Coming to Jesus -- John 9:1-41

Introduction

I know of no one who was automatically born mature. I’ve known some people who seem more mature than their years, and I’ve known a lot more that seem much more immature than their years. With birth comes the need to grow, to learn, to mature. We expect it in everyone.

The same is true of spiritual birth. No one who comes to know Christ as Savior is automatically able to grasp all the truths that are present in Him. The life of a Christian is one of constant learning and growing, gaining new insights and awareness as we experience Christ daily. The growth only ends when we shall see Him face-to-face.

Our passage today is an example of a young man who, in his one encounter with Jesus, gradually comes to see Him for what He truly is. The blind man’s descriptions of Jesus reflect his growing awareness of the One who touched him and game him sight.

Central Truth: After his encounter with Jesus, the blind man progresses in his understanding and awareness of who Jesus is and in his commitment to Jesus.

The blind man comes to Jesus:

1. By being in the right place (1-7)

The passage begins with the disciples asking Jesus a theological question: Who sinned to cause this man to be born blind? Was it the parents or was it the man himself. It’s an interesting thing to believe that an unborn child is capable of sin so heinous that it would result in the child’s blindness from birth, but the disciples assumed it to be a distinctive possibility.

Jesus quickly dismisses such an idea, stating that the man was born blind in order to allow God to glorify Himself through the man. Jesus reminds His followers that He has a task to carry out as long as He is alive on earth, and that task is to do the work of God the Father.

Jesus then makes some mud out of the dirt and His spittle, rubs it on the man’s eyes and instructs him to go and bath in the Pool of Siloam. The man was obedient—he did as Jesus told him. Upon gaining sight for the first time in his life, the man did the only thing he could think of. He went home. And it is here that we begin to see the man’s growth and understanding take place.

1. At the man’s home: “The man called Jesus” (8-12)

I can imagine the surprise and joy as the man walks up his street to his parents’ home. In the past, he had to count the doorways in order to know where he was. Now, as he counted, he looked around, marveling at all he was seeing.

The neighbors noticed something was different about their neighbor. They began asking each other if he was the blind guy. Some said he was; others said he was someone who only looked like him. It was the man himself who settled the question: “I am the man.”

Immediately, this raises the question, “What happened?”

His testimony is to refer to Jesus as “the man they call Jesus.” At this time, he has no clearer idea of who it was that healed him. He only heard the name; of course, he didn’t see the face. He then tells his neighbors that the man they call Jesus told him what to do. The man did it, and now he can see.

Asked where Jesus was, the man honestly replied he had no idea. After all, the only thing he knew about Jesus at this time was the sound of His voice and the touch of His hand, and that Jesus had given him sight.

1. Before the Sanhedrin:“He is a prophet” (13-17)

For such a miraculous event, there could only be one thing to do. His neighbors took him to the Sanhedrin, the religious body that oversaw the Jewish faith in Jerusalem. They were the wise men, the experts on all things relating to God and His relationship with His people.

The Sanhedrin asked the man what happened, and again the man told his story—“He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see.”

This caused a disturbance among the members of the Sanhedrin. Since the miracle took place on the Sabbath, some present immediately dismissed it as an act of God, since God Himself would not violate the Sabbath. Others insisted that no sinner could perform such a miracle, even if it was on the Sabbath. The debate apparently lasted a few moments, when finally they turned again to the blind man.

“What have you to say about Him? It was your eyes He opened.”

The man’s response shows that he had been thinking about the Man who had opened his eyes. No longer does he simply identify Him as “the man they called Jesus.” Now, the man declares, “He is a prophet.”

At this stage in the man’s understanding, it seems reasonable to ascribe the title of prophet to one who could perform such a miracle. He knew the stories of Elijah and Elisha. He knew that prophets could do miraculous things. Therefore it would only make sense that the man they called Jesus must also be a prophet.

The man’s assertion is firm in his mind. He doesn’t say he thinks Jesus is a prophet; that he heard Jesus was a prophet. There is no doubt in his mind. As he has had time to consider what has happened to him and the person who has transformed him, the man is sure: The man they called Jesus is a prophet.

1. A second time before the Sanhedrin: “I was blind, but now I see” (18-25)

Not wanting to admit that a miracle has taken place on the Sabbath, and not pleased with the man’s testimony, the Sanhedrin then takes the next step and order the man’s parents to appear before them. Perhaps the man is playing a trick on them. They need to know if this man really is their son and was he really born blind.

The parents were frightened of the Sanhedrin. They knew of the threat that they would be kicked out of the synagogue if the acknowledge Jesus, so the parents affirmed the bare necessities. Yes, they admit, he is our son, and yes, he was born blind, but we don’t know how it happened. They suggest the Sanhedrin ask their son. He’s old enough to answer their questions and he alone was there when he regained his sight.

