11.02.25 Jn. 9:35-41
JESUS CONFRONTS THE HEALED MAN
35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, He found him and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
36 “Who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” he asked.
37 Jesus answered, “You have seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you.”
38 “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped Him.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.”
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and asked Him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?”
41 “If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see’ — your sin remains.
This discussion took place in the temple where a giant menorah stood. It was so huge that a priest had to climb a ladder to light its seven lamps, which gave a soft glow throughout the temple area. Jesus had just given sight to the blind man and He used the menorah as His object lesson when He said that He was the light of the world. The blind man received both physical and spiritual sight in the temple. Now Jesus would continue the conversation and discuss the true shepherd of the people of God.[1] Their blindness was that they did not recognize, nor did they want to, Jesus as being sent from heaven as their Messiah. They refused to acknowledge the powerful signs that pointed to this fact. According to the Jewish Bible, a sign is “an outward compelling proof of divine authority.”[2]
11.02.25.Q1 Does John 9:39 conflict with 5:22 and 8:15?
In John 9:39 Jesus said that He came into this world to judge it, but in 5:22 and 8:15 He said that judgment is left to Him because the Father judges no one. The difference lays in the fact that in John 9:39 Jesus said that His “judgment” was a clarification of where people stood in their relationship with God. As previously stated, he came to fulfill the Mosaic Law, not abolish it. He taught the Kingdom of God and helped people discern what God desires. He did not come to condemn the world (5:22; 8:15) but to save it. However, in His future return He will judge all persons and nations. On an important side note, the Church has adopted a Roman view of law, that means restriction and is therefore considered to be bad, while the Hebrew Bible views law as instruction and freedom, and therefore, good. Therefore, there is no conflict.
[1]. Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ. (Video “D”).
[2]. Bock, Jesus According to Scripture. 224-25; Ex. 4:8-9; Deut. 13:1; Isa. 7:10-17, 38:7.