Miracle 2 The Man Born Blind
Preaching
Preaching the Miracles
Series II, Cycle A
1. Text
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.1 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"2 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.3 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.4 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."5 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes,6 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.7
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"8 Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."9 But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"10 He 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."11 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."12
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.13 Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.14 Then 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."15
Some 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.16 So 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."17
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 sight18 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"19 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;20 but 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."21 His 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.22 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."23
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."24 He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."25 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"26 He 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?"27 Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.28 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."29 The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.30 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.31 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.32 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."33 They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.34
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"35 He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."36 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."37 He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.38
Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."39 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"40 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."41
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
As Jesus walks along, he sees a congenitally blind man.
Second Point Of Action
Jesus' conversation with the disciples: The disciples question him about whose sin, the parents' or the man's, caused the man's blindness. Rejecting the notion that sin causes blindness, Jesus notes God's purpose in the blindness. Jesus uses the light of the world metaphor.
Third Point Of Action
Jesus heals the blind man: Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud with the saliva, and spreads it on the man's eyes. Jesus tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. He does so and when he returns, he can see.
Fourth Point Of Action
Neighbors talk with the man: Neighbors and others who knew the man argue over whether this is the same person. They question him. He continually says he is the one and explains, step by step, how Jesus healed him.
Fifth Point Of Action
Pharisees' conversation with the man: When the man tells them he does not know where Jesus is now, they take him to the Pharisees. He repeats his story. Observing that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, some Pharisees say he was not from God. Others argue how a man who is a sinner could perform such signs. The Pharisees again question the blind man who then calls Jesus a prophet. Not believing the man had been blind, the Jews question his parents. The parents verify his blindness at birth but cannot explain his present sight. They say their son is of age and able to speak for himself.
Sixth Point Of Action
The writer explains the parents' words as a reflection of their fear. They knew the Jews had agreed to put out of the synagogue anyone confessing Jesus as the Messiah.
Seventh Point Of Action
Pharisees and the man argue again: The man stands his ground. He does not know if Jesus is a sinner. He does know he once was blind and now sees. Seeing that they are trying to bait him, the man asks if they also want to become Jesus' disciples. The Pharisees call themselves disciples of Moses. The man is Jesus' disciple. The man preaches about God to the Pharisees. The Pharisees drive him out as one born "entirely in sins" who is trying to teach them.
Eighth Point Of Action
Conversation between Jesus and the man: Hearing of this, Jesus finds the man and asks if he believes in him, the Son of Man. The man asks who the Son of Man is. When Jesus tells him he is the one, the man tells him he believes, and he worships Jesus. Jesus explains why he came into the world.
Ninth Point Of Action
Conversation between Pharisees and Jesus: Overhearing Jesus, Pharisees question their own blindness and their sin. Jesus says if they were blind, they would not have sin. But now that they say, "We see," their sin remains.
3. Connecting Points - Conversations
Interviewing The Man Blind From Birth
Asker: You used to sit by the roadside and beg.
Man: If I were going to eat, I had no choice. That is what blind people did then. Blind since birth, I knew nothing about sight. Even in your day, sighted peers sometimes do not see us as equals. Once characterizing me as blind, some of my neighbors even refused to believe my eyes had been opened.
Asker: I appreciate how demeaning begging must be. As a visually challenged person myself, once when I offered a publication for sale an older woman came up to the table. Ignoring the books, she pushed a coin into my hand and said, "Here, buy yourself a cup of coffee." I do not want to come closer to a handout.
Man: She was taught to respond with pity. She believed she was doing her duty. Another millennium has passed and you still find persons needing education about those living with visual impairment. When we talked earlier, you mentioned that another patron ordered you and your dog guide out of a public swim locker room recently. The patron told you, "Get that ____ dog out of here. Blind people don't belong in swimming pools."
Asker: When asked to apologize, the woman spoke of her blind grandfather who did not "impose himself" on others. I upgraded her attitude.
Man: When a ray of light bursts into darkness, it temporarily obstructs sight before it points the way. Before the a--ha, insight sometimes comes as resistance.
Asker: Your parents revealed a forward attitude at a time most viewed a blind person as invalid. "Ask him; he is of age," your folks said. "He will speak for himself."
Man: Their answer was deceptive, but let them speak for themselves.
Asker: I shall, soon. Instead of rejoicing, your being given sight brought grilling. Who were these neighbors who questioned you relentlessly?
