1: And as Iesous
passed by he saw a man who was blind from his birth 2: And his disciples
asked him saying Master who did sin this man or his parents that he was born
blind 3: Iesous answered Neither has this man
sinned nor his parents but that the works ho
Theos should be made manifest in him[1] 4: I must work the works of him that sent me while
it is day the night comes when no one can work 5: As long as I am in the
world I am the light of the world[2] 6: When he had thus spoken he spat on the ground and
made clay of the spittle and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the
clay 7: And said to him Go wash in the pool of
Siloam (which
is by interpretation Sent) He went his way therefore and washed and came seeing[3] 8:
The neighbors therefore and they which before had seen him that he was blind
said Is not this he that sat and begged 9: Some said This is he others
said He is like him but he said I am he 10: Therefore said they to him
How were your eyes opened 11: He answered and said A man that is called Iesous
made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me Go to the
pool of Siloam and wash and I went and washed and I received sight 12:
Then said they to him Where is he He said I know not 13: They brought to
the Pharisees him that before had been blind 14: And it was the Sabbath
day when Iesous made the clay and opened his eyes 15: Then again
the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight He said to them He
put clay upon my eyes and I washed and do see 16: Therefore said some of
the Pharisees This man is not from ho
Theos
because he keeps not the Sabbath day[4]
Others said How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles And there was a
division among them [5] 17:
They said to the blind man again What say you of him that he has opened your
eyes? He said He is a prophet 18: But the Jews did not believe
concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight until they called
the parents of him that had received his sight 19: And they asked them
saying Is this your son who you say was born blind how then does he now see 20:
His parents answered them and said We know that this is our son and that he was
born blind 21: But by what means he now sees we know not or who has
opened his eyes we know not he is of age ask him he shall speak for himself 22:
These words spoke his parents because they feared the Jews for the Jews had
agreed already that if any did confess that he was Christos he should be put
out of the synagogue[6] 23:
Therefore said his parents He is of age ask him 24: Then again called
they the man that was blind and said to him Give glory to Theos we know that this
man is a sinner 25: He answered and said Whether he be a sinner or no I
know not one thing I know that whereas I was blind now I see 26: Then
said they to him again What did he to you how opened he your eyes 27: He
answered them I have told you already and ye did not listen why would you hear
it again will you also be his disciples 28: Then they reviled him and
said you are his disciple but we are Moses' disciples 29: We know that ho Theos
spoke to Moses as for this fellow we know not from where he is 30: The
man answered and said to them Why this is a marvelous thing that you know not
from where he is and yet he has opened my eyes 31: Now we know that ho Theos
hears not sinners but if any be God-fearing and does his will them he hears 32:
Since the world began was it not heard that any opened the eyes of one that was
born blind 33: If this [man] were not of Theos he could do nothing
34: They answered and said to him you were altogether born in sins and
do you teach us And they cast him out 35: Iesous heard that they
had cast him out and when he had found him he said to him Do you believe on the Son ho Theos 36: He answered and said Who is he Lord that
I might believe on him 37: And Iesous said to him You have both seen him and it is he that speaks with you 38: And he said Lord,
I believe And he worshipped him 39: And Iesous said For judgment I am come into this world that they which see
not might see and that they which see might be made blind[7] 40: And some of the Pharisees which were with
him heard these words and said to him Are we blind also 41: Iesous
said to them If you were blind you should have no sin but now you say We see
therefore your sin remains
[1] The disciples here illustrate the
typical Israelite response to sickness and infirmity in that it must have been caused
by sin. Jesus did not rebuke them for this response, as it could have been
true—however their automatic assumption about was incorrect and sinful. Jesus
corrected them. He explained that the blind man’s suffering was part of God’s
infinite plan to bring glory to himself. There is no doubt that many believed
on the Messiah when they witnessed Jesus give sight to the blind man. The Law
of Moses does say that if YHWH is obeyed none of the diseases
that plagued the Egyptians would come upon the Children of Israel. But the
scriptures also give a clear example of a man plagued by sickness and
misfortune who did not bring on calamity through his own personal sin—That man
is Job. This is where Christians must tread carefully, correctly discern the
Word of God, and withhold judgments such as the one the disciples made
concerning the blind man and his parents. Unless a Believer is given a Word for
someone from the Almighty, via the
Gifts of the Holy Spirit such as: The Word of Knowledge, Word of Wisdom, or
Word of Prophecy 1 Corinthians 12:4-10, no one, but Jesus, can say, “Go and sin no more….”
