Chapter 9
Why doesn’t God stop suffering?
Changed life: The Donegani’s – Comfort in life’s trials
Read John chapter 9
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8 The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees again asked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”25 He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 They said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshipper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe”, and he worshipped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgement I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see’, your guilt remains.
OPEN DENIAL
‘You can’t possibly be the same man. You weren’t born blind – you’re lying, and an ignorant sinner!’ Talk about open denial! The religious leaders are looking for every possible loophole to discredit the evidence of the man who can now see. The stakes are too high; if Jesus really has performed this miracle, it’s positive proof that he is the sinless Son of God – and they know it. No wonder that, when all else fails, they resort to arrogant insults. Closed minds rarely acknowledge the truth, whereas the straightforward logical honesty of the blind man brings him to the truth. Who are the real blind people?!
Think it through…
- The man’s parents don’t want to voice any support for Jesus, for fear of the consequences. They prefer to remain neutral and sit on the fence. Are you ever tempted to do the same?
- Does fear of others’ opinions of you influence your own view of Jesus?
- Is your opinion of Jesus negatively prejudiced and biased, or are you open-minded, willing to go where the evidence leads?
Browse below for a selection of helpful verses from John’s gospel answering important questions
Questions about Jesus
BLANK - invisible
Who is Jesus?
JOHN 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
JOHN 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
JOHN 14:9-11
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.
JOHN 20:30,31
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
Why did Jesus come?
JOHN 10:10
I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
JOHN 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
JOHN 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
JOHN 6:35
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
JOHN 8:12
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
JOHN 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Why was Jesus hated?
JOHN 5:40
Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
JOHN 5:44
How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
JOHN 8:47
Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.
JOHN 13:9,20
And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
JOHN 15:24,25
If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’
Why did Jesus have to die?
JOHN 10:11
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
JOHN 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
How it affects you
BLANK - invisible
How can I be forgiven?
JOHN 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
JOHN 3:3
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
JOHN 1:12
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
JOHN 6:37
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
JOHN 10:9
I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.
JOHN 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
JOHN 20:28,29
Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
What if I don’t believe?
JOHN 3:18-20
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgement: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
JOHN 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
JOHN 5:40
Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.
JOHN 8:24
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
Is Jesus the only way?
JOHN 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
JOHN 5:23
Whoever does not honour the Son does not honour the Father who sent him.
JOHN 10:1
Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber.
I’m a good person – I don’t need Jesus
JOHN 8:34
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin.”
JOHN 8:24
I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.
Does life become easy if I follow Jesus?
JOHN 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
If I trust Jesus, what happens to me when I die?
JOHN 5:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life.
JOHN 10:28
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
JOHN 14:1-3
Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
I’m afraid of what others might say if I become a Christian
JOHN 12:42,43
Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
JOHN 5:44
How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, published by HarperCollins Publishers, ©2001 by Crossway). Used by permission. All rights reserved.