John 9 Verse by Verse | “I Was Blind, Now I See” — Jesus the Light of the World

All right, good morning everyone. This is Paul Woodley, and today we're going to continue our Bible study in the Book of John, and we're going to go in John chapter 9 today, verse by verse. Uh, this chapter here is 41 verses, so probably take us between an hour, an hour and a half. If you can't stick around, feel free to catch the replay a little bit later. Okay. One sec. So yeah, so today we— it's a Monday. It's still in my city. The town is still pretty much shut down, closed. Schools are closed. People are indoors. Maybe you're indoors if you're in the South here in Georgia. Uh, so yeah, so probably a good, good time to just get in the word, right? Every day we should get in the word. A good excuse for us to read our Bible. Um, remember, the Bible is spiritual food to us. While we do it, it shouldn't be a burden to any one of us who, who read it or hear it. So may it bless you as well as I pray it blesses me. So today in John chapter 9, we're gonna learn about a man who was born blind. And just as a way of review, we're coming out of John chapter 8, which Jesus says at the end of that chapter, he's telling the people that— the Jewish people that are challenging him that they do not know Him nor His Father, and they are telling Him, and He's telling them that He is God. And this is the thing that is making them want to kill Him. In verse 39 of John chapter 8, the chapter we came out of, it says here, "They answered Him, Abraham is our father." And Jesus said to them, if you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did. But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. And Jesus went on to say at the end of there, you are doing the works your father did. And then they said to him, We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, even God. And Jesus says in verse 42, Jesus said to them, if God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. So just in that little bit of passage here, we see the nature of God. We see the the nature of Jesus. We see the purpose of Jesus. And he is saying, just in that little bit in verse 42 of John chapter 8, he's saying that I came from God, number one. That's where he came from. Then he's saying, now I'm here. So that was where I was before, and now I'm here. Okay, then he's saying I came not of my own accord. So he's saying that the Father sent him. And then he says in verse 43, why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. And then he goes on to say at the end of that chapter, part of the end of that chapter, verse 46, which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God, which is a hard message. The reason Jesus is saying, the reason why you do not hear what I'm saying is because you're not of God. And, you know, we should not get that all twisted about anyways, because in the beginning, in general, we are not of God when we're born here. We have to become adopted sons and daughters of God. So don't despair if you are in a place right now where you cannot hear Jesus or understand his words. In fact, life is about just hearing the word and then believing in the end. So we go— so he goes on to say at the end of that chapter, before Abraham was I, and so all of these things, um, um, it ends in chapter 8, the very last person in 59, it says, so they picked up stones to throw at him. 'But Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple,' which I didn't hit on it last time, but it's very— if we're being observers of the text, it's very interesting to see how Jesus can do things. He's talking to them face to face. He's telling them, 'Your father is the devil.' He's telling them that, 'You don't love me. You don't love God. Before Abraham was, I am. And they're— and he's telling them this face to face, and they all pick up stones to stone him. But we see that supernaturally he hides himself and he went out of the temple. So for all of you Marvel fans out there, you know, and all of your Harry Potter fans and all of these, you know, these movies, right, they're almost like half-truths to some degree. We see more miracles like this and more amazing things throughout scripture than We even see in movies. And here's another example of Jesus just vanishing amongst them, in the middle of them. They're about to stone him, but the Bible says he hid himself. He just disappeared. He just made them blind in the sense that they could not see him anymore. So like, where'd he go? Where'd he go? He's just here. So these are the kind of nuances. These are the things that I pick up on that I encourage you to pick up on, because if you can understand the nature of Jesus and agree that this, because he is the Son of God, only he could do these kinds of things. Remember when he was in the boat? Of course, he calms the sea and the storms, we know that. But remember I had mentioned a few weeks, a few days ago, just how the fact that when he was walking on water, another miracle, that when he stepped onto that boat, instantly they were on the shore. They immediately arrived. It's like time stood still and fast-forwarded, and there they are. So we are talking about a very powerful being here, um, the Son of God in Jesus. It's just not an ordinary man. And this is the thing that I want to press upon you, is that when we're talking about Jesus, we We're just not talking about an ordinary man. We're just not talking about a person, a man who just went to school, did— studied academically, uh, you know, it was a very pious or religious man, and this— and it's elevated amongst human society to be called