Otium Sanctum

The account of the healing of the man born blind in John 9:1-41 is often treated as if it were another healing miracle. A healing miracle often has the following elements:

• Jesus' attention is drawn to one who needs healing
• Jesus heals
• There is a reaction

The pattern is easily seen in the healing of Peter's mother-in-law (cf. Mk. 1:29-31 and par.), the cleansing of a leper (Mk. 1:40-45) or the healing of blind Bartimaeus (Mk. 10:46-52). The narrative in John 9 has a brief introduction showing Jesus seeing the man born blind (1), a healing (1-7) that is followed by an account of a reaction, not to the miracle, but to the healed man (8-12). And the story continues with an account of an investigation into the alleged miracle itself by the Pharisees (13-34) and the narrative concludes with Jesus saying something to the once blind man and the Pharisees (35-41). This last can make it appear that the narrative is a pronouncement story, that is, a narrative that highlights a saying of Jesus. However, the narrator's emphasis on the one who has regained his sight and his defense of Jesus before the Pharisees (24-33) turns this "miracle story" into something else.

Like all narratives in the Gospel of John, the story about the man born blind cannot be categorized under the genres that have been identified for the synoptic gospels. What we find in John's Gospel are theological narratives based on memories of Jesus' deeds, rethought and rewritten so as to instruct its hearers about their beliefs and practices. Their intent is not so much what happened in the past but what the Risen Christ is doing in the "now" of the believer. In fact, the story rewrites materials regarding the healing of blind men, Sabbath healings, controversies regarding Jesus' power to heal and Jesus' sayings regarding the persecution of disciples. In doing this, the narrator shows the link between baptism (rubbing of spittle on the eyes and washing at Siloam), the Christian's persecution (interrogation before authorities and expulsion from Jewish synagogues), the judgment of Jesus and vindication of those who "see" with His light.

There are preachers who get stuck on the disciples' comment on the connection between sin and being born blind and Jesus' refusal to make the connection(v. 1). It is however obvious that the interest of the author is somewhere else, i.e. to show that the refusal to believe in Jesus is an interior blindness due to sin (cf. v. 41 and its connection to 3:20-21). They miss the significance of Jesus' words: the man was born blind "so that the works of God may be manifested through him". In the narrative, the "works of God" will be shown as: a blind man regaining sight after washing in Siloam, "the Sent One", his belief in Jesus, the Son of Man (v. 38, cf. 6:28).

The whole of John 9 can be easily divided into sections that are marked by changes in character. Thus vv. 1-7 (Jesus, his disciples and the man born blind) is distinguished from vv. 8-12 (former blind man, neighbors and acquaintances), vv. 13-17 (Pharisees, former blind man), vv. 18-23 (Pharisees, Jews, parents), vv. 24-34 (Pharisees, former blind man), vv. 35-41 (Jesus, former blind man, Pharisees). An outline then can be drawn thus:

1. The Healing (1-7)
2. Reaction of Neighbors and Acquaintances (8-12)
3. Interrogation of Pharisees
   1. The Cured Man (13-17)
   2. The Parents (18-23)
   3. The Cured Man and His Expulsion (24-34)
4. Before Jesus
   1. Profession of Faith in the Son of Man (35-38)
   2. Judgment on the Pharisees (39-41)

The key character in the story is the man who gains his sight. The thread of the narrative carries him from on group (neighbors and acquaintances) to another (Pharisees) until he is expelled from the synagogue for being a disciple of Jesus (v.28). In the process, the man gains a deeper understanding of who Jesus is. First, he calls him "the man, Jesus", then a "Prophet", one "from God" and finally declares belief in him as "Son of Man." Throughout the narrative, only the former blind man has a definite idea of what has happened to him in contrast to the groups that get divided on the question of who he was and by what "work" he was healed.

The figure of Jesus appears in the first and last sections of the story (Alpha and Omega?). In the first section, he does the work of the Father as light of the world. His actions on the man reminds us of what Jesus does in Mark's account of the healing of a blind man from Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26), a pericope intended to illustrate the graduality of the illumination of the disciple. There in Mark, Jesus uses spittle for the cure. Here, spittle, dirt and the pool of Siloam become instrumental. The narrator is careful to say that "Siloam" means "The One Sent" ( ho apestalmenos). In the Gospel of John, Jesus is "the One Sent" by the Father whom Jesus refers to as "the one who sent me"(v.4). The blind man washed in the waters of "the One Sent", an allussion to baptism (for a blind man recovering his sight within a baptismal context, see Acts 9:18).

