John 9: 1-12 KJV: Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Jesus saw the blind man as He walked “for the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” – 2 Chr 16:9a
This man was born blind and needed to see physically. Jesus clarifies that the man had not sinned. We know no man is without sin because scripture says so (If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. – 1 John 1:8).
Psalm 146:8 reads, “The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous”
The reason Jesus says he is without sin is because his blindness had caused him to be bowed down. The Lord raises those who are bowed down and opens their inner eyes. When they have thus had their spiritual eyes opened, they can see the works of God and believe on His Name.
Matthew 9:28 – When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
Mark 10:52 – The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
This means his spiritual eyes were open, also because Jesus says in John 9:41: “If you were (spiritually) blind, you would not be guilty of sin (because your blindness would have caused you to know the Lord); but now that you claim you can (spiritually) see (because you are self-sufficient and claim that you can find your way), your guilt remains.”
The man was born blind so that the works of God should be made manifest in him. When God heals his outer eyes, people who see him in the healed state will give glory to God. But God needs to be given glory first for opening our inner eyes because outer vision without inner vision does more HARM than good.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” – Matthew 6:22-23.
So God makes us physically blind so that He can first heal our inner eyes.
Continuing from the Fourth Verse
4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Jesus is the light through whom we see. In the night, there is no light. We cannot work in darkness. We must seek the Lord for direction and guidance on what He would like for us to do. He is the light of the world. This means all those whose eyes (and body) are affected by worldly corruption must go to Him and PAY the PRICE to have Him put His salve on their eyes so that they can see – Rev 3:18.
Revelation 3:18 King James Version
18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
What is the Price of the Lord’s Eyesalve?
KJV: 6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
NIV: 6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
KJV: 7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
NIV: 7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
While the KJV says ‘made clay of the spittle (spit)’, the NIV says ‘made some mud with the saliva’. Similarly, while the NIV says ‘put it on the man’s eyes’, the KJV says ‘anointed the eyes of the blind man’. I am going with the NIV for the former and the KJV for the latter.
Psa 40:2 – And He doth cause me to come up from a pit of desolation—from mire of mud, And He raiseth up on a rock my feet, He is establishing my steps.
From the above verse, we understand that mud indicates living in a pit of desolation. The blind man was in a pit that no one else but the Lord could pull him out of. He was desolate and stricken with a disability that kept him humble and submitted to God. As he had been in this condition for many years, he had learned (had become a part of his nature) to stay humble and submitted to God.
Saliva or spit is indicative of shame as this verse reveals:
Numbers 12:14 – But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days? Let her be shut up for seven days outside the camp, and afterward she may be received again.”
The blind man had endured shame as a result of his blindness and had been crushed in his spirit as he had been treated badly and ridiculed.
Psalm 34:18 - “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Job 17:6 - “But He has made me a byword of the people, And I am one at whom men spit."
Mark 10:34 - "They will mock Him and spit on Him, and scourge Him and kill Him, and three days later He will rise again.”
Matthew 26:67 - "Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him"
Isaiah 50:6 - "I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting."
1 Samuel 21:13 - "So he disguised his sanity before them, and acted insanely in their hands, and scribbled on the doors of the gate, and let his saliva run down into his beard."
Jesus used his desolation and shame to heal his outer eyes. This is what the word anointing means. The anointing is costly and comes at the price of submission and surrender to the plan of God even when God creates circumstances that cause you to be humbled. We see similar instances in Mark 7 and 8 (below) where Jesus healed the deaf and mute man using His saliva and the blind man in Mark 8 as well.
Mark 7:33 – Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;
Mark 8:23 – Taking the blind man by the hand, He brought him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
Jesus asked the blind man after he had anointed his eyes with the mixture of mud and saliva to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam (which is by interpretation, Sent) so that he can see. This is different from the other two examples above because this man was made blind to manifest the glory of God. How is God’s glory made manifest?
The answer is found in Colossians 1:24-29 New International Version
Paul’s Labor for the Church
24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. 27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. 29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
Paul declares that it is in being truly sent with the purposes of God that God’s glory is made manifest. We have been sent to do the works of God while it is still day. Night is coming when no man can work. However we must remember that God has a plan and we need to be able to see our way through the wilderness. Jesus is our light. We seek His light to shine our way ahead. If we rush in different directions, we will not be able to fulfill God’s purposes for the end time church. Start with seeking the light in the scriptures. Meditate and seek out the wisdom hidden in His Word which will equip you. Just reading is not enough but an inspired study that extracts every pearl and gem that is hidden in the word of God. Share what God has given you with others (me too). I made a video on the spiritual attributes of light.
Proverbs 25:2 New King James Version
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Continuing from the Eighth Verse
8 The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?
NIV: 8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
NIV: 9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”
The people who knew him were surprised to see that the blind man could now see and they ask each other in wonder – “Wasn’t this man so helpless that he begged for all his needs?”
Some said he was indeed the same man meaning God had restored him. These people acknowledged the working of God’s miracle. The others who said, “He is like him,” failed to acknowledge God’s power to heal and to redeem but the blind man could not be silent (he insisted in NIV) because he knows very well that God healed his outer eyes. He had inner vision and now he is able to see that which he could not before. He had been made whole. Confession is the result of knowing without doubt that God is good. We confess the good things God has done for us and we exalt Him greatly for He is most pristine holy and does wonderful things for us.
Continuing from the Tenth Verse
10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?
11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.
12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.
The man went forth and evangelized because he had been set free of his limitations. He was no more a beggar or ashamed but bold and confessed mightily the miracle God did and testified of God even on a Sabbath day when the religious authorities were on the lookout for him. When he was sent and he went, he helped to wash the eyes of others to whom he was sent. This is indeed what vision means: We live in His light and impart His light so ALL can see. This is Paul’s prayer (Eph 1 KJV):
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, 19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: 22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
Prayer:
Holy Father, we praise your name and lift up mighty thanks unto you for opening our eyes to your mysteries. We see because YOU have opened our eyes. We are so grateful and ask Lord that you will help us to enter the land of promise with anointed eyes that fully see and know you, the Lord of Glory. Amen.
Additional Scriptures
Luke 4:18
“The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 6:39-42
He also told them this parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.” Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Luke 14:13
But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Acts 9:9
For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Ephesians 4:4-6
4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.