John
Chapter 9
John 9: Yeshua had just finished on His discourse of being the Light of the World. He told them He was Elohim in the flesh and then hid Himself from them in order to escape because His time was not yet.
This chapter is actually a continuation of His discourse on being the Light of the World. Yeshua is going to heal a blind man and that blind man is going to see. He is going to receive much more than just his sight. He is going to see the Light of the World.
The Pharisees were on the other side of this coin. They had their sight, but they were blind. The Light of the World is standing right in front of them, but they could not see.
The lack of sight in a person does not mean there is no light. It merely means that the receiver cannot see it. The Light of the World reveals the condition of the soul. He shows if our souls have sight or if we are blind.
(John 9:1 NASB) And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
John 9:1: The text seems to indicate that Yeshua was still at or near the scene of the previous encounter with the Pharisees. But He appears to be moving in a more casual way than He did at the end of chapter 8.
(John 9:2 NASB) And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?”
John 9:2: The disciples wanted to know who was at fault for the blindness of this man. They knew that the sins of the father can visit the children for many generations (Ex. 20:5, 34:7). They also knew that man can suffer because of his own personal sin (Jer. 31:30).
(John 9:3 NASB) Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him.
(John 9:4 NASB) “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work.
John 9:4: Yeshua did not give them one of the answers they were looking for. He told them that this man is blind for the glory of Elohim.
Elohim doesn’t always offer to tell us why some things happen to us. Elohim has His way and He doesn’t always give His reasons. The fact is we, in our limited perspectives, can’t see all the events of things as He can. One of the most often asked questions by man is “why?” But we often do not get our answers and we must trust in Him.
(John 9:5 NASB) “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
(John 9:6 NASB) When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes,
John 9:6: This man had not asked for healing like other blind men had. Why didn’t Yeshua simply heal the man instead of making mud with His saliva and then telling him to go wash in the pool of Siloam? This man had not exhibited any kind of trust in Yeshua by asking to be healed. In the same way Elisha told Naaman to wash himself in the Jordan seven times, Yeshua possibly wanted him to exhibit some simple act of obedience in order to be healed.
(John 9:7 NASB) 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.
John 9:7: This is the sixth miracle of Yeshua that John revealed. This time, Yeshua fashioned a new set of eyes for the man out of the dust of the ground. This is similar to the way man was originally created.
We are even told the meaning of the name of the pool. The man is “sent” there. In the same way, Yeshua is “sent” from the Father.
(John 9:8 NASB) The neighbors therefore, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?”
(John 9:9 NASB) Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.”
John 9:9: The whole neighborhood was is a state of confusion about this man. Some thought he was the blind man. Others said, “No, he looks a lot like that blind man, but that’s not him.”
(John 9:10 NASB) Therefore they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?”
(John 9:11 NASB) 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.”
(John 9:12 NASB) And they said to him, “Where is He?” He said^, “I do not know.”
John 9:12: The man had not seen Yeshua. He just knew His name and the instructions Yeshua gave him.
(John 9:13 NASB) They brought^ to the Pharisees him who was formerly blind.
(John 9:14 NASB) Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
(John 9:15 NASB) Again, therefore, the Pharisees also were asking him how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
John 9:15: The neighbors decided to take him to the experts. They knew this was a miraculous healing and they wanted to get the opinion of the Pharisees.
(John 9:16 NASB) 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.
John 9:16: The Pharisees were divided about Yeshua. Some wanted to believe He was sent from Elohim and others didn’t. Apparently the ruling hierarchy of the Pharisees didn’t believe.
(John 9:17 NASB) They said^ therefore to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”
John 9:17: They turn to the man who was blind and ask his opinion. This man doesn’t try to get in the middle of the theological argument at all. He is convinced that Yeshua is a prophet.
(John 9:18 NASB) The Jews therefore 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,
(John 9:19 NASB) and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?”