Jesus appears for the last time in vv. 35-41. There, like the Good Shepherd, he "finds" the former blind man and reveals Himself to him as "the Son of Man", the Danielic figure come to judge the world. Here, judgment is laid on the Pharisees who persist in their blindness, thus realizing what has been said through the prophet Isaiah:

They may look but not perceive
hear and listen but not understand
   such that they will not be converted and be forgiven
(Is. 6:9 as quoted in Mark 4:12 and par; see also Jn. 12:40)

What Jesus had earlier said to Nicodemus takes on clearer light in the contrast between the former blind man and those afflicted with spiritual blindness.

	Indeed, everyone who does wicked things
hates the light and does not come toward the light
    so that his works may not be exposed.
	But whoever lives the truth comes to the light
	    so his works may be clearly seen as done in God.

The Pharisees who appear in 13-34 and 40-41 are grouped with "the Jews". The "Jews" in the Gospel of John is not an ethnic group. Rather it is a theological label for those who reject Jesus and his disciples. The "Jews" are first mentioned in v. 22 as the ones who have decided that those who confess Jesus are to be excommunicated (in Jn. 12:42, the Pharisees are said to have been the ones who decided to excommunicate). It was for "fear of the Jews" that the parents of the formerly blind man distance themselves from him during the interrogation. It is also due to that same fear that the disciples will later on bar their doors on the eve of the Resurrection.

Christians were thrown out of the synagogues during the Pharisaic restoration movement that resulted from the Council of Jamnia held after the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus (c. 70 AD). John 9 may as well be a theological reflection on that event. When the Pharisees "throw out" the former blind man it was because this latter practically sided with Jesus when he insisted that Jesus is not a sinner.

For the Pharisees, Jesus is a sinner because he does not keep the Sabbath observance; he works on the Sabbath. But as far as the former blind man is concerned, all indications point to Jesus being para theou from God. The text of his declaration focuses on "doing God's will", something that was on top of Jesus' agenda: "do the works of the one who sent me". The conviction expressed here -- that one who does God's will is capable of anything -- is echoed in the words of Jesus to those who abide in Him and His word (cf. the Last Supper discourse of Jesus,esp. Jn. 14:12-14; 15:6). In a sense, it can also be taken as a theology of miracle-working. It is God who does the work but in answer to the prayer of one who does His will (see Jesus' prayer in Jn. 11:41-42). What Jesus said at the beginning of the chapter, namely, that the man was born blind "so that the works of God may be manifest in him" is repeated here in a declaration that makes the former blind man sound like a disciple of Jesus and causes his expulsion.

To recapitulate. The healing of the man born blind is an illustration of how Jesus is "light of the world", "the light that shines on every man" (Jn. 1:9). The allussion to baptism in the man washing himself in the waters of Siloam make the narrative a story of the baptized. This particular man who gained his sight through the action of Jesus took the side of Jesus even before he knew Him completely. But his knowledge of Jesus grew until he was "rewarded" a fuller knowledge of Him. This anticipates the knowledge of Thomas later on who confesses Jesus as Lord and God (Jn. 20:28). In his expulsion too, we find an anticipation of the servant who participates in the "hour" of Jesus (Jn. 12:23-26). But this is still anticipation, a "type" if you will of what is to come. The works of the Father (cf. Jn. 10:37) that Jesus performs drew the man born blind into the light. It is by this same light that the Pharisees remain in the darkness that envelops them (cf. Jn. 12:37-43). Their rejection of Jesus has rendered them blind and unable to make the step that the former blind man made: to confess belief in the Son of Man (cf. Jn. 12:44)

A Note on the Shorter Reading

The liturgy for the third Sunday of Lent (A) offers an abridged version of Jesus and the Man Born Blind. The verses selected for the reading are snippets from the following sections

1. The Healing (1. 6-7)
2. Reaction of Neighbors and Acquaintances (8-9)
3. Interrogation of Pharisees
   1. The Cured Man (13-17)
   2. The Parents (x)
   3. The Cured Man and His Expulsion (34)
4. Before Jesus
   1. Profession of Faith in the Son of Man (35-38)
   2. Judgment on the Pharisees (x)

The reading focuses on the healing process, the man's behavior before his neighbors and acquaintances, his defense of Jesus, calling him a "Prophet" (v. 17) and his expulsion. Finally, Jesus finding him and his confession of belief. The gospel selection then extends the reading about "living waters" (Jn. 4:4-26, 2nd Sunday of Lent) and highlights the identification of the baptized with Jesus, the "One Sent", who was himself rejected by "his own."