is different. Our language has a word for it: Intuition. This means seeing into. It is an intimate seeing, a grasping and being

grasped. It is a seeing shaped by love. Plato, the teacher of the centuries, whose visions and words have deeply influenced the Fourth Gospel and the Church, knew about the seeing which unites. He called the love which drives us to a genuine intuition the "child of poverty and abundance." It is the love which fills our want with the abundance of our world. But it fills us in such a way that the disrupted multitude is not the last we see—a view which disrupts ourselves. The last we see lies in that which unites, which is eternal in and above the transitory things. Into this view Plato wanted to initiate his followers.

This leads us to another characteristic of seeing, the most significant of all. We never see only what we see; we always see something else with it and through it! Seeing creates, seeing unites, and above all seeing goes beyond itself. If we look at a stone we see directly only the colors and forms of the side which is turned towards us. But with and through this limited surface we are aware of the roundness, of the extension and mass of the structure of the whole thing. We see beyond what we see. If we look at an animal we see directly the colors and forms of its skin. But with it and through it we are aware of the tension and power of its muscles, of its inner strivings which are covered as well as revealed by the skin. We see not color spots, but a living being. If we look at a human face, we see lines and shades, but with it and through it we see a unique, incomparable personality whose expressions are visible in his face, whose character and destiny have left traces which we understand and in which we can even read something of his future. With and through colors and forms and movements we see friendliness and coldness, hostility and devotion, anger and love, sadness and joy. We see infinitely more than we see when we look into a human face. And we see even beyond this into a new depth. Again the language gives us a help when it speaks of con- templation. Con- templation means going into the temple, into the sphere of the holy, into the deep roots of things, into their creative ground. We see the mysterious powers which we call beauty and truth and goodness. We cannot see them as such, we can see them only in things and events. We see them with and through the shape of a rose and the movements of the stars and the image of a friend. We can see them, but it is not necessary that we see them.

We can close our eyes, we can become blind. Some are blind to any beauty which is more than a pleasant feeling, some are blind to any truth which is more than correct observation and calculation, some are blind to any goodness which is more than usefulness. And some are blind to any ground which is the unity of these powers and which we call "holy." It is the ultimate, the last which we can see with and through all things; and therefore it is the end of all seeing. It is the light itself and therefore it is darkness for our eyes. Only "with and through" can we see it, through things and men, through events and images. This seeing and not seeing at the same time is what we call faith. Nobody can see God; but we can see him "with and through." Here the conflict ends between seeing and hearing. The word tells us where to see and when we have seen we pronounce what we have seen and heard. In the state which we call faith, sound and vision are united and perhaps this is the reason why the "holy" likes to be expressed in music more than in any other medium. Music gives

wings to both, word and image, and goes beyond both of them.

But for a second time we are called down from the flight above to the lowliness of our human situation. Our Gospel calls us blind, all of us. And Jesus says that we are blind because we believe we see and do not know that we are blind; and He threatens that we shall be thrown into more blindness if we insist that we are seeing. The question is: Where of all places can and shall we see into the ground of all Being? Who can lead our contemplation into the temple, into the holy itself?

Seeing gives us a "world," the order and unity of the many. But we see within this order, disorder; within the unity, conflict threatening to explode the world itself and to bring back the old darkness of the chaos. And order and chaos are so mixed with each other that we often feel dizzy, without ground and meaning, desiring to keep our eyes closed. Seeing unites us with what we see. But we see so many things and beings with which we do not want to be united, towards which we are indifferent or hostile, which are indifferent or hostile to us, which are repulsive and which we hate to see just because every seeing unites, even if it is through hate. And it may be even our own self that we do not want to see because we are repelled by our image and because we hate it if we see it. Not in love but in hate are we united with ourselves, and perhaps we want to deprive ourselves of our eyes like Œdipus, of our eyes which first did not see what they ought to see and now cannot stand to see what they must see. And is not that which we love to see and that which we hate to see so mixed that we often praise the poverty of not seeing?

