Signs in the Gospel of John Part 4
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Signs of Authority Part 4
In this session, we’ll explore the wonderful record in John Chapter 9 about the man born blind. Related to this topic is Ron Booze’s great sharing on how Jesus Christ is the light of the world (there is a “See Also” link to that teaching at the bottom of this page).
Jesus Christ has authority as the Son of God over both physical and spiritual blindness.
John 9:1–5 NLT:
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work. 5 But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Just before this, at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus had declared that he is the light of the world (John 8:12; John 9:5; and later in John 12:46).
In the first century, it was a common belief that blindness was caused by sin. But Jesus said that neither his nor his parents’ sins caused the blindness.
Additional Note:
Here is another translation of John 9:4–4a:
“Neither this one nor his parents sinned, but in order that the works of God might be manifested in him, we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day.”
—Craig R. Koester, Symbolism in the Fourth Gospel: Meaning, Mystery, Community, 2nd ed. (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003), 104–5.
There were prophecies in the Old Testament saying that the Messiah would be the one who would heal the blind. Before this incident in John 9, Jesus had already healed other blind people. But this is the first time he healed someone who had been blind from birth.
Isaiah 35:5 NLT:
And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf.
Opening the eyes of the blind was a key thing that the Messiah was going to do.
Isaiah 42:7 NLT:
You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.
Psalm 146:8 NLT:
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down. The LORD loves the godly.
Isaiah 29:18 NLT:
In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness.
This man (in John 9) had lived in darkness his whole life. He didn’t even know what light was. He had no hope of that ever changing—until Jesus Christ! But this man would probably have heard that Jesus had healed other blind people.
Jesus doesn’t even ask this man if he wants to be healed; he just goes straight to healing him.
John 9:6–7 NLT:
6 Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. 7 He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!
Jesus “broke” the Sabbath in two ways. First, by kneading the clay to make the mud. Second, by putting saliva on the man’s eyes.
It was a common belief at that time that a holy man’s spit had healing power. He was demonstrating his authority by doing this, but he was doing it on the Sabbath day.
The blind man had to decide whether he would obey (go, wash in the pool of Siloam) or not. The man just went. He didn’t ask questions like Naman did when the prophet told him to go wash in the Jordan (2 Kings 5). The man just obeyed, not caring that doing so on the Sabbath was forbidden.
Now we get the neighbors involved.
John 9:8–17 NLT:
8 His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!”
But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
10 They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
11 He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don’t know,” he replied.
13 Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, 14 because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. 15 The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath.” Others said, “But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” So there was a deep division of opinion among them.
17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?”
The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.”
Now we get the parents involved.
John 9:18–23 NLT:
18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?”
20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the Messiah would be expelled from the synagogue. 23 That’s why they said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
Fear, and fear of repercussions, makes people do crazy things. Think about it; if you had a son who was born blind and he was healed, wouldn’t you be rejoicing?
John 9:24–34 NLT:
24 So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.”
25 “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!”
26 “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?”
27 “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
28 Then they cursed him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! 29 We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from.”
30 “Why, that’s very strange!” the man replied. “He healed my eyes, and yet you don’t know where he comes from? 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but he is ready to hear those who worship him and do his will. 32 Ever since the world began, no one has been able to open the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t have done it.”
34 “You were born a total sinner!” they answered. “Are you trying to teach us?” And they threw him out of the synagogue.
That was not a permanent expulsion from the synagogue because doing that would require the Sanhedrin to vote to excommunicate him. But the man didn’t care; his sight was such a gift!
John 9:35–38 NLT:
35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 The man answered, “Who is he, sir? I want to believe in him.”
37 “You have seen him,” Jesus said, “and he is speaking to you!”
38 “Yes, Lord, I believe!” the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.
This would have been the first time the man saw Jesus, though he might have recognized his voice. It must have been exciting to actually see the person who enabled him to see for the first time in his life.
This sign of his authority was so that people would believe. Believing in Jesus Christ always brings freedom. We see the sharp contrast between religion (the Pharisees) and relationship.
John 9:39–41 NLT:
39 Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?”
41 “If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty,” Jesus replied. “But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.
The Pharisees couldn’t see anything beyond their own presuppositions. They were spiritually blind. Their blindness was in many ways worse than the man’s physical blindness. Religion always brings this kind of blindness.
Who actually blinded the minds of those who didn’t believe?
2 Corinthians 4:4–7 NLT:
4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.
We, too, can go forth and heal others. We have the right to restore sight to the blind—both physical and spiritual blindness.
On the chart, you’ll see the discourse after the passage about the Good Shepherd. That passage is really pointed at the Pharisees and spiritual leaders. They were like the hireling and the thief that came not but for to steal, kill, and destroy. But Jesus said that he came that they might have life, and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).
The purpose of the sign was that they might believe and have more abundant life.
See Also
Ron Booze teaching Jesus Christ—The Light of the World on the Acts Now Fellowship website
Download a PDF chart of the Eight Signs of Authority in John
Download a PDF skit about the man born blind
Scripture References
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA. All rights reserved.
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