The Gospel of John for Youth
Commentary by Pastor Ron
Beckham
John Chapter 9
(Words in red in the
Scriptures are the words of Jesus)
Verse 1. "As He passed
by, He saw a man blind from birth."
This man was BLIND and had been blind, all his
life! In those days, there were no doctors who could help him. All he could ever
be was a beggar (verse 8), sitting at the side of the road. The man had no hope
- but now, Jesus was at his side.
Verse 2. "And His
disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would
be born blind?'"
Jesus' disciples (students) thought that if
someone was sick or blind, they must have done something bad - or maybe, they
thought, it was his parents who had done something wrong.
Verse 3. "Jesus
answered, 'It was neither that this man sinned, nor
his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.'"
It was not because the man or his parents had
done something wrong that he was blind. He was blind because Jesus was going to
heal him, and all of us would see that God helps people who are in need. If
something goes wrong with you, it should NOT be assumed there is something "bad"
about you.
Verse 4. "We
must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming
when no one can work."
When Jesus was here, it was like DAYLIGHT had
come to a dark world. He would soon leave this world, but His light shines
inside of those who love Him. We must work the good works of God in the lives of
other people, as long as we can.
Verse 5. "While
I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."
If you and I understand
ANYTHING, it is because Jesus has allowed us to learn. We can look into the
Bible and see His words, which help us understand. His light is shared
with us, and we can tell others about Him. Jesus is the Light of this world.
Verse 6. "When He had
said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the
clay to his eyes."
There is nothing in spit that heals and the
ground does not heal, either. It is the touch of Jesus that heals, and He showed
this in the making of these little clay balls. Everyone needs His touch in order
to be made whole.
Verse 7. "and said
to him, 'Go wash in the pool of Siloam"
(which is translated Sent). And so he went away and washed, and came back
seeing."
Not everyone has the same needs. Jesus can
touch you with healing, without you ever knowing He did! But it's important that
we know our healing comes from God. Jesus sent this man to the "pool of Siloam",
and when He sends you and me somewhere - we should go, too.
Verse 8.
"Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were
saying, 'Is not this the one who used to sit and
beg?'"
People had seen this man before. He had been
blind and in those times, all he could do was sit at the side of the road and
beg for money. But now he had been healed by Jesus and he didn't have to be
there anymore. People saw him and wondered, "Is this the same man?" Yes, he
was.
Verse 9. "Others were
saying, 'This is he;' still others were saying, ' No, but he is like him." He
kept saying, 'I am the one.'"
Some people thought he was the man who had been
a blind beggar and others were saying, "It's not him!" How would you like it if
people were saying, "You're not you!" to your face. He wasn't blind anymore, and
he kept answering, "It's me!"
Verse 10. "Therefore
they were saying to him, 'How then were your eyes opened?'"
The people were
astonished that this man, who had been blind since birth, could now see! They
kept asking him, "If you're the guy who was blind and used to sit here begging
for money, how come you can see now?"
Verse 11. "He
answered, 'The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said
to me, Go to Siloam and wash;
so I went away and washed, and I received sight.'"
The man who was healed of blindness, told them
what had happened. "The man named Jesus, made clay out of dirt and spit, put it
on my eyes, and told me to go wash myself in the pool of Siloam. I did what he
told me to do, and I'm not blind anymore!" We need to do as Jesus tells us.
Verse 12. "They said to
him, 'Where is He?' He said, 'I do not know.'"
The people were asking the man who had been
healed of blindness, "Where is this 'Jesus' who healed you?" they were asking.
The man said, "I don't know where Jesus is."
Verse 13. "They brought
to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind."
The people were astonished that a blind man had
been healed by Jesus. They brought the man to some of the Jewish leaders (called
Pharisees), thinking that maybe they could understand how this had
happened.
Verse 14. "Now it was a
Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes."
Jesus had healed the man of blindness on
Saturday. The "Sabbath" was a time of rest, between Friday evening and Saturday
evening. The Jewish leaders taught that no work of any kind was to be done
during that time, and it is true that God wanted people to REST from their jobs
during that time.
Verse 15. "Again,
therefore the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight.
