9 While Jesus was walking, he saw a man who had been blind since the time he was born. 2 Jesus’ followers asked him, “Teacher, why was this man born blind? Whose sin made it happen? Was it his own sin or that of his parents?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not any sin of this man or his parents that caused him to be blind. He was born blind so that he could be used to show what great things God can do. 4 While it is daytime, we must continue doing the work of the one who sent me. The night is coming, and no one can work at night. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the dirt, made some mud and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 Jesus told him, “Go and wash in Siloam pool.” (Siloam means “Sent.”) So the man went to the pool, washed and came back. He was now able to see.
8 His neighbors and some others who had seen him begging said, “Look! Is this the same man who always sits and begs?”
9 Some people said, “Yes! He is the one.” But others said, “No, he can’t be the same man. He only looks like him.”
So the man himself said, “I am that same man.”
10 They asked, “What happened? How did you get your sight?”
11 He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went there and washed. And then I could see.”
12 They asked him, “Where is this man?”
He answered, “I don’t know.”
“We should have faith in God at all times. We should trust Him and never not trust Him to help us. We should always believe Him at all costs.” Samuel, 8
“God loves everybody. The people that did not care about the blind man were selfish and did not care about anybody else. But God still loves them.” Brody, 8
“Jesus heals people. Jesus is kind to people even if the people were strangers. He doesn’t care what people think. He doesn’t care if people stare.” Emily, 8
9 While Jesus was walking, he saw a man who had been blind since the time he was born. 2 Jesus’ followers asked him, “Teacher, why was this man born blind? Whose sin made it happen? Was it his own sin or that of his parents?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not any sin of this man or his parents that caused him to be blind. He was born blind so that he could be used to show what great things God can do.
Bible teacher Thomas Constable was very smart when he said that Jesus’ disciples looked at the man born blind as an example of God’s displeasure. They wanted to know whether the man born blind or his parents had sinned. Jesus looked at the man’s blindness as an opportunity to show God’s love and grace.
We need to always be looking at people as opportunities for God’s grace. We need to always ask ourselves what God is doing in the lives of family, friends and strangers. God is always at work in the lives of people. Jesus died for all people (I John 2:2) and he is drawing all people to himself (John 12:32). God wants to use you as his ambassador to bring the good news of the gospel to people who do not know Jesus (II Corinthians 5:20).
Much suffering in this world occurs because sin has corrupted God’s original creation. Before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, do you think they got sick?
Probably not.
Suffering can occur because of specific sins, but not always. Just because someone is suffering does not mean God is judging them for a sin. We live in a fallen world that is suffering. Sin has entered into it. When the New Jerusalem comes from heaven to earth, God will cleanse the world of sin. Jesus will establish his eternal kingdom.
Our flesh and blood bodies do not last forever. They get sick and die. All who believe in Jesus Christ will receive a resurrection body that will never get sick or die. When people suffer, look for opportunities to show God’s love to them. Be kind and show compassion.
4 While it is daytime, we must continue doing the work of the one who sent me. The night is coming, and no one can work at night. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
The daytime is the time God gave Jesus to do his ministry. As the Light of the World, Jesus knew his time on Earth was limited. He knew that he would leave this world when he died on the cross for our sins. When Jesus walked on the Earth, the light of God’s grace and love shined brightly into this dark world of sin and rebellion against God.
When the Light of the World (Jesus) died on the cross, the world became a darker place. Three days after Jesus died, God the Father raised him from the dead. When Jesus appeared to his disciples in a resurrected body, he breathed upon them and they received the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). Just as God breathed the breath of life into Adam at creation, Jesus breathed the Holy Spirit into his new creation. Remember, all who believe in Christ are part of a “new creation,” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
A few days later at Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to Jewish believers from many countries (Acts 2). Later, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to Gentiles (non-Jews) when Cornelius and his household believed in Jesus (Acts 10).
By sending the Holy Spirit to all believers, Jesus gives the light of the grace gospel to us. The light of the grace gospel is the only true hope anyone can have in this world of darkness in which we live. When Jesus returns, he will establish a new world order in which his love and light will overcome sin’s darkness.
