John 9:1-41 (NRSV)

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

¹As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ³Jesus answered, ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him. ⁴We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.’ ⁶When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes,⁷saying to him, ‘Go, wash in the pool of Siloam’ (which means ‘Sent’). Then he went and washed and came back able to see. ⁸The neighbours and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, ‘Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?’ ⁹Some were saying, ‘It is he.’ Others were saying, ‘No, but it is someone like him.’ He kept saying, ‘I am the man.’ ¹⁰But they kept asking him, ‘Then how were your eyes opened?’ ¹¹He answered, ‘The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and said to me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” Then I went and washed and received my sight.’ ¹²They said to him, ‘Where is he?’ He said, ‘I do not know.’

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.¹⁴Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. ¹⁵Then the Pharisees also began to ask him how he had received his sight. He said to them, ‘He put mud on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I see.’ ¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath.’ But others said, ‘How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?’ And they were divided. ¹⁷So they said again to the blind man, ‘What do you say about him? It was your eyes he opened.’ He said, ‘He is a prophet.’

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹and asked them, ‘Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?’ ²⁰His parents answered, ‘We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹but we do not know how it is that now he sees, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself.’ ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue. ²³Therefore his parents said, ‘He is of age; ask him.’

²⁴ So for the second time they called the man who had been blind, and they said to him, ‘Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.’ ²⁵He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ ²⁶They said to him, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?’ ²⁷He answered them, ‘I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?’ ²⁸Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’ ³⁰The man answered, ‘Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will. ³²Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.’ ³⁴They answered him, ‘You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?’ And they drove him out.

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’ ³⁶He answered, ‘And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.’ ³⁷Jesus said to him, ‘You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.’ ³⁸He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him. ³⁹Jesus said, ‘I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.’ ⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, ‘Surely we are not blind, are we?’ ⁴¹Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.

I will be using John Marsh’s commentary from the Pelican Series to help me think through this lovely (but long) passage

At the time of this event, people explained tragedies, like a person being born blind, as being the result of either the person themselves having committed some pre-natal sin or his parents having sinned in some way; and the child was made to face the consequences of their sin – echoing the passage in Exodus where one reads of the consequences of sins being borne by following generations. Jesus explained that none of these explanations would do; and what made this suffering tolerable was when God acted to make it so ‘... what God makes of it when He works on it ...’ This is a difficult issue as still today there is so much innocent suffering. No explanation of past events will do; it is only when God has done his work, then some purpose might be discernible in it.

There is a sense that we suffer because of the sins of others. Indeed drinking mothers often make their children suffer if they consume alcohol during pregnancy and their child is born underweight or underdeveloped – as an example of the sins of a parent. Reckless drivers can cause innocent people to suffer through unnecessary accidents. Selfish first world residents insisting on producing excess carbon emissions into the atmosphere can make innocents suffer through increased natural disasters – tragedies that we seem to be experiencing more and more. These are but a few (probably not even the best) examples. I think Jesus is saying here that the origins are in a sense academic; the fact of the matter is that the suffering is there; it is real and unmistakeable – but God can do something to bring blessing and fulfilment even in the midst of the suffering – echoing the worlds of Paul in Romans 8 – where he writes that ‘... in all things God works for the good of those who love him.’

I offer caution here: when a person is in the midst of a serious trial it is of little use to quote this passage from Romans (as many good-meaning folk were wont to do when I was so ill 13 years ago) as people often need help with the present affliction rather than some pious platitude; but it does not alter the fact that it is true! And we will see in this passage how God does in fact bring the richest blessing to the man born blind.

The coming of the night (in verse 4) is probably a reference to the death Jesus was to face; but the joy of our faith is that the darkness is always overcome with the light  - for Jesus is “... the light of the world ...” We know he is and that he is filled with love, for if he were not the saviour of the world, this statement would be outrageously arrogant! (and to some in his day this is how it must have come across to them).

Don’t you love the detail John gives us of what Jesus did then ... he spat on the ground, made mud and smeared it on the eyes of the blind man. Marsh makes the connection with Genesis 2 and suggests that Jesus is here re-creating the whole person - not just restoring his sight. God had made Adam from the dust of the earth, when it had been softened and moistened by rain and mist (Genesis 21:5-7). St Paul makes the important statement that when we are in Christ – we become a ‘... new creation ...’ (2 Corinthians 5:17) Jesus is the living water – but sometimes man has to do something – and in this case it is to wash in the pool of Siloam. March continues to suggests that this is a reference to the washing of baptism. The word siloam means sent. Jesus was sent – so it was natural that those who became his followers would also be sent to be baptised and through this baptism to a new identification with Jesus. The man went and washed and came back seeing, not just physically, but also into the world of Jesus.

