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JOHN CHAPTER 9
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Jn 9,1-12
· (145b) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear
witness of Himself Ø Healing Ø
Methods of healing Ø Unique methods of healing
· (245d) Kingdom of God Ø
Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm Ø Literal manifestation
of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus literally gives sight
to the blind
Jn 9,1-5
· (218k) Sovereignty Ø
God overrides the will of man Ø The elect Ø
Man is a spectator of his own salvation Ø We
are chosen before the foundation of the world
Jn 9,1-3
· (18e) Sin Ø
False Judgment lacks evidence Ø Presumptuous
speculation
· (135k) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Sins of the
body Ø Abortion Ø
God loves the fetus Ø Don’t throw away
defective people -- These verses go with verses 8-11
· (178c) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Presumption Ø
Presuming the facts about the circumstances Ø
Presumption interprets our observations -- Jesus
and his disciples met a man who was born blind, and his disciples asked Him,
‘Who sinned, this man or his parents that he should be born blind.’
Jesus answered ‘Neither; rather, the man was born blind that the works of
God should be displayed in him.’ Based on the disciple’s question, there
must have been a philosophy back then that automatically attributed evil to
a person going through hard times as retribution for a sin they presumably
committed. That same philosophy is still alive in Hinduism, which is the
oldest religion in the world, dating long before the time of Christ,
suggesting that the disciples were probably influenced by an ancient precept
of Hinduism. They still believe that when something bad happens to people,
they must have committed a sin. Another example of this is in the book of
Job; all of his friends must have been Hindus, who went to encourage him in
his darkest hour, but did more to add to his suffering. This is typical of
Hinduism.
Jn 9-2,3
· (108e) Thy kingdom come Ø
Balance Ø Sovereignty of God balances the good
from the evil
Jn 9-4,5
· (112g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Light Ø Obeying the truth in broad daylight Ø
Jesus’ deeds in the light --
Light and truth are synonymous, and Jesus was talking about performing
miracles, so Jesus was saying that God will perform miracles only when the
light of truth is glowing brightly in His people for all the world to see.
When we openly manifest the kingdom of God through faith and love, as Jesus
said prior to raising Lazarus from the dead, “Believe, and you will see the
glory of God,” then He will manifest His kingdom through signs and wonders.
We must manifest His kingdom before He will, otherwise His miracles will be
misunderstood and misinterpreted by the flesh that reigns supreme, suffocating
faith and love before His kingdom has a chance to see the light of day.
· (114i) Thy kingdom come Ø
Working the grace of God Ø Jesus does God’s
work Ø All His works are what the Father does
· (184e) Works of the devil Ø
The origin of lawlessness Ø Darkness Ø
God controls darkness Ø Darkness is the absence
of light --
After the apostles fell asleep there was a long historical period when
comparatively few miracles happened, called the dark ages. The dark ages
resulted in Catholicism instilling its many false doctrines in the church,
permeating through Christianity, making it nearly impossible for God to work
among His people, since He only works through the truth. People still believe
and practice many of these false teaching to this day. Jesus said in this
verse, “Night is coming,” meaning the dark ages are coming, “when no one
can work.” God rarely demonstrated His power during the dark ages, not
because He was unwilling to work with people during that time, but because
people were unwilling to work with God. There are comparatively few miracles
in our own day for the same reason, so how is it we are not still living in
the dark ages? People say we have entered an age of enlightenment, referring
to science inventing our many gadgets that make life easier, but until God is
free to work among His people as He did in the early church, we will remain in
the dark ages.
