Who is blind? And who can see?
Overview:
The
short chapter expresses perhaps more vividly and completely than any other
John’s conception of the work of Christ.
John’s story of the healing of the man born
blind strikes many interpreters as the most well-crafted of all the gospel
stories. In classical dramatic form, in each of the 6 separate scenes there are
only two major protagonists. In each scene, one question leads perfectly to the
question in the next scene until we come to a dramatic climax in the final
scene where both the Serious and we who read are asked to do a fearless moral
inventory and confess their (and our) spiritual blindness and neediness so that
all of us might receive the very gift of sight that the Blind Man has just
received;
“The man blind from
birth is every man. For it is part of that sin of world which the Lamb of
God beareth away that by nature we are blind, until our eyes are opened by
Christ the Light of the world.”
The healed man is impressive (and a great
picture of a faithful witness). He never lies. Not even to Jesus at the end. He
is the prototypical “person who always tells the truth,” touched by and so
coming increasingly towards Jesus in every encounter until finally he is at his
Lord’s feet in worship. Nicodemus
(John3) had been told earlier that everyone doing and telling the truth comes
to the light (John 3:21). The Blind Man is that man coming closer and closer to
the light. As the story progresses the healed man gradually “comes toward the
light.” His knowledge of Jesus keeps growing from “the man named Jesus,” to “a
prophet,” to “a man of God,” to “The Son of Man,” and then finally to “I
believe, Lord and he worshipped Jesus” (v38).
While the man born blind comes gradually to
greater and greater sight both physically and spiritually, the leadership of
the people of God plunge into deeper and deeper darkness, until finally falling
into a blindness that Jesus condemns (v41).
At the end all of us (and this book is written so that we might believe.
This chapter is written so that we might consider if we too are blind and need
to see a lot more.) who “know”
intellectually, doctrinally, and even biblically – are asked to confess
our factual blindness so that we may experience the miracle of seeing the truth,
who is the Lord Jesus, the Son of Man.
The section above is an except
from F.D. Bruner’s
The Gospel of John
(pgs 561-562)
Open
Discussion:
-If you had to be deaf, mute of blind which would you
choose? Which would be most difficult?
Text
Questions:
-Look at verses 5-6. Why do you think Jesus
choose to heal this way this time? Do you see any connections to Old Testament
stories you might have heard?-How many times do the Pharisees ask this man about his healing (15,17,26)? Who else do they ask(v18)? What response do they keep getting? How do they react (v28,34)?
-Why do you think the Pharisees react this
way? Why is it so difficult to believe this man?
-This whole trial
is based on who Jesus really is. What is Jesus called in this chapter?
-Look at verses 30-33. What arguments does
the blind man use to defend that Jesus is from God?
-This chapter is saying a lot about sight and blindness as well as darkness and light. Look at verses 35-41 again. Imagine someone asked you what this paragraph meant. How would you explain it in your own words?
Reflection
Questions:
-Put yourself in the shoes of the blind man,
his parents and the Pharisees. How would
you have acted throughout this story? What would each group stand to gain or
lose by this unfolding drama?
-The synagogue was the focus of the whole community. If
you were put out of the synagogue, you’d probably be better off leaving the
area altogether. The parents are afraid because they know the threat against
anyone saying that Jesus is the Messiah. They are anxious for their livelihood,
their social standing and possibly their lives . We do not have the synagogue at the center of
our society. But take a moment and think about what the consequences are for us
today of simply telling people about what this Jesus has done for us and our
belief that he is Lord. What are
negative and positive consequences? How does open belief in Jesus impact our
standing in society, work and life in general?
(Parents.
Take some time to share your difficulties and the consequences of living out
your faith in work, family and other social settings).
The man blind from birth is every man. For it is part of
that sin of the world which the Lamb of God beareth away that by nature we are
blind, until our eyes are opened by Christ, the light of the World.
– William Temple
