John 9 v 1-41

[mindlight]

In John 9 v 1-41 Jesus heals a man born blind. Despite this the unbelief of the religious establishment to the Divine presence at work in Jesus remains stubbornly in place.
There are a number of angles to take on this passage.

1) There is purpose of the miracle revealed in the analysis of the causes of the mans condition. When the disciples ask:

“Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man or his parents?”

Jesus replies:
Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that the acts of God may be
revealed through what happens to him. 9:4 We must perform the deeds of the one who sent me as long as it
is daytime. Night is coming when no one can work. 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the
world.”

So its not that someone with an incurable condition is any worse than anyone else its so that the acts of God many be revealed through what happens to them. Nor is it an explanation of why people suffer. Jesus shows all of us that he can be the cure for their condition. In this miracle Jesus demonstrates that he is the light of the world and a man born blind gets to see. But what about the countless people Jesus did not heal and with whom his followers have prayed also. Why does God choose to restore the light to some but leave others in darkness. Why do some see the works Jesus does and others remain blind to them?

2) How can those who witnessed this miracle have been so blind to its implications and what it revealed about Jesus' true nature. Since they had witness to the longevity of the blind mans condition. The miracle of its cure should surely have transformed their perceptions of Jesus - instead their articulations reveal a deepening of the darkness in their lives.

3) The Pharisees case against Jesus could be summed up here by the argument. We do not care what power this man demonstrates in his miracles he cannot be of God because he appears to violate the Mosaic law by healing on the Sabbath. How would you answer that accusation against Christ. Are their examples of doctrinal inflexibility blinding people to new things that God is doing today.

4) Is there any significance that the final healing took place as the man washed in the pool of Siloam

What are your thoughts about this passage and how would you respond to the above questions?

 

[mindlight]

...

Oh well I had hoped for a slightly larger response than that to the post - I'll try again:

1) If Jesus is the miraculous cure for all our sins and suffering why do members of the religious establishment seem so blind to that. For example Archbishop of Canteburys Dr Williams recent expressions of support for the use of sharia law in certain circumstances in British courts. Surely if he knew what Jesus could do he would not be endorsing false religions in this way.

2) What is it about Liberals, heretics, members of false religions and atheists that blinds them to the truth. Afterall to those who see it as it is it seems perfectly clear.

3) Do we set limits to what God can do in our lives today and resist what the Spirit is prompting us to in a kind of false righteousness? Would the Christian campaigns for slavery and against women getting the vote be examples of this?

4) Whats important about the pool of Siloam?

 

[Chickapee]

Hi Mindlight
I hope you dont mind me sharing with you ?

with questions 1 ,2 and 3 I dont have any answers
willing to listen though
but

you asked 4) Whats important about the pool of Siloam?

and I love the hidden name meaning of Siloam ,SENTor sending greek 4611
Siloam = "sent"
1) the Pool of Siloam, a fountain of water in Jerusalem, also called Shiloah in Isa. 8:6
this reminds me of Jesus Christ the Son of God whom the Father sent to save us and out of His belly flow Living waters ...

Jesus is also the Voice of many waters
Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Jhn 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

if the blind can see Jesus Spiritually speaking , than the healing power of Jesus Christ the Lord and the Father are glorified !
peace Chicka

 

[mindlight]

Hi Mindlight
I hope you dont mind me sharing with you ?

with questions 1 ,2 and 3 I dont have any answers
willing to listen though
but

you asked 4) Whats important about the pool of Siloam?

and I love the hidden name meaning of Siloam ,SENTor sending greek 4611
Siloam = "sent"
1) the Pool of Siloam, a fountain of water in Jerusalem, also called Shiloah in Isa. 8:6
this reminds me of Jesus Christ the Son of God whom the Father sent to save us and out of His belly flow Living waters ...

Jesus is also the Voice of many waters
Rev 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

Jhn 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

if the blind can see Jesus Spiritually speaking , than the healing power of Jesus Christ the Lord and the Father are glorified !
peace Chicka

Thankyou for the interesting insights

 

[Chickapee]

Thankyou for the interesting insights

God bless you Mindlight
I stuggle to speak the ''right language'' to many people
I sure wish i knew what im doing wrong ? can you help me please ?
thanks Mindlight ,,what do you think of the pool of Shiloam where the healing the blind man took place by Jesus ?
peace in Christ ... Chicka

 

[mindlight]

Hi Mindlight
I love the hidden name meaning of Siloam ,SENTor sending greek 4611
Siloam = "sent"

Exactly the Hebrew name of the pool is derived from shiloah (the Hebrew verb “to send.&#8221

the Pool of Siloam, a fountain of water in Jerusalem, also called Shiloah in Isa. 8:6

this reminds me of Jesus Christ the Son of God whom the Father sent to save us and out of His belly flow Living waters ...