Jn 9-4
· (115l) Thy kingdom come Ø
Working the grace of God Ø Through Good Works Ø
Works that God prepared for you
Jn 9-6,7
· (79h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Know the word Ø Practice listening to God’s
word so you can hear it -- These verses go with verse 11
· (113i) Thy kingdom come Ø
The anointing Ø Anoint with oil -- These
verses go with verse 11
Jn 9,8-11
· (135k) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Sins of the
body Ø Abortion Ø
God loves the fetus Ø Don’t throw away
defective people -- These verses go with verses 35-38
Jn 9-11
· (79h) Thy kingdom come Ø
Know the word Ø Practice listening to God’s
word so you can hear it -- This verse goes with verses 6&7
· (113i) Thy kingdom come Ø
The anointing Ø Anoint with oil -- This
verse goes with verses 6 and 7
Jn 9,13-34
· (173m) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Man’s Religion Ø
Resisting the kingdom of God
Jn 9,16-41
· (180a) Works of the devil Ø
Practicing witchcraft Ø Wolves Ø
Wolves lead people into a cult Ø Leading people
for sordid gain
Jn 9,16-18
· (20b) Nature of sin Ø
Unbelief Ø Unwilling to acknowledge the facts
--
The Jews and the Pharisees agued with each other whether this was the man
who was born blind, or whether he was even born blind at all as others had
claimed, and the man kept telling them, ‘Yes, I am the one.’ The Jews
knew it was him because they grew up with him, but now they had doubts.
Suddenly they became blind. They couldn’t see him, because they didn’t
want to believe that Jesus healed him. They didn’t like Him and His words,
and didn’t want to feel obligated to believe what He was telling them
about God.
Jn 9-16
· (17k) Sin Ø
Ignorance Ø Misinterpreting Jesus –
I find it hard to believe that the Pharisees actually believed that Jesus
could not be the Christ because He healed on the Sabbath. He HEALED!
How many people can do that? Could the Pharisees? No. If I were a Pharisee
in those days, I would have said to myself, ‘He performs
supernatural acts and goes around doing good, the only thing that seems out
of place is He heals on the Sabbath, so maybe I need to rethink my theology
about healing on the Sabbath.’ The reason the Pharisees didn’t think in
those terms is because they were using it as an excuse to persecute Him.
· (19j) Sin Ø
Self righteousness will twist your mind
· (65d) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Jesus brings division Ø
He divides a society along it’s natural fault lines
· (146i) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works
bear witness of Himself Ø Purpose of
Miracles, Signs And Wonders Ø Proof that
Jesus is the son of God Ø That the world may
be saved -- This verse goes with verse 25
· (174g) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Form of
godliness Ø Self righteousness Ø
Believing you don’t have a sinful nature -- This verse goes with
verse 34
Jn 9,17-34
· (75j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Motives Ø Being manipulative Ø
Controlling people by abusing authority
· (242h) Kingdom of God Ø
Opposition toward the kingdom of God Ø
Persecuting the kingdom Ø Worldly pressure Ø
World pressures you to forsake your convictions
Jn 9-17,18
· (162d) Works of the devil Ø
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) Ø
Bondage Ø A slave to unbelief Ø
Bondage to an unwillingness to believe (deception) -- These verses go
with verses 26-29.
Jn 9,18-30
· (167k) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø Do not conform to
the world Ø The world’s unbelief
Jn 9,18-23
· (2k) Responsible to avoid offending God Ø
Get out of His way Ø Do not touch the apple of
His eye Ø do not oppose others – These verses go with verse 28.
