Bible Story: John 9
Jesus healed and performed miracles in unique ways. Here, we see one of the most unusual methods he used to heal someone. The Bible tells us that as Jesus was walking, he came across a man that had been blind from birth. Jesus spits on the ground to make mud with his saliva, then rubs that mud on the man’s eyes. He then told him to go wash off, and the man returned seeing.
Jesus uses an unusual method of healing, but nonetheless, it worked, and the formerly blind man was filled with joy because of his newfound sight. But not everyone was happy about what Jesus did. The Pharisees were upset with Jesus because he did all of this on the Sabbath. They put more value in a religious law than the well-being of people. The Pharisees had all of their priorities out of line; they valued the law above people. Because of this, Jesus claimed that it was the Pharisees who were really blind.
This passage has a lot going on, so we will break it into two different sections. First, we will focus on Jesus’s healing. Then, we will look at his dialogue with the Pharisees.
The Healing
There are two things in this healing that need attention. First, we look at what Jesus did. He made mud with his salvia and rubbed it on the man’s eyes. People have given different reasons for Jesus’s approach here, but to be honest, we are not entirely sure why he does it this way. While the approach is unusual, the main takeaway is that God’s power is not limited to a specific approach. The human approach is not what heals a person, but it is the power of God.
The second thing we need to evaluate is what Jesus said. After Jesus rubbed the mud in his eyes, he told him to go wash off. Many times when Jesus would heal someone, they would be healed immediately, but not this time. Jesus performed the healing action, but his healing was not finished. Jesus required the man to go wash off as an act of faith. The blind man’s obedience and faith in God’s power are what completed the healing. Once the man acted in faith, he was healed and returned with his sight.
The Pharisees
God’s power is a consistent theme in this passage. While the blind man celebrated this power, the Pharisees scoffed at it. The Pharisees had a fairly tight grip on the religious community, but they operated without God’s power. They denied God’s power, and they did not love as they should have. Because of this, they became spiritually blind, unable to see God when he was working. They should have recognized God as the Messiah, but their judgment had been clouded.
Peter went as far as to say that these Pharisees rejected Jesus, who was the cornerstone of the faith they claimed to be a part of. Their spiritual blindness was the reason for their lack of faith. The man that was born blind received sight because he had faith in Jesus, but the Pharisees remained spiritually blind because they refused to see Jesus as who he was; the Son of God.
Key Takeaways:
Jesus gives Sight
Act in Faith
Faith in Jesus Leads to Sight
Parents, 3treesKIDS will also be learning about Jesus healing the blind man this Sunday, both in-person and online.
Be sure to check out their lesson at www.3trees.com/kids.
To find service times and locations, visit https://www.3trees.com/planyourvisit
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