The Questions Jesus Asked Part 3
This week in our series on the questions Jesus asked we are going to move into John chapter 9 and look at the question: “do you believe in the Son of Man?”
John 9:35-41 (NIV)
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.” 37 Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.” 38 Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” 40 Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” 41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.
John Chapter 9 starts off talking about the man born blind. The disciples assume that because someone was born blind either he or his parents must have been guilty of sin. Jesus says that is not the way it is and heals the man. Then, because the healing takes place on a Sabbath, Jesus is dealing with fallout from the religious leaders. In the passage we just read at the end of the chapter, there is a complete reversal of how the chapter started.
Now at the end of Chapter 9, the religious leaders (Pharisees) who are upset with Jesus for healing the man born blind on the Sabbath, are claiming to see everything clearly when in fact they can’t. What Jesus is saying in verse 41 is that blindness itself isn’t an indication of sin, but claiming that you can see when you can’t is a big problem. Jesus is talking about the problem of spiritual blindness. Not being able to see the truth that is right in front of you.
The ‘Son of Man’ is among other things a messianic title. When the messiah came, one of the things he would do is open the eyes of the blind.
Isaiah 35:3–5 (NIV)
3 Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; 4 say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” 5 Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Jesus is fulfilling this prophecy in plain view of the religious leaders, but they refuse to see or acknowledge what is going on. Rather then celebrating the arrival of Messiah, they are trying to find ways to kill Him because He healed on the Sabbath.
There is a fascinating encounter that Jesus has in John Chapter 3 with a Pharisee named Nicodemus who is also struggling with spiritual blindness. I encourage you to read John Chapter 3 and then make sure you catch the message this weekend at Keys Vineyard Church in-person or online as we dive into what is happening in this discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus.
Steve Lawes is a church encourager and the lead pastor of Keys Vineyard Church.
