“You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses”
John 9
This story, like those in John 5 and 7, is a very important one and deserves our most careful attention. Again, we must not lose sight of any of the details in this chapter for they will give us insight into the deeper meaning intended by the author. This is a long chapter in John’s gospel and we cannot overlook any part of it. We will study it in sections, then at the conclusion try to pull all the ideas together.
And as He [Jesus] passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying “Rabbi, who sinned, this man, or his parents, that he should be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (Jn. 9:1−5).
This chapter starts with a man who was born blind. The reason for this blindness is that “the works of God might be displayed in him” (Jn. 9:3). It is important to note the frequent use of the word “work” in the beginning of this Sabbath incident. It is to alert us to the underlying theme of what follows. Jesus will again be accused of Sabbath breaking because of His work in healing this man. This, perhaps more than any other work of Jesus, will demonstrate the true nature of the redemption and “rest” of the new covenant.
We will soon see that Jesus and the Jewish leaders were thinking and conversing from two different reference points. It is almost as if they were “talking past” each other. Jesus understood what was going on, but the Jewish leaders seemed to have clouded reasoning and completely misunderstood Jesus. The reason for this misunderstanding is clear. They were still looking through the clouded veil of the old covenant law.1 It is equally true that Jesus continued to speak from His reference point: Himself, the new covenant center.
For Jesus the word “work” refers to doing the works of God—kingdom work, Jubilee ministry: healing the sick, casting out demons, releasing the captives, binding up the brokenhearted, opening the eyes of the blind, preaching the gospel to the poor, proclaiming the favorable year of the Lord. This work was designed to bring redemption from the bondage of sin and restore the rest of Eden’s seventh day—the true “rest” of God. The Jewish leaders, on the other hand, understood “work” to be that which was forbidden by a literal, perhaps rigid, interpretation of old covenant Sabbath law.
We note that Jesus seemed to express a certain sense of urgency. “We must work the works of Him who sent Me, as long as it is day; night is coming, when no man can work.” Jesus included His disciples as fellow participants in this urgent work, “We must work…” They, too, were to be engaged in the kingdom, Jubilee “work” of proclaiming the “rest” of God.
Jesus declared Himself to be the “light of the world.” We will see that those who do not believe in Him remain in the “blindness” of sin.
When He had said this, He spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). And so he went away and washed, and came back seeing (Jn. 9:6,7).
As was noted in the previous chapter, it appears that Jesus again intentionally healed this man in such a way that His actions would be as an open violation of Sabbath law. To us, making a little clay seems trivial and certainly not work. However, to the Jewish leaders, who operated from a literal interpretation of the old covenant, “making” clay was working and the law said, “you shall not do any work” (Ex. 20:10). They felt this action was not in accord with the admonition of the law to have a “sabbath of complete rest” (Ex. 31:15). Further, they felt that Jesus’ instruction to send this man across town was not adhering to the command which said, “Remain every man in his place” (Ex. 16:29). Nor was “washing” in the pool of Siloam, which was big enough to swim in, an appropriate Sabbath activity. Washing was to be taken care of on the day of preparation.
As is often encountered in the writings of John, small, apparently insignificant details provide additional evidence to support John’s underlying purpose in writing this gospel: that the reader would come to “believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that by believing, you may have life in His name” (Jn. 20:31). In the passage at hand we have such details. Not only does John record that Jesus sent this blind man to the pool of Siloam, but he includes the translation of the meaning of the name, Siloam, as “sent.” This little clue is to remind us of other passages in John’s gospel. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work” (Jn. 4:34). “And the Father who sent Me, He has borne witness of Me” (Jn. 5:37). John is seeking to lead his readers to a true understanding of who Jesus is.
And so he went away and washed, and came back seeing (Jn. 9:7).
Nothing could be more direct and to the point or less flamboyant. At the same time we see the possible connections to the “washing” of baptism and the “seeing” of saving faith.
The neighbors therefore, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to sit and beg?” Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” He kept saying, “I am the one.” Therefore they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam, and wash’; so I went and washed, and I received sight.” And they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know” (Jn. 9:8−12).
