John Chapter 9
In John, Chapter 7, Jesus was at the Feast of Booths in Jerusalem. He had taught in the temple on the last day of the feast and said
"If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water."
For review, what was He referring to? (John 7:39)
Who would receive this?
When would they receive it?
Why couldn't they receive it right then?
The crowd was divided over what they believed in regard to the claims that Jesus made about Himself. The chief priests and Pharisees had sent officers to seize Jesus at the feast, but as they listened to Him, they couldn't do it. Everyone left to go to their homes.
In chapter 8, Jesus is still in Jerusalem the next day, teaching again in the temple! The scribes and Pharisees brought in a woman caught in the act of adultry, and tested Him to see if He would keep the law of Moses and have her stoned to death.
Instead of being stoned, she was given forgiveness and told to not continue to life in sin, but to believe in Him. Jesus continued to talk to the Jewish people about not walking in darkness, but to follow Him, the Light of the World and they would have the Light of Life. The Jewish leaders confronted Him (again) on His claims of Himself, but He said He had the witness of the Scriptures and His Father as to Who He was! A debate arose between who thier father was. They were claiming Abraham as the father of the Jewish race. Jesus had some powerful things to say in regard to that.
For review, what did Jesus tell them in regard to His own relationship to Abraham? (John 8:56)
How did the Jews react to this? (vs.57)
Write out the claim that Jesus made in John 8:58
What did the Jews try to do to Him at that time? (vs.59)
Jesus HID HIMSELF and went out of the temple. Also in review, Jesus told them exactly who their father truly was and why:
Read John 8:44. You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do.. He was a murderer, from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Still today, he is the father of those in the world that belong to the world's system of belief in self and power. The only way to become a child of God is to be adopted into His family. This comes through being born again by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ - His death, burial, and resurrection.
ALL THAT REVIEW, so that we can move into JOHN, CHAPTER 9, within the full context! CHAPTER 9....vs.1....As He passed by (leaving the temple in Jerusalem)........He saw a man BLIND FROM BIRTH
From the claims Jesus makes of Himself when He performs this SIGN on this man born blind, what does He seem to want to show through this miracle in regard to Who He is? (vs.3-7)
When we are blind, we are in darkness. When we are made to see, we are in the LIGHT. It truly got the attention of people! It was hard to believe that someone born blind could now see! The people asked the man "How were your eyes open?" He told them by Jesus...they wanted to know "Where is He?", but he didn't know. They then took the man to the PHARISEES on THIS SABBATH DAY. The Pharisees asked him the same questions! How? By Who?
Division over Him!
So they asked the blind man....."What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?"
The Jews couldn't believe he was born blind, so they called in his parents to ask them. They verified, "Yes, he was born blind"...they told them he could answer about how he came to see for himself (being of age).
FAITH IN JESUS WAS BEING PERSECUTED!
So, a second time, they asked the man who was born blind...claiming they knew Jesus was a sinner....
"Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me,I was once lost, but now I am found, Was blind, but now I see." They just wouldn't listen to him or believe him. They reviled him and boasted of being disciples of Moses.
What did the man say about Jesus in vs. 33?
What was the result of him speaking out in favor of Jesus?
What happened to him in vs. 34?
When Jesus heard the Jews had put the man 'out' of the temple, he FOUND him.
What did He ask the man? (vs.35)
How did the man answer? (vs.36)
What did Jesus say to him? (vs.37)
HOW DID THE MAN RESPOND TO THIS? (VS.38)
He believed and He WORSHIPED!
Jesus made an interesting statement: "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who DO NOT SEE may see.......and those WHO SEE may become BLIND....."
Jesus came that they might "see".
Jesus came that they would become "blind". It may remind you of the verse in the New Testament writings "He opposes (is against) the proud, but He gives GRACE (help) to the humble."...... Do you see that? There were some Pharisees with Jesus when He said this.
If you WERE BLIND,you would have NO SIN......but since you "say": 'WE SEE', your SIN REMAINS. Based on this final statement of Jesus in this chapter, HOW does a person become spiritually blind?
Has your religion or set of laws made you spiritually blind to your need of a Savior?
Do you believe your own righteousness can make you be good enough to go to heaven?
Do you think you can get to heaven your own way?
Then, according to Jesus, you say that you 'see' and so you are really 'blind' to the truth.
John 14:6 - Jesus said "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, but through Me."
It would be the opposite, realizing that within ourselves, we are nothing. That apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, we are sinners, separated from God the Father. Not through Moses, not through the law, not through religion, not through our works - ONLY THROUGH FAITH IN THE CROSS, THE DEATH OF GOD'S ONLY SON DYING FOR OUR SINS, humbling ourselves and asking that we be forgiven of our sins through His love by believing in His Son, only by this.....can we be SAVED, and have our eyes open to the glorious light of the Gospel, the Good News!
If you want to see, ask Him to give you spiritual sight and become born again with new eyes to see.
Your Summary and Prayer:
Created For RTB msn group by B. LeMoine, used by permission only. Please join us at http//www.read-the-bible.webs.com
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