Thwarted by the parents, the Sanhedrin brings the man back in and ask him point blank to answer the next question under oath: “Give glory to God. We know this man is a sinner.”

The prudent thing, the easy thing, the safe thing would be to bow to their pressure. The man would have nothing of it. His response is simple yet honest. He tells them he can’t answer the theological question; all he can do is testify about what Jesus did: “I was blind but now I see.”

It is this action that has led the man to determine that Jesus is a prophet. It is this action that has led him to now begin to question the Sanhedrin’s knowledge of theology. They want to insist that Jesus is a sinner and that a sinner committed this miracle. As a sinner, He can be dismissed. The man responds with the undeniable truth that Jesus gave him, a man who was born blind, sight. The reality of the miracle is standing before the Sanhedrin, and it is becoming apparent to the man who the blind ones really are.

1. Removed from the Sanhedrin:“If this man were not from God, He could do nothing” (26-34)

Again, the Sanhedrin repeats the question: What happened, and how did it happen?

By this time, the man must be tired of answering the same question over and over again. It seems apparent in his answer: I’ve already told you; you need to listen. Then he asks them a question: “Do you want to become His disciples, too?”

I can only imagine the hostility that must have arisen against the man. Become Jesus’ disciples? Didn’t he know to whom he was speaking? They fall back on their tried and true challenge about Jesus. We follow Moses. We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where Jesus comes from. In other words, they question Jesus’ birth. They knew that Jesus’ mother wasn’t married to his father when she became pregnant. No one really knew who the father was.

Notice the man’s next response. He has been edging away from the theological issues, recognizing that he is uneducated and they are the learned men of the faith. Yet their constant questioning and willingness to attribute the miracle only to a sinner, the man refutes their theology with simple truths.

First, the Sanhedrin questioned Jesus’ origins. The man’s response to that is that regardless of origins, Jesus really did open his eyes. Second, he speaks to the common belief that God refuses to listen to sinners and only listens to those who do God’s will. Finally, the man declares, “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”

The man has come a long way. From relying on what others have told him—the man they called Jesus—to the declaration that Jesus is a prophet, now the man declares with the same certainty that Jesus, by the miraculous act of giving him sight, has demonstrated to the objective observer that He is from God.

To this, the Sanhedrin completely closes their spiritual eyes to the truth standing before them, declare the man himself to be steeped in sin (remember the disciples’ opening question?) and throw the man out of their presence.

1. Jesus comes to the man again: “Lord, I believe” (35-41)

Jesus hears what has happened, and He seeks out the man once again. When Jesus finds him, He asks a simple question: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

The title is one used by Jesus to identify Himself with humanity, but also alludes to His special relationship to God. The Son of Man is the Messiah, so the question is, “Do you believe in the One who brings salvation to God’s people?”

The man wants to believe, but he needs to know who He is. Remember that the man had never seen Jesus’ face. He hadn’t seen until he had obediently gone to the Pool of Siloam. It’s possible he didn’t recognize the voice. His question is legitimate. The man is ready to believe, but he needs to know who the Son of Man literally is.

Jesus wastes no time in revealing Himself to the man. “You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking to you.” You have now seen him can be interpreted as, “At some time during the day, you ran across the Son of Man as you traveled home and then in your encounter with the Sanhedrin.” So Jesus clarifies the identification by letting the man know he is currently speaking with the Messiah.

The man’s response is immediately to confess Jesus as Savior and to worship Him. The fact that Jesus allows the man to worship Him is a testimony to Jesus as Savior and God with us. When angels would appear and people would attempt to worship them, the angels were always very quick to stop it. If Jesus was not the Son of God, if He wasn’t the Savior, then He would also be unworthy of worship.

The last words are directed to the Sanhedrin. Jesus said He had come to bring vision to the blind and to bring blindness to those who erroneously think they see. The Sanhedrin has spent the day trying to refute the obvious miracle before them not because they didn’t believe such a miracle could happen, but they could not conceive how such a miracle could occur in violation of the Sabbath. The trouble is that the Sanhedrin had come to have a wrong understanding of God’s mercy and the Law, and as a result, they were too blind to see the obvious work of God in their midst.

Conclusion

The story of the blind man and his growing awareness of Jesus is one that shows how important growth and understanding is in coming to Jesus. The danger we may experience is that once we come to know Jesus, to confess Him as our Savior, we stop growing, stop seeking, stop learning. The man’s relationship with Jesus was concluded as he worshiped Jesus; it was only beginning.

So it is with us. The acceptance of Jesus as Savior is only the beginning of learning more about Him and what it means to be His disciples. The blind man came to see Jesus in a new light, literally and spiritually. Daily, we are challenged to see Jesus in a new light. We must always grow, learn, seek and surrender. Only then can God be glorified in us.

Are you still growing in your understanding?