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But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner." He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see."
Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?" Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from." The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing."
They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him.
And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who may see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains."
- John 9:18-41
Jesus is at the Feast of Tabrernacles in Jerusalem. He has preached to the leadership, "Before Abraham was, I AM." They took up stones to throw at Him, but He hid and passed by them out of the temple. Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. And He said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing. Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, "Is not this he who sat and begged?" Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He is like him." He said, "I am he." Therefore they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" He answered and said, "A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight." Then they said to him, "Where is He?" He said, "I do not know." They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Again, it's important to remember that in John's Gospel the term "the Jews" is used sort of like a political affiliation; most of the time it's used not to refer to the Jewish people, but rather to the religious authorities, those who consider themselves the "regulators" of the faith.
Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner." My study bible suggests that while Jesus isn't present, the Pharisees call Him a sinner, but earlier He's already asked them face-to-face, "Which if you convicts Me of sin?" (8:46, see this reading), and they evaded the question. Give God the glory! is an oath formula that was used before giving testimony. But the whole purpose of this man's blindness from birth, as Jesus has indicated in yesterday's reading, was to "give God glory" via his healing. My study bible says that he also gives God glory in that, the more he is pressed, the more fervent his faith becomes, while the Pharisees "lapse into deeper darkness."
He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." My study bible says, "This healed man becomes a model of Christian witness. Many people do not bear witness to Christ because they fear they will be asked questions they cannot answer. This man's answer to people much more educated than he provides the solution: he admits what he does not know, but follows up with what he does know. The formula, 'That I don't know, but what I do know is this,' is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others." Another form of giving God glory is this model of witnessing for all the rest of us.
Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?" Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from." The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." This unprecedented nature of opening the eyes of one born blind is a kind of confirmation that Christ is Messiah -- it was one of the signs indicated by Isaiah (Isaiah 35:5; 42:7) and, my study bible says, "a prerogative belonging solely to God" (Psalm 146:8).
They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?" He answered and said, "Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?" And Jesus said to him, "You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you." Then he said, "Lord, I believe!" And he worshiped Him. My study bible points out that "having opened the blind man's eyes, the Lord also opens his heart and illuminates his spirit." He's moved from knowing nearly nothing about Christ, to the conclusion that Jesus can't possibly be a sinner ("God does not hear sinners"), to a confession that Jesus must be from God ("If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing"), to finally seeing Him as the Son of God and worshiping Him. The Pharisees can't and don't refute his logic or the truth of what he reveals in testimony; instead they resort to personal insult (see also 8:48).
And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who may see may be made blind." Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, "Are we blind also?" Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains." My study bible says, "Our Lord's coming brought judgment into the world not because He came to judge (12:47-48), but because of man's accountability to Him. Those who see and hear Him but do not believe are judged by their own faithlessness." Quite clearly, these men don't want to believe; their concern is to zealously guard their positions of authority against Jesus and his criticisms, as they did against John the Baptist.
Witnessing is an important and essential thing to think about. How do we witness to what we have experienced, or to the things that have illuminated our own vision? Yesterday, we read a comment in my study bible that baptism has always been understood as "illumination," that this was the goal of the catechumens in the ancient Church. In our past two readings, a man blind from birth has had his own illumination. His eyes have been opened to the light of day, the light of the world, even as we've read that Jesus taught, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." As "light of the world," or of the cosmos, His is the light by which we are taught to see the many things truly there for us in our lives, and it's to that kind of light that we witness. What have you discovered on your own journey with Christ? Christ's light can also illumine the not-so-pleasant things in our lives, the dark corners, the things that we need to change or at least acknowledge. Many forget that part of the journey, or talk like it's not there. But His light is always leading us somewhere, on a closer road with Him, and with the Father, and the Spirit. So, how do you need your eyes opened today? To what can you witness as to the light that has illumined you in your life, one way and another? This is the important vision and goal we take with us as we understand our faith, what it means to glorify God, and to testify as witness.
