John 9 Study & Breakdown/Those Who See, Those Who Do Not!!! Do not Remain Spiritually Blind!!!
OPENING PRAYER
Shine within our hearts loving Master the pure Light of Your Divine Knowledge...Open up our hearts and minds so that we understand Your Teachings in Scripture, and after having conquered sinful desires that we may pursue a spiritual way of living...Doing and saying all the things that will be pleasing to You-For You are Christ our God and You are truly the Light of the World, and Give Glory to The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit now and forever until the ages of ages Amen!!!
CHANT PSALM 23- ENDING PRAYER!!!
JOHN 9- STUDY & BREAKDOWN
THE MAN BORN BLIND SEES
JOHN 9:1-12
9:1-38: THIS HEALING: Is the sixth sign in John's Gospel (see- notes on John 2:1-11): of all the miracles and the stories in the Bible, this is the only one where a person was BLIND FROM BIRTH (see v. 32): The blind man is symbolic of all humanity: all need illumination by Christ, the Light of the world: This sign is an illustration of baptism, which is also called "holy illumination" as Pascha (Easter) is the traditional day to receive catechumens into the Church, the lessons following Pascha reflect a baptismal theology- this passage is also read on the Sixth Sunday of Pascha!!!
9:3: THE SAVIOR REJECTS: the assumption (common in the ancient world) that all troubles and maladies are necessarily the consequence of personal sin or even the sins of one's PARENTS (see- Exodus 20:5; Dt 5:9; and contrast Ezekiel 18:19-21): Though suffering can be the direct result of personal sin, this is certainty not always the case- (see- note John 5:14): In this instance, the man's blindness provided the occasion for THE WORKS OF GOD TO BE REVEALED; it was not related directly to the man's personal sins:
9:4: THE WORK: that people do consists of faith (John 6:29), GOOD DEEDS (John 5:29), AND REPENTANCE (JOHN 12:40): THE NIGHT that comes refers both to the time after a person's death and to the age to come, when there is no longer an opportunity to express faith: On that day there will not be faith, but all will submit, whether willingly or unwillingly- (JohnChr)
9:5:THE UNPRECEDENTED HEALING: of a man born blind confirms Christ's claim that He is THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD- (see John 8:12 and my notes):
9:6: ST. IRENAEUS: sees in this mixture of CLAY AND SALIVA a type of the creation of humanity from earth- (Genesis 2:7): Christ reveals His divinity by restoring the part of creation using the same material with which He created humanity in the beginning:
9:7: THE POOL OF SILOAM: was on the outskirts of Jerusalem, a considerable distance from the temple: From this pool water was taken for the rites connected with the Feast of Tabernacles- (see- notes at John 7:2): SILOAM, TRANSLATED, SENT, symbolizes Christ, the One sent by the Father (John 5:36; John 20:21): just as the healing of the blind man confirmed Christ's claim to be the light of the world- (John 8:12), so also, His making use of the pool of Siloam confirms that He is the true purification of the temple and those who worship in it:
THOSE WHO SEE, THOSE WHO DO NOT
JOHN 9:13-41
9:16: JUST AS THE PHARISEES: had ignored the healing of the paralytic and focused only on the perceived violation of THE SABBATH - (John 5:10-16), here many of them cannot see the glory of GOD through their own prejudices!!! Even today Laws are considered as right even though wrongs are truly being committed- laws do not always protect us from evil and sometimes they do either way humanity is slipping away!!!
9:24: WITH JESUS NOT PRESENT: the Pharisees call Him A SINNER, but earlier when He asked then to face-to-face, "which of you convicts Me of Sin???" (John 8:46), They evaded the question: GIVE GOD THE GLORY!!! was an oath formula used before giving testimony; Nerveless, the healed man will indeed give God Glory- (v. 38): The more he is pressed, the more fervent his faith becomes, while the Pharisees lapse into deeper darkness!!!
9:25: THIS HEALED MAN: becomes a model for Christian witness: Many people do not bear witness to Christ because they fear they will be asked questions they cannot answer: this man's answer to the people is more educated than he provides the solution: he admits what he does NOT KNOW, but follows up with what he does know: The formula, "That I don't know, but what I do know is this", is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others: Today I talked to a former Marine at the VA who is also in the Ministry he shared his study group with me today: Got his card and it seems I have been asked to witness my faith to others, Wow John 9 is all about witnessing!!! So awesome to share this Shalom!!!
9:26-38: HAVING OPENED THE BLIND MAN'S EYES: the Lord also opens his heart and illumines his spirit: The man moves from knowing almost nothing about Christ- (v. 25), through the conclusion that Yeshua (Jesus) could possibly be a sinner (v. 31), through confessing that Yeshua (Jesus) must be FROM GOD (v. 33), to finally seeing Him as the divine SON OF GOD AND WORSHIPPING HIM (v. 38): The Pharisees again cannot refute this man's logic nor the truth of what he reveals, and so they resort to personal insult- (v. 34; see John 8:48):
9:32: THE UNPRECEDENTED NATURE: of opening THE EYES OF ONE WHO WAS BORN BLIND is a confirmation of Christ's divinity: This was one of the signs of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 35:5; and Isaiah 42:7) and a being a prerogative belonging solely to God (Psalm 145:8)
9:39-41: OUR LORD'S COMING: brought judgement to the WORLD, not because He came to judge- (John 12:47-48), but because of man's accountability TO HIM: Those who see and hear Him but do not believe are judged by their own faithlessness!!!
"Today many people are born spiritually blind, I was one of them: I was once lost but now found, was also once blind and now I see!!! It's our mission my brothers and sisters in Christ to see the spiritually blind and help open their eyes from their spiritual blindness!!! The truth will always set us free, and so we are remain steadfast in our faith!!! Some will see, and some will not don't be discouraged, today I was given a sign I'm to head out in witness to the world what Christ has done for me- continue to pray for JPCE Spiritual Talk that we continue to seek, teach and preach truth and righteousness!!!
END WITH THE LORD'S PRAYER!!!
JPCE SPIRITUAL TALK
NEVER HOLD BACK
THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
JEHOVAH SHALOM!!!