Please turn to John 9. We read in John 9:1-11:
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. 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, 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. The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 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.
This is another account of Christ causing a man who had been blind from birth to see.
We all know that, spiritually, this is a picture of salvation, and we will look at that, but we are going to look at these verses at the end of this chapter also, especially where we read in John 9:40:
And some of the Pharisees which were with him…
This is referring to Christ.
…heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
And we will also look at verse 41, John 9:41:
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
In the beginning of this chapter, the disciples had asked Christ:
Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
We just naturally want to think “works.” But Christ answered them:
Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
It is taught in many places in the Bible that children do not suffer for the sins of the parents, or vice versa.
Let us look at Ezekiel 18:20-23 where we read:
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord JEHOVAH: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
Or look at Deuteronomy 5:9. This is part of the Ten Commandments. We will start in Deuteronomy 5:8 where we read:
Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:.
Then Deuteronomy 5:9 says:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I JEHOVAH thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me,
This statement is not saying that God judges the children for the sins of the fathers. It is saying that He judges the children unto the third and fourth generation of the children that hate Him. That is what this is saying.
Look at Deuteronomy 23:3-4 where we read:
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of JEHOVAH; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter into the congregation of JEHOVAH for ever: Because they met you not with bread and with water in the way, when ye came forth out of Egypt; and because they hired against thee Balaam the son of Beor of Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse thee.
Again, this is not saying that judgment will come on the Ammonites and the Moabites until the tenth generation, because here God is giving us something different. He is giving us a spiritual picture.
The Ammonites and the Moabites were descendants of Abraham. In them, we see a picture of the corporate church today. They were descendants of Abraham and yet they tried to hinder the Israelites from entering into the Promised Land, which is like those who are in the church today. Those who were blood descendants of Abraham, the Israel of God, as it were, were really trying to hinder salvation.
In Luke 11:52, Christ said:
Woe unto you, lawyers!…
This is referring to those who were supposed to be teaching the Law of God. Continuing in Luke 11:52-53:
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently…
They knew what He was saying to them.
Again, the principle here in John 9:2 is that the children do not suffer for the sins of the parents, because John 9:3 says:
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Christ worked these miracles to show a couple of things. He worked these miracles to show that He was God Himself and that He had the power to do these things, which were a picture of salvation.
Let us look at Matthew 9:1-2 where we read:
And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
They brought this man who had the palsy before Him, and yet He did not heal him. Instead, He said:
Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
He forgave his sins. Then we read in Matthew 9:3:
And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
They said this because Jesus had said that He was forgiving this man’s sins. Then Matthew 9:4-5 says:
And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
But look at Matthew 9:6:
But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.
Then He healed him to show that He was the Son of God and that He had the power to do this.
Back in John 9, Christ goes on in John 9:4 to say:
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
We have just found out very recently that this “night” that He speaks of in this verse begins on May 21 of 2011 when Christ comes and takes His elect from this world, which is when there will be no more light of the Gospel in this world. What a horrible thing to contemplate!
Then in John 9:5, He says:
As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
This does not mean that when He went back to Heaven that there was no more light in the world, because, again, His whole ministry was just a parable. This is something else that we are learning. His whole ministry was a parable.
If we look at John 16, Christ is speaking to the disciples about going to the cross. Again, this was a parable, a demonstration of what He had to suffer to gain the salvation of His people. In John 16:7-16, He says:
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you…
He is speaking of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit comes to us and indwells us upon salvation.
Then He goes on to say:
…but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you. A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.
Again, this was all a parable. We know that all through time whenever a person was saved, the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, would come and indwell that person. But here, this is just being demonstrated in 33 A.D.
So Christ, in His Spirit, is in the world until that day, until that horrible day that begins on May 21 in 2011.
Back here in John 9:6, we will now read about Him giving sight to this blind man. John 9:6-7 says:
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, 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.
First we read that He spit on the ground. This is kind of a gross thing to contemplate. I have a weak stomach and cannot think about these kinds of things too much, but to spit in the Bible is associated with the curse. There are a couple of different places in the ceremonial law where we read that if an unclean person spit on a clean person then that clean person was made unclean until the evening.
This was a picture of being under the wrath or under the curse of God. So we read that He spit on the ground, and, again, we are integrally associated with the ground, with the dust of this earth.
In Genesis 2:7, we read:
And JEHOVAH God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
We are very closely associated with the ground, with the dust of this ground.
Then in Genesis 3:17, after Adam and Eve ate of that tree, we read:
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
This ground, this world, became cursed because of the sin of man.
As far as what we are reading in John 9, Mr. Camping worked through this awhile back. I do not remember exactly what he said, but I think that what we have to see in this is that when Christ spit on the ground and made that clay, we see the curse on the ground, on the dust of the ground, and I believe we have to see Christ in this.
Turn to Philippians 2:5-10:
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
He then became clay as we are.
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
He was “made in the likeness of men” and “found in fashion as a man,” and we know from Galatians that He was “made a curse for us” so that those who will be given eternal life could enter into God’s Heaven. Christ became a curse. I believe that this is what we are to see here in John 9:7 when Christ spits on the ground, makes this clay, and then anoints the eyes of this man with this clay.
We also read this word “clay” in Romans 9:21. Again, this just associates man with that clay. In Romans 9:21, we read:
Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
This is speaking to unsaved man as he reacts to the sovereignty of God in salvation. God anticipated the way man will not like His sovereignty in salvation.
Hath not the potter…
God is the “potter.”