Seeing is seeing with and through beings into their depth, into the good and the true and into their holy ground. But which are the beings and images that shall lead us to this temple? Those whom Jesus called blind believed they knew the way to the temple, to the holy and the holiest. Innumerable temples all over the world contain things and images with and through which we can see God. But what we see are idols, fascinating, horrible, overwhelming in seductive beauty or destructive power, demanding what cannot be fulfilled, promising what cannot be given, giving what elevates and lowers at the same time. And this is so because they hold us fast to themselves and do not lead us beyond. Our eyes are bound by them, often bound by the demonic fascination they exercise and with which they take possession of us. We contemplate them, we go into their temples, we unite with them in self-surrender, and we leave them emptied, despairing, destroyed. This is the great temptation of seeing. This is the reason why hearing was put against seeing. It is the reason why images were destroyed again and again and every image forbidden, why the temples were burned and God was called the Infinite Void. But this cannot be the last word. Emptiness can be both light and darkness; and we want light, the light which is life and vision.

Jesus also could have become an idol, a national and religious hero, fascinating and destructive. This is what the disciples and the masses wanted Him to be. They saw Him, they loved Him, they saw with and through Him the good and the true, the holy itself. But they succumbed to the temptation of seeing. They kept to that which

must be sacrificed if God shall be seen with and through any mortal being. And when He sacrificed Himself, they looked away in despair like those whose image and idol is destroyed. But He was too strong; He drew their eyes back to Him, but now to Him crucified. And they could stand it, for they saw with Him and through Him the God who is really God. He who has seen Him has seen the Father: This is true only of the Crucified. But of Him it is true. Certainly He is not the only one to look at in intuition and contemplation. We are not asked to stare at Him, as some do. We are not asked to look away from everything for His sake, as some do.

We are not asked to give up the abundance of His creation as some do. We are not asked to refuse union with what we see as some do. But we are asked to see with and through everything into the depth into which He shows the way. We shall see into it unimpeded by that which tries to keep us, away from the last depth. And when we are tired of seeing the abundance of the world with all its disorder, its hate and separation, its demonic destruction, and if we are also unable to look into the blinding light of the divine ground, then let us close our eyes. And then it might happen that we see the picture of someone who looks at us with eyes of infinite human depth and therefore of divine power and love. And these eyes say to us "Come and see."

12. Maclaren wrote, "The proportionate length at which this miracle and its accompanying effects are recorded, indicates very clearly the Evangelist's idea of their relative importance. Two verses are given to the story of the miracle; all the rest of the chapter to its preface and its issues. It was a great thing to heal a man that was blind from his birth, but the story of the gradual illumination of his spirit until it came to the full light of the perception of Christ as the Son of God, was far more to the Evangelist, and ought to be far more to us than giving the outward eye power to discern the outward light. The narrative has a prologue and an epilogue, and the true point of view from which to look at it is found in the solemn words with which our Lord closes the incident. 'For judgment am I come into this world, that they which see not might see, and that they which see might be made blind.'"

40Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

1. They knew that Jesus was talking about them. Edward Markquart wrote, "At the end of this story, the Pharisees questioned: “Are we blind?” And Jesus answered, “You better believe it! You are blind!” The Pharisees countered Jesus, “How do you say we are blind? We are the faithful pillars of our synagogue. We faithfully attend worship each week. We pray every day. We give our ten percent, our tithe. We know our Bibles. How can you say that we are blind even though we worship faithfully, pray faithfully, give our money faithfully, and know our Bibles better

than most folks? How dare you say that we are blind?” Jesus said, “I know you are very religious, but you still are blind.”

2. Calvin wrote, "Are we also blind? This question arose from indignation, because they thought that they were insulted by being classed with blind men; and, at the same time, it shows a haughty contempt of the grace of Christ accompanied by mockery, as if they had said, "Thou canst not rise to reputation without involving us in disgrace; and is it to be endured that thou shouldst obtain honor for thyself by upbraiding us? As to the promise thou makest of giving new light to the blind, go hence and leave us with thy benefit; for we do not choose to receive sight from thee on the condition of admitting that we have been hitherto blind." Hence we perceive that hypocrisy has always been full of pride and of venom. The pride is manifested by their being satisfied with themselves, and refusing to have any thing taken from them; and the venom, by their being enraged at Christ and arguing with him, because he has pointed out their wound, as if he had inflicted on them a grievous wound. Hence arises contempt of Christ and of the grace which he offers to them."

