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The Gospel of John, The Period of Conflict - The Clash of Belief and Unbelief, Continuing discourse after the feast, The Man Blind from his Birth, Part XXV, John 9:17-23 - Lesson 72
Read Verses John 9:13-16, for review: They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
And we pick up with John 9:17,18, They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. 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.
The man born blind, unencumbered by loyalty to years of false doctrine, examines the question as to the "who" of Jesus Christ.
He knows that before Jesus Christ came into his life he was blind, he did not know what sight was because he never saw anything.
He knows that after Jesus Christ came into his life he can now see.
It is the most amazing thing that ever happened to him.
It is beyond his wildest dreams to be able to function as other men.
His only conclusion is that Jesus Christ must be a prophet of God.
There is no other conclusion to come to as far as he is concerned.
Once he was blind but now he can see.
Isn't that your testimony of the work of Jesus Christ in your life?
But unbelievers will not believe you.
We are not surprised when we tell them what Jesus Christ has done for us!
And see the response of the Jews.
We don't believe you that you were blind!
You had sight all the time and now are lying to us.
You were not blind.
Tell an unbeliever that you were blind, in other words you were a lost sinner, and they will object.
They will not agree because it calls for them to admit the same thing.
If you are blind and made of the same flesh and blood that they are does that not call for the same conclusion on their part?
So the natural man will not admit blindness.
The natural man sees God in his own way.
The natural man, out of the deceitfulness of his own heart, has created a world in which he sees God.
How can he be blind when he can see God so well, he asks?
Isn't this what unbelief produces.
It produces a whole economy of a vision of God that they have produced to convince them that they are not blind.
A man made system of salvation that is within the blindness in which they exist.
John 9:19-21, And they asked them, (his parents) saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
The man could not accurately testify that he was blind since birth for no man can testify of things that occurred at his birth.
Being born blind was an important factor to the Jews.
Perhaps if he was blind for a portion of his life due to an accident or a sickness perhaps the healing had taken place which might be used to justify the regaining of his sight.
A logical explanation to refute the miracle.
Isn't that typical of unbelief?
We Jews refuse to believe in a miracle.
So summon the parents and lets get to the bottom of this.
This Jesus must be proved wrong.
They too confine their evidence to what they actually knew and did not speculate about by what means (how) or by whom his eyes were opened.
As we see in the next verse the parents were afraid of the authorities and were careful to answer only the questions that were asked.
Yes, he is our son. Yes, we can testify that he was indeed born blind.
We are his parents, valid and trustworthy witnesses of that fact.
To the "how" and to the "who" question ask him, he is of age. He can speak for himself.
John 9:22,23, These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.
The fear of man brings snares.
The parents were trapped in the snare that the Jews had set for the people.
They had made a fine net of religion that entrapped and enslaved.
They had added to the law of God and complicated the simplicity of God's law into a system that was designed to entangle the people.
Much like today.
Law is corrupted and used to entangle.
And the people feared those who used the law against them.
But you cannot fear man and fear God.
The Bible teaches us that the ones who are fearless before men are those who truly fear God.
This verse reveals to us the conspiracy of the Jews to destroy Jesus Christ.
Confessing Jesus Christ was now grounds for excommunication, a fearful thing for a Jew.
The ears of the Jews were stopped.
They made their necks stiff and incapable of turning.
By their decision their necks were hardened.
And instead of the support of his parents, and a testimony of rejoicing before the Pharisees, fear of man caused his parents to throw their son back to the unbelieving crowd to fend for himself. He is of age; ask him.
This reaction of loved ones has been repeated throughout the ages of the church.
We should not be surprised when our salvation does not bring joy or support to our unbelieving loved ones. |