…power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
But again, back here in John 9, I believe that we are to see Christ under the curse. Christ is the Gospel, and the eyes of this man were anointed with that Gospel. Then he went and he washed in the “pool of Siloam,” and God tells us what this word “Siloam” means. He says, “which is by interpretation, Sent.” The Greek work that God gives us in John 9 is the word that we get the word “apostle” from. We know that Christ is spoken of as “the Apostle” in Hebrews. He was The One who was sent.
Hebrews 3:1 says:
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
We are, as it were, apostles. Upon salvation, we are given the commission to take this Gospel of salvation into the world.
But this man’s eyes were anointed with this clay, which I believe was a representation of Christ under the curse. This is where our salvation comes from, that our eyes would be anointed with this clay so that we would see.
Look at Luke 7:22. This is where John the Baptist questions whether or not Christ is the Messiah. We will start in Luke 7:19. This is also when John the Baptist had been put in jail. We read in Luke 7:19-22:
And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? When the men were come unto him, they said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another? And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.
This is all speaking of the salvation of God.
So we read here in John 9:7 that this man:
…went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
This word “washed” is not the word for “baptized.” This is the word that is used in John 13 where Christ washes the feet of the disciples. Peter wanted Him to wash his whole body, his hands and his feet also. Then we read in John 13:10:
Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
Again, this washing speaks of the washing away of our sins by the water of the Word in salvation.
Going back to John 9, we see in John 9:8-9:
The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.
They ask him how his sight was given to him and he tells them. Then they take him to the Pharisees, and then we read in John 9:13:
They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.
We can imagine what was going on here because an unbelievable thing had happened. Everybody was excited and they wanted to show this man to everyone, but then we read in John 9:14-16:
And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
The Pharisees were offended and found fault with Christ because Christ had done this on the Sabbath day. They had not read Isaiah 58 in which Isaiah, anticipating the New Testament Sabbath, is speaking of what the Sabbath day is all about. In the Ten Commandments, we are given the commandment to observe the Sabbath because it is looking at the salvation God, that it is entirely by the work of God and by none of our work. In Isaiah 58:13-14, we read:
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of JEHOVAH, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in JEHOVAH; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of JEHOVAH hath spoken it.
He is speaking of fasting back in verse 6 of Isaiah 58, which is actually what we are to be doing on the Sabbath day. In Isaiah 58:6-7, He says:
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?…
Again, these are all figures of salvation.
…when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
This was exactly what Christ was doing in John 9 on the Sabbath day. They did not see it; they were blind to this. Instead, they were finding fault with Him.
The Pharisees then took this man to his parents, and then we read in John 9:20-22:
His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
Then they went back to the man again in verse 24. They would not quit! John 9:24-33 says:
Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
Look at how they were offended. Look at their pride in John 9:34:
They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
Look now at John 7:45-49. This is speaking of Christ:
Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
We can see the pride of these men who were supposed to be the spiritual rulers over Israel. They were supposed to be the ones who were teaching them out of the Law.
Again, this is looking at the church of our day. This is a terrible thing to contemplate. We certainly cannot be disdainful nor have contempt for those in the church today. It is only by God’s mercy if He opens anyone’s eyes, but we are to see the church today in those Jews back then in their blindness.
Then in John 9:35-39, we read:
Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
We see here the principle of “many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”
Then we read in John 9:40-41:
And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
Again, this is a greater sin among those who have the rule over God’s people and should be teaching them. When they think that they see but do not, they are deceived. He told them:
…therefore your sin remaineth.
Christ is telling them that if they were blind and like these common people whom Christ came to save, then they would not have this sin. Again, we see how this relates to the pride in the church of our day.
Turn back to Isaiah 29 and look at all of the principles that we have just spoken of that show up here in this passage. Isaiah 29 is a well-known passage. God is speaking about how He is going to judge Israel for turning their backs on Him, for despising His Word, for turning the people to idols, for teaching works gospels, for their blindness. In Isaiah 29:13, we read:
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me…
They are honoring Him with “feigned lips,” as we read in Psalm 17. Psalm 17:1 says:
Hear the right, O JEHOVAH, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
We should constantly be examining ourselves against the Word of God “to make [our] calling and election sure,” making sure that we are not calling on the Lord or praising Him with “feigned lips.”
Let us go back to Isaiah 29:13. We read in Isaiah 29:13-16:
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Again, we see this today. Men are changing the Bible. They are diminishing the importance of the Bible. They are bringing in works. They are introducing their own precepts into the Word of God.
…their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid. Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from JEHOVAH, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay…
We are clay. We are “the potter’s clay.” He is going back to that principle. Then He says:
…for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
This is exactly what these Pharisees were saying about Christ in John 9, “He has no understanding—who is this man?”
Then Isaiah 29:17-19 says:
Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be esteemed as a forest? And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness. The meek also shall increase their joy in JEHOVAH, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.
The last verse of John 9 is a convicting verse. John 9:41 again:
Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
Again, we must examine ourselves and put away our pride and just continue to seek God for His mercy and for His understanding.
Shall we pray. Heavenly Father, again we come before You. Could it be that our words have glorified You and You alone in Your salvation. If we have made any error here or if we have not expounded correctly or if we could have said something better, we know that You will forgive. We know that in Your mercy, we cannot harm the true believers, Your elect. We know that in Your mercy, it still is the Day of Salvation. We just thank You for this and ask that we could be Your servants and that each one of us could have a heart to continue to take this Gospel of salvation and this message of impending judgment to the world, knowing that through this, You will continue to save until that last day. May it all be to Your praise and to Your glory. We pray this in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Any questions or comments?
(There was no question/answer session pertaining to this study.)