John 16 Chapter 9 The 6th Sign

[HKHaugan]

Chapter 8 is where Jesus again makes a declaration about who and what He is by saying, “I am the light of the world.” Remember how we said that the original scriptural documents didn't have chapters and verses? So this Gospel is a stream of Jesus consciousness John is giving us here. This is why what we call chapters really have to be read as they were written, a series of teachings and events that, as you read, step up the volume disclosing Jesus is God the Son and by believing in Him eternal life is guaranteed. The deafening crash of symbols comes at the end of Chapter 8 when Jesus rocks the Pharisees back on their heels by proclaiming, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was, I am.”

Given the sin atmosphere dominating the world and the leadership of the Jews, the opposition increases. One thing we must realize about opposition to Jesus, it is not human in origin. Jesus identifies the devil as the author of sin, the spiritual darkness that has enveloped the world since Adam (8:44). Jesus is showing the spiritual dimension in its two sides, light and darkness. He is the light and the devil is darkness. Opening up the spiritual dimension as He has, it is no coincidence that Chapter 9 has Him running into a blind man.

Therefore, the natural outflow from Chapter 8 is Chapter 9 which centers around the healing of a blind man. Here Jesus puts into visual reality spiritual truth working a physical miracle and providing us with the 6th sign of His Messiahship. It's the healing of a blind man. But he's not only blind, he was born blind. The blind man is a specific living example of the darkness of sin in which the world is trapped. He is a symbol soon to reveal the substance of spiritual light.

'Born blind' shows the spiritual condition of all mankind. Every single person coming into the world is born in the spiritual darkness of sin, separated from God and one another. It's called aloneness. We inherit that self-centered condition from Adam when we're born. We can't see God. He has to be revealed to us. Even if we see a body in front of us we can't see the mind and heart of another person. So we don't know God or one another. We have to learn about them. The only way we can really see and know God is in Jesus Christ which is the precise reason God sent Him. His birth, life, death and Resurrection were spiritually motivated just like all of Creation.

So Jesus comes to be the One in whom we can see God. That's what Jesus means when He says He is the light of the world. By healing a man born blind Jesus is showing the world that we can be born spiritually from above (Ch.3) in the Holy Spirit when we receive Him. He reveals and lives what real humanity is. He restores our ability to see everything in a spiritual context; our intellect, emotions, behavior and relationships. “I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see.” The new sight is not only spiritual. It is personal and relational. Religions are man made attempts to define the unseen. Jesus is the personal revelation given by God Himself. What Jesus reveals is the One Creator God as spiritual, personal and relational.

This brings us to vs.1-5. Jesus' disciples asked Him if it was his or his parents' sins that caused his blindness. Now you want to pay attention here to what Jesus says because it can be, and was in His time, misunderstood. There are 4 things He says here that make a sharp distinction between past human assumption and Jesus' revelation. Among Jewish cultural ideas was one that said any disease must have been caused by sinful behavior and the Scripture that says the sins of the fathers are passed on to succeeding generations (Ex.20:5).

First, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” What Jesus is saying here is that it is not behavior that makes people blind. As the dialogue between the Pharisees and the healed man plays out it is not until the transformation of the man unfolds that we see in vs.34 how the Pharisees identify the real problem. The man was healed from physical blindness in order to see sin as the spiritual condition that was at the bottom of the whole experience.

Second, “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” The Father has a plan. This blind man was going to be the event in the life of His Son on earth that exposed sin as the spiritual darkness causing all disease, discomfort, disability and distress. This is the moment through which this particular man would be the means to make clear what real sin is all about. This was determined long before in the mind of God to wait until His Son is revealed and revealed as the Light of the world. This man born blind is all of us and this particular man had the blessing of being blind in order to reveal Jesus as the light of the world. Of course he didn't think about that or even remotely imagine it. He suffered in his blindness like anyone else would with their affliction. Yet his physical blindness was an instrument to become a testimony to the world, “This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life (9:3).”

Third, Jesus builds on this in vs.4, “As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me.” Jesus is daylight, simple as that. He is the norm by which we understand what human beings are meant to be like. Whenever and wherever Jesus is His light makes everything clear. His teachings, miracles, actions, discussions and interactions with people are the substance of redefined humanity, a humanity lost in the darkness of sin, its aloneness and fear. In Him you not only see the dual spiritual nature of good and evil. Trusting Him, you can find the confidence to work within it. Grab onto that truth because “Night is coming when no one can work.”

