Encountering Jesus

Part 4 | Glimpses of characterization in the gospel of John

The blind leading the blind. If only that were the case…
by Bruce Power

The final episode to be considered in this brief series is Jesus’ encounter with a man blind from birth (John 9). In the thinking of the day such physical disabilities were the result of one of two things, the sin of the person, or the sin of the parents. When Jesus and his disciples see this man, and learn of his circumstances, the disciples pose the question of fault. Whose responsibility is it?

Now we might wonder how a person could sin in vetro, but this was a theological concern of enough significance that the topic was debated by religious specialists. Where would Jesus come down on the issue? After all, it had to be one or the other.

Jesus offers a third choice. “Neither this man nor his parents sinned… but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (9:3). Now this would be clue enough that such an encounter will be of profound significance to our understanding of Jesus, but John tells us that Jesus says even more. “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (9:4-5).

The careful reader of John’s account should not miss the piling up of key terminology having to do with transformative faith. The work of God is going to be revealed in this man. The glory of God revealed. The categories of light and darkness invite consideration of key symbol clusters utilized throughout the gospel. What is Jesus going to do? What are we to learn from this experience?

When Jesus instructs the man to go and wash in the pool of Siloam, the man “went and washed, and came home seeing” (9:7). Asked to give an account of his healing, the man can only respond: “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see” (9:11). As in the story of the man who had been crippled for thirty-eight years, the day on which this restoration takes place is a Sabbath, which for some of the Pharisees makes the conclusion to be drawn obvious: “This man is not from God” (9:16). Others cannot comprehend, however, that a sinner could do such wonders, so they turn to the man who had been blind and ask him to draw a conclusion about Jesus. “He is a prophet,” the man observes.

The response of the man, and the logic he uses to assess the situation causes the opponents of Jesus to speculate the man had not been blind at all. They seek out the man’s parents in the hope that they may provide an explanation for the uncomfortable truth staring at them. The parents attest that their son was born blind, and contend that he would be better able to speak to the details of his healing. After all, he is an adult. And so the authorities summon the man for a second time: “Give glory to God,” they begin. “We know this man is a sinner” (9:24). The implication is that it is time for the man to ‘fess up’ and finally tell the truth. But when he speaks the truth, telling them he is unable to declare whether or not Jesus is a sinner, but that he can attest to the fact that he had been blind, but could now see, they ask to have the tale of his healing repeated. His astonishment at this request is obvious: “I told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?” (9:27).

The response enrages the inquisitors. Declaring the man who had been blind to be a disciple of Jesus, they claim their own allegiance to Moses: “We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from” (9:29).

The formerly blind man declares: “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (9:30-33).

The ironies in this dialogue are rich. Those who claim to be men of vision, in tune with the words and ways of God, are blind to the work of God in their midst. The man who has been marginalized all his life, now demonstrates that he not only possesses physical sight, but spiritual insight as well.

The conclusions he draws are, however, outrageous to those who ‘know better.’ When the man declares that Jesus must be from God they reject his conclusions, and him: “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” He is unceremoniously removed from their presence… “they threw him out” (9:34).

Jesus seeks out the man, and asks: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (9:35), to which the man responds that he has no knowledge of who is so designated. But when Jesus declares himself to be from God, John tells us the man declared: “‘Lord, I believe,’ and he worshipped him” (9:38).

For John, this story epitomizes a positive encounter with Jesus. Not only are circumstances changed on the surface, there is an inner transformation which results in the declaration of Jesus’ deity, and a response of worship. This aligns with a climactic scene of the gospel in which Thomas worships Jesus, declaring him to be: “My Lord and my God!” (20:28). Following this declaration Jesus then states that those who “have not seen and yet believe” (20:29) are blessed. A few verses later, John confesses to his readers that his gospel is “written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31).

In our short study we have seen that an encounter with Jesus, even a spiritual encounter does not always lead to transforming faith. We are not sure what decision Nicodemus makes about Jesus. John’s comments encourage us to remain unsure. In contrast, we see the woman at the well readily embraces the truth, allowing her life to be changed. Likewise the royal official discovers a life-changing faith. The man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years regains his mobility, but does not find the freedom of a new life in relationship with Jesus. He neither becomes a disciple, nor confesses a desire to ‘give up sinning’ (5:14). In fact, challenged by Jesus to make such a radical choice, he seeks out the opponents of Jesus to report him. The man born blind, on the other hand, accepts the life Jesus offers.

John tells the story of Jesus to encourage his readers to come into a life-changing relationship with Jesus, to discover the fullness of life offered, and to confess “my Lord and my God!” What response have you chosen?

Read part 1, part 2 and part 3 of this series.

Writer: When Bruce Power is not reading books on scripture and/or the ancient world, and listening to blues or jazz or baroque music, he may be teaching a course somewhere. Or who knows what he might be up to…. Bruce is one of the instructors at the upcoming Urban Forum.

1 Comment to Encountering Jesus

1. Thank you for this important observation, Major Bruce. It is certainly a true statement that an encounter with Jesus does not always lead to transforming faith. I resonate with the latter statement that you made in terms of my experiences in my previous appointment. I formed many strong friendships with the Muslim population in the area where I served in my role as a chaplain. We were comfotable discussing our understanding of Jesus Christ and God on a regular basis, as I was often invited into their homes for a meal. Yet when I moved to the next appointment, they remained Muslims and I - a disciple of Jesus and a Salvationist. However, I could see God working in their lives and through their lives despite the differences in religious confession. Their display of kindness, hospitality, and compassion would put to shame some of the “Christian” behaviour that I witnessed in the past.
George Katchanov on October 22nd, 2008

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