At first this short passage appears to have little to do with our study of the Sabbath, yet in reality it encompasses the very essence of new covenant Sabbath understanding. It is full of subtle insights regarding the gospel. First, notice the saving action of Jesus. This beggar did not ask to be healed! The entire action proceeded from Jesus. Second, note the kind of people Jesus chooses to save: blind beggars, people who have a strong sense of personal need. Third, note the simplicity of salvation: “I washed, and I received sight.” Fourth, note the transformation that takes place: his friends could hardly recognize him! Fifth, note the drawing power of the gospel: “Where is He?”
We begin to see that in each Sabbath exposure there is a progressive movement away from the details of the old covenant laws toward the one, central theme of the new: Jesus Christ and the redemption and “rest” He brings.
They brought to the Pharisees him who was formerly blind. Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. Again therefore the Pharisees also were asking him how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them (Jn. 9: 13−16).
It appears from this passage that Jesus was making some headway in moving the reference point of judgment held by the Jewish leaders. In previous instances involving Sabbath breaking the Jewish leaders presented a united front against Jesus. Now, only “some of the Pharisees” stumbled over the old covenant Sabbath law and said, “This man is not from God, because he does not keep the Sabbath” (v. 16). Now, some are apparently willing to look at Him from the “Jubilee ministry” perspective of the new covenant. They evaluate the ministry of Jesus saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” So “there was a division among them.”
They said therefore to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.” The Jews therefore did not believe it of him, that he had been blind, and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he see?” His parents answered them, and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he shall speak for himself.” His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed, that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ he should be put out of the synagogue. For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him” (Jn. 9:17−23).
This is a very enlightening, and tragic, portion of Scripture. Through the healing of this man born blind, Jesus desperately sought to bring sufficient evidence for an intelligent, saving faith to the leaders of the people He came to save. He knew that the new wine of the gospel would not fit within the rigid framework of Judaism. Jesus, through this healing incident, tried to reach their hearts with the truth of who He was. This truth, and this truth alone, could save them. The tragedy of their situation was that they were so deeply entrenched within their own belief system most of them could not even entertain the idea they could possibly be wrong. “The Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.” This prejudice, or prejudgment, blinded their minds. It appears from time to time, however, there were some of the Jewish rulers who, at least for a period of time, seemed almost persuaded to believe in Jesus as the Messiah. What kept the majority back? Several times in this book I have referred to the fact that our own belief system is often our greatest hindrance to the openness essential to the discovery of new truth. The Jews had their system, which in itself was a major factor in their inability to believe. Yet there was more to their system than just what they considered to be “truth.” It provided them with a complete lifestyle, a social community, power, wealth, and influence. To break out of the system was costly in many ways. Thus the books of Hebrews and First Peter were written to encourage Jewish Christians who had paid the price and had broken out of the Jewish system. These people had lost their wealth, their lands, their friends, and their influence. They had nothing left but JesusJesus only! Yet, as Paul so beautifully says,
I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and may be found in Him (Phil. 3:8,9).
Throughout history Christians who have stood for truth, regardless of the consequences, and paid the price for so doing, know that to be found “in Christ” is of greater value even if it means the loss of all other things. Jesus is sufficient.
Now a second time they called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” He therefore answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” They said therefore to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” (Jn. 9:24−27).
One gets the idea that the Pharisees were struggling in the valley of decision. The evidence before their eyes must have been like sharp needles pricking their consciences. It appears they recognized the far-reaching consequences of the decision which confronted them and they made every effort to find sufficient reason to escape making a decision. They wanted more time. Then, as this formerly blind beggar suggested the idea that perhaps they too were considering becoming disciples of Jesus, they revolted and their decision was made.
And they reviled him, and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses” (Jn. 9:28).
