"John is interested in the way the coming of Jesus divides people."347
9:35 The healed man had responded positively and courageously to the light that he had so far, but he did not have much light. Therefore Jesus took the initiative and sought him out with further revelation designed to bring him to full faith. When Jesus found him, He asked if he placed his trust in the Son of Man.348This personal response to God's grace is essential for salvation. "You"is emphatic in the Greek text. Jesus probably chose this title for Himself because it expressed the fact that He was the Man who had come from God (Dan. 7:13-14; cf. John 1:51; 3:13-14; 5:27; 6:27, 53, 62; 8:28). Furthermore it connotes Jesus' role as Judge, which He proceeded to explain (v. 39).
Jesus was asking the man if he believed in the God-man, though Jesus did not identify Himself as that Man. The blind man had never before seen Jesus so he did not know who He was.
9:36 The man replied by asking Jesus to point the Son of Man out to him. He seemed ready to believe in Him and evidently thought that Jesus would identify his healer. "Lord"(Gr. kyrie) means "Sir"in this context. Again someone spoke better than he knew since the man's questioner was Lord in a larger sense than he first realized (cf. v. 38).
9:37-38 Jesus then identified Himself as the Son of Man (cf. 4:26). Perhaps He said that the man had seen Him to connect the miracle with the miracle-worker. The man may have suspected that Jesus was his healer because of the sound of His voice, but seeing made the identification certain. The man had seen Him with the eyes of faith previously, but now he also saw Him physically. Similarly modern believers see Him by faith, but in the future faith will give way to sight.
Jesus removed all possibility of misunderstanding by also identifying Himself as the One who then spoke to the man. The beggar confessed His faith in Jesus and appropriately proceeded to prostrate himself (Gr. proskyneo) in worship before Him. This is the only place in this Gospel where we read that anyone worshipped Jesus. Now the respectful address "Lord"took on deeper meaning for him (v. 36). However the man still had much to learn about the full identity of Jesus and its implications, as all new believers do. This man was no longer welcome in his synagogue, but he took a new place of worship at Jesus' feet. Worship means acknowledging and ascribing worthiness to someone or something.
This blind man's pilgrimage from darkness to light is clear from the terms he used to describe Jesus. First, he called Him "the man called Jesus"(v. 11). Second, he referred to Jesus as a prophet (v. 17). Third, he came to believe that Jesus was a prophet who had come from God (v. 33). Finally, he acknowledged Jesus as Lord (v. 38). This man's progress from dark unbelief to the light of faith is very significant in view of John's stated purpose to bring his readers to believe that Jesus is the Christ (20:31). It shows that this process sometimes, indeed usually, involves stages of illumination. It is also interesting that the problems that this man had with the Pharisees were what God used to open his eyes to who Jesus really was. It is often through difficulties that God teaches us more about Himself.
9:39 Jesus concluded His comments to the man by explaining something of His purpose in the Incarnation.
"The last three verses of chapter ix make it clear that this incident has been recorded primarily because it is an acted parable of faith and unbelief, and therefore of judgment, a theme that is never absent for long from this Gospel."349
Jesus' primary purpose was to save some, but in doing so He had to pass judgment (Gr. krima, cf. 3:17-21, 36; 12:47). Judging was the resultof His coming, not the reasonfor it. The last part of the verse consists of two purpose clauses. Jesus was evidently alluding to Isaiah 6:10 and 42:19. His coming inevitably involved exposing the spiritual blindness of some so they might recognize their blindness, turn to Jesus in faith, and see (cf. vv. 25, 36). Conversely His coming also involved confirming the spiritual blindness of those who professed to see spiritually but really did not because of their unbelief (cf. vv. 16, 22, 24, 29, 34). Jesus is the pivot on which all human destiny turns.350Jesus explained that what had happened to this man and the Pharisees was an example of what His whole ministry was about.
". . . a certain poverty of spirit (cf. Mt. 5:3), an abasement of personal pride (especially over one's religious opinions), and a candid acknowledgment of spiritual blindness are indispensable characteristics of the person who receives spiritual sight, true revelation, at the hands of Jesus . . ."351
9:40-41 Some Pharisees had been listening in on Jesus' conversation with the restored man. They suspected that Jesus might be referring to them when He spoke of the spiritually blind (v. 39). They wanted to make sure that Jesus was not accusing them of spiritual blindness since they considered themselves the most enlightened among the Jews.
Jesus replied to them in irony. He said that if they were blind spiritually and realized their need for enlightenment they would not be guilty of sin, specifically unbelief, because they would accept Jesus' teaching. However, they did not sense their need and felt quite satisfied that they understood God's revelations correctly. Consequently they did not receive the light that Jesus offered. They were wise in their own eyes, but really they were fools (Prov. 26:12). Their sin of unbelief remained with them, and they remained in their sin and under God's condemning wrath (3:36). Light causes some eyes to see, but it blinds other eyes. Jesus' revelations had the same effects.
"By contrast [with the increasing perception of the man born blind] the Pharisees, starting with the view that Jesus is not from God (v. 16), question the miracle (v. 18), speak of Jesus as a sinner (v. 24), are shown to be ignorant (v. 29), and finally are pronounced blind and sinners (v. 41)."352
"If the Pharisees had been really blind, if they had had no understanding of spiritual things at all, they would not have sinned in acting as they did (cf. Rom. 5:13). They could not be blamed for acting in ignorance [cf. 1 Tim. 1:13]. They would then not have been acting in rebellion against their best insights. But they claim to see. They claim spiritual knowledge. They know the law. And it is sin for people who have spiritual knowledge to act as they do."353
The deceitfulness of sin often makes those who are in the greatest need of divine revelation and illumination think that they are the most enlightened of human beings. Only the Spirit of God using the Word of God can break through that dense darkness to bring conviction of spiritual blindness and to create openness to the truth (cf. 1 Cor. 2:6-16).
". . . it is precisely when men say that they see, and becausethey say that they see, that their sin remaineth. They continue to be guilty men, however unconscious of their guilt."354
This chapter advances the revelation of Jesus' true identity that was one of John's primary objectives in this Gospel. It also shows that as the light of this revelation became clearer, so did the darkness because some people prefer the darkness to the light (3:19).
"This miracle is a sign that Jesus can open the eyes of the spiritually blind so that they can receive the complete sight which constitutes perfect faith. Faith means passing from darkness to light; and to bring men this faith, to give them the opportunity of responding when the divine Spirit draws them to Himself, is the primary purpose for which Jesus has been sent into the world."355