The Pool of Siloam was formed by the diversion of the Gihon Spring via Hezekiahs tunnel. I have walked through this and it is encouraging to see that what the Bible describes as being there is there. King Hezekiah apparently built it to ensure Jerusalem had a fresh water supply when the Assyrians attacked. By the time of Jesus a major pool had been constructed within the city walls. It was a major part of the cities water supply and may also have been used for ritual cleansing or for washing by travellers on their way to the temple. The analogy with Christ as the source of Living waters is thus a powerful one in my view.

Jhn 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

And here we come to the essential meaning of the pool for this story. Just as Jesus came from the Father and was indeed SENT by Him so the blind man is sent to this pool to be healed by Jesus. The Pharisees claim they do not know where Jesus is coming from but as the previously blind man points out if he were not from God then how could he do these things.

if the blind can see Jesus Spiritually speaking , than the healing power of Jesus Christ the Lord and the Father are glorified! -

peace Chicka

Your post was spot on thankyou.

 

[mindlight]

I need this for a sermon - hence the thread.

Given the response and my experience wrestling with spiritual blindness elsewhere on these boards in recent weeks I think I shall focus this in this way.

Wikipedia defines blindness as the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.

It shows that most visual impairment is caused by disease and malnutrition. The reasons people are blind today around the world have been listed as the following:

cataracts (47.8%),
glaucoma (12.3%),
uveitis (10.2%),
age-related macular degeneration (AMD) (8.7%),
trachoma (3.6%),
corneal opacity (5.1%), and
diabetic retinopathy (4.8%), among other causes.

Apparently most adult visual impairment in North America and Western Europe is related to age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. While both of these conditions are subject to treatment, neither can be cured. We probably all have experience of blind people and are thus aware of how such a handicap can severely limit a persons life choices. Many of us will also have had experiences where we thought we had lost our eyesight. If we imagine for a moment what we could not do without eyesight e.g. drive then we would realise how crippling such a thing would be.

Jesus basically meets a man born blind - puts mud on his eyes and sends him to the Pool of Siloam to wash. The man is then able to see. The Pharisees reject the miracle as being of God on the grounds that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath.

We have all had our own experiences of darkness when we could not see the way forward. Whether stumbling blindly around the house or on a dark night through an unlit forest.

But there is another sense in which people can be blind also. A person can be spiritually blind. That is blind to the things of God and to what God is doing stumbling from dark event to dark event wondering why God is not so clear today in his guidance. Many of us have also had the experience of people who live in spiritual darkness.

Jesus was confronted by a Pharisaic culture that had all its doctrines sown up tight. Everything was clear the system had been thought through and it was water tight. But Jesus exposes not only the inflexibility of this system but also its falseness. He demonstrates that he was indeed the light of the world by allowing a man born blind to see. The Pharisees however remain blind to his identity because the healing took place on a Saturday and because this man was not one of them and did not speak their language or act in respect of their hierarchies. It was not just the Pharisees who could not see what Jesus had done there were numerous others. It reminds me of the story of the Emperor who had no clothes. He was convinced by his tailor that only extremely intelligent people could see the beautiful robe he was wearing. He could see he was not wearing any robe but did not wish to appear stupid to those around him. So he paraded naked before the crowds in his finery. the crowds too were instructed that only the intelligent among them could see the emperors clothes and also out of fear of their lives should they ridicule him they praised his garments. Then a little boy not deceived by the tailor or by the fears and worries of his culture pointed and said but he is not wearing any clothes. I think Jesus is like that. In the land of the blind the one who sees is King and Jesus sees. He sees us as we really are, sins and gifts and hopes and dreams. If we could see things like him then like the little boy who breaks the bubble of a mass delusion we would start to see things as they are.

I have met people in this last week who are spiritually blind for many different reasons.

1) The shallow secular ignoramus: - There are those who have never looked with spiritual eyes and have never learnt to see. They are secular , ignorant of the bible and the ways of God and blind to his movements in this world.