a rabbi, teacher, whatnot. We're talking about divine here. And so when we're talking about the divine, we're talking about the Son of God, you know, we have to also— we have to just remember that he's got divine attributes. But we also can't ignore the fact that he's got the human attributes too, because he, he had to be born a man so that he could sympathize with us, sympathize with our pains and our struggles. And all part of that is, is humility, even death on a cross, the Bible says. So that's a preview of how— of where we're at when we're going to go into chapter 9 here. So I'll pick it up in verse 1. We'll hit a section and then we'll go back. We'll unpack it verse by verse. As he passed by— this is, this is, uh, John 9:1. As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, It was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, go wash in the pool of Siloam, which means sent. So he went and washed and came back seeing. Verse 8, the neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said, "It is he." Others said, "No, but he is like him." He kept saying, "I am the man." So they said to him, "Then how were your eyes opened?" He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight." They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know." They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. So they said again to the blind man, 'What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?' He said, 'He is a prophet.' All right, so we're going to pin it there for a minute before we get any further so that we can understand what's going on here. So we see here that Verse 9:1, Jesus is passing by, he's walking, and he sees a man. And this man is blind, and he's blind since birth, okay? He was born blind. And the disciples are going to use this man, um, they're going to ask a question about him, about sin and judgment, because back then they're like, if you were struggling, if you were on the struggle bus, or if you were ill or sick or poor or these other negative things, the tendency was that you were not blessed by God. The tendency was you were cursed, or this is God's curse on a person, and this is why they were born that way. In this case, they're looking at this person who was born, who was blind since birth, and his disciples in verse 2 asked Jesus, Rabbi, Who sinned? So they're attributing the blindness, being blind, to sin. And they ask, was it because it was this man or his parents? Naturally, because he was born that way, he didn't have control of that. He did— he couldn't really sin because he was born blind, right? So they asked, could it be his parents even? And Jesus answered them, it was not that this man— verse 3— it was not that this, this man sinned or his parents. This is important. It is not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. This is a very important sentence for us to understand. When it comes to our struggle in general. Here we're looking at a man born blind. Our tendency is, whether we're judging ourselves or whether we're judging others, our tendency is that it's because of that person's sin, or maybe their parents' sin, is why they are struggling or cursed or, or whatever. Sometimes, at least in this case, Jesus says it's neither. This is not about sin. This man was born blind, it's not because of sin, Jesus is saying. So one takeaway from this is sometimes the things that you're going through or the struggles or the things that may seem like you're being judged on or punished for have nothing to do with sin, right? Look at Job, for example. Very— he was the most righteous guy in all the earth, but God allowed the devil to wipe him out, take him out, take all his possessions, his family, and so forth, right? And that's how God works sometimes. Why? So that just like this man, the works of God might be displayed in him. So God had picked this man before he was born, obviously, and made him blind. Why? Because according to God's dichotomy, he wants to make sure that the works of God might be displayed in this man. And how is that going to pan out? It's going to pan out right here, because this man is going to visit Jesus And that supposed works that's going to be displayed in this man born blind, that works is going to be what we're going to witness here, which is Jesus healing the man's eyesight. So verse 4, Jesus, you know, he's talking about works now because he just said in verse 3, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the quote-unquote works of God might be displayed in him. He said, he goes into the next very sentence by saying, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. So Jesus will unpack that closely. He says, we must work the works of him who sent me. So Jesus is saying to his disciples, disciples, you and me, we must work the the works of him who sent me, which is God. And when do we do that? While it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. So he's spiritualizing a little bit about what he's saying here. What is this concept of day and night? He says, "While it is day," because night is coming. Jesus is saying that we have to do the works of God while it is day. So he's there, he's on earth, he's 30, 31 years old, he's in his public ministry, he's got disciples, they're doing works, they're preaching, they're sharing the gospel. That is the day. The day is when Jesus was there, was here, even now, his church. That is day. Works are happening, the gospel's being preached, we're doing this in the name of Jesus and God. But he says night is coming. Night is coming. Now He goes on to say, "When night comes, no one can work." So