By God’s grace we have been enabled to see into the world of Jesus. My problem is that too often I stop looking and become blinded by the vision of the world. I am reminded to look again and again into the world of our Lord.

The authorities saw the need to seek confirmation from the healed man’s parents: Had he in fact been blind since birth?

They doubted that Jesus was an agent of God because he had healed on the Sabbath – and this was clearly a contravention of their sacred Law. So, there must be some error in the reports. But all the interview with the parents did was confirm the facts of the case as it had been reported to them. The parents also refused to accept any responsibility stating: “He is of age; ask him.” They were behaving out of fear, because they knew that the authorities had decreed that anyone who confessed the Lordship of Jesus, would be put out of the synagogue.

So often we think we know clearly what is right. It makes one wonder: If Jesus were to return today and make statements that are contrary to what seems clear cut to us, would we recognise him?

The religious authorities established that Jesus was a sinner because the Sabbath had been broken – the latter been just plain fact. But the other plain fact was that the blind man from birth could also now see – he had been healed – so to him Jesus remained a prophet or man of God. Don’t you just love the clarity of his response in verse 25:

^“25He answered, ‘I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.’ “

This for me is the greatest of all evidence – our experience. It was the source of truth when Peter went to the house of Cornelius thinking it impossible for Gentiles to be saved – and they so obviously had the Holy Spirit that all doubt was removed. What made me change my theological position was the holiness of peoples’ lives – those with whom I thought I disagreed were much holier than I was, and those who agreed with me at the time.

The authorities get the man to repeat his whole experience again and he gets impatient asking them “... do you want to become his disciples?” The authorities are indignant and in turn accuse the man of being a disciples of Jesus:

²⁸Then they reviled him, saying, ‘You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from.’

The choice: either the old Moses through whom came the Law, or the new Moses through whom we have grace and truth. The religious authorities were like we can so often be – too nervous to move forward because it is into the unknown, and so retreat into what is known and comfortable, sadly even if it is wrong!

But the healed man’s experience is too compelling for him to be able to respond in any other way. If someone could give sight to one born blind, there can only be one explanation – the healer was from God.  The authorities saw this as an inexcusable effrontery – so they excommunicated him. Marsh continues: “What the parents had feared, the son endured.” But in being expelled, he received more, much more; unity with Christ which is better by far.

This begs a question - for me at least: Do we stick so fast to what we know, that we sometimes deny ourselves real and meaningful union with Christ as he offers to take us closer into His presence?

On hearing of the excommunication, Jesus found the man and questioned him: “Do you believe in the son of Son of Man?” and so, in the process, reveals himself to the man. The healed man responds as explained in verse 38: ³⁸He said, ‘Lord, I believe.’ And he worshipped him.

Excommunication was the severest punishment – just short of capital punishment at the time because it meant being ostracised by respectable society. But Jesus, the most respectable of any person ever – seeks him out.

The healed man has been given the most wonderful of all gifts: not only the ability to see, but also the ability to see with the eyes of faith. Jesus comment in verse 37: You have seen him ... confirms this. The man has had his humanity re-created so that he can see beyond the signs and symbols ‘... to the richness inherent in them ...’ (Marsh) and he confesses: “Lord, I believe ...” and worshipped Jesus.

Healing miracles were not something foreign to the Jews; this was however, the first time that sight had been given, not just restored and as Marsh explains, it was even more profound because it “... enabled the man who had only just begun to see to look at the human Jesus and see the heavenly Son of Man ...” So, “... sight had been given insight ... The healed man had done what cannot be done by a person without divine aid; recognise the incarnate Word in the flesh that he assumed.”

Could it be that as a result he might have been grateful for his original blindness? If he had not been blind he might have been like the majority; unable to see the truth of Jesus. This is a difficult question for me to address because, as you know, I have to face quite a few health difficulties: deafness and a tumour on the pancreas (and just yesterday I had yet another unpleasant procedure and further biopsies and tests.). But I do know that I am very different as a result of these experiences - and I do believe for the better – but I would never wish any of these experiences on anyone else. But perhaps Marsh is correct when he states: “... in the end all will come to praise him for the exceeding wisdom of his ways ...”

Jesus used signs and in this case ‘seeing’ as a reference to ‘believing’ and blindness to ‘not believing’ both ‘... fully voluntary and responsible acts of the human person ...’ Not being able to believe is an affliction just like a physical affliction – like being blind. It is possible that this is not blameworthy – just like being physically unwell or afflicted – nobody’s fault – not the man nor his parents. But the Pharisees did have the Law – and so for them there was no excuse.