The Strand Study Bible

JOHN 8:58

JOHN 9:18

1744

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily , verily , I say unto you , Before Abraham was, 1 I AM ( JEHOVAH-ELOHIM ) . 59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by. John 9 CHRIST heals a blind man on the Sabbath Date - AD 31 1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him . 4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work . 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the 2 LIGHT OF THE WORLD . 6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 And said unto him, Go, wash in the 3 pool of Siloam , (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing. 8 The neighbours therefore, and they

which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged? 9 Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he. 10 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? 11 He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash : and I went and washed, and I received sight. 12 Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not. 13 They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. 14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. 15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. 16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

1. Exo 3:4,14 & Jn 8:24,28 2. or, “salvation” - Rev 21:23 & Psa 27:1 & Isa 9:2 & 42:6 & 49:6 & Lk 1:79 & 2:30-32 & Jn 1:6-9 & Acts 13:47 3. Neh 3:15 4. or, “now that”

17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, 4 that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. 18 But the Jews did not believe concerninghim, that hehadbeenblind, and 8:58 The Jews knew perfectly well who Jesus was claiming to be –God in flesh ( I AM – Jn 18:5-8). They had no reason to kill Him otherwise (vs 59 & 10:30-33). The prescribed penalty for blasphemy was to be stoned to death (Lev 24:16). History is filled with men who have claimed they came from God, that they were God, or that they bore messages from God. Buddha (c. 500 BC), Confucius (c. 497 BC), Socrates (c. 400 BC), Muhammad (AD 622) and thousands of others right down to the present day have all made their claims. Yet in all of history, only ONE could prove that He came from God; that He was God; and as God He bore messages from God. Josh McDowell and Bart Larson in Jesus – A Biblical Defense Of His Deity notes: The strongest argument for the deity of Christ is the one that most incensed Jesus’ contemporaries. He took to Himself the Old Testament names and titles for God and also allowed others to call Him by the same names and titles. When Jesus called Himself by those appellations of deity, it so angered the rulers of the Jews that they tried to kill Him for blasphemy. The Jewish authorities had no doubt. This Galilean teacher was claiming to be Almighty God. 1 To deny the Triune Godhead, and CHRIST a part of it (Jn 1:1,14 & 8:24 and I Tim 3:16 and Rev 1:8 ), one cannot be a Christian nor worship God properly ( Gen 1:1 c ). 9:2 This particular question that the disciples had asked was illogical. They inquired, “ who did sin, this man? ” In other words, what they were asking was, “Can a person sin before he is born?” The question certainly shows a lack of spiritual insight. Sadly, the human race, whether they are saved (Martha - Lk 10:40) or unsaved (Nicodemus - Jn 3:4), can come up with some of the most bizarre inquiries. 9:3 Disease is not always the result of sin. Sometimes it is the “purpose” of God ( works of God ); that is, sometimes God allows sickness to occur to keep us humble (II Cor 12:7), or to keep us focused (II Cor 12:8-9), or to illustrate a truth (II Cor 12:10 and Jn 9:1-3). Here God allowed a man to be born with a pre-born disability (blindness) in order that man might recognize God’s omnipotence (vs 32-33). God has a “purpose” for every human being formed within the womb –even the ones formed with disabilities. 9:4 Work is a “ must ;” it is the will of God for our life (Gen 2:15 and Eph 4:28). 1 Josh McDowell and Bart Larson. Jesus – A Biblical Defense Of His Deity, San Bernardino, CA, Here’s Life Pub., 1983. Print