I begin in chapter nine, seeing that most of chapter eight took place on the 'eighth day' or 'the Joy of the Torah' which was an additional holiday following the seven-day feast of Tabernacles. It was on this eighth day that the Jews sought to stone Jesus. It was on this eighth day that Jesus hid himself and left the temple, as the scripture states, “and so passed by.”
Chapter nine is the continuation of the story found at the end of chapter eight. Verse one of chapter nine states, “And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.” The facts we find here are these: Jesus was still passing by, his disciples were with him, and it was the Sabbath day. It was on this Sabbath following the feast of Tabernacles that Jesus healed a blind man, sending him to wash in the pool of Siloam. I found the following information about the pool of Siloam in Wikipedia:
The pool was rediscovered during an excavation work for a sewer in the autumn of 2004, by Ir David Foundation workers, following a request and directions given by archaeologists Eli Shukron accompanied by Ori Orbach from the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. Archaeologists Eli Shukron and Ronny Reich (working with the Israel Antiquities Authority) uncovered stone steps, and it became obvious that these steps were likely to have been part of the Second Temple period pool. Excavations commenced and confirmed the initial supposition; the find was formally announced on August 9, 2005, and received substantial international media attention. The excavations also revealed that the pool was 225 feet wide, and that steps existed on at least three sides of the pool. A portion of this pool remains unexcavated, as the land above it is owned by a nearby Greek Orthodox church and is occupied by an orchard known as the King's Garden (compare Nehemiah 3:15). The pool is not perfectly rectangular, but a soft trapezoid. There are three sets of five steps, two leading to a platform, before the bottom is reached, and it has been suggested that the steps were designed to accommodate various water levels. The pool is stone-lined, but underneath, there is evidence of an earlier version that was merely plastered (to help it retain water). Coins from the reign of Alexander Jannaeus were found embedded in the plaster lining of the pool, and therefore provide a secure earliest date for the pool's (re-)construction.
At this point, Jesus and his disciples have just walked away from a stoning attempt. They encounter a blind man. Jesus anoints the man's eyes with spittle mud and sends him to the pool of Siloam. If we can determine which exit he took from the women's court, and if we can determine the location of the pool, we should come away with a better mental picture of the movements of Jesus and his disciples.
There were several gates through which Jesus might have made his get-away. Each exit from the women's court led immediately into the court of the gentiles, which surrounded the whole temple. On the last day of the feast, when all men went to their own houses, Jesus was seen going to the Mount of Olives, which is east of the city. He might have opted for the eastern-most gate.
A blind man would depend on charity and donations for a living. He might have chosen a spot in the court of gentiles to ask for alms. From the temple mount, a long street led down through the city southward toward the pool of Siloam. I think it was likely that Jesus encountered the blind man there. Another thought is that Jesus might have had his disciples busy or waiting in that court. It seems unlikely that Jesus and his entire group of disciples could have, in terms of passing by unseen, walked out of the women's court unnoticed.
It seems evident, from the answer Jesus gave his disciples in regard to who sinned, that the blind man was deliberately placed in that time and on hold for the day Jesus would pass by and heal him. This answers at least two of our own unasked questions. We have an opportunity, here, to learn – to spiritually one-up. We may, first of all, learn the common take on sin back in the day of Jesus. The thought was, if someone's life was so grievously smitten, someone somewhere had sinned. In other words, the thought was that such as the blindness of that man was brought on by the actions of people – something akin to instant karma.
Secondly, we may learn an important point in regard to the nature of God's relationship with man. We would all like to think that God has our best interests at heart, that we matter on a personal level. It should be an eye-opener that God doomed this man to a lifetime of misery, shame, and poverty just so Jesus could pass by and heal him one day. Many bitter complaints are leveled against God because we suffer in some way or the other. We blame God. Here is the point we should learn: God is not our personal servant; God has his own agenda. God is not some genie let loose from a bottle that he should be concerned with our daily wishes. Life is hard for no particular reason. That is the nature of existence. We suffer and no one is to blame. Life comes as a package deal – the good and the bad together.
I want us to look at verses four and five, two statements made by Jesus. While even the men hand-picked and personally tutored by the son of God misunderstood both the nature of sin and the providence of God, while we see that a man was singled out to suffer a lifetime of bitter want, Jesus, within that context, made two statements that at once seem so far above the common muddle of life and, yet, deeply immersed and wholly applicable to that muddle and the nature of man.