And he said to them, 'He applied clay to my eyes,
and I washed, and I see.'"
The man who had been blind was asked the same
question, over and over: "How were you healed of your blindness?" And he kept
giving the same answer: Jesus put some clay on my eyes; I went to the pool of
Siloam just like He told me, and now I can see!"
Verse 16.
"Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, 'This man is not from God, because
He does not keep the Sabbath.' But others were
saying, 'How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?' And there was a
division among them."
The Pharisees (Jewish leaders) were talking
about Jesus, and wondering about Him. Some thought He was a fake, because He
healed people on the Sabbath (they thought of healing as a form of "work").
Others just looked at what He did, and thought He must be sent from God, or He
could not heal people. The Pharisees were arguing with each other.
Verse 17. "So they
said to the blind man again, 'What do you say about Him, since He opened your
eyes?' And he said, 'He is a prophet.'"
A "prophet" is someone sent by God, to tell us
the words of God. The Pharisees (Jewish leaders) directly asked the formerly
blind man what HE thought about Jesus. He answered that he thought Jesus was a
prophet sent from God.
Verse 18. "The
Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received
sight until they called the parents of the very one
who had received his sight,"
Many of the Pharisees (Jewish leaders) did not
believe that the man had ever been blind at all. They believed his healing was a
fake - some kind of trick. They now questioned the PARENTS of the man.
Verse 19. "and
questioned them, saying, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how
does he now see?'"
The religious leaders (Pharisees) were
questioning the parents of the man who had been healed of his blindness by
Jesus. "Is this REALLY your son? Was he REALLY born blind?" And they asked, "If
this is really him, then how is it that he can see now?"
Verse 20. "His parents
answered them and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born
blind;'"
The parents of the man who had been blind,
didn't really know ANYTHING about what had happened to their son. They only knew
what they said: He WAS their son, and he had been born blind (he could not see
with his eyes all his life).
Verse 21. "but how
he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he
is of age, he will speak for himself."
The parents of the man who had been blind,
continued to answer the Pharisees, about their son. They said that they did not
know why he could now see, and they did not know who had helped him. They said,
"He's a grownup now - ask him!"
Verse 22. "His
parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already
agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ,
he was to be put out of the synagogue."
The parents of the young man who had been
blind, were afraid of the men they were speaking to. They knew these religious
leaders would throw them out of Jewish worship services (the "synagogue"). It
was like being told they couldn't go to "church" anymore.
Verse 23. "For this
reason his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
The parents of the man who had been healed of
blindness, didn't want to answer the Pharisees (religious leaders) because they
were afraid they would be thrown out of the "synagogue" (place of worship). So,
they pointed at their son, who could now see, and said "Ask HIM!"
Verse 24. "So a
second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, 'Give glory
to God; we know that this man is a sinner.'"
The Pharisees (religious leaders) didn't care
that Jesus had healed the man who had been blind. All they cared about was that
Jesus ("this man") didn't follow them. They thought that anybody who
didn't do things THEIR way, was a "sinner."
Verse 25. "He then
answered, 'Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that
though I was blind, now I see.'"
The "Pharisees" were
leaders of the people and they were supposed to know about religious
things. But Jesus, the One they were accusing of being a "sinner" (verse 24),
had given sight to this man's eyes. The man didn't know WHAT to believe, except
he knew that, yesterday he was blind, and today he could SEE.
Verse 26. "They said
therefore to him, 'What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?'"
The Pharisees kept demanding answers from the
man who had been blind. What did Jesus do to you? How did He do this? HOW did he
make you able to see? They needed to stop asking so many questions, and trust in
Jesus, who had given SIGHT to this man.
Verse 27. "He
answered them, 'I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to
hear it again? You do not want to become His
disciples too, do you?'"
The man who had been
healed of blindness was getting angry. The Pharisees (religious leaders) kept
asking the same questions over and over again. He sarcastically asked
them if they meant to become Jesus' disciples (students)? They didn't and he
knew it, but it was fun to ask the question.
Verse 28. "They reviled
him and said, 'You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.'"
The Pharisees (religious leaders) thought they
were followers of Moses. They were not. Moses was a man of faith in God. They
did not have faith - they just followed rules. They now accused the man who was
healed of blindness of being a disciple (student) of Jesus. ("What a good idea",
he must have thought).