This is a key verse in this chapter and a very important one in our study of the Sabbath. Here is the confrontation between the old covenant and the new covenant. This is Moses (Sinai) pitted against Christ. One cannot go both directions; either he is a disciple of Jesus, or a disciple of Moses.2 In the next few verses we can sense the deep spiritual insight of this formerly blind beggar, and the appalling spiritual blindness of the Pharisees still under the veil of the Torah, who had been confronted with the truth of Jesus and who He was, but had opted to remain disciples of Moses.
The Pharisees answered this new disciple of Jesus with,
“We know that God has spoken to Moses; but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from and yet He opened my eyes” (Jn. 9:29,30).
To fully understand what is taking place here we must look at a passage in John 7 which immediately follows the discussion of the Sabbath incident regarding the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda.
Therefore some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is this not the man whom they are seeking to kill? And look, He is speaking publicly, and they are saying nothing to Him. The rulers do not really know that this is the Christ, do they? However we know where this man is from; but whenever the Christ may come, no one knows where He is from” (Jn. 7:25−27).
This new disciple of Jesus picks up the foolishness of the people’s reasoning. In one incident the Jewish leaders reject Jesus because they know He is from Galilee and state that when the Messiah comes they will not know where He is from. The next moment they reject Jesus as the Christ because they do not know where he is from! Yet He is opening the eyes of the blind; doing the very things Messiah was to do!
This “seeing” disciple of Jesus continues to witness to the learned, but “blind,” Pharisees, bringing insight after insight which must have hit their spiritual pride like burning arrows.
We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing, and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that any one opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing (Jn. 9:31−33).
This was a powerful argument which could not be answered. The credentials of Jesus were founded in His kingdom work, His Jubilee ministry. The Pharisees had no answer, and, utterly humiliated by the logic and spiritual insight of this new disciple of Jesus, they answer, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they put him out (Jn. 9:32−34).
The Pharisees did to this new disciple of Christ what religious (in contrast to truly Christian) leaders have done throughout the centuries to those who have taken a stand for truth. They “put him out.” His parents had avoided speaking in favor of Jesus so they would not be disfellowshipped,
For the Jews had already agreed, that if anyone should confess Him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue (Jn. 9:22).
Consider carefully the Sabbath theology taught, the depth of meaning uncovered, the love expressed, and the needs met in the next few verses. These verses are the high point of our study on Jesus and the Sabbath. They lead us to the true redemption and “rest”—yes, here we come to Sabbath in Christ.
Jesus heard that they had put him out; and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered and said, “And who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped Him (Jn. 9:35 −38).
Jesus not only knew that His new disciple had been disfellow- shipped, but He cared. He still knows and cares. Jesus set out to find this man so young in his newfound faith. I am reminded of the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15. The Good Shepherd searched for the lost sheep until He found him. He still does. Jesus gave this young-in-faith disciple an opportunity to receive a further revelation of truth. The new disciple’s understanding of Christ at this point was very limited. He understood Christ to be “a prophet” (Jn. 9:17). Yet, with his limited knowledge of Jesus, his uneducated background, this previously blind beggar who had no ax of self-interest to grind, openly confessed himself on the side of Jesus. His only motive was that of gratitude. As he began to move out in his limited knowledge and experience, Jesus met him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Today that same Son of Man still gives opportunity for greater revelations of truth to those who walk in the full knowledge of what they have already received, no matter how limited that truth is. Jesus did not condemn or make fun of this young disciple’s lack of insight. By asking this man if he believed, it appears Jesus expected His new disciple to recognize Him as the Son of Man, but the man answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe?” I thank God that He still treats with kindness and patience those of us who seem to be so dull of hearing and so slow to receive spiritual insight. Jesus gave His new disciple a revelation of truth which met his greatest need: He revealed Himself. Today the greatest longing in the heart of God is still to make Himself known to us. It is only His presence which will bring redemption and spiritual rest and meet the real need of our heart. John records the simplicity, and workability, of the new covenant gospel. “Lord, I believe.” The new covenant gospel is still simple and it still works. Do you believe? If you do, then the last insight of this passage will be your highest priority, your greatest joy: “and he worshipped Him.”