Let me approach them in reverse order. In verse five, Jesus said, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Who actually said that? Was it Jesus the man or was it God within? This is my interpretation of the matter but I will make my case with Jesus' own words. Jesus had previously said in chapter eight verse twenty-six, “I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of (from) him.” He had also told the Jews in verses fifteen and sixteen of the same chapter, “I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.” My take is that when he said “I” he referenced the spirit of the Father within.
Had Jesus only referred to himself, his light would have been taken from the world at his death on the cross. In this regard, it is important to note some words he left with his disciples. In chapter fifteen and verse twenty-six Jesus said, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father . . . ” Since Jesus is truly named 'the Truth' and since the Spirit of 'Truth' (the Holy Ghost) comes from God the Father, the common denominator of “I and my Father are one” is the Spirit of Truth which proceeds from the Father. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of Truth is the Spirit of Jesus is the light of the world.
Jesus was a man inhabited by the Spirit of God, inhabited by the Spirit of Truth. Jesus said in verse four, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day . . . ” In other words, while the light of the world was in the world. Remember, that after Jesus rose from the dead, he was back in the world, speaking what he heard from God and just generally being the light of the world. In that case, the light was only missing from the world for three days. When Christ ascended, He sent the Comforter. We may not think that the light of the world was once again missing until Pentecost. While there was a major display at that time, the disciples already had the Spirit of truth. Recall this from chapter twenty and verse twenty-two, “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost . . . ” Thomas was not there for that and since Judas was dead, there were ten disciples within whom lived the light of the world.
I have only recorded, so far, the first half of Jesus' statement in verse four. The second half goes like this, “The night cometh, when no man can work.” Jesus returned from the grave and worked. So, to what might he have referred? As a possible candidate, I submit Revelation 8:1 “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” I submit that for there to be light in the world worked through men, that light must be communicated from a heavenly source. If that communication is withheld, no man can work. If the light of the world is quiet, or absent, it is night.
Finally, in regard to John 9:4, and on a personal level, The Spirit that proceeds from God was denied to Jesus for three days. Jesus had a job to do and he had to fly solo for a while. His victory over death and hell, his defeat of Satan – Jesus did that on his own. Witness Matthew 27:46 “ . . . My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”
Notes on the remainder of chapter Nine: So, Jesus 'passed by' going right through the 'midst' of those who sought to stone him in the treasury. Then, with his disciples in tow, Jesus sent the blind beggar to wash the mud from his eyes in the pool of Siloam. The man came back seeing and what ensues is somewhat of a trial. The man is hauled up in front of the Jews, possibly, he was drawn as deep into that mire as the Sanhedrin. Pretty much the rest of chapter nine is devoted to that one event. Even the parents of the beggar were called to testify. It seems as though the Jews assumed it was Jesus even as they sought the identity of the one who healed the man. He had been healed on a Sabbath day and that would have been an issue for the Jews.
All their efforts and inquiries ended in failure and, in their consternation, they sent away both the parents and the healed man.
The Jews were on a rampage. We might be tempted to think that Jesus might have left the area altogether but that is not the case. We ask, what happened to the Jews who sought to stone Jesus? Were they still holding rocks in their hands? Were they sweeping the area in search of him? Had they disbanded or were they the ones who interrogated the healed man? How far away had Jesus distanced himself from them? It may be that he hid in plain sight.
After the trial, Jesus found the man he had healed and revealed himself to him. It is at this point in the flow of events, just there at the end of the chapter, that we make a startling discovery. Jesus proclaimed that his purpose on the earth was to pass judgment – to decide sight for the blind and blindness for the sighted. In response, the Jews that were in his company asked if that also applied to them. It did but notice the composition of his company.
Jesus fled from the Jews who wanted to stone him. Yet, aside from the disciples, Jews still accompanied him. These Jews were Pharisees. Were these also disciples? Was the split among the Jews that pronounced? For that matter, had these particular Jews aided Jesus in his passing by?
Finally, I would like to take a moment to consider the statement Jesus made to the Jews in his company. He said to them that if they were blind, they would have no sin. Did that apply to the formerly blind beggar? If it did, it was a physical truth. If that truth was a physical truth, did it mean the formerly blind beggar now had sin? The former beggar worshiped the Son of God and that was accepted. So, perhaps, what Jesus referred to was the spirit or mindset. To 'see' is a concept commonly associated with knowing, knowledge, and presumed wisdom.
This theme of reversal is something I have noticed frequently in the teachings of Jesus. The things which men laud the most are the things which God disdains. Consider Isaiah 64:6, “ . . . and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags . . . ” The mindset of the Jews was that they knew all there was to know. They were not humble in their approach to God but, rather, they were proud in their sense of accomplishment. For that, they were judged to be blind.
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