The blind man came seeing; the seeing stayed blind.
Pastor Roy Jones taught Wednesday night Bible study from John 8:59 and John 9:1–41 — his topic: from physical blindness to spiritual blindness.
After prayer for spiritual revelation, he set the letter in its frame: the church is still walking through the book of John verse by verse, and John is giving us the details of Jesus' time on earth — not just the humanity of Jesus but His divinity, that we would know Him for ourselves and not just know church routine, "because only spiritual and biblical truth is what's going to save us." He recapped where the journey left off: John 8's showdown — the woman caught in adultery, the crowd starting to believe He might be the Messiah, Jesus' hard word in verses 30–31 ("if you are my disciples"), their pride ("we are Abraham's seed"), the stones picked up at verse 59, and Jesus slipping right past them. Then the blind man of chapter 9 — and tonight, what happened after he came back seeing.
59Then they took up stones to throw at Him; but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.
John 8:59 (NKJV)
1Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.
2And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
4I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
John 9:1–5 (NKJV)
6When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
7And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.
8Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”
9Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.” He said, “I am he.”
10Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
11He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”
John 9:6–11 (NKJV)
12Then they said to him, “Where is He?” He said, “I do not know.”
13They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.
14Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
John 9:12–14 (NKJV)
15Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
16Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.
17They said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
John 9:15–17 (NKJV)
18But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.
19And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
21but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.”
22His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
John 9:18–22 (NKJV)
23Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.”
25He answered and said, “Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
26Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
John 9:23–27 (NKJV)
28Then they reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples.
29We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
30The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!
31Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.
32Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.
33If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34They answered and said to him, “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?” And they cast him out.
John 9:28–34 (NKJV)
35Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
36He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.”
38Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.
39And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
40Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”
41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
John 9:35–41 (NKJV)
Pastor Roy Jones continued walking through John on Wednesday night, picking up at John 9:12 — the aftermath of the blind man's healing. The neighbors who had watched him beg couldn't agree on what had happened; the Pharisees hauled him in, and even they split — some crying Sabbath-breaker, others asking how a sinner could do such signs. Pressed a second time — "what do you say about Him?" — the healed man didn't flinch: "He is a prophet." But when the Jews refused to believe and summoned his parents, fear did what the interrogation couldn't: "he is of age; ask him" — because anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. The chapter runs on to the man's great confession — "one thing I know: though I was blind, now I see" — his being cast out, Jesus finding him, and the closing verdict on the Pharisees: "now you say, 'We see;' therefore your sin remains."
He recaps the journey so far — John 8's showdown, the stones at verse 59, Jesus slipping past them — and lands on the blind man of chapter 9, picking up tonight at verse 12 with what happened after he came back seeing.
The neighbors debate the miracle ("this is he" / "he is like him"); the Pharisees interrogate him over the Sabbath and divide among themselves; the healed man stands firm twice — "I am he," then "He is a prophet"; the Jews refuse belief and call his parents in.
The parents know the truth — "this is our son, and he was born blind" — but fear the cost of saying the rest: "he is of age; ask him," because confessing Christ meant being put out of the synagogue.
A real miracle will always get questioned — expect the interrogation.
The neighbors couldn't settle it ("this is he" / "he is like him"), so "they brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees." When God does something undeniable in your life, don't be surprised when people haul it in for review (John 9:8–13).
Religion will call God's work a violation — "it was a Sabbath."
"This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." When the rulebook becomes more sacred than the miracle, religion will prosecute the very work of God (John 9:14–16).
The evidence divides the critics — "how can a sinner do such signs?"
Even the Pharisees couldn't stay unified: "there was a division among them." You don't have to win every argument — the works speak, and the opposition ends up arguing with itself (John 9:16).
Say what you know — "He is a prophet."
Pressed a second time — "what do you say about Him?" — the healed man didn't theorize, didn't soften, didn't flinch. He said what he knew from experience. Your testimony doesn't need a seminary; it needs honesty (John 9:17).
Unbelief will keep moving the goalpost — they called his parents.
"But the Jews did not believe concerning him... until they called the parents." When someone is determined not to believe, no amount of evidence ends the investigation — it just changes the witness list (John 9:18).
Fear will make you outsource your witness — "he is of age; ask him."
The parents knew the truth — "this is our son, and he was born blind" — but stopped one sentence short of the miracle. Fear doesn't always deny the facts; sometimes it just refuses to finish the sentence (John 9:19–21).
Don't trade your testimony for your seat — they feared being put out.
"His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue." Better to be put out with Christ than kept in without Him (John 9:22).
only spiritual and biblical truth is what's going to save us.
Jesus has come for the forgiveness of our sin, and that we may have the right to eternal life
Some start to believe that maybe he is the Messiah. Maybe he is the Christ.
they began to fall away again
that we will come out of darkness
The interrogation. The neighbors who watched him beg for years couldn't agree — "this is he," "no, he is like him" — until the man himself settled it: "I am he." Then the Pharisees: "how did you receive your sight?" — "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." They split over the Sabbath; they pressed him again — "what do you say about Him?" — and the beggar theologized better than the seminary: "He is a prophet." Questioned twice, he never wavered once.
The parents' fear. They knew every fact that mattered — "we know that this is our son, and that he was born blind." But when the question turned to who opened his eyes, they punted: "he is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." Why? Because the Jews had already agreed: confess Him as Christ, and you're out of the synagogue. They kept their seat and lost their voice.
Study — Read John 9:13–17. What did the Pharisees ask the healed man, and how did he answer each time?
Observe — "There was a division among them" (v. 16). What does it tell you when the critics can't agree with each other?
Interpret — The parents knew the truth but wouldn't say it. What made the cost of confessing Christ higher than the cost of staying silent — in their world, and in yours?
Live — Where are you tempted to soften your testimony to stay comfortable — and what would "he is a prophet" boldness look like there?
1. What would it cost someone in this room to fully obey this?
2. Where is the gap between what I believe and how I'm living?
3. The parents chose the synagogue over the testimony — what "synagogue" (group, approval, position) are you afraid of being put out of?
Write down the one thing Jesus has done for you that you've been quiet about — and tell one person this week, plainly, without softening it.
Father, we thank You for opening blind eyes — then, in Jerusalem, and now, in us.
Give us the healed man's backbone: when we're questioned, let us say plainly what Jesus did — no softening, no flinching. And free us from the parents' fear: we'd rather be put out with You than kept in without You.
Make our testimony unshakable, like a pillar that won't be moved. In Jesus' name, amen.