Man: People who had seen me and treated me as one dealt with a vulnerable blind person then. Now that I could see their eyes, some neighbors would likely squirm with shame. Disbelief oozed out of their questions. They would more readily believe I lived a life of pretense than that a congenitally blind person was given sight. The enlightenment of such a change threatened the comfort of their own darkness.
Asker: You told the neighbors clearly how Jesus healed you.
Man: I was up front. They wanted proof. While some may have wanted Jesus to heal them, others were dubious. People saw blindness as the result of sin. How were they to relate to me now? It would be much easier to continue condemning and scapegoating me to their families.
Asker: So they did the inevitable. They took you to the Pharisees.
Man: Any good Jew would have. No matter how they felt about Jesus, the Pharisees were still the respected religious authorities. Whether the neighbors' intentions were well--meaning or the fueling of the case against Jesus, the Pharisees jumped at Jesus' healing on the Sabbath. I spoke to them as simply as I had my neighbors. The Pharisees wanted only to confirm Jesus' involvement.
Asker: God turned around your weakness. See, you Pharisees, even a lowly blind person can see that if Jesus were not connected with God, he would be powerless.
Man: The Pharisees were divided about Jesus. Jesus caused them much distress. He broke Hebrew law at every turn. When the Pharisees questioned me further and I told them Jesus is a prophet, they doubted my credibility. They expected my parents to tell them I was irresponsible. After all, I had been blind all my life. What delightful words reached my ears when my mother and father first owned me, then affirmed my accountability.
Interviewing The Parent Of The Blind Man
Asker: On the one hand, you surprised us by acknowledging to the Pharisees that you view your son as an adult.
Parent: I would not also take away my son's having become an adult. When our son came of age, he did all he could do at that time. Blindness is less formidable in your time. You have schools and adaptive electronics. You have training in mobility and dog guides. You have counselors who can help families find enough seeds of hope to meet the challenge. Our son went to the city gate to beg for his sustenance. He had no hope to maintain. His future was set, or so we thought.
Asker: And your response to the Pharisees?
Parent: Fear burdened our answer to the Pharisees. They were trying to frame Jesus. According to them, Jesus had given our son sight on the sabbath. That was against Jewish law. We gave the Pharisees only safe answers. If we said more about our beliefs, they would have thrown us out of the synagogue as they did our son later. So you see that fear confused our strength.
Asker: When the disciple asked whose sin, yours or your son's, caused his blindness, Jesus' response was clear.
Parent: That, too, went against Hebrew law. Although this story is about a further--reaching sight than eyesight, my response to Jesus' words was relief. Parents need someone of authority to confirm what we know in our hearts. For years my spouse and I struggled with guilt whenever we saw our child. Could we have done something differently?
The first, spontaneous question is, "Why?" Why was my child born blind? Why does my child have a physical or mental challenge when life will hold enough other difficulties? Why could I not have been in my child's place? It has been years since my son was born. Despite acceptance of his blindness, when despair presses my soul, these questions still burst out.
Asker: Today such guilt can be real. Children reap horrible results from a parent's use of drugs or unsafe sex.
Parent: True, but in my day such conclusions were marks of ignorance.
Asker: Jesus found it important to tell you when parents are not to blame. He addresses it first in the story.
Parent: Visual blindness is concrete. Stumbling around is obvious. In my day, people with any blemish such as blindness or lameness could not bring a food offering to the altar lest they profane the sanctuary. Jewish laws suggest blind persons are as unclean as those with leprosy.
People leave behind misconceptions and old beliefs with reluctance. Some of this may carry over to your day. Blindness is not the result of anyone's sin, either the blind person's or those of the parents or generations before. Some things just happen.
Asker: Jesus did not say only that some things just happen. They happen "so that." What do you suppose he meant?
Parent: I have pondered that. I cannot believe God would willingly create mayhem at birth. At the least, Jesus pointed to another Jewish tradition outmoded from his view of a compassionate God. Jesus tried to open their eyes. The disciples were closer to Jesus than I. Why not ask them?
Interviewing A Disciple
Asker: You posed the question about who sinned in the first place. What did Jesus mean by his "so that" answer?
