John 9 Background Information with Maps and Images (Picture Study Bible - John) Free Bible Online

John 9

1 - As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.

2 - His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

3 - Jesus answered,"Neither did this man sin, nor his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.

4 - I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.

5 - While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

6 - When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man's eyes with the mud,

7 - and said to him,"Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.

and said to him,"Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.

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8 - The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, "Isn't this he who sat and begged?"

9 - Others were saying, "It is he." Still others were saying, "He looks like him."He said, "I am he."

10 - They therefore were asking him, "How were your eyes opened?"

11 - He answered, "A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me,'Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.' So I went away and washed, and I received sight."

12 - Then they asked him, "Where is he?"He said, "I don't know."

13 - They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees.

14 - It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.

15 - Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see."

16 - Some therefore of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he doesn't keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was division among them.

17 - Therefore they asked the blind man again, "What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?"He said, "He is a prophet."

18 - The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight,

19 - and asked them, "Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"

20 - His parents answered them, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

21 - but how he now sees, we don't know; or who opened his eyes, we don't know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself."

22 - His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.

23 - Therefore his parents said, "He is of age. Ask him."

24 - So they called the man who was blind a second time, and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."

25 - He therefore answered, "I don't know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see."

26 - They said to him again, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

27 - He answered them, "I told you already, and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don't also want to become his disciples, do you?"

28 - They insulted him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.

29 - We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don't know where he comes from."

30 - The man answered them, "How amazing! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.

31 - We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God, and does his will, he listens to him.Psalm 66:18, Proverbs 15:29; 28:9

32 - Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind.

33 - If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

34 - They answered him, "You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?" They threw him out.

35 - Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said,"Do you believe in the Son of God?"

36 - He answered, "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?"

37 - Jesus said to him,"You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you."

38 - He said, "Lord, I believe!" and he worshiped him.

39 - Jesus said,"I came into this world for judgment, that those who don't see may see; and that those who see may become blind."

40 - Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said to him, "Are we also blind?"

41 - Jesus said to them,"If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.

The Book of John

John 1:14 - And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John 20:31 - But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

John in The New Testament - A Brief Overview

Painting of St. John the Evangelist by Reni - 1620

Introduction to The Gospel of John

The Word Gospel. The fourth book of the New Testament is the Gospel of John. John is the fourth of the four gospel writings, yet there is only one gospel about Jesus Christ and there are four different writers: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The word "Gospel" means "good news", and the good news is about Jesus Christ dying on the cross and then 3 days later conquering death and rising from the dead, offering salvation to all mankind, this is the Gospel.

Summary of The Book of John

Brief Summary. Jesus was Jehovah God, the eternal Word made flesh. He came to His home, Israel, and He was rejected. He came to this world, and the world rejected Him, but anyone who  would believe and receive Him would have life through His name, and be given authority to call themselves a "son of god."

Purpose. John makes one thing clear in John 20:30, 31 - "these ( things) are written that ye may believe that Jesus is the Christ; and that believing ye may have life in his name." John sought to lead men to eternal life by first convincing them of His deity, the miracles were actually recorded as "signs" to confirm His deity, that He was Jehovah God, the incarnate Word made flesh. John called Jesus the bread of life, the light of the world, the good shepherd, the way the truth and the life, the true vine, all clearly pointing to the deity of Jesus. In fact John points to everything in His life and teachings as a sign that Jesus of Nazareth was truly the Eternal Word of God who "became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1: 14).

John Compared to the Other Gospel Accounts. The "Synoptic Gospels" - Matthew, Mark and Luke all have their unique perspective of the life of Jesus Christ, as well as John's approach. John is always emphasizing the deity of Jesus as well as His divine miracles. John also gives us a bit more information about Jesus' ministry in Jerusalem, where Matthew, Mark and Luke focus more on His Galilean ministry. There is also a difference regarding the chronology of the last week (Passion Week) of Christ's life. It is important to note that the Gospel accounts do not necessarily place their focus on chronology and orderly biography of the ministry of Jesus with names, places, and dates, but rather a full perspective of their unique portrayal of Jesus Christ.

Authorship. The author of the Gospel of John is identified in John 21:20 as "The disciple whom Jesus loved" who leaned on Jesus' breast. It is clear that John was that disciple and he did not wish to use his own name directly as the author, possibly for reasons of humility. Early church historical writings from early second century AD recognize the Gospel of John as a sacred book. Theophilus of Antioch (170 AD) was the first to write the name John as the author. Shortly after this Irenaeus identified John as the disciple who had leaned on Jesus' breast. This is especially important because Irenaeus was a disciple of Polycarp, who had known the man John personally. Clement of Alexandria mentions John as having composed a "spiritual gospel."

Critics of John as the Author. There is a statement that was made by Papias that there were actually two men named John in Ephesus at the same time, and John the Apostle was referred to as "John the Elder". Many opponents of the apostle John's authorship give credit to the other John as the writer of the fourth Gospel. Although the answer cannot be positively determined by history, tradition and internal evidence definitely point to John the apostle as the author.

Date. It is worthy to consider the words of the most famous archaeologist of all time that according to archaeological evidence there is "no longer any solid basis for dating any book of the New Testament after about A.D. 80." Most scholars conclude that the book of John was written around 85 or 90 AD probably before the exile to Patmos. It is also important to consider John 5:2 when it mentions "Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep [market] a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches." This verse would indicate that this existed at the current time that the Gospel of John was written. This would place the written work before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. There is also no evidence as to whether John wrote the Gospel before or after his return to Ephesus from the Island of Patmos.

The Man John. John's book attributes the work to "the disciple whom Jesus loved." This say a lot about the man John, and the fact that Jesus left his mother Mary in John's care, having spoken the words from the cross, is very significant. Another indicator of John's character is found in the book of 1 John, he continually talks about love, loving one another, and that God is love, etc. It is also safe to say that John was a Jew, this can be clearly seen by his accuracy about Jewish customs, Jewish way of thinking, and by his quotations from the Hebrew Old Testament. He knew the topography of the land of Israel from a Jewish perspective quite well. It is easy to see in his writings that he was a close disciple of Jesus, an eyewitness of the events surrounding Jesus' ministry. One can determine by process of elimination, that the author is not just any John but John the apostle, the son of Zebedee, who is prominently mentioned in the Gospel accounts.

John and Church History.  Church tradition records that John came to Ephesus after Paul's work was finished there. Later, during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, he was banished to the Island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. Shortly thereafter he was released and returned to the city of Ephesus.

Archaeology. The Rylands Papyrus Fragment was discovered in 1920 in Egypt containing a few verses from John 18 dating back to about 120-135 AD.

Outline of the Book of John

The Word of God - Chapter 1:1-51
His Public Ministry - Chapters 2:1-12:50
His Private Ministry - Chapters 13:1-17:26
His Death and Resurrection - Chapters 18:1-20:31
John's Conclusion - Chapter 21:1-25

The Name Jesus In Ancient Hebrew Text
"Yeshua" in First Century Hebrew Text. This is how the name "Jesus" would have been written in ancient Hebrew documents. The four letters or consonants from right to left are Yod, Shin, Vav, Ayin (Y, SH, OO, A). Jesus is the Greek name for the Hebrew name Joshua or Y'shua which means "The LORD or Yahweh is Salvation".

John Resources

Outline of the Life of Jesus in Harmony
Simple Map of First Century Israel
Topographical Map of First Century Israel
Map of the Ministry of Jesus
Map of the Roads in Ancient Israel
Map of the Roman Empire