NLT Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition - Flipbook - Page 43
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8:50
John 5:41
8:51
John 5:24; 11:25-26
8:53
John 4:12
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
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J ohn
9
me. 50And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the
true judge. 51I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”
52The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and
the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’ 53Are
you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you
think you are?”
54Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, 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 forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”
57The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen
Abraham?*”
58Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I Am!*” 59At
that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and
left the Temple.
Jesus Heals the Man Who Was Born Blind (148)
As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. 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 parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened
so the power of God could be seen in him. 4We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned
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, “Isn’t
this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just
looks like him!”
But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!”
10They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?”
11He told them, “The man they call J
esus made mud and spread it over my eyes and
9
8:54 Some manuscripts read You say he is your God.
8:57 Some manuscripts read How can you say Abraham
has seen you?
8:58 Or before Abraham was even born, I have always been alive; Greek reads before Abraham
was, I am. See Exod 3:14. 9:4 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.
8:51 When Jesus says that those who obey won’t die, he is talking
about spiritual death, not physical death. Even physical death, however,
will eventually be overcome. Those who follow Jesus will be raised to
live eternally with him.
8:56 God told Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation, that through
him all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:1-7; 15:1-21). Abraham had
been able to see this through the eyes of faith. Jesus, a descendant of
Abraham, blessed all people through his death, resurrection, and offer
of salvation.
8:58 This is one of the most powerful statements uttered by Jesus.
When he said that he existed before Abraham was born, he was undeniably proclaiming his divinity. Not only did Jesus say that he existed
before Abraham, but he also applied God’s holy name to himself (“I Am”;
Exodus 3:14). This claim demands a response. It cannot be ignored. The
Jewish leaders tried to stone Jesus for blasphemy because he claimed
equality with God. But Jesus is God. How have you responded to Jesus?
8:59 In accordance with the law given in Leviticus 24:16, the religious
leaders were ready to stone Jesus for claiming to be God. They well
understood what Jesus was claiming, and because they didn’t believe
he was God, they charged him with blasphemy. It is ironic that they
were really the blasphemers, cursing and attacking the very God they
claimed to serve!
9:1-41 In John 9, we see four different reactions to Jesus. The
neighbors revealed surprise and skepticism; the Pharisees showed
disbelief and prejudice; the parents believed but kept quiet for fear
of excommunication; and the healed man showed consistent, growing faith. These responses are not unlike the responses of people who
encounter Jesus today. Only the blind man responded to Jesus with
an open, confident faith.
9:2-3 A common belief in Jewish culture was that calamity or suffering
was the result of some great sin. But Jesus used this man’s suffering to
teach about faith and to glorify God. We live in a fallen world where
good behavior is not always rewarded and bad behavior is not always
punished. Therefore, innocent people sometimes suffer. If God took
suffering away whenever we asked, we would follow him for comfort
and convenience, not out of love and devotion. Regardless of the reasons
for our suffering, Jesus has the power to help us deal with it. When you
suffer from a disease, tragedy, or disability, try not to ask, Why did this
happen to me? or What did I do wrong? Instead, ask God to give you
strength for the trial and a clearer perspective on what is happening.
9:6 When Jesus spit on the ground and made mud in order to repair the
man’s eyes, he was working with original materials. Genesis 2:7 states
that God formed Adam’s body from the dust of the ground. Jesus was
demonstrating a creator’s awareness of the materials he had first used
to shape the human body.
9:7 The pool of Siloam was built by Hezekiah. His workers had constructed an underground tunnel from a spring outside the city walls
to carry water into the city. Thus, the people could always get water
without fear of being attacked. This was especially important during
times of siege (see 2 Kings 20:20; 2 Chronicles 32:30).