Disciple: When he responded with the first "so that," I thought, "Oh, no, another so that answer." Jesus used the term repeatedly to bring understanding to miracles. It was the formerly blind man who put the term clearly. Tell me in order that, as a consequence, and as a result of this I may believe in the Son of Man, he said. Jesus made an object lesson out of every happening. His time was short. He had to use every event to focus on the design of God's work.
Asker: At the expense of sufferers?
Disciple: There is a difference between creating suffering and giving existing suffering a broader perspective.
Asker: Did Jesus himself say the "so that" words? Or were they the interpretation of writers like John?
Disciple: That is for biblical scholars to answer. However, other gospel writers recorded this phrase in their accounts. All "so that" references share an awareness that the circumstances of someone's suffering did not occur in a vacuum. A sufferer was not left void of meaning. Even the circumstances were part of God's plan.
Asker: "So that" might give reasons, but are the reasons rationalizations? I have a hard time justifying any suffering.
Disciple: We all do. As I accompany Jesus, I have seen suffering. Whether or not the suffering eases, sufferers experiencing compassion also gain a sense of peace or acceptance. That enables them to live as fully as possible. Instead of being wholly consumed by their suffering, they finally somehow begin to live beyond themselves.
Asker: In this story, "so that" occurs three times: Jesus says the man was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. The formerly blind man asks Jesus to tell him who the Son of Man is so that he may believe in him.
Disciple: The story hangs on the third "so that" of Jesus' telling his purpose for coming into the world. For the writer of John, Jesus is about the light of the new creation. Everything in this gospel reflects the first five verses of this narrative. God created the first light of this world. Jesus' task by his words and his life was to open the eyes of people of all times. Then they might know that the light shines in the darkness. Darkness did not, does not, and will not overcome it. Jesus wanted us to see through the open eyes of belief.
Asker: Then this is not a "back then" story?
Disciple: Hardly. Look at the questions: Does the light of God still open your closed--up world? What darkness of your world does God light? What blindness of spirit do you participate in? Beneath what dark shadows of outmoded ways do you crouch?
Interviewing Jesus
Asker: Jesus, you bring all sorts of light into this interplay between sight and different kinds of blindness. Into the eyes of the man blind from birth, you bring the light of sight. You open the eyes of the Pharisees to their own unseeing hearts. You tell your disciples that for as long as you are in the world, you are the light of the world. Your judgment awakens the world so "those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."
Jesus: Light illuminates all kinds of darkness. Our continually creating God continually brings light into our darkness.
4. Words
Blindness
For discussion contrasting congenital blindness with adventitious blindness, see "Blind" and the exchange with Bartimaeus in Cycle B, Miracle 9, "The Healing Of Bartimaeus."
People of the Old Testament saw disease as sent from God. It was either a punishment for transgressions or a sign of God's wrath. While much congenital blindness in ancient Palestine was probably from venereal disease, people saw it as a sign of a negative divine visitation. Only God, therefore, could cure it.
One ponders why the healing of the blind man was not immediate. Did it require several stages? Did Jesus' spitting on the ground, then rubbing the mud on the man's eyes represent a familiar healing formula? Did Jesus' instructing the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam represent the necessity of the man's taking responsibility, action, in his own healing since he had not asked to be healed? How might the process of this healing translate to God's role and our role at our times of healing?
So That
"So that" means the result or consequences, for the purpose or by design. Besides its three uses in this story, this phrase also appears three times in another Johanine miracle, "Raising Lazarus." (See Cycle A, Miracle 3.) First, speaking to his disciples about Lazarus, Jesus says, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (John 11:4). Second, Jesus tells his disciples, "For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe" (John 11:15). Third, speaking to God, Jesus says, "I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me" (John 11:42).
The writer of Mark uses the phrase in three other Cycle A miracles. Jairus pleads with Jesus to heal his daughter: "Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live" (Mark 5:23). (See Cycle A, Miracle 7.) Jesus tells the paralytic, "'But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' - he said to the paralytic - 'I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.' And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!' " (Mark 2:10--12). (See Cycle A, Miracle 4.)
After healing the leper, Jesus cautioned him to tell no one. "But the leper went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly" (Mark 1:45a). (See Cycle A, Miracle 3.)
