John 9.1-41
John 9:1-41
Jesus heals a man who had been blind since birth [draft sermon notes]
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Published September 2nd, 2021
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John 9:1-41
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Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind 9 1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, c “Rabbi, d who sinned, e this man or f his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but g that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must h work the works of him who sent me i while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, j I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, k he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. l Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in m the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and n came back seeing. 8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, o “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, p “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 q Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 r 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 s from God, t for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, u “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And v 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, w “He is a prophet.” 18 x The Jews 1 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 y because they feared the Jews, for z the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should a confess Jesus 1 to be Christ, b he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, c “He is of age; ask him.” 24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, d “Give glory to God. We know that e 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 f 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, g “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 h we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, i we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is j an amazing thing! k You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that l God does not listen to sinners, but m if anyone is a worshiper of God and 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 n If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, o “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they p cast him out. 35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in q the Son of Man?” 1 36 He answered, r “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and s it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, t “For judgment I came into this world, u that those who do not see may see, and v those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, w “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, x you would have no guilt; 1 but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
John 9:1-41
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9 1 Καὶ παράγων εἶδεν ἄνθρωπον τυφλὸν ἐκ γενετῆς. 2 καὶ ἠρώτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ λέγοντες• ῥαββί, τίς ἥμαρτεν, οὗτος ἢ οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα τυφλὸς γεννηθῇ; 3 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς• οὔτε οὗτος ἥμαρτεν οὔτε οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ, ἀλλʼ ἵνα φανερωθῇ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ. 4 ἡμᾶς δεῖ ἐργάζεσθαι τὰ ἔργα τοῦ πέμψαντός με ἕως ἡμέρα ἐστίν• ἔρχεται νὺξ ὅτε οὐδεὶς δύναται ἐργάζεσθαι. 5 ὅταν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὦ, φῶς εἰμι τοῦ κόσμου. 6 ταῦτα εἰπὼν ἔπτυσεν χαμαὶ καὶ ἐποίησεν πηλὸν ἐκ τοῦ πτύσματος καὶ ἐπέχρισεν αὐτοῦ τὸν πηλὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς 7 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ• ὕπαγε νίψαι εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν τοῦ Σιλωάμ (ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται ἀπεσταλμένος). ἀπῆλθεν οὖν καὶ ἐνίψατο καὶ ἦλθεν βλέπων. 