he says, "While it is day, night is coming when no one can work." Now, let's go to verse 5. He says, and he's trying to put it all together so that they understand, as long as I am in the world, so as long as I'm in the flesh, as long as I'm here, right, with you guys there, I'm not talking about now, 2026, in the spirit, I'm talking about as long as I am in the world, while he's on doing his earthly ministry, while as long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Okay, I am the light of the world. And he goes on to say, verse— and then it says after, in verse 6, having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, go wash in the pool of Siloam, parentheses, which means sent. So he went and washed and came back seeing. So just being an observant reader of this text, what do we see here? We see here Jesus getting up close and personal with this man who is born blind. And from what we see here, the man hasn't said anything. He's just basically an object lesson, per se. And he goes with his own spit. He spits on the ground. He makes a mud, and he puts it on the man's eyes. Right? And it says here, then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud, okay, and said to him, go wash in the Pool of Siloam. So he commanded him to go to this place, the Pool of Siloam, and wash. And then the man did that. Because the man believed that, obviously he did that, and he came back seeing. Now I'm going to just borrow from some of my notes here just to add flavor to what I just said, um, in regards to 'I am the light of the world.' Not only was Jesus spiritually the light of the world but he would also provide the means of physical light for this blind man. Okay, in regards to how he, you know, made mud with the saliva in 6:9-6, as he had done when he originally made human beings out of the dust of the ground, which is in Genesis 2:7, Jesus may have used the clay to fashion a new pair of eyes. In regards to the command to wash in the Pool of Siloam, which was— which in Hebrew means the word 'sent,' the Pool of Siloam was southeast of the original city of David. Water flowed into it from the Spring of Gihon in the Kidron Valley by way of Hezekiah's Tunnel. It may be identified with the lower pool or old pool mentioned in Isaiah 22:9 and 11. Water for the water pouring rites at the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles was drawn from this pool. Okay, so that's the context of what we're reading here. So now we pick it up in verse 8. The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar— so this blind man who was born blind, he had been known and he was a beggar. And it says here that the neighbors and those who had seen him as a beggar were saying, is this not the man who used to sit and beg? Verse 9, some says it is he. Others said, 'No, but he is like him,' because they were confused. This guy, born blind, now seeing. And then the man, it says in verse 9, he kept saying, 'I am the man.' Verse 10, so they said to him, 'Then how were your eyes opened?' And the man said in verse 11, he answered, the man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight. So the man literally said what Jesus said, literally told them exactly how it went down. Of course he's going to remember this. And he says, "And I did all that. I listened to this man called Jesus," is how he describes Jesus, "and I regained my sight." In verse 12, it says, "They said to him, 'Well, where is he?'" And it says the man says, "I do not know." Okay, so we'll pause it there for a second as we compare 2 types of guys here. A few chapters ago, we read about how there was a man at the pool where he was lame forever, 38 years I think it was, remember? And Jesus went to him, do you want to get well? And Jesus said to that man, pick up your mat, walk, go. And then the religious Pharisees, they said, hey, what are you doing? Why are you walking with your mat? You know, and that, and that man said, this guy told me to do that. And so, so that man, and remember, Jesus went into that crowd and handpicked this guy. And that man didn't know who, he didn't know Jesus. He didn't know Jesus' name. He didn't know who he was talking to. And then remember later on, it circles back when he, when Jesus revisited that man and says, I see that you're well now, don't sin no more. Right. And then at that point in time, that man, understood this was Jesus, and then he went and told the Pharisees that it was Jesus who did all this. And from that point forward, they were really seeking to kill him. This man knows it's Jesus. That man didn't originally know it was Jesus, but this man knows it's Jesus. But even here in verse 11, it's interesting how the man addresses who Jesus is. He says The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes. The man called Jesus. So Jesus is a figure in that time, you know, he's going around, he's preaching, he's healing, and so he stumbles upon this guy. So this guy knows who Jesus is, and he's not close to Jesus naturally. He just simply calls him the man called Jesus. They ask him, where is he? He says, I do not know. And this is very interesting because the man just got healed, um, been born blind. Imagine what that must feel like. Now he can see. He's extremely, I would imagine, grateful, excited. But he's telling the truth about what happened here. Verse 13, they brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. So now the crowd, the people there, they said they bring him to the religious people, the Pharisees. Verse 14, it was on a Sabbath day. That's a problem for Jesus apparently. Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. So the Pharisees again asked him, how he had received his sight. And he said to them, he put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see. So first he tells the people that story. Now they bring him to the Pharisees, right? Because they know it was a miracle. They want to see what the Pharisees are going to say. The Pharisees ask the same exact question as the neighbors and the people. You know this man. Verse 16: Some of the Pharisees said, this man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath. But others said, how can a man who is a sinner do such signs? So you see right there, there is a mindset of religiosity going on here, which has always been the problem with the Pharisees, even today's modern Pharisees, is that it says this man— they make the conclusion that Jesus is not from God because he doesn't keep the Sabbath. They're so into their legalism that they're like, he's discredited because they considered healing a work, and they're saying that God wouldn't do work on a Sabbath according to their philosophy. But then there's an argument going on amongst them where others say, then how can a man who is a sinner do such signs? Because if he's not from God, then how could he do these things? So there is an argument there. And as it says here, in verse 16, and there was a division among them. So among the Pharisees, there's a division. So verse 17 says, so they said again to the blind man, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes? So the people bring the man, the blind man who now can see, to the religious leaders, the Pharisees. They asked, they asked the man what happened, and the man told them. Now there's a division amongst them. Hey, he's not of God. Well, how can he not be of God if he's doing these signs? There's, there's a religious debate about the nature of Jesus right now, who he is. So what's interesting is that they asked the man now his opinion about who Jesus is, because there's a division amongst themselves. So they say in verse 17, well, what do you say about him since he has opened your eyes? And the man says, he said he is a prophet. So that was the man's conclusion: he is a prophet. The next verse, 18, it says the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight. So it all makes sense naturally, because even after all of this dialoguing going on, it says here they didn't— they just simply did not believe that he had been blind in the first place. They're like, well, this is impossible. You're bringing to us a guy you claim has been blind, has been born blind. He obviously can see just like us. We don't believe you that he ever was even blind. So there's a lot of disbelief going there. And this is where they're looking now for evidence. They're looking for testimony, right? So it says here they did not believe that he had been blind. And had received his sight. So they called the parents of this man. And verse 19, it says, and they asked them, is this your son who you say was born blind? Okay, how then does he now see? Now we have to understand what's going on here in the context and what's at stake here for everybody, for the parents and for their son who was born blind and can now see. Because part of their culture was to be connected to their synagogue, right? And you don't want to be an outcast. You don't want to be labeled, you know, a follower of Jesus, right, versus a follower of the rabbi, right, or the teachings of the Pharisees and scribes. So they're very, very careful about— the parents here, they're very careful about what they're going to say here because they want to— they don't want to lie, but they also don't want to incriminate themselves per se by being a supporter of Jesus because they know where this is going to lead. They already know they don't believe that he is from God. And so let's watch what they say. So verse 19, it says, "They asked them," this is the parents, "Is this your son who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents in verse 20 say, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind." So check mark number 1, yes, it's true, this is our son, and yes, it's true, he was born blind. So they gave truth. So verse 21 goes on to say, but how he now sees, we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Right? So they don't, because they literally don't know. And then they say, ask him, he is of age. So he's a grown man, ask him. Now remember, this man has been asked 3 times so far, who did this? So the parents say, ask him, he is of age. He will speak for himself. In verse 22, in parentheses, it says, his parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue, right? That's what I mentioned before. So they're afraid of that. 23. Therefore his parents said, he is of age, ask him. That's why they said that. Verse 24. So the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, quote, give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. So they are making a judgment here on Jesus, and now they're saying their judgment is that Jesus is a sinner, which is a natural conclusion because everyone is a sinner. So in their mind, everyone is a sinner. So they're saying, hey, give glory to God, you know, we know that this man is a sinner. Now, you and I know that Jesus is not a sinner, that he died for our sins. He is the unblemished Lamb of God. He is sinless. This is why he was born from a virgin mother. Um, he who— the scripture says he who had not born sinner from sin became sin for us. He's the unblemished sinless Lamb of God is truly— we know that even in Jesus' humanity, he's not a sinner. He doesn't have