"But as it is added in this passage, but now you say you see, in order that the points of contrast may correspond to each other, it appears to be more consistent to explain them to mean, that he is blind who, aware of his own blindness, seeks a remedy to cure his disease. [281] In this way the meaning will be, "If you would acknowledge your disease, it would not be altogether incurable; but now because you think that you are in perfect health, you continue in a desperate state."

3. Ernest Flores deals with the blind spot of the Pharisees. They just could not see the obvious because of their blind spot in relation to Jesus. He gives a humorous illustration of how people have blind spots that make them oblivious to what is right in front of their face. He writes, "One of our young people passed me a joke this morning that fits the occasion. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal and a bottle of wine, they lay down for the night and wen tot sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. "Watson, look up and tell me what you see." Watson replied, "I see millions and millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" Watson pondered for a minute. "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all-powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Why, what does it tell you?" Holmes said, "Watson you idiot, someone has stolen our tent." Sometimes we are blind to what is going on right in our midst, and in a spiritual sense, we can be blind to what God is doing so well for us."

"These Pharisees were religious leaders, well trained, educated, and respected in the community. They could speak doctrine with the best of them. They were known for their spirituality, for their religious observance. Good church member material were these Pharisees. We often chide them for their hypocrisy, for their outward displays of piety when God was looking at their inward feelings of haughtiness and arrogance. But that outward stuff, those things that we with mere mortal discernment can ascertain, well those things spoke very highly of the Pharisees. Praying all the time, reading the scriptures on a daily basis, strictly adhering to religious law. But what Jesus says here is that even if you are spiritually gifted, there are still going to be some blind spots. Follow me to I Corinthians chapter 13, and let us see what Paul had to say about this same kind of subject. I Corinthians 13 verse 1, "If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. I f I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." No matter who you are, no matter your theological training, no matter your years of experience at being a religious person, everyone has a blind spot. And when you have a blind spot that you are unwilling to check on, and maybe you're unwilling to admit you have a spiritual blind spot, then you just might miss out on what God is doing right there in your midst."

4. Some of the Pharisees did finally see the light and believed in Jesus, but most of them, and especially the leaders remained blind to the end. Someone put these Scriptures together with a brief comment. "2 Corinthians 3:14 "But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ." So, the answer for those who ask if they also are blind, depends on what they will do with Jesus. And apparently some did believe, even though it was hard for them to make a clean break from their religious group. John gives us some summary thoughts about light, sight, and personal response, in a later chapter of his gospel. John 12:36-43 "While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them. But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? And to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him. Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." So, whether you have eyesight or not, we all need the light of the world to guide us to the healing of our souls by faith in him alone. Since the light of truth has come into the world for all to see, those who do not believe that they are spiritually blind, and therefore fail to receive their sight from the giver of light and

life, will remain in their sin."

41Jesus said, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.

1. John MacArthur sees this as a turning point in the ministry of Jesus. This was the last straw that broke the camel's back, and broke the effort of Jesus to try and win the Jewish leaders over to the realm of belief in him. MacArthur wrote, "Now you'd think that the people would say, "Oh, that settles it, this is the Christ. I mean, how could we doubt it? I mean, it's got to be Him." But they didn't. They were so locked in their ignorant unbelief that Jesus begins to abandon them starting in chapter 9. And now you have that tragic account of what Paul mentions in Romans 1 when he says God looked at these people who had perverted what they knew of God and in three times Paul says this, "God gave them up, God gave them up, God gave them over to a reprobate...what?...mind." And here you have it right here, Jesus Christ just backs off and says okay, that's all. Claim after claim after claim He stayed there confronting them till they picked up stones to kill Him at the end of chapter 8 and He says that's it. After this miracle, a renewed hating antagonistic people come after Jesus again. And Jesus abandons them and begins to gather a little flock of believers and nourish them and prepare them for His departure in a few months. This is a real crux in the gospel of John. He moves away from the mass of Israel and the unbelieving Jewish leaders. And it's sad, it really is sad."

