NLT Study Bible - Gospel of John - Flipbook - Page 28
John 9:9
1789
8:54
John 16:14; 17:5
8:55
John 7:28-29; 15:10
8:56
Gen 18:18; 22:17-18
Matt 13:17
Heb 11:13
8:58
Exod 3:14
Isa 43:10, 13
John 1:1; 8:24, 28
9:2
Exod 20:5
Ezek 18:20
Luke 13:2
John 9:34
9:3
John 11:4
9:4
John 5:17; 11:9; 12:35
9:5
Isa 49:6
John 1:4-5, 9; 8:12;
12:46
9:6
Mark 8:23
9:7
2 Kgs 5:10
Isa 35:5
9:8
Acts 3:10
and so did the prophets. Who do you think
you are?”
54Jesus answered, “If I want glor y for my
self, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who
will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’ 55but
you don’t even know him. I know him. If I
said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as
you! But I do know him and obey him. 56Your
father Abraham rejoiced as he looked for
ward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”
57The people said, “You aren’t even fift y
years old. How can you say you have seen
Abraham?”
58Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth,
before Abraham was even born, I A M!” 59At
that point they picked up stones to throw at
him. But Jesus was hidden from them and
left the Temple.
2“Rabbi,”
his disciples asked him, “why was
this man born blind? Was it because of his
own sins or his parents’ sins?”
3“It was not because of his sins or his par
ents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened
so the power of God could be seen in him.
4We must quickly carr y out the tasks as
signed us by the one who sent us. The night
is coming, and then no one can work. 5But
while I am here in the world, I am the light
of the world.”
6Then he spit on the ground, made mud
with the saliva, and spread the mud over the
blind man’s eyes. 7He told him, “Go wash
yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam
means “sent”). So the man went and washed
and came back seeing!
8His neighbors and others who knew
him as a blind beggar asked each other,
Jesus Brings Light to the Blind
“Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a 9Some said he was, and others said, “No, he
man who had been blind from birth. just looks like him!”
9
Disciples of Jesus (9:1-41)
John 8:31-32; 12:2526; 13:35; 18:36
Matt 5:11; 9:9-10;
10:16-22; 13:52;
16:24-28; 24:9;
27:57-58
Mark 15:40-41
Luke 14:26-33
Acts 9:2
Rom 15:5
1 Cor 3:4-11
Eph 1:1
In the first half of John’s Gospel, he introduces a variety of people who model true discipleship (see 1:19-51; 4:1-42; 9:1-41). Taken together, John provides a profile of the mature
follower, or “disciple,” of Christ.
What is this profile of a disciple? (1) Disciples know who Jesus is. In each story, titles for
Jesus identify him correctly (see, e.g., 1:25, 34, 36, 38, 41; 4:19, 25, 31; 9:2, 17, 22). (2) Disciples believe in Jesus. They see Jesus’ mighty works, listen to his profound words, and believe
(see 1:50; 4:39-41; 9:35-38; see also 20:8, 25-31). (3) Jesus’ disciples understand that they must
follow him if their discipleship is to be successful (1:37-43; 8:12; 10:4-5, 27; 12:26; 21:19-22).
Following implies genuine devotion, leaving what we have to embrace the journey with Jesus.
8:53 Who do you think you are? This
question was antagonistic and aggressive. However, if Jesus is immortal,
ruling over life and death, then he is
greater than Abraham, the prophets, or
any of the greatest people in Israel’s
history (8:58).
8:54 You say, ‘He is our God’: Some
manuscripts read You say he is your God.
8:56 Like his opponents, Jesus appealed
to Abraham. Rabbis taught that God
had given Abraham prophetic insight,
teaching him about the coming age of
the Messiah.
8:57 How can you say you have seen
Abraham? (Some manuscripts read How
can you say Abraham has seen you?):
The Jewish leaders misunderstood
Jesus: He was talking about his divine
pre-existence, not his physical age.
8:58 before Abraham was even born, I
AM! (Or before Abraham was even born,
I have always been alive; Greek reads
before Abraham was, I am.) Jesus’ life
spans the past from before creation (1:12) and sweeps beyond the present into
eternity. I AM: This title is reminiscent
of God’s name given on Mount Sinai
(Exod 3:14; cp. John 4:26; Isa 43:11-13;
48:12).
8:59 Jesus’ audience finally understood
his claim to divinity (8:58), and they
were furious. They believed they had
heard blasphemy and picked up stones
to throw at him, which was the proper
legal response (Lev 24:16). Jesus was
hidden from them because God had
appointed a different time for his death
(see note on 12:23; see also 7:30, 44;
Luke 4:29-30).
9:1-41 At the Festival of Shelters
(chs 7–8), Jesus claimed to be the light
of the world (8:12). Now John tells
about Jesus giving light, both physically
and spiritually, to a blind man who
lived in darkness (see 9:5). The story
ends with a splendid reversal of roles:
The blind man who was assumed to be
in spiritual darkness could see God’s
light, whereas the Pharisees, who could
see physically and were thought to be
enlightened, were shown to be spiritually blind.
9:2 The disciples assumed that
someone’s sin—the man’s or his parents’—had caused him to be born blind.
Jesus corrected this common belief (9:3).
9:4 We must quickly carry out the tasks
assigned us by the one who sent us:
Other manuscripts read I must quickly
carry out the tasks assigned me by the
one who sent me; still others read We
must quickly carry out the tasks assigned
us by the one who sent me.
9:5 I am the light of the world: See
note on 8:12.
9:6 During the NT era, saliva was used
for medical purposes (see Mark 7:32-35;
8:22-25).
9:7 Siloam, a pool at the south end of
the city of Jerusalem, was the source of
water for the ceremonies at the Festival
of Shelters. Siloam means “sent”: This
phrase contained a double meaning:
Jesus, who has been sent by God (4:34;
5:23, 37; 7:28; 8:26; 12:44; 14:24), told
the blind man to wash in the pool
called “sent.”