indwelling sin. He doesn't have the, the sin in Greek that lives in him, in the seed of Adam. And he does— he did not do any sinning through actions. He is truly a righteous person because he's the Son of God, and he's being upheld in that sinlessness by himself and the Holy Spirit and God. So he is not a sinner, never sinned, yet they are condemning him without even knowing him and labeling him a sinner, which is blasphemy. Which is blasphemy. And partly they, they're not realizing it now. We can armchair quarterback and see it because when we go through scripture, what is the unforgivable sin? It's that the unforgivable sin that's mentioned later on in scripture is when a person attributes the works of Jesus Christ or his nature, or him, to the devil. That is the unforgivable sin. That is the thing that we should never do, right? We can have all our doubts about Jesus all we want, but if we are going to say that he is from the devil, that, according to scripture, is the unforgivable sin. So they're doing, in essence, the unforgivable sin here, or close to it at least, because they're calling him a sinner. Remember the other crowd prior to— we read this yesterday or the other day— the other, you know, they're saying, well, he is, he is the devil, of the devil, he does the works of the devil. So this is their conclusion about Jesus in verse 24. So verse 25, the man answers. It says he answered Whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see. And you know, even that is a writer downer. Great words from this man. He says, I don't know. I don't know if he's a sinner or not. I don't know his story. This is what I know. I know I was born blind and now I see. And we've seen this phrase oftentimes, and a lot of Christians actually use this phrase or can relate to this phrase of being born again. Is, you know, it's like, I don't know, you know, I don't know fully. When you, when you come to Christ, you may, you may not come through a Christian family, a Christian school. You may not, but the thing is, is that just like we said yesterday when we're doing the parables, when you stumble across that treasure, that hidden treasure, and you see the value of it, you sell all that you have and you get it. Similarly, this man is saying, you know, I don't know the backstory of this man, Jesus, but what I do know is I can see. And same thing with us when we come to faith in Christ. We all have a backstory, but when we hear that gospel, when we see him as that treasure and we see the upside and we put our faith and belief in him, then, and then we can spiritually see, you know, that is our testimony. It's like, you know, I don't know how I got to where I am today. I had a very rough path, a very rough past, per se, you know, but I will tell you that I can see now. I'm born again, right? So that's what the man is saying here, is he's just being straight up honest, using as limited words that he can explain his situation. He's talking to very religious people right now, the Pharisees, and he is not going into deep theology. To explain anything. He's just simply saying, hey, I don't know what this argument is about, guys. I see, you know, you guys are divided about this man. All I can tell you is that I was born blind and now I can see. So you can't hold that against me per se, because he didn't say— he, you know, he gave his opinion. I think he's a prophet. That's his opinion prior to So then it goes on to say in verse 26, they said to him, what did he do to you? What did he do to you? Now he already explained it before. And then they say, how did he open your eyes? It's this very human dialoguing, very human, you know, if you were them and this is just an unbelievable incident, a miracle that they're trying to understand, It's very difficult to understand supernatural miracles. They're trying to process it. They just can't get it. How? How? How? Sound familiar? How? How are we going to get through this? How did you get healed? How? How? How? So how did he open your eyes is what they say in verse 26. He answered them, I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? So this is the man. He's now talking back, right? Which is something you really don't do. But he's annoyed the man. I'll read it again. Verse 27. He answered them, I have told you already and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples? So he's kind of being sarcastic there. He's got a mouth. Verse 28: And they reviled him, saying, you are his disciples, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from. That's their conclusion. Verse 30, the man answered, why, this is an amazing thing. You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing. Very astute, this man born blind. And for sure he knows for facts that never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind, because he's born blind. Of course, he's looking at all of his Google searches and ChatGPTs and trying to figure out when was the last time, has it ever been done that a man been, you know, was healed from being born blind? Now I'm being facetious here, but he knows his scripture, right? Whatever your ailment is, right? For sure, you're going to research to death that thing to see if it's possible that you can be healed if it happens to be an illness you're struggling with. It could be anything else. This man knows whether or not someone has ever been healed in the world's history like that because he wants to see. He's already done the research. He already knows the facts. And so now it happens to him. He's the first person to be seeing after being born blind through this man called Jesus. And so now he's processing, and he's like, this is— he does believe he's from God. That seems to be what's inferred here by his sentence. He does believe that he is from God because no one can do these things unless You were from God, verse 33, right? So their response to that was verse 34. They answered him, you were born in utter sin. So that's their answer to this man, and it basically represents their opinion about all people, which is true, but they really put an emphasis on that utter. They say to the man, and they may even add the utter part because he was born blind, because they thought that if you were born blind, you were cursed, right? It was because of your sin or your parents' sin that made you blind in the first place. So they're, they're saying that kind of hurtful words or whatever. But this is their conclusion. 