Consider the paradoxical nature of this incident. The Pharisees, who were known to be meticulous observers of old covenant Sabbath laws, by their meticulous observance of these laws, rejected the Messiah, to whom these laws pointed. As disciples of Moses, their point of reference and judgment was like a yoke around their neck which bound them. In striving hard to obtain, they failed. The blind beggar, on the other hand, did not strive. Rather his healing, his insight, his acceptance, his restored relationship to God and intimate, face-to-face fellowship with Jesus were the result of nothing but God’s sovereign grace! Here, in stark contrast, are the principles of the two covenants operating side by side. If one is to be a disciple of Jesus, he cannot, at the same time, be a disciple of Moses.
But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (2 Cor. 3:15,16).
Here, too, is a great paradox. As mentioned before, the Pharisees were strict Sabbath keepers. They followed the old covenant Sabbath laws to the letter. Yet in following these laws they completely missed the redemption and true “rest” to which the Sabbath laws pointed. On the other hand, this “sin blinded”3 beggar, redeemed from the curse of sin and saved by faith, entered without works into the true “rest” of God.
Whether one draws the purpose of the Sabbath from the commandments as listed in Exodus (rest) or Deuteronomy (redemp- tion), there is no question that Jesus fulfilled that purpose.
With these insights let us come back to the passage in John. This previously blind beggar has become a “new creation.”
If any man is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Cor. 5:17).
This child of God is now a new man: healed, washed, found, accepted, and worshipping in intimate, face-to-face fellowship with none other than the Creator Himself. Here is true redemption; here is the true “rest of God” to which the old covenant Sabbath laws pointed. No work was done by this man! All was of grace. This blind man was found, healed, washed, and accepted, by the “work” of Jesus on that Sabbath day. This redeemed man entered into the “rest” which “remains” for the one who believes! Jesus’ “work” on that Sabbath brought redemption and Eden’s “rest” to this man.
And Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see; and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things, and said to Him, “We are not blind too, are we?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains” (Jn. 9:39−41).
These are sad, tragic words of Jesus. Yet they serve as a solemn warning to those who are deeply entrenched within their belief system and believe they have the truth and are the true people of God. They are fearful words for those who are still bound to Sinai for their reference point of life and judgment.
Chapter Summary
- The “work” of Jesus was kingdom workJubilee ministry.
- The disciples of Jesus were included in this urgent “work.”
- It appears that Jesus again, openly and intentionally, healed insuch a way that caused the Jewish leaders to believe He hadviolated old covenant Sabbath law.
- The Pharisees, when confronted with the truth of Jesus,rejected Him because they were blinded by their referencepoint of judgment: Sinaitic laws.
- This chapter points out in stark contrast the two systems:Christ (the new covenant) and Moses (the old covenant).
- This incident is paradoxical in nature.
- The Pharisees cast this man out of their fellowship.
- Jesus took this man into fellowship with Himself.
- The Pharisees meticulously observed the Sabbath laws buttotally missed the redemption and real rest to which theselaws pointed.
- The blind beggar, who did not work but was saved bygrace, was redeemed from sin and entered into the true “rest of God”: intimate, face-to-face fellowship with the Creator.
- The learned Pharisees, who almost knew the Old Testament law by heart, seemed to be steeped in spiritual blindness because the veil of Sinai was still over their eyes.
- The previously blind beggar, who knew little, if any, of the law, and was considered to be totally born in sin, showed deep spiritual insight.
- The “work” of Jesus was to bring redemption and establish His “rest.”
- According to the Jews, Jesus broke the Sinaitic Sabbath, but in doing so He brought redemption and true “rest.”
- Jesus pronounced a solemn warning upon those who say “they see” (know the truth) yet in reality they are “blind” and “remain” in sin.
- The underlying dynamic of Jesus was to move the reference point of the Pharisees from Sinai to Himself.
- The way Jesus related to the Sabbath indicates that He considered the Sabbath to be a ritual or ceremonial law that pointed forward to the rest and redemption He would bring.
End Notes
- 2 Cor. 3:14–18
- Moses stands for the whole law.
- It was commonly believed that this deformity was caused by sin. See John 9:1,2
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