Pool of Siloam
The writer of John interprets "Siloam" symbolically as "the One who was sent." Siloam was a pool in Jerusalem. Isaiah 8:6 speaks of the waters of Shiloah. "Shiloah" is the correct name of an aqueduct, which means "sender" of water. The pool of Siloam was one of several pools in the reservoir system receiving water from the spring of Gihon. The reservoir near this spring fed two irrigation channels. They provided plentiful water for terrace cultivation between the aqueduct and the bottom of the Kidron which ran farther east than it does today.1 Jesus went to pray in a garden in the Kidron Valley. (See John 18:1.)
Pools were important sources of water. Most in the city were artificial, rock--cut pools. Pools were gathering places for people and for water. People gathered at the pool of Bethsatha and the pool of Siloam. They hoped for healing. Figuratively, a pool showed God's power to transform the wilderness. (See Isaiah 41:18.)
5. Gospel Parallels
While this healing miracle has no gospel parallel, cross--references given below may offer further insight to its meaning.2
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.1
No cross--reference.
His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"2
For Old Testament references to responsibility for sin, see Exodus 20:5 and Ezekiel 18:20.
Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him."3
For another so that reference, see John 11:4.
"We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.4 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."5
The writer of John refers to light/dark and day imagery. See John 1:4, 8:12, 11:9, 12:35, and 12:46.
When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes,6
Jesus healed a deaf--mute person and another blind person using touch and saliva. See Mark 7:33ff and Mark 8:23ff.
... saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.7
For another reference to Siloam in this passage, see Luke 13:4.
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"8
Acts 3:2ff tells of another person, one who was lame, who begged or asked for alms.
No cross--references for verses 9--13.
Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.14 Then 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."15 Some Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath."
For another reference to healing on the sabbath, see John 5:9ff (the man who had been ill many years). See also Matthew 12:2ff (the man with the withered hand and feeding the disciples).
But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided.16
"When the Pharisees saw it, they said to [Jesus], 'Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath'" (Matthew 12:2).
For other references to division among the Jews, see John 6:52,
7:43, and 10:19.
So 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."17
"The crowds were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee'" (Matthew 21:11). For other recognitions of Jesus as prophet, see Matthew 21:46, Luke 7:16, Luke 7:39, Luke 24:19, John 4:19, John 6:14, John 7:40, and John 9:17.
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 sight18 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"19 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;20 but 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."21 His 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.22 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."23
The following verse speaks of the fear of the Jews: "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man" (Luke 6:22).
See also John 7:13, 12:42, 16:2, 19:30, and 20:19.
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."24
"Then Joshua said to Achan, 'My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me'" (Joshua 7:19).
No cross--references for verses 25--27.
Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses."28
[Jesus said,] "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope" (John 5:45).
"We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."29
"Jesus answered, 'Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going'" (John 8:14).
The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.30 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will."31
Among the passages from Job expressing God's hearing our cry are the following: "For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts them off, when God takes away their lives?" (Job 27:8). "Will God hear their cry when trouble comes upon them?" (Job 27:9). "Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it" (Job 35:13).
Among the Psalms expressing God's hearing our cry are Psalm 66:18, 145:19, and 34:15. See also Proverbs 15:29, Isaiah 1:15, and James 5:16.
Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.32 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.33
"[Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God'" (John 3:2).
"But I have a testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me" (John 5:36).
They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.34 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"35 He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."36
"But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?" (Romans 10:14).
Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."37
"Jesus said to [the woman who said he was a prophet], 'I am he, the one who is speaking to you' " (John 4:26).
He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.38
For other expressions of belief at the time of miracles, see Matthew 8:2, Matthew 28:9, Mark 9:24, and John 11:27.
Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."39
Several passages refer to the sight and blindness metaphor: "The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand' " (Matthew 13:13). "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit" (Matthew 15:14). "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free" (Luke 4:18).
Other Johanine references include John 12:40, 3:19, 5:22, and 5:27.
Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"40
See Matthew 15:14 above.
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."41
"Do you see persons wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them" (Proverbs 26:12).
"If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22).
____________
1. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 4.
2. Cross--references are from the self--pronouncing reference RSV edition of The Holy Bible (Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1962). Texts are from the NRSV.
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.1 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"2 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him.3 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.4 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."5 When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes,6 saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.7
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"8 Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but it is someone like him." He kept saying, "I am the man."9 But they kept asking him, "Then how were your eyes opened?"10 He 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."11 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."12
They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind.13 Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.14 Then 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."15
Some 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.16 So 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."17
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 sight18 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"19 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;20 but 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."21 His 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.22 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."23
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."24 He answered, "I do not know whether he is a sinner. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see."25 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"26 He 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?"27 Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.28 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."29 The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.30 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will.31 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.32 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."33 They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.34
Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"35 He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."36 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."37 He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.38
Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."39 Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"40 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."41
2. What's Happening?
First Point Of Action
As Jesus walks along, he sees a congenitally blind man.