8 Οἱ οὖν γείτονες καὶ οἱ θεωροῦντες αὐτὸν τὸ πρότερον ὅτι προσαίτης ἦν ἔλεγον• οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ καθήμενος καὶ προσαιτῶν; 9 ἄλλοι ἔλεγον ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν, ἄλλοι ἔλεγον• οὐχί, ἀλλʼ ὅμοιος αὐτῷ ἐστιν. ἐκεῖνος ἔλεγεν ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι. 10 ἔλεγον οὖν αὐτῷ• πῶς [οὖν] ἠνεῴχθησάν σου οἱ ὀφθαλμοί; 11 ἀπεκρίθη ἐκεῖνος• ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ λεγόμενος Ἰησοῦς πηλὸν ἐποίησεν καὶ ἐπέχρισέν μου τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ εἶπέν μοι ὅτι ὕπαγε εἰς τὸν Σιλωὰμ καὶ νίψαι• ἀπελθὼν οὖν καὶ νιψάμενος ἀνέβλεψα. 12 καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ• ποῦ ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος; λέγει• οὐκ οἶδα. 13 Ἄγουσιν αὐτὸν πρὸς τοὺς Φαρισαίους τόν ποτε τυφλόν. 14 ἦν δὲ σάββατον ἐν ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ τὸν πηλὸν ἐποίησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς καὶ ἀνέῳξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. 15 πάλιν οὖν ἠρώτων αὐτὸν καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι πῶς ἀνέβλεψεν. ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς• πηλὸν ἐπέθηκέν μου ἐπὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ ἐνιψάμην καὶ βλέπω. 16 ἔλεγον οὖν ἐκ τῶν Φαρισαίων τινές• οὐκ ἔστιν οὗτος παρὰ θεοῦ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὅτι τὸ σάββατον οὐ τηρεῖ. ἄλλοι [δὲ] ἔλεγον• πῶς δύναται ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλὸς τοιαῦτα σημεῖα ποιεῖν; καὶ σχίσμα ἦν ἐν αὐτοῖς. 17 λέγουσιν οὖν τῷ τυφλῷ πάλιν• τί σὺ λέγεις περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἠνέῳξέν σου τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς; ὁ δὲ εἶπεν ὅτι προφήτης ἐστίν. 18 Οὐκ ἐπίστευσαν οὖν οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι περὶ αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἦν τυφλὸς καὶ ἀνέβλεψεν ἕως ὅτου ἐφώνησαν τοὺς γονεῖς αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀναβλέψαντος 19 καὶ ἠρώτησαν αὐτοὺς λέγοντες• οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς ὑμῶν, ὃν ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι τυφλὸς ἐγεννήθη; πῶς οὖν βλέπει ἄρτι; 20 ἀπεκρίθησαν οὖν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπαν• οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ υἱὸς ἡμῶν καὶ ὅτι τυφλὸς ἐγεννήθη• 21 πῶς δὲ νῦν βλέπει οὐκ οἴδαμεν, ἢ τίς ἤνοιξεν αὐτοῦ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἡμεῖς οὐκ οἴδαμεν• αὐτὸν ἐρωτήσατε, ἡλικίαν ἔχει, αὐτὸς περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λαλήσει. 22 ταῦτα εἶπαν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἐφοβοῦντο τοὺς Ἰουδαίους• ἤδη γὰρ συνετέθειντο οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι ἵνα ἐάν τις αὐτὸν ὁμολογήσῃ χριστόν, ἀποσυνάγωγος γένηται. 23 διὰ τοῦτο οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ εἶπαν ὅτι ἡλικίαν ἔχει, αὐτὸν ἐπερωτήσατε. 24 Ἐφώνησαν οὖν τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκ δευτέρου ὃς ἦν τυφλὸς καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ• δὸς δόξαν τῷ θεῷ• ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι οὗτος ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν. 25 ἀπεκρίθη οὖν ἐκεῖνος• εἰ ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν οὐκ οἶδα• ἓν οἶδα ὅτι τυφλὸς ὢν ἄρτι βλέπω. 26 εἶπον οὖν αὐτῷ• τί ἐποίησέν σοι; πῶς ἤνοιξέν σου τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς; 27 ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς• εἶπον ὑμῖν ἤδη καὶ οὐκ ἠκούσατε• τί πάλιν θέλετε ἀκούειν; μὴ καὶ ὑμεῖς θέλετε αὐτοῦ μαθηταὶ γενέσθαι; 28 καὶ ἐλοιδόρησαν αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπον• σὺ μαθητὴς εἶ ἐκείνου, ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἐσμὲν μαθηταί• 29 ἡμεῖς οἴδαμεν ὅτι Μωϋσεῖ λελάληκεν ὁ θεός, τοῦτον δὲ οὐκ οἴδαμεν πόθεν ἐστίν. 30 ἀπεκρίθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς• ἐν τούτῳ γὰρ τὸ θαυμαστόν ἐστιν, ὅτι ὑμεῖς οὐκ οἴδατε πόθεν ἐστίν, καὶ ἤνοιξέν μου τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς. 31 οἴδαμεν ὅτι ἁμαρτωλῶν ὁ θεὸς οὐκ ἀκούει, ἀλλʼ ἐάν τις θεοσεβὴς ᾖ καὶ τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ποιῇ τούτου ἀκούει. 32 ἐκ τοῦ αἰῶνος οὐκ ἠκούσθη ὅτι ἠνέῳξέν τις ὀφθαλμοὺς τυφλοῦ γεγεννημένου• 33 εἰ μὴ ἦν οὗτος παρὰ θεοῦ, οὐκ ἠδύνατο ποιεῖν οὐδέν. 