[2] When Jesus says, “The night
comes when no one can work,” he is
referring to the seven year night known as the “Time of
Jacob’s Trouble,” which will commence when “He who restrains” is taken out of
the way (The Holy Spirit restrains the spirit of anti-Christ, but that
restraint will end when He exits this earth via the temples of those he
indwells). When the Church—The Bride of Christ—is raised from the dead and the
living are Caught Up, this event will signal the beginning of the First
Resurrection and the Beginning of Sorrows
which precedes The Great Tribulation
(total time frame of both equals seven years). Both Jesus and Jeremiah used the
same word, “Great,” in describing the
“Great” time of trouble/tribulation that would afflict the whole earth during
the seven year period of time just preceding the visible, physical, return of
Jesus Christ to defeat his enemies and establish His Kingdom on earth 2
Thessalonians 2:6-8, Jerimiah 30:7, Matthew 24:21, Luke 21:35-36.
[3] There is more than one scriptural
example of a healing taking place only after
the afflicted one obeyed instructions from a prophet to wash with or step into
water. Remember, Jesus was also a Prophet Deuteronomy 18:15. This
also brings to mind Ephesians 5:26 where Christians are told that they are set
apart and made clean by the washing of the water of the Word. Jesus is the
Word, and the scriptures admonish many times to be renewed in the spirit of our
minds. Daily Bible reading, and being doers of the Word and not hearers only,
is essential to the renewing process and spiritual growth with the help of the
Holy Spirit.
[4] In India, the sick and suffering with
no loved ones to help them, are deliberately permitted to continue suffering,
because it is Karma. What a perfect excuse, for those who believe everyone is
perfected through suffering—through many lifetimes of paying penance for their
wrongs—to refuse to help those in need. Keeping
the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments. God gave the Jewish people laws and
statutes that it might be well with them
and their children Deuteronomy 4:40. But Jewish leaders burdened
them with many rules and regulations connected to each Commandment and Statute,
so much so, that they could justify allowing someone to continue suffering,
when it was in their power to help, just because it was a Sabbath day. Jesus exposed
this hypocrisy on more than one occasion. He always chose life and well-being
over rules and regulations. The religious crowd hated him for this.
[5] Jesus pointed to the miracles he did as
proof that he was the Messiah Matthew 11:3-5. He sent forth his
disciples (not just The Twelve) to preach the Gospel and do miracles as well.
The Gifts of the Holy Spirit include gifts of miracles and healing. Healing is
the “Children’s Bread.” But the scriptures also warn against seeking after
signs and wonders, because there are such things as lying wonders and spirits
of devils working miracles Matthew 12:38-39, Acts 8:18-22, Revelation
12:13-14, 16:14. It is likely there are certain kinds of miracles spirits
of devils cannot perform, such as those Jesus pointed to as proof of who he
was, e.g., blind see, lame walk, lepers healed, deaf hear, dead raised. All
things, therefore, must be judged against the Written Word of God by the Holy
Spirit of God.
[6] Being put out of the synagogue meant being
dis-fellowshipped and shunned. The blind man’s parents feared becoming outcasts
in Israel.
[7] Heartless religious leaders
dis-fellowshipped and shunned a man who had already experienced what it was
like to be a life-long social outcast (to some extent) due to his physical
handicap of blindness. Now that he was healed, they made his ostracization
complete. But Jesus sought him out and gave him opportunity to acknowledge him
as Messiah and to let him know that he was not truly alone. No doubt this also
signaled his disciples to take note of him and bring him into fellowship with
them. What a wondrous thing it was that Jesus also revealed the grand purpose of
God behind this man’s blindness and subsequent receiving of sight.
Additional commentary pending for this
chapter. Questions and comments are welcome.
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