2. "There are none so blind as those who will not see." This was the Pharisees. They claim to be able to see that Jesus is a sinner who breaks the law of God and so is not from God. They see this clearly, and that is why they are condemned, for they see only what their prejudice enables them to see, and this makes them guilty of the greatest kind of blindness. People who are prejudice do not see that they are being evil in their judgment. They feel perfectly okey with it, and see no wrong it in, and that is what makes them all the more guilty of sin. Others are truly ignorant and products of wrong teaching, but they are open for growth in understanding, and are willing to confess their ignorance. These people are blinded, but they will be forgiven and made to see the truth. It is those who are locked into a false prejudice that they are fully convinced is the truth who will remain blind and guilty, and such were the Pharisees. Barnes wrote, "Men's sins will always be unpardoned while they are proud, and self-sufficient, and confident of their own wisdom. If they will come with humble hearts and confess their ignorance, God will forgive, enlighten, and guide them in the path to heaven."

3. Barclay wrote, "The more knowledge a man has the more he is to be condemned

if he does not recognize the good when he sees it. If the Pharisees had been brought up in ignorance, they could not have been condemned. Their condemnation lay in the fact that they knew so much and claimed to see so well, and yet failed to recognize God's Son when he came. The law that responsibility is the other side of privilege is written into life."

4. It has profound inplications in relation to the issue of the lost masses of the world. If one is truly blind, he is not guilty of sin. Jesus said in John 15:22, " If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin..."This means that those who do not have the light of truth, and live in blindness, as masses do, are not held accountable for their sins. They will be judged according to the light which they have, and this is why there are different levels of judgment. This is a vast issue best studied in the book of Romans, but this is one of the foundation truths on which the mercy of God is built in relation to the blind of the world.

5. Intervarsity Commentary says, "We again see the great need for humility, openness and recognition of need. The man has emphasized his ignorance (vv. 25, 36), while they have emphasized their knowledge (vv. 16, 22, 29). Those who settle into blindness without a disposition of openness to God are "incurable since they have deliberately rejected the only cure that exists" (Barrett 1978:366). In a similar situation Jesus refers to blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Mk 3:29), since in that case Jesus' opponents were seeing his gracious acts and saying they were the work of the Beelzebub, the prince of demons. Such a sin is unforgivable precisely because the person is looking at the character and work of the one who is all good and calling it evil. This perception prevents one from turning to God.

Intervarsity Commentary ends this chapter with these words, "So this story offers many challenges. We need to realize our own utter poverty, blindness and need apart from Christ. We need to see with his eyes the desperate condition of all who have not been illumined by him, the light of the world. We need to consider before God whether there are ways we reject the evidence of our own experience because we have a faulty understanding of him and his ways. We need to consider before God whether we have God too figured out--or, in this day, whether we have the opposite tendency to think that everything is up for grabs and there is no objective truth or that the Scriptures are not clear and coherent when interpreted in the light of the guidance the Spirit has given to the church. Finally, among many other connections that might be made, we need Jesus to be our center of reference, like this blind man did, so that we are stable, secure and bold no matter what hassles come to us due to our relationship with Jesus, for we have experienced the goodness and mercy of God in Jesus."

6. The bottom line is, the real blindness in this world is not with those who cannot see the light of the sun, but with those who will not see the light of the Son. It is spiritual blindness that is the curse of God and the blindness that is really caused by sin. There is nothing worse than to be given the light that leads to eternal life, and then say I do not need it, for I am good enough, and I will take my chances without trusting in somone else to be my Savior. This kind of pride is blind to the only

reality that really matters, for it is blind to their own folly, and blind to the wonder of God's grace in providing a way through Jesus Christ to be with him in heaven for all eternity. Our ultimate pity should not be for blind people, for they ofen have lives of great meaning and joy, and the hope of eternal life in Christ, but for the spiritually blind who never see Christ as the only Way to eternal happiness.