· (199h) Denying Christ Ø
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God Ø
Rejecting Christ Ø The world rejects God Ø
Rejecting Christ to keep the world
Jn 9-22
· (18i) Sin Ø
Twisted thinking Ø God’s purpose is evil --
This verse goes with verse 24
· (150f) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Works of the
church bear witness of Jesus Ø Confessing
Jesus Ø Confessing Jesus as the son of God
Jn 9,24-34
· (7a) Responsibility Ø
Protecting the Gospel Ø Contend earnestly for
the faith
· (110c) Thy kingdom come Ø
Spirit and the word Ø Spirit speaks through us
in times of persecution
Jn 9-24
· (18f) Sin Ø
False Judgment lacks evidence Ø Accusing God
· (18i) Sin Ø
Twisted thinking Ø God’s purpose is evil --
This verse goes with verse 22
· (19m)
Sin Ø
Nature of sin Ø
Unwilling to believe Ø Spirit of unbelief -- This
verse goes with verses 28&29
· (157b) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Evidence of being
hell-bound Ø Rejecting God Ø
Rejecting Christ
· (177e) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø False doctrine Ø
Doctrine that tickles your ears
· (186b) Works of the devil Ø
The result of lawlessness Ø Blasphemy Ø
Cursing the Holy Spirit Ø Consider the work
of the Holy Spirit to be sin
Jn 9-25
· (146i) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear
witness of Himself Ø Purpose of Miracles, Signs
And Wonders Ø Proof that Jesus is the son of
God Ø That the world may be saved --
This verse goes with verses 32&33
Jn 9,26-34
· (54f) Paradox Ø
Opposites Ø Pupil instructing the teacher
· (169d) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø The world is
blind to God Ø Blinded by Satan’s thoughts Ø
Blinded by false judgments
· (198b) Denying Christ Ø
Man exercises his will against God Ø Man
withers when he is in control Ø Unteachable Ø
Too busy being a teacher to learn anything
Jn 9,26-29
· (162d) Works of the devil Ø
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) Ø
Bondage Ø A slave to unbelief Ø
Bondage to an unwillingness to believe (deception) -- These verses go
with verse 34. The Pharisees refused to believe this man was
born blind and was healed. They even took him to his parents to confirm he was
the man the townspeople claimed was born blind. The Pharisees believed God had
spoken to Moses, but said of Jesus, “We do not know where He is from.”
They held to Moses, using the Scriptures as proof that he had a place among
the patriarchs, but during Moses’ own time the Jews gave him nothing but
trouble. They rebelled against everything Moses commanded them from God, and
they wandered in the wilderness for forty years because of it. These Pharisees
who were persecuting Jesus would have acted the same, yet they gave Moses
godlike status. They were not about to accept Jesus just because He performed
thousands of miracles among the people, even raising the dead in their very
presence. They were more convinced by their traditions than they were of His
miracles that proved He was indeed their messiah. They were more convinced of
the profits they were making through their business of religion than they were
of the prophet who came to take away their sin. They rejected Christ because
he was attempting to uproot their ancient Jewish traditions and establish a
new platform upon which the nation of Israel and the whole world would seek
God. They rejected Him because He did not reflect their old ways, but wanted
to establish a new way that seemed unrelated to their heritage and their
knowledge of God.
Jn 9,26-28
· (240d) Kingdom of God Ø
Opposition toward the kingdom of God Ø
Hindering the kingdom Ø Natural disadvantage Ø
Beware when all men speak well of you Ø Natural
disadvantage to be popular
Jn 9-27
· (63j) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Sarcastic from being emotional Ø
Angry
Jn 9,28-30
· (185d) Works of the devil Ø
The origin of lawlessness Ø Mystery of
lawlessness Ø Denying Christ in spite of His
proven identity
Jn 9-28,29
· (19m)
Sin Ø
Nature of sin Ø
Unwilling to believe Ø Spirit of unbelief -- These
verses go with verse 24. The Pharisees were not good examples of how to
pursue the truth. They were utterly close-minded. You don’t automatically
label the truth as that which you believe, or that which seems most likely,
or that which is a sure thing. Rather, you pursue the truth as something
that is bigger than you, as something you cannot control, as something that
best fits the Scriptures. The Pharisees had no hope of understanding Jesus,
because their understanding the Scriptures was grossly in error, because
they were not using their religion to seek God, but to seek fame and
fortune. The truth has a spirit called the Spirit of truth, and we should be
allowing Him to guide us into the truth, not our traditions, or what we have
previously believed.
