If the Pharisees had really been blind they would have had no sin, but since they had an understanding of spiritual things and yet refused to receive full sight, their sin would be counted against them (Romans 5:13). They claimed to have sight and in reality were not completely blind, but they acted as if they were and refused to recognize Jesus for Who He was.

Romans 5:13  for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.

Temple concludes, “Either we must confess our blindness and seek the opening of our eyes; or else we must accept the light and walk by it. What we may not do, yet all strive to do, is to keep our eyes half-open and live by half the light. That kind of sight holds us to our sin and our sin to us. But the only way of avoiding it is to look with eyes wide open upon ourselves and the world as the full light reveals it; but this is the surrender of faith, and pride resists it.”

Which are you? You have received the light. Are you like the Pharisees who keep their eyes only half open? Are you a Christian only when it is convenient or comfortable for you? Or are you like the man born blind? Do you have your heart wide open — just like the baby bird’s mouth — ready to receive and act upon whatever the Lord says to you? Blessed are those who hear and obey.

Luke 11:28  He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

The saddest part of this passage is the Pharisees never realize that they could possibly be blind.

There is probably a time lapse between the talk of Jesus with the man born blind and His discussion with the Pharisees in this section. The two are placed together here by John because of their relevance to each other.

Jesus is saying that He has come into the world so that those who have no spiritual sight may be enlightened and so that those who claim to have spiritual sight apart from Him may be shown as the blind men that they really are. Whenever a man is confronted with Jesus he must make a choice. He will either be aware of his blindness and seek to have his eyes opened or he will think that he knows everything and has no need of an increase in sight. We thus pass judgment upon ourselves. Only the one who is aware of his own need is the one God can touch. The baby bird that receives the worm from its mother is the one with its mouth open.

The man’s revelation of Jesus Christ has been progressing throughout the day and he now comes to it’s fullness. He recognizes that Jesus is the only One worthy to receive his faith and allegiance and he again acts according to the extent of his revelation. Previously he had acted upon his knowledge of who Jesus was by obeying Him, by declaring what Jesus had done, by proclaiming Jesus to be a prophet, and then by boldly stating that he was now a disciple of Jesus; and now he acts by falling down in worship before the One he has come to recognize as the Messiah and God’s own Son.

worship = proskuneo = “to kiss towards” as a dog licks the hand of its master. This was usually done by prostrating oneself before the one to whom homage, allegiance, and honor was being proclaimed. It was sometimes given to men such as kings or the high priest, but is never used by John except to indicate worship toward God (John 4:23-24, 12:20). Note that Jesus received this worship and didn’t reject it as did Peter and Paul in (Acts 10:25, 14:18). For Jesus to receive worship which was to be reserved exclusively for God was for Him to acknowledge that He indeed is God. It is also an indication to us that worship of Jesus is not only acceptable, but essential.

John 4:23-24  Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

John 12:20  Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast.

Acts 10:25  As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence.

Acts 14:18  Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

A note by Morris on the methodology of Jesus:

Jesus’ method of dealing with the man is not to be overlooked. First He healed him, then He left him to debate the situation with the Pharisees, and only after they had taken disciplinary action against the man did Jesus approach him to deal with his spiritual need. The result was that the man came to believe. In His ministry to the souls of men Jesus adopted no stereotyped approach. He dealt with each man as his peculiar need required.

The man has come to possess the type of faith that God desires of us. His faith was a result of his personal experience and so is ours. When we come to know Jesus as the One sent from God Who has given us sight which we never had, then we are enabled to place our faith in Him, but the placing of our faith in Jesus also results in a continuing greater revelation of Him. As Edersheim notes, “faith (is) always the child of experience, and yet its father also”.

Jesus revealed Himself to the man. Note the manner in which Jesus words His revelation of His identity: “You have now seen him…” This would have special significance to the man who had never in his life seen anything before this day.

Compare how Jesus revealed Himself as Messiah to the Samaritan woman (John 4:26). The important connection then was their conversation; here it is sight. Jesus always meets us where we are and He knows the absolute best way of touching our hearts. All He needs is willingness on our part.

John 4:26  Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”

Up to now the man had not seen Jesus, but Jesus has just sought him out and spoken to him and he knows that voice. He knows that the One to whom he is speaking is the same One who gave him sight, and he trusts Him and wants to do what is right.

We will never know everything there is to know about Jesus, but we must act upon what we do know about Him. Knowledge brings responsibility and responsibility demands faith.

“when he found him” – The man was cut off from family, religion, and society in general. It became common knowledge that he had been thrown out of the Temple and Jesus came to hear of it. Notice that it is Jesus who finds the man, not the other way around. When He heard of the man’s need, Jesus went looking for him. This reveals the heart of Christ and thus of God. He loves us and hurts when we suffer pain, but His involvement doesn’t stop there; He actively seeks us out to meet our needs, whatever they may be.