In the Bible, sin is always called darkness because all sin is against God. The nature of sin is that it wants to hide from God. For example, thieves usually operate at night or in secret. They don’t want anyone to see that they are stealing.
In God’s new creation, nothing will be hidden. Everything will be clear. You will never have to worry about someone lying to you. In the New Jerusalem, everyone will tell the truth all the time. No one will steal anything from you.
The New Jerusalem will come from heaven to Earth when Jesus returns. “The street of the city [New Jerusalem] was made of pure gold, as clear as glass,” (Revelation 21:21b). Even the streets of gold are clear as glass. Wow!
Just as Jesus was the Light of the World during his ministry, you are now his light in this world. You don’t know how much time you will have to let your light shine into this dark world. You can be sure that Jesus has a ministry for you.
Don’t waste time chasing the pleasures of this world. Like rainbows, they will soon fade. Learn the Bible, hear God’s voice and do his will. Jesus will reward you by blessing you now and rewarding you with an important place in his kingdom when he returns to Earth.
6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the dirt, made some mud and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 Jesus told him, “Go and wash in Siloam pool.” (Siloam means “Sent.”) So the man went to the pool, washed and came back. He was now able to see.
Why did Jesus spit on the ground to make mud or clay to put on the blind man’s eyes?
The Pharisees (religious Jews) thought that they would protect people from breaking God’s Sabbath by creating additional rules. God created the Sabbath to be a day of rest for his people. God wanted it to be a blessing. Instead, the Pharisees made the Sabbath a burden by creating all kinds of silly laws. They said that if you spit on the seventh day of the week, you had to spit on a rock. If you spit on the ground, it would mix with the dirt to make clay. That would be work instead of rest.
When Jesus spit on the ground to make mud or clay to put on the blind man’s eyes, he purposely broke one of the silly rules created by the Pharisees. You could say that Jesus spit in the face of the Pharisees when he spit on the ground to make mud to put on the blind man’s eyes.
8 His neighbors and some others who had seen him begging said, “Look! Is this the same man who always sits and begs?”
9 Some people said, “Yes! He is the one.” But others said, “No, he can’t be the same man. He only looks like him.”
So the man himself said, “I am that same man.”
Because this man was born blind, he had probably been begging a long time. It seems like everyone knew him. Yet, when he appears as a seeing person, some doubt whether it is the same person. Even more amazing is the debate they have in front of him to decide if he is the man born blind. Why didn’t they just ask him if he was same man? The man born blind finally stops the debate when he says, “I am that same man.”
10 They asked, “What happened? How did you get your sight?”
11 He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. Then he told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went there and washed. And then I could see.”
12 They asked him, “Where is this man?”
He answered, “I don’t know.”
This is the first of four times in John 9 where people asked the healed man, “How did you get your sight?” Instead of asking “how,” they should have asked “who.” Instead of wanting to know the details of how the miracle occurred, the people should have simply trusted in Jesus as the person who healed the blind man.
Are we any different?
Especially in our scientific age, we want to know “how” something is done. There are plenty of times in life to ask “how,” but not in relation to God. Because God’s wisdom and ways are so far above us, we don’t need to worry about how he is doing something. If God wants to reveal the “how” to us, he will. It should be enough for us to know the “who.” When the “who” is God, we can rest without knowing the “how.”
We need to relate to Jesus as small children relate to good parents. Small children have faith in their parents to make the right decisions for them. Even if Jesus does not show us the details of how he works, we need to believe in him.
Remember Nicodemus from John 3? When Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again, he wanted to know “how” he could enter again into his mother’s stomach and be born again as a baby. The new birth is a spiritual birth that occurs when people believe in Jesus as their savior and stop trusting in themselves or something religious.
There is one lesson we can learn from “how” Jesus performed this miracle. Jesus did not look for approval from people. If he had sought people’s applause, he might have made a big announcement and then performed the miracle in front of a crowd. After Jesus placed mud on the blind man’s eyes, he sent him away to wash in the pool of Siloam. Jesus probably wasn’t at the pool when the blind man received his sight.
When you serve the Lord, it doesn’t matter if anyone sees what you do. Don’t seek praise from people for good things you do. God sees and knows what you are doing. He will reward you. Whatever good deeds the Lord gives you to do, do them for him and not for the praise of people.
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