34. They answered him, you were born in utter sin, and would you teach us? We're the Pharisees, we're the scribes, we're the students of the law of Moses. You're going to tell us who is from God, who's not from God? So they're upset. And naturally, it goes on to say in the end of verse 34, and they cast him out. They cast him out. Okay, so they throw the man out, right? They're disgusted. They didn't hear what they want to hear. Verse 35: Jesus heard. Now, it's very interesting, very similar to the man at the pool, the invalid, right? Jesus likes to circle— he likes to circle back on people. You know, he's interested in, you know, he'll heal a person, not all the time, but in these cases he heals a person of massive proportions. The man who's an invalid for 38 years, nearly paralyzed, that's just the invalid. He did amazing other things we haven't even hit on yet. But so far we're in John chapter 9 now. We know that, you know, he He healed that man at the pool, and remember, he circled back on that man. Same thing here. He circles back on this man. You know, he just doesn't heal and just keeps on going. You know, remember, he did this according to what we've read here in the context. He did this so that the glory of God will be shown in this man. Right? The purpose of this healing was what Jesus says, um, in verse 3. Remember, I remind us, verse 3, chapter 9. Jesus answered, it was not that this man sinned or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. Okay, so the works of God might be displayed in this man who was born blind. And we're seeing it in real time. His disciples are seeing it in real time. So what are these works? Well, first, the work was that the man could see. That was the work. So now Jesus is circling back in verse 35. The man gets cast out. And it says here, Jesus heard— so word got back to Jesus— that they had cast him out. And having found him— so very interesting, yeah— Jesus went back. Jesus sought after the man. Now, I don't know if— now, of course, Jesus can see in here and knows everything, but it says here that Jesus heard. So So word got back to him that the man, rumor had it, that the man got cast out. Hey Jesus, remember that guy? Remember that you made, you know, he just got cast out of the synagogue, just got cast out. And now he's being ostracized. So it says that Jesus, having found him, he said, do you believe in the Son of Man? Okay, and let's slow it down because we're trying to see Jesus' motive here. He said to his disciples in verse 3, the reason why this man— the reason why this man was born blind was not because of his sin or his parents' sin, but to demonstrate the works of God. Then Jesus restores the man's sight. Now the man is being picked on and ostracized, and in the end ostracized. Even his parents weren't really fully helping him out. And now the man, because Jesus healed him, he is ostracized. So on one end he can see, amen. On the second hand, he's now ostracized because of it. So Jesus comes back. Jesus seeks the man again. He didn't leave the man out there like a leaf in the wind. Jesus comes back and he asked the man a simple question: Do you believe in the Son of Man? Now imagine for a second you're the man, and this man called Jesus, who just did this to you, and you're that guy. I want us to try to imagine what it must be like to be the blind man for a second here. How would you answer him? You've done all the research. You were born blind. You know for facts that this is a miracle. It's never happened in the world history, and now you The guy that healed you is back, and he asked you this question about belief. Do you believe in the Son of Man? Jesus didn't say, do you believe in my name, in me? He didn't say it like that. Hey, sir, my name is Jesus, and I'm the Son of God, or whatever. I'm a prophet. He calls himself the Son of Man. Do you believe in the Son of Man? Now the man in verse 36, it says he answered, and this is what he said, quote, and who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Okay. And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Sir, I know that you healed me. I know you told me to do this, and I restored my sight. And now you're asking me, do I believe in this person called the Son of Man? Well, who is he, sir? Now I want to pause again here because I want to remind us what has happened here, because there's so much here that it's very easy to miss the particulars as we go through the story. Remember, the story began in chapter 9, that he was passing by this man, and it was his disciples who pointed out the man and said to Jesus, Rabbi, verse 2, who sinned, this man or his parents? This man was just providentially there. This man just happened to be there, but in his mind. But in God's mind, this is all by divine appointment. This is a clear example of what divine appointment actually looks like. We're seeing it here now in hindsight. And remember that Jesus goes up to the man in verse 6. It says, having said these things, where he's talking about, you know, in 5 he says, while it's day we got to work and night is coming. 