Fourth, “While I am in the world I am the light of the world (vs.5).” Saying 'the world' He is the One who shows everything that hides in the dark and the forces that try to keep us there. Jesus begins not only a mission to restore all humanity to its source, a living relationship with Him, His Father and the Holy Spirit. But He also within that mission begins a ministry of reconciliation to take the broken parts of individual human personality, mind, heart and spirit, and bring them back into balance through His grace and love. The overall purpose is to give everyone who believes in Him a share of the work and receive the blessings that come from it. The work is to love one another as He loves us and bring others into the family of like minded recoverers. This is the place of the Holy Spirit who brings us special gifts just for that purpose.

Vs.6 Upon saying He was the light of the world, Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud and puts it on the man's eyes. Think Genesis 2:7, the creation of man. Jesus is identifying Himself with the One through whom Creation came. The man goes as directed, to the pool of Siloam (sent), washes and went home seeing. His neighbors, used to seeing him hunched on the ground and begging, observe something different. Is it any wonder that some don't recognize him? He looks different, stands differently and speaks with confidence about his experience. The Pharisees ask him where the man was who healed him. Since he couldn't identify Jesus by sight because of blindness at the time and not seeing until after he went to the pool, he doesn't know where Jesus is but does know His name.

The neighbors take the man to the Pharisees who immediately try to discount the miracle because it was done on a Sabbath. If we look at the Sabbath experience in Jewish history it was mandatory in the Law so as to repeat the consciousness of God's Holiness and nothing should distract them from making Him central on that day. But, and here is the light breaking through the darkness, suppose Jesus is making the point of His being not only the Messiah but also God the Son. He is fulfilling the spiritual intention of the Sabbath and making God's Holiness available to be seen not only be the blind but by all people at any time. The Holiness of God shone through that day with a touch of Creation added (Making Adam from the dust of the ground). This was the Sabbath rest, the Spirit of Holiness lighting the darkness of disbelief, human expectations, hostility, ridicule, legalism and most of all, the hardened heart made that way through sin and its spirits of control, fear and pride of which the Pharisees fit the picture.

“The curtain of the Temple was torn from top to bottom (Mt.27:50).”

Vs.16-23 The objections start piling up. The first was it was done on the Sabbath. The second is the assumption Jesus was a sinner. Division and confusion reigned. The Pharisees asked the healed man what he thought about Him to which he replied, “He is a prophet.” They still don't believe the man was blind so they call for his parents who came into their intimidating atmosphere. They were also afraid they might be kicked out of the synagogue so they answered with caution that yes, he was born blind but they need to question him because he's old enough to speak for himself.

Vs.24-34 Calling the healed man again they continue the assumption Jesus is a sinner to which the man replies that sinner or not all he knows is that once he was blind but now he sees. Isn't that enough? When asked to repeat how the healing was done the renewed confidence in him stands up to his questioners and gives them his testimony. But they use their religious authority to intimidate the man and bragged that as disciples of Moses they know what they believe but they don't know where Jesus is from. The formerly blind man stands his ground again, “Now that is remarkable! You don't know where He comes from, yet He opened my eyes. We know that God doesn't listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does His will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God He could do nothing.” This angers the Pharisees so they throw him out. You can't hear what you definitely don't want to hear.

Vs.35 Jesus hears what happened to the healed man so He finds him and asks him “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He replies with a question, Who is He?” Jesus said, “You've seen Him. He is the one speaking to you.” The man says, “I believe” and worships Him. Jesus adds that He has come into the world so that the blind can see and those who think they see will become blind. The Pharisees that stood by heard Him and asked if they were blind too. “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin, but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” Ouch, they will remain that way. After Pentecost and Peter's first speech many of them did repent and believe.

The impress of the final words in Chapter 9 seeps over in Chapter 10 much the same way as Chapter 8 poured into Chapter 9. There is a seamless bond of universal blindness that grips all mankind from birth. It is a spiritual blindness that only Jesus can heal and that through faith in Him alone. As we move on from here, the aforementioned crescendo effect will become more intense as will the opposition against Him.