Jesus cures a man who was blind from birth

The Life of Jesus Christ - Chapter 7 - Jesus visits Jerusalem - Part 6

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An online Bible Study course by Barrie Wetherill about the life of Jesus. This book is in EasyEnglish Level B. Use the links below for other online Bible Study books and commentaries that will help you. Or go to the Word List, which explains words with a *star.

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John 9

Jesus cures a man who was born blind

One Sabbath day, Jesus and the *disciples were walking together. [The Sabbath was the seventh day of the week. Jews thought that nobody should work on the Sabbath.] They met a man who had been blind since his birth. The *disciples asked Jesus if *sin had caused the man to be blind. Jesus said that *sin had not caused it. Immediately he began to cure the man. He used earth and saliva [water from his mouth] to make mud. He put the mud on the man’s eyes. He told him to wash the mud off in the Pool of Siloam. After this, the man was able to see.

Evidence that Jesus was the *Messiah

Nobody had ever seen such a wonderful event! A man who had been blind from birth could now see! This was evidence that Jesus was the *Messiah. The *prophet Isaiah had spoken about this long ago.

Jesus had called himself the light of the world. What he did to the man showed this truth in action. Jesus really gave the man light to see. He can show us the way to live our lives. It is extremely rare that people born blind can ever see. Even today with modern medicine, it is extremely rare. This was really a very important *miracle.

Anger about Jesus' actions on the Sabbath day

The *Pharisees were angry. Jesus had cured the man on the Sabbath day! They told the man that Jesus must be a *sinner to do this! The man answered.

The *Pharisees asked the man and his parents more questions. Then they sent him out of the *Temple.

The error of the *disciples

Notice it was Jesus who saw the man (John 9:1). The man himself did not cry out or ask for anything. The *disciples began to discuss the philosophy of the event:

·  Who caused this man’s to be blind?

·  Was it because of his own *sin?

·  Was it because of his parents’ *sin?

·  Whom can he blame?

Many people in the world today make the same error as the *disciples. They like to discuss other people's troubles. They do not really feel very sorry for people who have trouble. Maybe we are like that. Maybe we blame other people. Or maybe we even blame the people who suffers. Jesus was not like this. He did something immediately to help, although he himself was in danger. Jesus knew that this would make the leaders of the Jewish religion very angry. But he was not afraid. We should learn from this event.