'And as long as I'm in the world, I am the light of the world.' That was verse 5. In 6, it says, 'Having said these things to his disciples,' it says, 'he spit on the ground, made mud with saliva, anointed the man's eyes, and told him to go wash it off in the Pool of Siloam.' And that's all he did for the man. He didn't talk to the man, as far as we know. He just did these things. Now maybe the man is listening to this conversation that's going around with Jesus, whatever, and the man is just listening, right? Imagine if you're blind, just listening, listen, and then now you're hearing the voice of Jesus come closer to your, to your face as he's talking, and, and you're listening to the sounds of spit spittle into mud, and you, you kind of sense something. Jesus is doing something, and then you feel the wet mud on your eyes, and you, you, you, you feel his— he's touching you. He's with his hands. He's touching the man's eyes. The man is feeling this, and it's mud. It's caking, right? It's drying. And the only thing Jesus said— and obviously the man didn't resist Jesus, he's just letting it happen to him. And Jesus says to the man, simply a command: 'Go wash in the Pool of Siloam.' That's the only thing Jesus said to the man: 'Go wash in the Pool of Siloam.' Jesus didn't say, 'Then do you believe in the Son of Man?' He didn't say, 'Then 'Who do you say I am?' He didn't say, 'Do you believe in God or not?' He just simply did this physical thing and gave him an instruction to go wash himself in the pool of Siloam. That's the context. That's all the man has heard. Now the man does it. Now he sees. So now the man's being criticized, critiqued with the others, and the man can only say what he says. All I know is I was born blind and now I can see. Jesus didn't do any kind of Bible study with the man prior to. The man had— the man that could— did not do anything to earn his eyesight. He didn't confess anything to get his eyesight back. He just received the mud on his eyes and followed the instruction. He obeyed. He followed the instruction, did that. And that's what happened. So there was some kind of faith and belief, surely, in this man to even do that. The man could have said, hey man, what are you doing? What are you putting that nasty mud on my— what are you doing here, man? Whatever. It also just goes to show us the desperation sometimes of people where they're like, you know what, I've tried everything. I will just do this one last thing. It could be, right? So I want us to just really put ourselves in the shoes of all of these people that experience these things and just try to put ourselves in their mindset, because then we can appreciate more, I think, of really what Jesus did here. And really the Bible comes more alive to us because now we're like, that's amazing. We have to— we should always read this text and be like, wow. Like, wow. I say wow every day when I read this. Like, wow, that's— who would write this? That's another question. Who would even write this thing? Create this thing. So that's the context. We're going back to where we left off in verse 35. Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him, he said, do you believe in the Son of Man? The man says, answers back, and who is he, sir, that I may believe in him? Jesus said, do you believe in the Son of Man? The man's saying, who is he so that I can believe in him. Jesus says to him, verse 37, you have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you. Amazing. You have seen him, sir, because now you can see, you have eyes, and not only can you see him, you can hear him. Jesus didn't say it's me. He simply said it this way: You have seen him. Now he's just trying to see if the guy can put two and two together. You have seen him with your own eyes, and it is he who is speaking to you. Present tense, active. Speaking, not spoken, spoke. Just so we're clear, it's the person who is talking to you now. Verse 38, the man says, he said, this is the man, verse 38, he said, quote, Lord, I believe. Now the man straight up calls him Lord. Lord, I believe. Not only did he say that, there's a comma there in verse 38. It says, and he worshiped him. That was the man's response to Jesus. He had already considered that he was a prophet. He already considered that he's from God. Because he had that little dialogue with the Pharisees. So in his mind, he believes the man's a prophet at least, and he's from God. Now Jesus is asking him, "Well, do you believe in the Son of Man?" And now Jesus is now saying that I am that Son of Man. And now in verse 38, the man had the proper response to Jesus. He calls him Lord and he worships him. He worships him. He's worshiping another man. Do you think he— you think he's, he's, he's, he's looking around and he's trying to see if, if his friends and his family are going to approve him worshiping another man? No, he gets it that the Son of Man— that's a messianic title— is there speaking to him. He recognizes who he is. He calls him Lord. And he worshiped him. And what is Lord, in case we don't know, class? Lord is king. Lord is Lord, and Lord has subjects, right? And the subjects call the Lord master. And that's why we talk about how he's our master as well, right? So we have to be, as you know, our ego and our pride sometimes keeps us back