#16: “Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind” (Part 1)
SCRIPTURE: John 9:1-12
INTRO:
Jesus and His disciples are still in Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles,
when they come across this blind man. He was probably begging for coins.
I like the way Paul Butler summarizes this 9th chapter:
If it were not so tragic, this ninth chapter would be comical. Here is a man
blind from birth healed by the Nazarene, and the Pharisees, rather than accept
the evident fact that Jesus had healed him, chose to question the man’s former
blindness. Next, his parents, out of cowardice, “pass the buck” and will not
takes sides with their son. The really amusing section, however, is found in
verses 24-34. In these verses the former blind man by common-sense reasoning
makes the learned Pharisees look ridiculous. The beggar turns the tables on the
Pharisees and the questioner instead of the questioned. The Pharisees, unable
to withstand the man’s testimony, can think of nothing but to attack the
character of the beggar and use ecclesiastical force against him.
Chapter nine is simply a continued record of teachings and works of
Jesus in Jerusalem during the Feast of the
Tabernacles. Whether this incident was on the same day and immediately after
the discourse of chapter 8, or whether it was on another day afterward is of little
significance. The important matter is the eventual power of the miracle and the
teaching Jesus attached to it.
Encountering a beggar in that area of the temple was pretty common. It
was fairly accessible and lots of people were coming and going past that area on
a daily basis.
This particular beggar was probably known to the disciples since they
knew that he had been blind from birth.