7. Maclaren wrote, "The purpose of His coming is not to judge, but to save. But if men will not let Him save, the effect of His coming will be to harm. Therefore, His coming will separate men into two parts, as a magnet will draw all the iron filings out of a heap and leave the brass. He comes not to judge, but His coming does judge. He is set for the rise or for the fall of men, and is 'a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.' Light has a twofold effect. It is torture to the diseased eye; it is gladdening to the sound one. Christ is the light, as He is also both the power of seeing and the thing seen. Therefore, it cannot but be that His shining upon men's hearts shall judge them, and shall either enlighten or darken. We all have eyes--the organs by which we may see 'the light of the knowledge of the glory of God.' We have all blinded ourselves by our sin. Christ is come to show us God, to be the light by which we see God, and to strengthen and restore our faculty of seeing Him. If you welcome Him, and take Him into your hearts, He will be at once light and eyesight to you. But if you turn away from Him He will be blindness and darkness to you. He comes to pour eyesight on the blind, but He comes therefore also, most assuredly, to make still blinder those who do not know themselves to be blind, and conceit themselves to be clear-sighted. 'I thank Thee, Father, that Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.'"

8. What a paradox were the Pharisees, for their very name had see in it, but they could not see the light of the world when he stood in their face, and they could not see his wondrous works as from God when the evidence was abundant. They should have been called Pharinotsees, or Phariblinds. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, "A man's ignorance is as much his private property, and as precious in his own eyes as his family Bible." This describes the Pharisees perfectly, for they clung to their ignorance to the end. Aldous Huxley said, "Facts don't cease to exist just because they are ignored." Jesus was Lord, and this fact they ignored, but the healed blind man saw it and the Savior he adored.

9. Pink wrote, " This receives explanation in John 15:22-24: "If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak (excuse) for their sin. He that hateth Me hateth My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both Me and My Father." The simple meaning then of these words of Christ to the Pharisees is this: "If you were sensible of your blindness and really desired light, if you would take this place before Me, salvation would be yours and no condemnation would rest upon you. But because of your pride and self-sufficiency, because you refuse to acknowledge your undone condition, your guilt remaineth."

10. The following is a poetic description of this whole account by Susan H. Peterson.

Christ a blind man saw one day, as He went along his way.

His disciples asked, “Who sinned, that he blind from birth has been?”

Jesus said, “Sin’s not to blame, but God’s work will now be plain.”

Then He spit upon the ground, made some mud, and put it on.

“Go and wash,” He then did say, and the blind man did obey.

He was blind no more; he now could see.

All the people were confused when they heard about the news.

They said, “Blind you’ve been for life. How then did you gain your sight?”

He said, “Jesus—it was He. He made mud, I washed, now see.”

Then the Pharisees complained, though the miracle was plain.

“This man’s not from God,” they claimed, “for the Sabbath He’s profaned.”

They were blind from sin; they could not see.

The man’s parents then were called and were asked to recount all.

They confessed he was their son, but knew not what Christ had done.

They said, “Ask him; let him tell. He’s of age and can speak well.”

So they summoned him once more. Said, “This Man’s a sinner sure.”

He said, “Whether He has blame, I know not, but this is plain:

Though I once was blind, I now can see!”

Still the Pharisees did rail, asked him to repeat his tale.

Said, “His foll’wer you’ve become, though we don’t know where He’s from.”

He replied, “If not from God, this man could not do such good.”

Then they drove him from that place. Jesus found him in disgrace.

Said, “The Son of Man now speaks; you have seen Him; now believe.”

He said, “I believe; Lord, I believe!”

Jesus came to judge the earth and show sin for what it’s worth.

As He gave the blind man sight, He can cleanse us by His might.

But we must admit we’re blind, or His healing we’ll not find.

If we claim that we can see, we will ever guilty be.

But when we in Him believe, He will then our guilt relieve.

We’ll be blind no more when we believe.