from calling Jesus Lord or even worshiping him as Lord because we are human conditions. We want to be Lord, we want to be God, we want to be the captain of our soul and spirit and ship. We want to be in control. But you got to get to a place where you put yourself aside take a back seat and see Jesus for who he says he is, the Son of Man, fall down on your face and worship him and call him Lord like this man did. So that's the application that we can see today. This man's response to him was, 'Lord, I believe,' and he worshiped him. Verse 39, Jesus said, For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. Now that is— that, that right there is hard to grasp for some. He says, for judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind. So then we're going to see what the Pharisees' response to this, because they were nearby Jesus when he said this. Some of the Pharisees, in the next verse 40, some of the Pharisees near him heard these things and said to him, are we also blind? They're tracking a little bit. Jesus said to them, if you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say we see, your guilt remains. And that is the end of the chapter. Very telling, very telling. He says, if you were blind, you would have no guilt. Meaning, if you were spiritually, you know, if you, if you were blind and you don't know your condition, you don't know that there's a penalty for sin, and you were just you know, ignorant of stuff, spiritual things, then you would have no guilt. But now that you say we see, your guilt remains. Which means that you guys are saying you see, you have spiritual sight. You guys are saying that you understand godly things. You're saying that you see the truth and you're proclaiming the truth. But in fact you don't, because I am the truth and you reject me. So you really aren't seeing, though you think you see, and because of that your guilt remains. And so this concept of your guilt remains is a problem, because remember we saw earlier that he says, unless you believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. It's kind of connected to this when he says your guilt remains. Your guilt remains. The guilt is the fact that you don't see Jesus for who he says he is, and you actually believe that you are from God when you're not. Because according to him, and the scripture says that you have to believe that God had sent him and that he represents God. So we're talking about spiritual blindness here, okay? I will just add a note here from my notes for flavor. So in verse 40, when they said, are we also blind? Apparently Jesus found, in verse 35, the man in a public place, as we mentioned, where the Pharisees were present listening. So part of this is instruction to them. And in regards to the part where he talks about your guilt remains, it says Jesus had particular reference to the sin of unbelief and rejection of him as Messiah and Son of God. If they knew their lostness and darkness and cried out for spiritual light, they would no longer be guilty of the sin of unbelief in Christ. But satisfied that their darkness was light and continuing in rejection of Christ, their sin remained. Let me put it in layman terms. You may or may not hear other Christians saying to people, even to themselves—I say it sometimes—is, do you know you're a sinner? Right? Do you believe you're a sinner? And the reason why I think, at least the reason why it should be asked, if it is asked, is it's important that a person understands that they're a sinner, because if they understand that they're a sinner, then they also understand what the consequences of being a sinner is, which is not good. So then they should then rationalize and reason, well, if the consequences of my sin is death, which is Romans, if the consequences of my sin is death, the wages of my sin is death, and there's a place called hell, right, and my sin is not forgiven, then that's where I'll end up being. Right? So if I know that I'm a sinner and there's a lot of downside in being a sinner, then I should ask or want a Savior. That's why we call him a Savior. I should want deliverance. I need help because I can't save myself according to Scripture. So in that case, that is kind of the people who are blind, who are actually blind. But if I say I'm not a sinner because for whatever reason that was my religion that taught me that I was not born a sinner, sin doesn't exist or anything like that, that there is no consequences for sin, because it doesn't even exist. There's some religions that actually believe that. And therefore, if I don't even believe that sin exists, and if I don't believe in death, sickness, these obvious things, if I don't— if I believe that it doesn't even exist, then I— and it really does exist, and there really is penalties for these things, then I am blind. I'm spiritually blind because I don't see and recognize my condition. I'm spiritually blind. I don't— and if I really fundamentally believe that I'm a good person, that I have no sin, then why would I need a Savior? I won't. And this is a lot of people, if not most people. They're like, well, I'm a good person. And that's a problem because the definition of good— there is no one good technically in the Bible. There's no one good. We have a lost concept of good. What is good? Jesus says only God is good. So if I feel like I'm not a sinner, then why do I need— why do I need someone to help me out with something that I don't need help out with? That's straight up what is the problem with a lot of people. They just don't feel or believe that they have a problem. So if you really don't feel like you