For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind

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 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

The setting for our current reading is the Feast of Tabernacles, which is an eight-day autumn harvest festival.  The feast commemorates the time when Israel wandered in the wilderness of Sinai, dwelling in tents or "tabernacles," temporary structures.  It is the last year of Jesus' human life.  (Chapters 7 and 8 also were set during this same feast.)   Jesus has been in confrontation with the leadership, who have unsuccessfully tried to have Him arrested, and He has walked out of the temple.  Yesterday, we read that 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, "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.  Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."  We remember that the term the Jews is used like a political term in almost every case in John's Gospel; it denotes the leadership (all the people in the story are Jews, including Jesus and the author of the Gospel).  What we see from this exchange between the formerly blind man's parents and the leadership is their fear of the leaders.  They don't even speak up in defense of their son, but respond that he must testify for himself.

 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."  The healed man, says my study bible, becomes a model of Christian witness.  Many people, it says, do not bear witness to Christ because they fear they will be asked questions that they cannot answer.  This man's answer to people who are far more educated than he is provides the real solution:  he admits what he does not know, but he follows up with what he does know.  This formula, "That I don't know, but what I do know is this," is foundational to witnessing one's faith to others.

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.   We observe the evolution of the formerly blind man's understanding.  He began by knowing nothing about Jesus at all, but here begins to conclude that He couldn't possibly be a sinner to do such a work as to open the eyes of someone born blind.  In the context of Jewish spirituality, this is unprecedented at the time of the Pharisees, and therefore a confirmation of Christ's divinity.  It was one of the signs of the coming Messiah (Isaiah 35:5; 42:7) and a prerogative belonging to God alone (Psalm 146:8).  The man healed of blindness thereby concludes that Jesus must be from God and confesses Him as so to the leaders.  The leadership can't refute his logic nor the truth of what he reveals.  But they resort simply to insults -- and finally, throwing him out of the temple.  (See also their earlier insult to Jesus, in 8:48.)

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.  Here we see the fullness of the growth of illumination in the man who has been healed of his blindness.  He finally sees Jesus as the divine Son of God and worships Him.

And Jesus said, "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who 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 that our Lord's coming brought Judgment into the world, not because He came to judge (12:47-48), but rather because of the accountability of human beings to Him.  Those who see and hear Him but do not believe are judged by their own faithlessness. 

Who is blind, and who is not?  It's interesting to note that as the man blind from birth has his sight restored, and grows in illumination in spiritual terms as to the identity of Jesus, the Pharisees who oppose Jesus seem only to grow more blind.  They can't resort to arguments that actually make sense, and so they indulge themselves in insults.  Their blindness seems to grow with their own frustration that they cannot have Jesus arrested.  When evidence to the contrary about Jesus' character arises, it only serves to deepen their blindness and irate responses.  Things they should know -- signs of the coming of the Messiah and unheard-of healings -- go discarded in terms of what they will think about and consider.  Once again, as in yesterday's reading. we're not merely observers of this story.  We can find ourselves participating in it, in the roles of a variety of the characters.  The Gospels give us the story of human nature and the revelation of God, God's work among us in the Person of the human Jesus -- and the responses to Him.  So much depends upon this response.  It isn't just a question of observing the behaviors of each of the persons illustrated in the text.  It is also a question of understanding where deliberate blindness takes us, and most especially, what that blindness rejects for ourselves.  The text speaks of judgment.  Jesus clearly links blindness (in particular the deliberate blindness of these experts in the Law and Scripture) with judgment.  This type of blindness holds us responsible for what it is we reject.  Therein, we too, should consider carefully our own roles in stories of our own lives in which we fill in for the experience of one of the people in the story.  Have we observed this blindness as bystanders and considered what it meant for our own consciences and our own choices?  Have we something to witness to truly, like the healed man who was blind from birth?  Are we like his parents?  Have we been in a situation where we take no responsibility (including even curiosity) for understanding and making a choice?  Have we ever been like these hostile Pharisees, pushing a choice against mounting evidence contrary to our understanding and interest?  Each of these people are here in the Gospels so that we consider what we read as a story about us, about human beings and our Creator.  Do we know His love?  Can we accept it?  Can we let go of what we cling to in blindness so that we don't have to change for the better, in His light?  Let us note the blindness that grows and the illumination that also grows.  We have a choice to make for the light, but we so often let our own darkness -- things we don't see or don't want to see -- get in our own way.  The looming question is Jesus' subject, judgment.  We must consider what we lose with blindness, and take it to heart.