God has always been that way. Time and again His people would go astray and God would seek them out, find them, and restore them. He sought Adam after his sin (Gen 3:9) and then set into motion the beginning of the Promise of redemption for all mankind (Gen 3:15). He never forgets us or our need (Isaiah 49:14-16). In one messianic passage, He expresses the tenderness which He will use in caring for us (Is 40:10-11). God expressed His Promise to seek the lost and save them through Ezekiel in Chapter 34 of his book (Ezek 34:16). Jesus also stated this as His purpose on this planet (Luke 19:10). God was in the seeking and saving business and He still is!

Genesis 3:9  But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:15  And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Isaiah 49:14-16  But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me, the Lord has forgotten me.”  “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

Isaiah 40:10-11  See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.  He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Ezekiel 34:16  I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Luke 19:10  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Chrysostom puts it that, “The Jews cast him out of the Temple; the Lord of the Temple found him.” The man’s witness had separated him from others but had drawn him closer to Jesus. This will always be the case. But we should always remember this: “Jesus is always true to the man who is true to Him.” (Barclay)

“you” is emphatic. Jesus is asking how it is with the man personally. It is irrelevant how it is with others, how is the man’s faith? As Morris points out faith is essentially personal.

Son of God (KJV) = many of the Greek manuscripts have “Son of man” (NIV). Following is a comparison of the two.

Son of God 

A son is one who derives their being and their characteristics from their father. Thus a son of God is one who reveres God as their Father and whose character and life resemble that of God. Moreover, it is one whom God recognizes as a son, whom he loves, protects and benefits above all others. When Jesus used this term for himself, it had messianic connotations. It indicated the One in whom all the destiny of Israel was to be fulfilled. But Jesus was not just “a” son of God, He was “the” Son of God, which declared His Deity and His true relationship with His Father, God. Jesus was not just thought by God to be His Son, He really was His Son in all meanings of the term. So the term is a revelation of His Messiahship and a declaration of His close relationship to God.

“Son of God” is Biblically used of:

• One in the fiery furnace who saved the Israelite boys
  Daniel 3:25  He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
• the promise to Mary by the angel
  Luke 1:35  The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
• Satan in reference to Jesus
  Matthew 4:3  The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
• Demons as a title for Jesus  
  Luke 4:41  Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.
• testimony of Jesus by John the Baptist 
  John 1:34  I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”
• the purpose of writing the Gospel of John 
  John 20:31  But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
• what we are to preach
  Acts 9:20  At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

Son of man

A human derivative, exhibiting all of the characteristics of humanity. The term describes man in all of his lowliness, especially denoting his weakness and mortality. (Psalms 144:3-4, 146:3-4) God used the title for Ezekiel to indicate his representativeness — not just for Israel, but for all of mankind, and in (Dan 7:13-14) there is “one like the Son of man” who is a true representative of all men while having heavenly connotations, and is given an everlasting dominion over all nations.

Psalms 144:3-4  O LORD, what is man that you care for him, the son of man that you think of him?  Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow.

Psalms 146:3-4  (KJV) Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.  His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

Daniel 7:13-14  “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.  He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Jesus used this term of Himself more than any other. He used it to express His identification with and representation of all men and His humility. But most often He used it in the sense of the One spoken of in Daniel (Mark 14:62).

Mark 14:62  “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

Both the term “Son of Man” and the term “Son of God” have messianic connotations and both are used uniquely of Jesus. Whichever term He used in posing the question to the man who had been blind, He was asking if the man had faith, real faith, the kind of faith that involves total commitment, and if this faith was in the Christ sent from God.

His agrument is indeed unanswerable. The Jews again lose their cool and fling insults at him since they cannot fling answers at him. Robertson observes: “The audacity of it all… It was insufferable. He had not only taught the rabbis, but had utterly routed them in argument.” They basically admit defeat by declaring that his blindness, the very point over which they were questioning him, was due to sin. The man receives that which his parents had so greatly feared. Those who love God and are totaly committed to him will be cast out by those who are not.

2 Timothy 3:12  In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,

His reasoning is beautiful and complete. God only hears and answers the prayers of the righteous; Jesus has performed a miracle that no one else in all of history has done and could only have come from God; therefore Jesus must be righteous and have come from God. “If Jesus had not Divine Authority, He could not have had Divine Power.” (Edersheim II, 186)

The man’s argument is amazing! He is only one and has no academic or forensic training; he is opposed by a group of those who were highly schooled in both of these areas and yet he demolished their arguments. How could he have done this? From whence is his wisdom? And how does he enable this wisdom to be effectively used through him? If we can answer these questions for him, they may have great impact upon our own lives and how we live for God!

This healing is unparalleled in all of history, even by Moses!