John 9:1-5

 

John 9:1 (KJB)

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

 

Now it is not known exactly where or when this took place. It may have been a few months later at the Feast of Dedication. (John 10:22 KJV) And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. This new discourse may be in concert with this feast. The miracle which was about to take place would be more prominent because this man was blind from his birth and was not the result of an accident which happened sometime during his life.

 

John 9:2 (KJB)

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

 

If one reads the book of Job, you will see his four friends who were supposed to be his comforters and were more his accusers than anything. His friends had accused him of some sin and that is why he had suffered so much. One of the major mindsets that possessed the Jews from Old Testament times was that if a person sinned then they were punished by God for that sin. Job lost his family and wealth and his friends thought he committed some type of sin to incur the wrath of God against him. Here the disciples are basically asking the same question. This man was born blind so who sinned to cause the blindness, was it he himself or his parents. One thing the disciples failed to understand is that every single human being who is born into the world has the sin nature of Adam.

 

(Psa 58:3 KJV) The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies. Psalm 58:3 states that we start telling lies the minute we are born which teaches us that we possess a wicked nature from the moment of conception, never mind birth. Being in the womb for nine months, where would we learn to lie unless it is inherent in our nature from the moment we are a zygote. This man would have been born a sinner even if he had a perfect physical body.

 

John 9:3 (KJB)

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

 

Jesus is definitely not claiming that the man nor has parents have sinned because the Scriptures teach in many places such as Psalm 58:3 which we looked at, that every human is guilty of sin. What Jesus was referring to was that a specific sin did not cause his blindness. This is the same situation that Job was in. He did not sin to cause what happened to him but his circumstances were created for the Glory of God to be revealed in a certain time. Job did not know of the conversations which took place in Heaven between God and Satan. This man was born blind and Jesus is stating that his blindness was for the purpose of manifesting the works of God in him. This man did not know that his blindness was to be to the Glory of God, just like the raising of Lazarus.

 

John 9:4 (KJB)

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

 

Must - It is necessary

 

This is another situation where Jesus is doing the works of the Father who sent Him. Jesus came to do the work of the Father which would be the paying for the sins of the elect. While He was ministering, He would teach by doing certain miracles. Here Jesus is about to perform a miracle on this man. Jesus states that He must do the works of God while it is day. This means that there comes a time in every Christian’s life when their ministry will be over and they will be promoted to glory. While we are here we are to be involved in the Lord’s work in the Kingdom of God. We were saved for a specific purpose and that is to bear fruit. (John 15:8 KJV) Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. There are heavy time constraints on the life of every believer because each day could be the last one where ministry could take place.

 

Physical death comes to the believer just like the unbeliever because we are in physical bodies. The difference is that the believer goes to Heaven in their spirit essence while the unbeliever goes to a place of silence until they are resurrected on the last day to stand for judgment. (Psa 90:12 KJV) So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. This is why Psalm 90:12 counsels us to number our days. In other words, we need to take inventory to see if we are being useful to the Kingdom of God. Time is moving fast and we are nearing the end of time and that is why Christians must be vigilant in the work of the Lord. The time for worrying about sports or American Idol must be a thing of the past and now our focus must be on the things of the Lord because night is coming.

 

John 9:5 (KJB)

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

 

Here Jesus reiterates a truth He gave in John 8:12 that He is the light of the world. The man who was born blind was like all those in the world who have eyes that are blinded to the true Gospel. When Jesus saves someone, they come out of darkness and that darkness could be religion or could just be secular bondage to the world. The light that Jesus brings is the true Gospel which frees the soul of man and allows them to see the truth when their eyes are open to the Gospel. Jesus is the light because He is the embodiment of freedom from the bondage and curse of the law. Once a person becomes saved, they never have to keep any tenets of the law for salvation because Christ kept the law perfectly and those who are in Christ, are like they have never sinned. Once Jesus leaves this world, then He transfers that light to His disciples and all Christians. (Mat 5:14 KJV) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. When the true Christians bring the true Gospel, they are bringing the true light to open the eyes of the blind.

Back