John 9:19: The Pharisees don’t believe that this man was blind from birth. They know that a man who was blind from birth has never received sight (v.32). They went to the parents to find out for sure if this guy was blind from birth.
(John 9:20 NASB) His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
(John 9:21 NASB) 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 shall speak for himself.”
John 9:21: The Pharisees are trying to find someone to blame for a possible hoax. The parents are testifying to the fact that he was born blind, but they are also not willing to take any sides on this issue. They say, “Leave us out of this. He’s old enough to answer for himself, go ask him!”
(John 9:22 NASB) His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed, that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
John 9:22: The Orthodox and other Jewish divisions still have this same rule. If you confess Yeshua as Messiah, you are banned from the synagogue and from fellowship with them. You can believe that some Rabbi or teacher can be the Messiah and that is fine and open to discussion. But not if that teacher is Yeshua.
(John 9:23 NASB) For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
(John 9:24 NASB) 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.”
John 9:24: The Pharisees are saying to the man that Yeshua is a sinner because He broke the Sabbath according to their traditions. They told him to give Elohim the glory and not Yeshua.
(John 9:25 NASB) He therefore answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”
John 9:25: This man is not going to get into a theological argument with these fellows. He is merely going to stick to the facts. He was blind his whole life and now he can see.
(John 9:26 NASB) They said therefore to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
John 9:26: The Pharisees want to pick apart this man’s testimony. They are going to try and find a flaw in it. The only proper thing for this man to do is stick to the facts.
(John 9:27 NASB) 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?”
John 9:27: This man knows what they are trying to do. He is getting a little aggravated by them.
(John 9:28 NASB) And they reviled him, and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
John 9:28: The Pharisees try to impune the testimony of this man by saying that he is not unbiased like they are. But the man who was blind is not telling them anything but the facts of what happened.
(John 9:29 NASB) “We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.”
(John 9:30 NASB) 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.
John 9:30: They don’t know anything about Yeshua, but they want to discredit Him. They knew that this was one of the big signs that Messiah had arrived (Isaiah 29:17-19, 35:4-8).
(John 9:31 NASB) “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him.
John 9:31: A simple, plain fact of Scripture is that Elohim does not hear the prayers of those who do not fear Him and obey His Torah (Job 42:8, Psalm 34:15-17, 66:18-20, Prov. 1:28-30, 15:29, Micah 3:4, Zech. 7:13).
(John 9:32 NASB) “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.
(John 9:33 NASB) “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
John 9:33: This man takes a stand for what he knows is right. He knows that Yeshua is sent from Elohim.
(John 9:34 NASB) They answered and said to him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they put him out.
John 9:34: Since the Pharisees can’t discredit this man’s testimony, they resort to ridicule. They blame his initial blindness on his own sin. Then they cast him out.
(John 9:35 NASB) Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
(John 9:36 NASB) He answered and said, “And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
(John 9:37 NASB) Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.”
(John 9:38 NASB) And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
John 9:38: This man had a willing heart given to him by the Father. All he needed was the knowledge of where to direct his belief. As soon as he found that out, he believed.
(John 9:39 NASB) And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”
John 9:39: Yeshua came in order to send the Spirit of the Father into the world so His people can see. Conversely He also judges and blinds those whom He chooses (Isa. 29:10-14, 42:18-24, 44:18). Yeshua spoke in parables in order to keep the Pharisees blinded to the Truth of the Word of Elohim (Matt. 13:13-15).
(John 9:40 NASB) Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?”
(John 9:41 NASB) Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.
John 9:41: The Pharisees had the knowledge of Torah and did not act upon it. Instead, they turned toward the comfort of their traditions. Acting upon their knowledge would have constituted belief. They saw the light, but did nothing about it. Because of their inaction to repent, their sin remains.
Patrick McGuire
Copyright 2015
Patrick McGuire and Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly
All rights reserved, no portion of this Lesson may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews.
Beit Yeshua Torah Assembly
Fort Smith, Arkansas