Second Point Of Action
Jesus' conversation with the disciples: The disciples question him about whose sin, the parents' or the man's, caused the man's blindness. Rejecting the notion that sin causes blindness, Jesus notes God's purpose in the blindness. Jesus uses the light of the world metaphor.
Third Point Of Action
Jesus heals the blind man: Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud with the saliva, and spreads it on the man's eyes. Jesus tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. He does so and when he returns, he can see.
Fourth Point Of Action
Neighbors talk with the man: Neighbors and others who knew the man argue over whether this is the same person. They question him. He continually says he is the one and explains, step by step, how Jesus healed him.
Fifth Point Of Action
Pharisees' conversation with the man: When the man tells them he does not know where Jesus is now, they take him to the Pharisees. He repeats his story. Observing that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, some Pharisees say he was not from God. Others argue how a man who is a sinner could perform such signs. The Pharisees again question the blind man who then calls Jesus a prophet. Not believing the man had been blind, the Jews question his parents. The parents verify his blindness at birth but cannot explain his present sight. They say their son is of age and able to speak for himself.
Sixth Point Of Action
The writer explains the parents' words as a reflection of their fear. They knew the Jews had agreed to put out of the synagogue anyone confessing Jesus as the Messiah.
Seventh Point Of Action
Pharisees and the man argue again: The man stands his ground. He does not know if Jesus is a sinner. He does know he once was blind and now sees. Seeing that they are trying to bait him, the man asks if they also want to become Jesus' disciples. The Pharisees call themselves disciples of Moses. The man is Jesus' disciple. The man preaches about God to the Pharisees. The Pharisees drive him out as one born "entirely in sins" who is trying to teach them.
Eighth Point Of Action
Conversation between Jesus and the man: Hearing of this, Jesus finds the man and asks if he believes in him, the Son of Man. The man asks who the Son of Man is. When Jesus tells him he is the one, the man tells him he believes, and he worships Jesus. Jesus explains why he came into the world.
Ninth Point Of Action
Conversation between Pharisees and Jesus: Overhearing Jesus, Pharisees question their own blindness and their sin. Jesus says if they were blind, they would not have sin. But now that they say, "We see," their sin remains.
3. Connecting Points - Conversations
Interviewing The Man Blind From Birth
Asker: You used to sit by the roadside and beg.
Man: If I were going to eat, I had no choice. That is what blind people did then. Blind since birth, I knew nothing about sight. Even in your day, sighted peers sometimes do not see us as equals. Once characterizing me as blind, some of my neighbors even refused to believe my eyes had been opened.
Asker: I appreciate how demeaning begging must be. As a visually challenged person myself, once when I offered a publication for sale an older woman came up to the table. Ignoring the books, she pushed a coin into my hand and said, "Here, buy yourself a cup of coffee." I do not want to come closer to a handout.
Man: She was taught to respond with pity. She believed she was doing her duty. Another millennium has passed and you still find persons needing education about those living with visual impairment. When we talked earlier, you mentioned that another patron ordered you and your dog guide out of a public swim locker room recently. The patron told you, "Get that ____ dog out of here. Blind people don't belong in swimming pools."
Asker: When asked to apologize, the woman spoke of her blind grandfather who did not "impose himself" on others. I upgraded her attitude.
Man: When a ray of light bursts into darkness, it temporarily obstructs sight before it points the way. Before the a--ha, insight sometimes comes as resistance.
Asker: Your parents revealed a forward attitude at a time most viewed a blind person as invalid. "Ask him; he is of age," your folks said. "He will speak for himself."
Man: Their answer was deceptive, but let them speak for themselves.
Asker: I shall, soon. Instead of rejoicing, your being given sight brought grilling. Who were these neighbors who questioned you relentlessly?
Man: People who had seen me and treated me as one dealt with a vulnerable blind person then. Now that I could see their eyes, some neighbors would likely squirm with shame. Disbelief oozed out of their questions. They would more readily believe I lived a life of pretense than that a congenitally blind person was given sight. The enlightenment of such a change threatened the comfort of their own darkness.