· (196i) Denying Christ Ø
Man exercises his will against God Ø
Spiritual laziness Ø Replacing God’s
standard of excellence with yours Ø Lukewarm
Christianity
· (223f) Kingdom of God Ø
The elusive kingdom of heaven Ø Miss God Ø
Missing the point Ø Miss the meaning of the
truth
Jn 9-28
· (2k) Responsible to avoid offending God Ø
Get out of His way Ø Do not touch the apple
of His eye Ø do not oppose others – This verse goes with verses
18-23
Jn 9-31
· (83a) Thy kingdom come Ø
Receiving from God through prayer Ø Prayer of
faith
· (87f) Thy kingdom come Ø
Ministry to God through obedience Ø The
obedience of prayer
· (88j) Thy kingdom come Ø
Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom Ø It
causes repentance
Jn 9,32-34
· (200i) Denying Christ Ø
Excuses for rejecting Christ Ø Using
irresponsibility as an excuse to reject God Ø
Trying to talk your way out of accountability
Jn 9-32,33
· (146i) Witness Ø
Validity of Jesus Christ Ø Jesus’ works bear
witness of Himself Ø Purpose of Miracles, Signs
And Wonders Ø Proof that Jesus is the son of
God Ø That the world may be saved --
These verses go with verse 16
Jn 9,34-38
· (86d) Thy kingdom come Ø
Belief demands a response
· (252d) Trinity Ø
You shall put no other gods before Me Ø Worship
Jesus (Because He is equal with God) Ø Worship
Jesus for what He does through the Father -- Jesus later returned to the man who was healed of
his blindness and asked him if He believed in the Son of Man, and the man said
he did, but didn’t know who had healed him. Jesus said, “You have both
seen Him and he is the one who is talking with you.” It was significant that
the man born blind could now see the Son of Man, and the man’s response was,
“Lord I believe,” and then he worshipped Jesus. It was also significant
that Jesus did not stop the man worshipping him, going back to the trinity,
that Jesus is God in human flesh. It is good to worship God, but to worship
anyone else would be worshipping an idol. Nevertheless, Jesus did not stop the
man from worshipping Him, proving that Jesus is equal with God the Father.
Jn 9-34
· (17l) Sin Ø
Unrighteous judgment Ø Discerning by the
flesh Ø Making distinctions between each
other
· (97a) Thy kingdom come Ø
Having a negative attitude about yourself Ø A
self-righteous attitude
· (162d) Works of the devil Ø
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) Ø
Bondage Ø A slave to unbelief Ø
Bondage to an unwillingness to believe (deception) -- This verse goes
with verses 17&18
· (174g) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Form of
godliness Ø Self righteousness Ø
Believing you don’t have a sinful nature -- This verse goes with
verses 39-41. The gospels speak extensively about the
Pharisees, not just as a historical fact, but as an example for those who
would take their place from generation to generation. The man began teaching
the Pharisees, and since they had an unteachable spirit, they rejected
everything he said, telling him, “You were born entirely in sin and are
you teaching us?” That was quite a statement by the Pharisees, making
themselves appear as though they had not been born entirely in sin. The
Pharisees were right in saying the man was born entirely in sin, but failed
to recognize that they too were born entirely in sin, and were living and
reveling in it. This is indeed the problem with the Pharisees – their
self-righteousness. They assumed the man was born in sin because he was
blind from birth, as though his blindness were a judgment from God. This
philosophy is taken from Hinduism, the oldest religion in the world. The
Pharisees were more influenced by their Hindu neighbors than they were by
their own messiah.
