John 9 - Miracle Mud
Jesus calls us out of a life of blame, finger pointing and doubt.
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John 9 (ESV)
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 And his disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned,
this man
or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered,
“It was not that
this man sinned,
or his parents,
but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4 We must work the works
of him who sent me
while it is day;
night is coming,
when no one can work.
5 As long as I am in the world,
I am the light of the world.”
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
7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent).
So he went and washed and came back seeing.
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?”
9 Some said, “It is he.”
Others said, “No, but he is like him.”
He kept saying, “I am the man.”
10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”
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.”
12 They said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.
14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
15 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.”
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?”
And there was a division among them.
17 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.”
18 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
19 and asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How then does he now see?”
20 His parents answered,
“We know
that this is our son
and that he was born blind.
21 But
how he now sees we do not know,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him;
he is of age.
He will speak for himself.”
22 (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.)
23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So for the 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.”
25 He answered,
“Whether he is a sinner I do not know.
One thing I do know,
that though I was blind,
now I see.”
26 They said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
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?”
28 And they reviled him, saying,
“You are his disciple,
but we are disciples of Moses.
29 We know that God has spoken to Moses,
but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.”
30 The man answered,
“Why, this is an amazing thing!
You do not know where he comes from,
and yet he opened my eyes.
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if anyone
is a worshiper of God a
nd does his will,
God listens to him.
32 Never
since the world began
has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34 They answered him,
“You were born in utter sin,
and would you teach us?”
And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out,
and having found him he said,
“Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 He answered,
“And who is he, sir,
that I may believe in him?”
37 Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
and it is he who is speaking to you.”
38 He said,
“Lord, I believe,”
and he worshiped him.
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.”
40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things,
and said to him,
“Are we also blind?”
41 Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no guilt;
but
now that you say, ‘We see,’
your guilt remains.
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Previous DIG DEEPER posts on John
John 9 Summary
Jesus and His disciples happen upon a blind beggar. The disciples' reaction is to first sort out who's to blame for the man's condition, but Jesus points them away from that fool's errand.
After Jesus, who here refers to Himself as the light of the world, turns the lights on for this man who spent his whole life wandering in the dark, the clown show arrives in the form of the establishment Pharisees. Once again, the establishment is upset that Jesus infringed one of their man made Sabbath restrictions, this time by spitting on the ground and making mud in order to heal the man.
Contrast the comedic scene of the establishment's 'investigation' as to what happened with the simple demonstration of faith exhibited by the formerly blind man. The man certainly agrees with Jesus' claim to be the Son of Man, but then he immediately shows that it's more than just intellectual consent. He shows genuine faith by the fact that he instantly began to worship Jesus.
Dig Deeper
It's often one of the first questions that get asked whenever something terrible happens: is God punishing a specific sin with this disease / financial setback / death? One of the reasons that our minds are so quick to go to that question is that deep down we know that we deserve terrible things because we've sinned, so we just assume that all terrible things are the result of particular sins.
Certainly the fact that bad things happen in this world is a result of sin in general, but Jesus makes it clear in responding to the disciples opening question about whose sin caused the man to be born blind that there's no connection between particular terrible incidents and particular sins.
Instead, Jesus here tells us that all things happen - both good and bad - so that the works of God might be displayed (v3).
Keep this in mind the next time it appears that everything is going off the rails in life, that somehow, and in some way that you may never even realize, God is at work.
AAA Prayer :
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father God, who displays His glory and works in all things (v3)
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Echo what the blind man told the Pharisees in v31 - God's will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
