BIBLE STUDY LESSON 03

SERIES S --- THE SON OF YHVH

BORN BLIND

THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

From John 9

[Teacher, why is that man blind?] the disciples asked Yeshua as they passed a man who had been born that way. [Is it because of his sin or his parents’ sin?] [He is blind so that YHVH’s power can be shown,] Yeshua responded, [not because he or his parents have sinned. Each person must do YHVH’s work while the opportunity is there, for the time comes when he cannot do it; just as people must work while there is light, for the coming of darkness ends their work. As long as I remain in the world, I am the Light of the World.] Then Yeshua spat on the ground and made mud with it, placed the mud on the man’s eyes and told him, [Go, wash your eyes in the Pool of Siloam.] The word {Siloam} meant {Sent.} Before long, the man returned, but now he could see! [Is this the beggar?] his friends and neighbours asked. [Yes,] said some. [No,] said others. [It just looks like him.] [But it is!] said the man himself. [How then do you now see?] they asked him. [The man Named Yeshua made some clay, put it on my eyes, and told me to wash in the Pool of Siloam. I did, and now I can see,] he told them. [Where is this, Yeshua?] they asked. [I do not know,] the man answered. The people brought the man to the Pharisees, who began to question him closely, for Yeshua had healed him on the Shabbat day. [He put clay on my eyes, and when I washed, I could see,] the man told them. [This Yeshua is a Shabbat breaker,] the Pharisees complained to the man. [He can’t be from YHVH, so how does a sinful man do such things?] With that, the Pharisees became divided in their opinions. [What do you think of this man?] the Pharisees asked the one who had been blind. [He is a prophet,] the man replied. Then the Pharisees began to question that this man had been blind, so they called his parents to them and found that he certainly had been blind from birth. [Is this your son?] they asked. [If he was born blind, how is it that he can now see?] [This is our son, and he was born blind,] they answered. [But we do not know how he sees, or who opened his eyes. He is of age, why don’t you ask him, for he can speak for himself.] The parents were afraid, for the leaders had given orders that anyone who claimed that Yeshua was the Moshiach should be put out of the synagogue. So that was the reason why they told the leaders to ask their son, for he was of age. The Pharisees again called before them the man who had been blind. [This Yeshua is a sinner!] they argued. [Say that YHVH healed you.] [I don’t know if Yeshua is a sinner or not,] the man replied. [But I do know that while I was once blind, I now see.] [But how did He do it?] they asked. [I have already told you, but you wouldn’t listen,] the man answered. [Why should I repeat it? Do you want to become His disciples?] [You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples,] they snapped back at the man. [YHVH spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this Man came from.] [That’s amazing,] said the man. [Here is a Man Who opened my blind eyes, but you do not know where He came from. YHVH will listen to those who please Him, but He won’t listen to sinners. Who else since the beginning of time has given sight to someone born blind? Yeshua certainly could not do such a miracle unless YHVH was with Him.] [How dare you teach us!] the Pharisees shouted. [You are just an ordinary man born in sin.] Then they forced him out of their presence. When Yeshua heard that, He found the man. [Do you believe in the Son of Man, the Moshiach?] He asked. [Who is He?] the man asked. [I want to believe.] [You are looking at Him and talking with Him,] Yeshua said to the man. [Adonai, I believe,] said the man. Then he worshiped Yeshua. [I came into the world to help the blind see,] Yeshua said. [But I also came to show how those who think they see clearly are often blind.] Some Pharisees heard what Yeshua had said and asked Him, [Are You suggesting that we are blind?] [Not exactly, for if you were truly blind, your actions would not be sinful,] Yeshua replied. [But since you claim to see clearly what you are doing, your actions are sinful.]

COMMENTARY

JERUSALEM’S WATER SYSTEM -- HEZEKIAH’S TUNNEL

Hezekiah’s tunnel was built to meet the emergency need for water during the Assyrian siege of Jerusalem. Seven hundred years later, during the time of Yeshua, the tunnel still made up an important part of Jerusalem’s water supply. Sennacherib, the Assyrian king, had captured every city that lay in his path as he marched toward the capital of Judah. Hezekiah gave orders to prepare Jerusalem for a long battle. Storerooms were filled with food, men and weapons made ready for war, and the digging of the tunnel began. Jerusalem’s main water supply, the Gihon Spring, lay outside the city walls. A way had to be found to bring the water inside the safety of those walls. Hezekiah ordered two groups of men to begin digging at the same time -- one group at the spring, the other inside the city. Digging away at the hard rock of Mount Zion above them, they laboured until they met in the middle. When the last barrier of rock was removed, the water was free to flow through the tunnel into the city, safe from the invading Assyrian troops.