· (223a) Kingdom of God Ø
The elusive kingdom of heaven Ø Conceit Ø
Thinking you are superior to others Ø
Thinking you are inherently better than others
Jn 9,35-38
· (135k) Temple Ø
Your body is the temple of God Ø Sins of the
body Ø Abortion Ø
God loves the fetus Ø Don’t throw away
defective people -- These verses go with verses 1-3
· (156i) Witness Ø
Validity of the believer Ø Evidence of
salvation Ø Confessing Jesus is evidence of
salvation
Jn 9,39-41
· (16l) Sin Ø
Continuing in sin to avoid the light Ø
Suppressing the truth they cannot deny
· (23b) Sin Ø
Pride can blind your eyes -- The Pharisees were convinced in their own minds
what they believed was the truth and were unwilling to open their minds to
an alternate view. They rendered Jesus powerless to heal them of their
blindness, because they were unwilling to admit they were blind. We must
always be open to the possibility that we are blind to some extent, so when
the truth comes to heal us, we will be ready to receive Him. There will
always be more truth than we already know, and the truth doesn’t always
append itself to our understanding, but sometimes must amend it. We will
always need our understanding of the truth amended by God, because there
will never be a time when we know the truth like He does, until we shed our
temporal bodies and meet Him face to face in heaven. Then we will know the
truth as He does, but until them, we must remain open to change, but make
sure it is God who wants to change us and not someone else. This takes
discernment, but Jesus promised in the next chapter that we will know His
voice.
· (32d) Gift of God Ø
God is our Father Ø The grace of God’s
healing power
· (40m) Judgment Ø
God is glorified Ø God defends His truth
through judgment
· (57c) Paradox Ø
Opposites Ø Vision impairs sight, but the
blind can see
· (62n) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø Righteous deception Ø
Jesus deceives the world
· (64l) Paradox Ø
Anomalies Ø God helps Satan Ø
Jesus blinds the world
· (94g) Thy kingdom come Ø
God’s perspective Ø His perspective on the
sovereignty of God
· (118g) Thy kingdom come Ø
Seeing through the eyes of your spirit Ø
Blind receive their sight
· (163d) Works of the devil Ø
Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) Ø
Bondage Ø Being slaves of men Ø
Bondage makes you a victim of God’s judgment
· (164h) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø The world is at
enmity with God Ø The world does not know God
· (169c) Works of the devil Ø
Manifestations of the devil Ø The world is
blind to God Ø Blinded by Satan’s thoughts Ø
Blinded by a false sense of sight -- The Pharisees invited Jesus to criticize them when they
asked Him if they were blind. Had they admitted they were blind
to the truth, it would have been the beginning point of their ability to
see, but since they refused to admit they were blind, Jesus could not heal
them. The Pharisees thought they could already see the truth, but all they
could see was their own point of view, which was skewed from standing in the
wrong spot on the map. It is much easier to
read a road map than a topographical map, because you have the roads
themselves to help you define your place on the map, but in the wilderness,
it is hard to get your bearings even with a map, because all you have are hills, valleys and streams to determine your
place on the map, and they all
look the same. That’s why, when you’re in the woods, you have to always
be mindful of your position or you will get lost. At some point the
Pharisees started walking on a long journey in the wilderness, bringing with
them their map, which for them was the Old Testament Bible, believing they
knew their position, having received their bearings from their parents.
However, they too were lost, and so were their grandparents and so on
throughout history. The Pharisees believed they had their bearings, but
Jesus disagreed. On a secular level the Pharisees possibly knew their place better
than anyone, having status with the people and money from their business of
religion, but on a spiritual level, being teachers of the law, they were
more lost than anyone. They had the living map standing in front of them and
they still couldn’t decipher their true point on the map.
· (174g) Works of the devil Ø
The religion of witchcraft Ø Form of
godliness Ø Self righteousness Ø
Believing you don’t have a sinful nature -- These verses go with
verse 16
· (199k) Denying Christ Ø
Man chooses his own destiny apart from God Ø
Rejecting Christ Ø Unwilling to receive
Christ Ø Ignoring Christ
· (203a) Denying Christ Ø
Running from God Ø Wicked men cannot approach
the throne of God Ø God chases them away from
His presence
· (221e) Kingdom of God Ø
The elusive kingdom of heaven Ø Kingdom
hidden behind the veil from the world Ø God
hides from the mind of man Ø He hides the
truth from man’s understanding
Jn 9-39
· (40a) Judgment Ø
Jesus is the judge Ø Jesus judges the world’s
unbelief
· (59e) Paradox Ø
Two implied meanings Ø Jesus confounds the
religious leaders / Jesus heals their blindness
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