Asker: You told the neighbors clearly how Jesus healed you.
Man: I was up front. They wanted proof. While some may have wanted Jesus to heal them, others were dubious. People saw blindness as the result of sin. How were they to relate to me now? It would be much easier to continue condemning and scapegoating me to their families.
Asker: So they did the inevitable. They took you to the Pharisees.
Man: Any good Jew would have. No matter how they felt about Jesus, the Pharisees were still the respected religious authorities. Whether the neighbors' intentions were well--meaning or the fueling of the case against Jesus, the Pharisees jumped at Jesus' healing on the Sabbath. I spoke to them as simply as I had my neighbors. The Pharisees wanted only to confirm Jesus' involvement.
Asker: God turned around your weakness. See, you Pharisees, even a lowly blind person can see that if Jesus were not connected with God, he would be powerless.
Man: The Pharisees were divided about Jesus. Jesus caused them much distress. He broke Hebrew law at every turn. When the Pharisees questioned me further and I told them Jesus is a prophet, they doubted my credibility. They expected my parents to tell them I was irresponsible. After all, I had been blind all my life. What delightful words reached my ears when my mother and father first owned me, then affirmed my accountability.
Interviewing The Parent Of The Blind Man
Asker: On the one hand, you surprised us by acknowledging to the Pharisees that you view your son as an adult.
Parent: I would not also take away my son's having become an adult. When our son came of age, he did all he could do at that time. Blindness is less formidable in your time. You have schools and adaptive electronics. You have training in mobility and dog guides. You have counselors who can help families find enough seeds of hope to meet the challenge. Our son went to the city gate to beg for his sustenance. He had no hope to maintain. His future was set, or so we thought.
Asker: And your response to the Pharisees?
Parent: Fear burdened our answer to the Pharisees. They were trying to frame Jesus. According to them, Jesus had given our son sight on the sabbath. That was against Jewish law. We gave the Pharisees only safe answers. If we said more about our beliefs, they would have thrown us out of the synagogue as they did our son later. So you see that fear confused our strength.
Asker: When the disciple asked whose sin, yours or your son's, caused his blindness, Jesus' response was clear.
Parent: That, too, went against Hebrew law. Although this story is about a further--reaching sight than eyesight, my response to Jesus' words was relief. Parents need someone of authority to confirm what we know in our hearts. For years my spouse and I struggled with guilt whenever we saw our child. Could we have done something differently?
The first, spontaneous question is, "Why?" Why was my child born blind? Why does my child have a physical or mental challenge when life will hold enough other difficulties? Why could I not have been in my child's place? It has been years since my son was born. Despite acceptance of his blindness, when despair presses my soul, these questions still burst out.
Asker: Today such guilt can be real. Children reap horrible results from a parent's use of drugs or unsafe sex.
Parent: True, but in my day such conclusions were marks of ignorance.
Asker: Jesus found it important to tell you when parents are not to blame. He addresses it first in the story.
Parent: Visual blindness is concrete. Stumbling around is obvious. In my day, people with any blemish such as blindness or lameness could not bring a food offering to the altar lest they profane the sanctuary. Jewish laws suggest blind persons are as unclean as those with leprosy.
People leave behind misconceptions and old beliefs with reluctance. Some of this may carry over to your day. Blindness is not the result of anyone's sin, either the blind person's or those of the parents or generations before. Some things just happen.
Asker: Jesus did not say only that some things just happen. They happen "so that." What do you suppose he meant?
Parent: I have pondered that. I cannot believe God would willingly create mayhem at birth. At the least, Jesus pointed to another Jewish tradition outmoded from his view of a compassionate God. Jesus tried to open their eyes. The disciples were closer to Jesus than I. Why not ask them?
Interviewing A Disciple
Asker: You posed the question about who sinned in the first place. What did Jesus mean by his "so that" answer?
Disciple: When he responded with the first "so that," I thought, "Oh, no, another so that answer." Jesus used the term repeatedly to bring understanding to miracles. It was the formerly blind man who put the term clearly. Tell me in order that, as a consequence, and as a result of this I may believe in the Son of Man, he said. Jesus made an object lesson out of every happening. His time was short. He had to use every event to focus on the design of God's work.
Asker: At the expense of sufferers?
