John 9 - Printer Friendly

What does John 9 mean?

Chapter Commentary:

This passage of the gospel of John heightens the tension between Jesus and His followers, and the religious leaders who despise Him. In prior chapters, Jesus has confronted the hypocrisy of those who claim to understand Scripture, but who reject what it says. He has also challenged tradition by healing on the Sabbath day. In this chapter, Jesus will once again perform a miracle on the Sabbath, resulting in no small controversy. When the dust settles, local religious leaders will be thoroughly embarrassed not by Jesus, but by the man who has been healed.

John chapter 9 opens with Jesus passing by a man who has been blind his entire life. The disciples react to this situation with the typical worldview of their era. In their minds, suffering is always a punishment for something, so they ask Jesus whose sin this man is suffering for: his own or that of his parents. Jesus' response proves that not all hardship is "our fault," so to speak. While it's true that our own choices have the greatest impact on our lives, it's also true that bad things can happen to those who've done nothing to deserve those particular struggles (John 9:1–3).

Jesus heals the man by putting mud on his eyes and sending him away to wash. The end result is a man who can see, though he'd never been able to before. The ideas of light, sight, and blindness are often used in Scripture as symbols of spiritual knowledge. In this case, the man's experience is a metaphor for the Christian experience. The "light" that comes when we are saved is something we never previously had, and never could have, until Christ chose to grant it to us (John 9:4–7).

This healing is also prophetic: the Old Testament speaks of the Promised One healing blindness (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; 42:7). In all of Scripture, only Jesus is credited with miracles which give sight to the blind. This is not only proof of His identity, it symbolizes the unique way in which the Messiah grants understanding of the truth (Matthew 11:5; Matthew 12:22–23).

As with other miracles, Jesus' critics are more interested in finding ways to debunk the miracle than to understand it. Even those who are not hostile to Jesus are still focused on knowing "how" Jesus performed the healing, rather than "why." The Pharisees' immediate reaction, predictably, is to condemn Jesus for not properly honoring their Sabbath tradition. This, for them, is stronger evidence than the miraculous healing of blindness. For his part, the formerly blind man only knows that whoever granted him sight must be from God. The man refers to Jesus—whom he has not actually seen, yet—as "a prophet" (John 9:8–17).

John uses the phrase "the Jews" as a reference to Jerusalem's religious leaders and their most ardent followers. This includes the scribes and Pharisees, who have already decided that Jesus is a fraud to be rejected. At first, they don't even believe that a healing has occurred. After questioning the once-blind man, they summon his parents. Their tactics are clearly meant to intimidate, hinting that the parents themselves might even be bending the truth about their son's condition. These leaders have threatened to excommunicate anyone who supports Jesus, so the man's parents are quick to point out that their son is capable of answering questions for himself (John 9:18–23).

The second attempt to interrogate the healed man ends in disaster for the scribes and Pharisees. After implying the beggar is lying and needs to tell the truth, they suggest Jesus is "a sinner," meaning that He cannot really be performing godly miracles. The man's response is a poignant explanation of the Christian experience. For all he does not know, what he does know is beyond doubt: "though I was blind, now I see!" The investigators repeat the same questions they have already asked. The formerly-blind man responds with sarcasm, openly mocking the religious leaders' insincerity. They, in turn, heap insults and verbal abuse on him. In a dramatic turn, the beggar gives a brilliantly simple counter. He points out that God would not give a sinner the power to perform miracles which have never been done before! Having lost face, and the argument, the religious leaders hurl more insults and bar the man from the synagogue (John 9:24–31).

At this point, Jesus once again approaches the man. Presumably, the man realizes that Jesus is the one who has healed him. And yet, he does not fully understand to whom he is speaking. Jesus refers to the Son of Man, which Jews of that era would recognize as a Messianic figure. The man openly admits that he wants to believe, but does not know who he should turn to. When Jesus identifies Himself, the healed man responds with faith and worship. Jesus uses that reaction as an example of one aspect of His earthly mission: to separate those who are willing to believe from those who are willfully, spiritually "blind" (John 9:35–41).

The themes discussed in this chapter introduce the subject of Jesus' next teaching, which heavily involves the symbolism of a shepherd. Those words are meant to be understood in the context of this chapter, where the Pharisees' hypocrisy and failed leadership are on full display.

John 9:1–12 contains the sixth of the gospel of John's seven miraculous ''signs'' of Jesus' divinity. This miracle is the healing of a man who has been blind since birth. Jesus corrects His disciples' misconceptions about sin and suffering, then grants this man an ability he has never had before. This will lead to more angry confrontations with local religious leaders, as they purposefully ignore the spiritual message being proven by Jesus' works.

John 9:13–34 describes the Pharisees' reaction to Jesus' healing of a man born blind. Rather than being swayed by an obvious sign of divine power, they look for excuses and criticisms. Seeking to discredit the miracle, they interrogate the man's parents, who timidly defer back to their son. The healed man knows nothing more than this: ''though I was blind, now I see.'' His matter-of-fact responses to the Pharisees highlight their obvious prejudice. As a result, they excommunicate the healed man from the synagogue. Jesus will meet with the man in the next passage to give more context for the miracle.

John 9:35–41 shows Jesus meeting with the man He has healed, formerly blind since birth. His healing, and subsequent conversation with the Pharisees, has resulted in the man being excommunicated from his synagogue. Jesus reveals His identity to the man, and explains how this episode summarized His earthly ministry. The Pharisees, once again, prove their spiritual stubbornness, giving Jesus an opportunity to connect greater knowledge with greater responsibility.

Chapter Summary:

Jesus encounters a man who has been blind his entire life. In typical fashion for that era, the disciples assume this condition is due to some specific sin--either the man's sin or his parents' sin. Jesus challenges this idea, and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation, as the Pharisees try to discredit Jesus' miraculous work. The healed man's simple, straightforward perspective embarrasses the religious leaders, who excommunicate him in frustration. Jesus is able to meet with the man, explaining more about His identity and the purpose of His ministry. Jesus also reminds the Pharisees that those who ought to know better, spiritually, will be held more accountable as a result.

Chapter Context:

Jesus has begun to actively confront the false teachings of local religious leaders. His most recent debate included a heated exchange with the Pharisees, where Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy. Here, Jesus continues to antagonize religious hypocrites by healing a man who was born blind. The ensuing ruckus further exposes Jerusalem's religious leaders as shallow, prejudiced, and false. This event launches Jesus into another lengthy discussion of His ministry, recorded in chapter 10, including several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/5/2024 9:27:54 AM