John 9 Commentary
“Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus. By this argument, Jesus repudiates the notion that suffering is always a consequence of sin.
Jesus also repudiates the famous “cause and effect” concept. Spirituality is complex and cannot be defined by such concepts, no matter the level of advancement.
The healing ritual in this chapter is unique and very strange. Who wouldn’t think of the Creator Jesus picking up some clay at the beginning of history? He shaped it and breathed into the form and it became a living being. He blessed it to increase in number and here we are!
In this chapter, the clay is mixed with Jesus’ own sacred saliva. He deposits something of Himself in the same manner that His breath gave life to a mound of clay. Creation is replayed. But this work of creation is interesting because humans must play a part. It is not impossible to guess the outcome if the blind man ignored the instructions.
This story echoes the sad state of humanity from birth. This man was born blind. You are born a sinner and it isn’t your fault. This man didn’t initiate his own healing; Jesus did. Your salvation isn’t your initiative. But you have a decision to make. Will you listen and obey Jesus for your healing?
The healing happened on the Sabbath. Of course, the LORD is always working. But the Pharisees have problems with it. A check on Jesus’s miracles on the Sabbath could make an interesting study. Whenever confronted by the authorities, Jesus gave different reasons. Such a study could be an eye-opener into the depths of the redemption work of Jesus.
The Pharisees’ reaction to this miracle combines the blindness of heart, doubt, pride, arrogance, and ignorance. They won’t simply believe the story of the healing. They investigate it. We all admire the simple faith of the healed blind man. His theology may not be perfect but who cares? Faith does more than the education of the Pharisees.
It remains true that the simple man within each one of us is more likely to say yes to Jesus than the masked selves we are. Remove the education, the wealth, the experience, the connections, your clothes, and your body – the presence or the absence of these. Be the simple self you are. Then look at Jesus and say yes.
Verse 34 repeats the question that we began with. The Pharisees throw out their ‘lecturer’ with the statement that he was “steeped in sin at birth” – steeped in sin at birth hence the blindness. They were wrong. It is neither this man’s nor his parents’ problem.
Of more importance than physical blindness is spiritual blindness. We can play with concepts here. It is interesting. Adam sinned in the Garden and his eyes opened. He could see! Probably see everything else apart from God. Adam’s descendants can see and claim to see everything else apart from Jesus. They even don’t know where Jesus comes from!
If only they knew their blindness, healing would be on the menu.
The chapter closes with words that echo Genesis 3 verses 7 and 8: “Then the eyes of both of them were opened…they hid from the LORD”. In our sinful state, we hide from the LORD. Because we claim to see, our guilt remains.
More resources visit http://www.lovingscripture.com
LOVING SCRIPTURE 