Disciple: There is a difference between creating suffering and giving existing suffering a broader perspective.
Asker: Did Jesus himself say the "so that" words? Or were they the interpretation of writers like John?
Disciple: That is for biblical scholars to answer. However, other gospel writers recorded this phrase in their accounts. All "so that" references share an awareness that the circumstances of someone's suffering did not occur in a vacuum. A sufferer was not left void of meaning. Even the circumstances were part of God's plan.
Asker: "So that" might give reasons, but are the reasons rationalizations? I have a hard time justifying any suffering.
Disciple: We all do. As I accompany Jesus, I have seen suffering. Whether or not the suffering eases, sufferers experiencing compassion also gain a sense of peace or acceptance. That enables them to live as fully as possible. Instead of being wholly consumed by their suffering, they finally somehow begin to live beyond themselves.
Asker: In this story, "so that" occurs three times: Jesus says the man was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him. The formerly blind man asks Jesus to tell him who the Son of Man is so that he may believe in him.
Disciple: The story hangs on the third "so that" of Jesus' telling his purpose for coming into the world. For the writer of John, Jesus is about the light of the new creation. Everything in this gospel reflects the first five verses of this narrative. God created the first light of this world. Jesus' task by his words and his life was to open the eyes of people of all times. Then they might know that the light shines in the darkness. Darkness did not, does not, and will not overcome it. Jesus wanted us to see through the open eyes of belief.
Asker: Then this is not a "back then" story?
Disciple: Hardly. Look at the questions: Does the light of God still open your closed--up world? What darkness of your world does God light? What blindness of spirit do you participate in? Beneath what dark shadows of outmoded ways do you crouch?
Interviewing Jesus
Asker: Jesus, you bring all sorts of light into this interplay between sight and different kinds of blindness. Into the eyes of the man blind from birth, you bring the light of sight. You open the eyes of the Pharisees to their own unseeing hearts. You tell your disciples that for as long as you are in the world, you are the light of the world. Your judgment awakens the world so "those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."
Jesus: Light illuminates all kinds of darkness. Our continually creating God continually brings light into our darkness.
4. Words
Blindness
For discussion contrasting congenital blindness with adventitious blindness, see "Blind" and the exchange with Bartimaeus in Cycle B, Miracle 9, "The Healing Of Bartimaeus."
People of the Old Testament saw disease as sent from God. It was either a punishment for transgressions or a sign of God's wrath. While much congenital blindness in ancient Palestine was probably from venereal disease, people saw it as a sign of a negative divine visitation. Only God, therefore, could cure it.
One ponders why the healing of the blind man was not immediate. Did it require several stages? Did Jesus' spitting on the ground, then rubbing the mud on the man's eyes represent a familiar healing formula? Did Jesus' instructing the man to go wash in the Pool of Siloam represent the necessity of the man's taking responsibility, action, in his own healing since he had not asked to be healed? How might the process of this healing translate to God's role and our role at our times of healing?
So That
"So that" means the result or consequences, for the purpose or by design. Besides its three uses in this story, this phrase also appears three times in another Johanine miracle, "Raising Lazarus." (See Cycle A, Miracle 3.) First, speaking to his disciples about Lazarus, Jesus says, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (John 11:4). Second, Jesus tells his disciples, "For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe" (John 11:15). Third, speaking to God, Jesus says, "I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me" (John 11:42).
The writer of Mark uses the phrase in three other Cycle A miracles. Jairus pleads with Jesus to heal his daughter: "Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live" (Mark 5:23). (See Cycle A, Miracle 7.) Jesus tells the paralytic, "'But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins' - he said to the paralytic - 'I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.' And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this!' " (Mark 2:10--12). (See Cycle A, Miracle 4.)
After healing the leper, Jesus cautioned him to tell no one. "But the leper went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly" (Mark 1:45a). (See Cycle A, Miracle 3.)
Pool of Siloam
The writer of John interprets "Siloam" symbolically as "the One who was sent." Siloam was a pool in Jerusalem. Isaiah 8:6 speaks of the waters of Shiloah. "Shiloah" is the correct name of an aqueduct, which means "sender" of water. The pool of Siloam was one of several pools in the reservoir system receiving water from the spring of Gihon. The reservoir near this spring fed two irrigation channels. They provided plentiful water for terrace cultivation between the aqueduct and the bottom of the Kidron which ran farther east than it does today.1 Jesus went to pray in a garden in the Kidron Valley. (See John 18:1.)
