John 9

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