Verse 29. "We know that
God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from."
It is true that God spoke to Moses and the
Pharisees were right in saying so. They were also right in saying they did not
know where Jesus came from. He was from God, and since they did not know God,
they did not know where He was from.
Verse 30. "The man
answered and said to them, 'Well here is an amazing thing, that you do not know
where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.'"
The man who had been blind was amazed at the
religious leaders. He had been HEALED of blindness by Jesus, and yet the
leaders, who were supposed to know about God, knew NOTHING about Jesus. This man
could SEE, and yet they did not understand.
Verse 31. "We know that
God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He
hears him."
The man who had been blind, continued to answer
the Pharisees (religious leaders). They had called Jesus a "sinner" (verse 24),
but he knew Jesus was from God, because He had healed Him. It was through Jesus
that this man's eyes had been opened. He was blind, but now he could see!
Verse 32. "Since the
beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a
person born blind."
These days, doctors can operate on the eyes of
the blind and often, they can see! But it was not true in Jesus' day. Someone
who was blind had no hope they would ever see - they were blind for life! But
not this man. Jesus had "opened" his eyes - the man could now see!
Verse 33. "If this man
were not from God, He could do nothing."
The man who had been blind, continued to answer
the Pharisees (religious leaders). They were telling the man that Jesus was a
"sinner" (verse 24) but the man knew he had been blind and now he could SEE!
(verse 25). He also knew that Jesus was from God. Why didn't they understand,
he wondered?
Verse 34. "They answered
him, 'You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?' So they put him
out."
The Pharisees (religious leaders) thought they
were special (they were proud). They thought that if this man had been blind, he
must be a "sinner". The man WAS a sinner, but so were the Pharisees (all have
sinned in the sight of God, and all of us need Jesus Christ). The Pharisees were
wrong but they threw the man out of the Jewish "synagogue" (which was like
belonging to a church).
Verse 35. "Jesus
heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, 'Do
you believe in the Son of Man?'"
Jesus heard the news that the man who had been
healed of blindness had been thrown out of the Jewish religion by the Pharisees
(religious leaders). The Lord Jesus went to him and asked him if he believed.
The "Son of Man" is Jesus Christ.
Verse 36. "He answered,
'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?'"
The man who had been healed of blindness,
answered Jesus: He was willing to believe, but He did not know who this "Son of
Man" was, that Jesus spoke about.
Verse 37. "Jesus
said to him, 'You have both seen Him, and He is the
one who is talking with you."
"You have SEEN Him." The man had been blind,
unable to see anything, but now he could see Jesus, who was telling him that HE
(Jesus) is the "Son of Man". It is important that you and I believe in the Lord
Jesus.
Verse 38. "And he said,
'Lord, I believe.' And he worshiped Him."
The man who had been blind, BELIEVED in the
Lord Jesus. He now knew that the One who had healed him, was the "Son of Man",
the Special One, sent from God to this world.
Verse 39. "And
Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world,
so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.'"
The Pharisees (religious leaders) thought they
could "see" (understand) but they didn't. This man had been blind but now he
could see, and he understood that Jesus was his Savior. The man now had
EVERYTHING but the Pharisees (who thought they knew things) had NOTHING at all.
Verse 40. "Those of the
Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and said to Him, 'We are not
blind too, are we?'"
The Pharisees who were standing next to Jesus,
heard him tell the man that most people really don't "see" (know) ANYTHING! His
words worried the Pharisees, who asked Him, "Are we blind?" Yes, they
were - We must TRUST in the Lord Jesus, and then we will "see" (understand).
Verse 41. "Jesus
said to them, 'If you were blind, you would have no
sin; but since you say, We see, your sin remains.'"
The "Pharisees" (religious leaders) thought
they could "see" (understand) better than other people. They needed to TRUST
(have faith) in Jesus Christ. He would have given them the Holy Spirit of God,
and THEN they would begin to understand. Those who do not know Jesus, are
"sinners" in the sight of God.
Ron Beckham, Pastor
Friday Study Ministries
www.fridaystudy.org
Ron@fridaystudy.org