Pools were important sources of water. Most in the city were artificial, rock--cut pools. Pools were gathering places for people and for water. People gathered at the pool of Bethsatha and the pool of Siloam. They hoped for healing. Figuratively, a pool showed God's power to transform the wilderness. (See Isaiah 41:18.)
5. Gospel Parallels
While this healing miracle has no gospel parallel, cross--references given below may offer further insight to its meaning.2
As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth.1
No cross--reference.
His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"2
For Old Testament references to responsibility for sin, see Exodus 20:5 and Ezekiel 18:20.
Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God's works might be revealed in him."3
For another so that reference, see John 11:4.
"We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work.4 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."5
The writer of John refers to light/dark and day imagery. See John 1:4, 8:12, 11:9, 12:35, and 12:46.
When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man's eyes,6
Jesus healed a deaf--mute person and another blind person using touch and saliva. See Mark 7:33ff and Mark 8:23ff.
... saying to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). Then he went and washed and came back able to see.7
For another reference to Siloam in this passage, see Luke 13:4.
The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar began to ask, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"8
Acts 3:2ff tells of another person, one who was lame, who begged or asked for alms.
No cross--references for verses 9--13.
Now it was a sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.14 Then 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."15 Some Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for he does not observe the sabbath."
For another reference to healing on the sabbath, see John 5:9ff (the man who had been ill many years). See also Matthew 12:2ff (the man with the withered hand and feeding the disciples).
But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And they were divided.16
"When the Pharisees saw it, they said to [Jesus], 'Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath'" (Matthew 12:2).
For other references to division among the Jews, see John 6:52,
7:43, and 10:19.
So 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."17
"The crowds were saying, 'This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee'" (Matthew 21:11). For other recognitions of Jesus as prophet, see Matthew 21:46, Luke 7:16, Luke 7:39, Luke 24:19, John 4:19, John 6:14, John 7:40, and John 9:17.
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 sight18 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"19 His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;20 but 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."21 His 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.22 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."23
The following verse speaks of the fear of the Jews: "Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man" (Luke 6:22).
See also John 7:13, 12:42, 16:2, 19:30, and 20:19.
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."24
"Then Joshua said to Achan, 'My son, give glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession to him. Tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me'" (Joshua 7:19).
No cross--references for verses 25--27.
Then they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses."28
[Jesus said,] "Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope" (John 5:45).
"We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from."29
"Jesus answered, 'Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going'" (John 8:14).
The man answered, "Here is an astonishing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.30 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but he does listen to one who worships him and obeys his will."31
Among the passages from Job expressing God's hearing our cry are the following: "For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts them off, when God takes away their lives?" (Job 27:8). "Will God hear their cry when trouble comes upon them?" (Job 27:9). "Surely God does not hear an empty cry, nor does the Almighty regard it" (Job 35:13).
Among the Psalms expressing God's hearing our cry are Psalm 66:18, 145:19, and 34:15. See also Proverbs 15:29, Isaiah 1:15, and James 5:16.
Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind.32 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.33
"[Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God'" (John 3:2).
"But I have a testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me" (John 5:36).
They answered him, "You were born entirely in sins, and are you trying to teach us?" And they drove him out.34 Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"35 He answered, "And who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him."36
"But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?" (Romans 10:14).
Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he."37
"Jesus said to [the woman who said he was a prophet], 'I am he, the one who is speaking to you' " (John 4:26).
He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him.38
For other expressions of belief at the time of miracles, see Matthew 8:2, Matthew 28:9, Mark 9:24, and John 11:27.
Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind."39
Several passages refer to the sight and blindness metaphor: "The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand' " (Matthew 13:13). "Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if one blind person guides another, both will fall into a pit" (Matthew 15:14). "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free" (Luke 4:18).
Other Johanine references include John 12:40, 3:19, 5:22, and 5:27.
Some of the Pharisees near him heard this and said to him, "Surely we are not blind, are we?"40
See Matthew 15:14 above.
Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."41
"Do you see persons wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for fools than for them" (Proverbs 26:12).
"If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin" (John 15:22).
____________
1. See The Interpreter's Dictionary Of The Bible, Volume 4.
2. Cross--references are from the self--pronouncing reference RSV edition of The Holy Bible (Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1962). Texts are from the NRSV.
