What Jesus Did

Then [the Jewish leaders cursed the man who had been healed of his blindness] and said, "You are [Jesus'] disciple, but we are disciples of Moses! We know God spoke to Moses, but we don't even know where this man comes from."

—John 9:28-29 NLT

Key Thought


Sadly, about the only truthful thing the authorities say about Jesus in the whole episode is that they know nothing about him. But, if they really knew Moses, they would know Jesus. If they really knew God...

 

"But what did [Jesus] do?" [the Jewish leaders] asked. "How did he heal you?" "Look!" the man exclaimed. "I told you once. Didn't you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?"

—John 9:26-27 NLT

Key Thought


Sometimes folks make themselves the enemies of the truth because they don't want to discover it. The interchange between the authorities and the man who was healed reaches an absurd and almost humorous point. The...

 

So for the second time [the Jewish leaders] called in the man who had been blind and told him, "God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner." "I don't know whether he is a sinner," the man replied. "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!"

—John 9:24-25 NLT

Key Thought


Sometimes we cannot answer all the intellectual or theological arguments about faith and the reasons we believe. Even though we might not be able to answer...

 

The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. They asked them, "Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?" His parents replied, "We know this is our son and that he was born blind, but we don't know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself." His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who had announced that anyone saying Jesus was the...

 

Then [the people questioning the man who had been healed of his blindness took him] to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, "He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!" Some of the Pharisees said, "This man Jesus is not from God, for he is working on the Sabbath." Others said, "But how could an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?" So there was a...

 

His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" Some said he was, and others said, "No, he just looks like him!" But the beggar kept saying, "Yes, I am the same one!" They asked, "Who healed you? What happened?" He told them, "The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.' So I went and washed, and now I can see!" "Where is he now?" they asked. "I...

 

[Jesus said,] "But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world." Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man's eyes. He told him, "Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam" (Siloam means "sent"). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

—John 9:5-7 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus longs to bring us his blessings. A blessing that we desperately need is the sight to see things as they are and to be able to...

 

[Jesus said,] "We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us. The night is coming, and then no one can work.

—John 9:4 NLT

Key Thought


Jesus recognizes that his time on earth is short. He feels a sense of urgency to get the work of God completed. He also shares the importance of getting that work done with his disciples. Many of us have all sorts of distractions crowding into our lives. Some of these distractions seem important to us...

 

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. "Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" "It was not because of his sins or his parents' sins," Jesus answered. "This happened so the power of God could be seen in him."

—John 9:1-3 NLT

Key Thought


If you look carefully in this chapter, you will find a number of different ways we sometimes look at people and dehumanize them...

 

[Jesus said,] "Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad." The people said, "You aren't even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?" Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!" At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

—John 8:56-59 NLT

Key Thought


Like so many other things Jesus says in this chapter, this...