34 ἀπεκρίθησαν καὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ• ἐν ἁμαρτίαις σὺ ἐγεννήθης ὅλος καὶ σὺ διδάσκεις ἡμᾶς; καὶ ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἔξω. 35 Ἤκουσεν Ἰησοῦς ὅτι ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἔξω καὶ εὑρὼν αὐτὸν εἶπεν• σὺ πιστεύεις εἰς τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου; 36 ἀπεκρίθη ἐκεῖνος καὶ εἶπεν• καὶ τίς ἐστιν, κύριε, ἵνα πιστεύσω εἰς αὐτόν; 37 εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Ἰησοῦς• καὶ ἑώρακας αὐτὸν καὶ ὁ λαλῶν μετὰ σοῦ ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν. 38 ὁ δὲ ἔφη• πιστεύω, κύριε• καὶ προσεκύνησεν αὐτῷ. 39 Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς• εἰς κρίμα ἐγὼ εἰς τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον ἦλθον, ἵνα οἱ μὴ βλέποντες βλέπωσιν καὶ οἱ βλέποντες τυφλοὶ γένωνται. 40 ἤκουσαν ἐκ τῶν Φαρισαίων ταῦτα οἱ μετʼ αὐτοῦ ὄντες καὶ εἶπον αὐτῷ• μὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς τυφλοί ἐσμεν; 41 εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς• εἰ τυφλοὶ ἦτε, οὐκ ἂν εἴχετε ἁμαρτίαν• νῦν δὲ λέγετε ὅτι βλέπομεν, ἡ ἁμαρτία ὑμῶν μένει.
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Notes
Jesus heals a man who had been blind since birth Intro What is the difference between ' defending the truth' and 'defensiveness'? Two levels of sight and blindness. Note how self-righteousness ('claiming to see') leads you to a lack of love for God and neighbour. Context: recap the spiritual blindness of chapter 8 , eg 8.45 because I tell the truth you do not believe me. 1. People don't know what to make of it (v1-23) v1 blind from birth. v2-3 who sinned? Jesus - this is not a result of specific sin. But for the glory of God. v4-5 his cross in view. L ight of the world again v6-7. Why the saliva, mud, and mention of Siloam? Creative act: he sees, instantaneously. v8-12 neighbours and general people v13-17 the Pharisees (and NB it's a sabbath) v18-23 his own parents. Fear of man. The general sense of people not having a category for such a miracle shows the general spiritual blindness. Especially among the Pharisees, who should have known that the healing of the blind was a key mark of the Messiah's coming (eg Isaiah 35). 2. The blind man sees but the Pharisees choose spiritual blindness (v24-41) v24-34 the second interrogation. They insist on their system and narrative, and will not have it challenged. The man simply speaks what he knows honestly. He is cast out. E ntrenched self-righteousness from their pedigree and their system. R ather than have their system reflected upon, they threaten and harm. Their system is, good people receive good things. Bad people receive bad things. God spoke to Moses, and we're on his team. Anyone else from God will therefore be one of us too. We're right about the Sabbath, so anyone not with us can't be from God. v35-38 Jesus finds him. What mercy. Do you believe in the Son of Man? He believes and worships. True spiritual sight. v39-41 Jesus speaking cryptically on two levels. Literal blindness does not bring guilt (literally sin, links to v2-3); but claiming to see (self-righteousness) is actually spiritual blindness. T wo ways to be blind. Light bulb analogy again. v39 is not a contradiction to earlier ( chapter 3 ). Rather, he has come to save and therefore come 'for judgment'. This inevitably means revealing sin so that people might turn and be saved. This means that if people refuse to see their sin, they sit in judgment. [E.g., medical doctor offering treatment for disease to a jungle tribe inevitably brings a kind of judgment for those who refuse it]. Glory of God. He gives sight to the blind. Person of Jesus. He in himself has brought the long-awaited Kingdom, the messianic age, then the blind see and the lame walk. He himself is the light who gives true sight. Work of Jesus . He is crucified by blind sinners. Through his death, forgives our self-righteousness. And through his death reveals himself as the Son of Man. So that his people might see and believe. Union with Jesus. Invitation . Come and see, know God truly. Confrontation . Stop insisting on your own self-righteousness. Consolation . Jesus is the one who 'finds' and is with his people when even all others forsake them. Wrap up: Two levels of sight and blindness. Note how self-righteousness ('claiming to see') leads you to a lack of love for God and neighbour.
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