The Parable of The Blind Man ( Jesus Exposes The Folly of Religion)
The disciple John writes in his gospel how there were many signs performed by Jesus that were a miracle and a wonder to his disciples, but not to the religious leaders.
John 20:30, And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book: 31, but these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that in believing, ye may have life in His name.
The Greek number for sign is number 4592 in the Greek dictionary and means; to indicate a miracle, sign, token, or wonder. In chapter nine of John’s gospel we see Jesus performing one of these signs.
John 9:1, 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 manifested 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 light of the world.”
The Jewish religion is the most accurate religion as far as man is concerned, using the writings of the Old Testament and trying his best to please God, but yet they leave the Light and Life, Jesus Christ, out of their teachings.
John 8:12, Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, ” I Am the light of the world; he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
This Sign Was Performed on The Jews Sabbath Day
This sign, that John gives of Jesus healing a blind man physically on the Jews Sabbath Day, proves that religion and men trying to keep the law, and the worshiping of God, their own way, will not profit anyone. The Lord Jesus, as the Light and Life of the world, could impart sight to him in the way of light, in restoring his sight, and Life, John 10:10. This sign was done on the Sabbath day to expose the vanity of religion. Listen to what was said by those who witnessed this miracle.
John 10:10, And many of them said, “He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear him?” Others said, “these are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of a blind man?”
The Sheepfold
To understand this parable of the blind man, we need to consider how God uses His sheepfold.
John 10:1, “Verily, verily I say unto you, he that entered not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. Verse16, and other sheep I have that are not of this fold, them also I must bring and they hear My voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd.”
The people who were given the law at Mount Sinai were God’s church in the wilderness, Acts 7:38. At Mount Sinai, the people didn’t want God to lead them or speak to them, Exodus 20:19, so He was forced to give them the law. The writings in the Book of Isaiah, 65:10 and the book of Ezekiel 34:14, tell us of God’s fold as well. Although God’s people were scattered they were still His people and fold.
The Law As Our Protector
What was the purpose in giving them the law? Did God expect them to keep it? No, that was not His purpose. Galatians 3:23-26 reveals God’s purpose in giving the law.
Galatians 3:23, But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should after be revealed. 24, Wherefore, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.25, but after that faith has come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
In other words, we were like sheep in a fold. No matter what denomination we were in, believed in God, trying to keep the law with our own strength, we are in a fold and many different folds. The Greek word “kept” means confined and the words “shut up” is a special Greek term meaning to be kept in custody or under special care in a ward.
The fold is used temporarily by God to keep and protect the sheep until the pasture is ready. This illustrates that Christ is our pasture, as our food, the permanent place for the Lord’s children to stay. But before Christ came, God had prepared the law as the sheepfold to keep and confine His chosen people temporarily.
The Anointing Of The Clay And The Spittle
Romans 5:12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.
Scripture tells us that we are all sinners and we all lost our sight. Until Christ removes the scales from our eyes as He did the apostle Paul, we will remain spiritually blind, Acts 9:18. Our blindness is due to our sinful nature. In chapter nine, the man was born physically blind and he was spiritually blind also. Christ healed both types of blindness. First by a miracle which upset the religious leaders by healing his physical blindness. Then, after Christ asked him if he believed in the son of God, the healed man said he did, he was then healed of his spiritual blindness. We were all born spiritually blind. We all live in darkness, as in the night, because Christ, as our light, is the true light, John 9:5. We are like blind men walking, that is, until Christ intervenes in our life as He did with the blind man and the Apostle Paul.
John 9:5, “As long as I Am in the world, I Am the light of the world.” 6, When He had thus spoken, He spat on the ground, and made a clay of the spittle, and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.
Blindness comes from the shortage of light of life. Spittle here means something that proceeds out of the mouth such as His words which are mingled with the clay. All men are made of the dust of the ground which is formed into clay. When the spittle and the clay are applied to our eyes and as we continually wash the clay off, we allow His light and life to enter within us. The more we wash away the clay, the more we wash away our old man, Ephesians 4:22, by letting in more light. This is the same principle of the meaning of baptism. The only difference is that baptism is outside of us and the taking of the Lord’s words as we wash away our blindness and nature occurs within us.
Religion And Christ As Light And Life Don’t Mix
In the reading of chapters nine and ten of the gospel of John, the regilious leaders were upset of the healing of the blind man.
John 9:26, Then said them to him again, “what did He do to thee?” 27, and he answered them, ” I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? Will ye also be His disciples?” 28, then they reviled him, and said, “thou art His disciple; but we are Moses disciples. 29, for we know that God spoke unto Moses: as far as this fellow, we know not from whence He is.”
As was stated before, Judaism, as a religion, is a fold. They are kept in bondage to the law of Moses because of the lack of faith. This is the same lack of faith that the nation of Israel had at the time of the Exodus.
Hebrews 4:2, “For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.”
The blind man believed Jesus. When Jesus told him to wash in the pool of Siloam, the blind man obeyed. The religious leaders didn’t understand what had happened so the only choice they had was to get rid of him.
John 9:35, They answered and said unto him, “thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us?” And they cast him out. 35, Jesus had heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said unto him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” 38, And he said, “Lord I believe.” And he worshiped Him.
Jesus at first healed the blind man of his physical blindness. This is what the religious leaders couldn’t understand. Why would Jesus heal a person who was a sinner? In John 9:4, Jesus said that He must do the work of Him that sent Him. This is Jesus work today of all men being healed by taking within themselves His life by believing. Because of the man’s obedience and believing, Christ as the light and life would heal his spiritual blindness also.
When ever someone is drawn out of a sheepfold, or congregation, the remaining ones want nothing to do with him. In their eyes, those in the sheepfold are trying to keep the law, and say that they are doers of the law and are the righteous ones. They refer to the one taken out of the sheepfold as a sinner. They don’t realize that men are not able to fulfil the law. Only Christ is able to fulfil the law, Matthew 5:17. If men could fulfil the law, why would we need Jesus Christ?They have more faith in the law than they do of Jesus, who gave the law.
The law is in folds where there is no true shepherd and only a limited amount of pasture.
John 10:30, to him the porter (a watcher- a gate warden) opened;and the sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4, And when He hath putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.
Some people, who believe Jesus crucified, but at the same time think that they, through their own efforts, need to keep the law. They are kept in the sheepfold until they have the faith to come out by His calling. In the sheepfold, they believe in the law and are protected by the law and are not as yet under grace. They do not have the faith as yet to believe, as the blind man, that Jesus is the son of God and our true Shepherd. We see a picture of this in the Book of the Exodus. The Egyptians were damaged under God’s judgment while the Israelites were feasting in a house on a lamb. Israel was protected and deserving of God’s grace because of feasting on a lamb, a type of Christ. Jesus takes us out from under the law and places us under grace. He is the Door of the fold and He is also the pasture. Now, those who have faith in Christ, are able to go from the fold to the pasture at will. Those, held in the sheepfold are not allowed to go in and out.
John 10:9, I Am the Door; by Me, if anyone enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.