2) The Bigot - There are those who have very strong views on all matters and who long ago chose the corner that they would defend. They are blind to anything that contradicts the position they have taken. They stand dogmatically and stubbornly at the walls of the intellectual fortresses they have built and permit no idea that they have not previously sanctioned to be blessed. People in false religions often fall into this group and unfortunately some Christians also as did the Pharisees of Jesus day

3) The Liberal Relativist - is the one who sees everyside of an argument but who cannot distinguish truth from fiction - The current Archbishop of Cantebury with his views on Shraia law may be considered to fall in this group

While researching for this sermon I came across the following tests for spiritual blindness which could be applied to our own lives or those of other people.

a. Are you searching the scriptures for truth?
b. Are you growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus?
c. Is your heart open to all that God has in mind for you?
d. Are you ready to be rejected by those who are blind?

To conclude this seems to be the answer to the dilemma of our own and others blindness. If we understand that Jesus is the Light of the world then we know what we need to do to see. We need to study him and the word he inspired so that we understand him better and better. Where we find our heart resisting him we need to ask ourselves why and work it through so that we come to accept him and with good understanding of why we are doing that. When we share the good news about Jesus we may often be surprised at the hostility of the reaction. But if we think like Jesus then maybe we can also share in the compassion for those born blind in a blind culture. It is not obvious that the sun shines to a blind man and that the fastest way to travel is the path straight ahead of us but with eyes to see we will wonder why we ever doubted such things.

 

[Chickapee]

I loved your message Mindlight !
awesome , and can see so many of the Lords teachings in them !
for one example i saw that
the Light being ''knowledge '' eye'' perceiving this knowledge of Him , the Lord said our eye being single[pure ]

and being full of Light [ the candle on the hill simile], to know Him as the Wisdom of God and to give us understanding ]

or if the eye being evil
and how great is that darkness[knowledge] seeing this as the perverting of the gospel perhaps ?

Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!

darkness here is
skotos 4655 greek and very much applies , I believe to your message
1) darkness
a) of night darkness
b) of darkened eyesight or blindness
2) metaph.
a) of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell
b) persons in whom darkness becomes visible and holds sway
i also see it that Nicodemus come to the Lord by night ! ? he was in darkness when the Lord told him being a teacher of Israel and not knowing these earthly things how could the Lord tell Him of heavenly things ,and about being ''born again to me its becoming a spirtitual babe in the Kingdom of God ..and spiritual growth as God gives the increase in His mercy and great Grace

Paul shared this with us as well ...about the Lord Jesus Christ knowledge being the Light in our hearts
2Cr 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
I so enjoyed the message and the sparks of thoughts coming from it [His Word Aliveand moving ]
God Bless you greatly in Jesus Christ Mindlight

In His peace Chicka

 

[mindlight]

I loved your message Mindlight !
awesome , and can see so many of the Lords teachings in them !
for one example i saw that
the Light being ''knowledge '' eye'' perceiving this knowledge of Him , the Lord said our eye being single[pure ]

and being full of Light [ the candle on the hill simile], to know Him as the Wisdom of God and to give us understanding ]

or if the eye being evil
and how great is that darkness[knowledge] seeing this as the perverting of the gospel perhaps ?

Mat 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great [is] that darkness!

darkness here is
skotos 4655 greek and very much applies , I believe to your message
1) darkness
a) of night darkness
b) of darkened eyesight or blindness
2) metaph.
a) of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality, together with their consequent misery in hell
b) persons in whom darkness becomes visible and holds sway
i also see it that Nicodemus come to the Lord by night ! ? he was in darkness when the Lord told him being a teacher of Israel and not knowing these earthly things how could the Lord tell Him of heavenly things ,and about being ''born again to me its becoming a spirtitual babe in the Kingdom of God ..and spiritual growth as God gives the increase in His mercy and great Grace

Paul shared this with us as well ...about the Lord Jesus Christ knowledge being the Light in our hearts
2Cr 4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
I so enjoyed the message and the sparks of thoughts coming from it [His Word Aliveand moving ]
God Bless you greatly in Jesus Christ Mindlight

In His peace Chicka

Thanks for your response _ I especially liked the reference to nicodemus - very helpful parallel

 

[Chickapee]

Hi Mindlight ,
Im sure it will be a blessed and wonderful service for the Lord .... be well .. in Christs love , Chicka