John 9: 1 39 – A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

Target year level: Year Nine

Scripture text

Introduction

John’s gospel is often called ‘the fourth gospel’ to distinguish it from the synoptic gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. Authorship is traditionally attributed to John ‘the beloved disciple’, but the final version of the text was probably the work of several editors. The other texts in the Christian Scriptures which are attributed to John - the three letters and the book of Revelation - are unlikely to have been written by the author of the fourth gospel. The gospel was probably written in the last decade of the first century CE – later than the other gospels.

The gospel of John is commonly divided into four parts: 1. Prologue (1:1-18); 2. Book of Signs (1:19-12:50); 3. Book of Glory (13:1-20:31); and 4. Epilogue (21:1-25). The language of the gospel is sophisticated, but many of the symbols used are drawn from everyday life, for example, life, light, bread, water, shepherd, door and way.

There are considerable differences between John and the synoptic gospels. There are no infancy or baptism narratives and there is no mention of the institution of the Eucharist in John’s account of the Last Supper. Further, in the synoptics the true identity of Jesus as Messiah is revealed to the disciples over time and only fully disclosed towards the end of the narratives; but in John, the disciples know that Jesus is the Messiah from the outset. Also, the Kingdom is not the central focus of Jesus’ teaching in John as it is in the synoptics. Rather it is Jesus himself who is the focus. This is evident from the mystical prologue in which Jesus is identified as pre-existent and the incarnate Word of God. Here we can see the framework of an incarnational Christology emerging.

In the second part of the gospel - the Book of Signs - John gives evidence about the true identity of Jesus in the form of signs, which are seen and heard. The verbs ‘see’ and ‘hear’ are strongly associated with ‘believe’ for John.

The central theme of John’s theology is life, and Jesus is the source of life. It is Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, who draws together heaven and earth in order that believers may share in the life of God and in the glory that comes with eternal life.

For more information about the Gospel of John see the New American Bible, Revised Edition (NABRE), Introduction to John.

World behind the text

Not much is known of the Johannine community but it is thought to have been situated in Ephesus (Seljuk in modern Turkey). In Early Christian times, Ephesus was the fourth largest sea port in the Roman Empire. It was a prosperous city and an influential centre of Christianity for many centuries after the Gospel of John was written.

It is not likely that the membership of the Johannine community was actually Jewish: it was probably a mixed group of those with Jewish and those with Gentile heritage. There may have been tensions between the two groups: the former favouring the humanity of Jesus and the latter his divinity. Some scholars think that the book may have been written to resolve these tensions.

John’s gospel is notable for its sympathetic portrayal of women, who play prominent and significant roles as disciples and witnesses in the text. This is particularly evident in the case of the Samaritan woman who had an extraordinary and revelatory conversation with Jesus (4:4-42) and in the story of the women who were the first witnesses to the resurrection (20:11-18). These instances indicate a mutual relationship in discipleship and ministry between women and men, which may have existed in the Johannine community.

World of the text

This passage comes from the second section of the gospel, that is, the Book of Signs. The Sabbath healing of the man born blind is the sixth sign. Here, Jesus identifies himself as the ‘light of the world’. Seeing and believing are directly aligned in this sign. The influential Pharisees are blind because they do not recognise Jesus as the Messiah. On the other hand, the poor and disabled man in the narrative is both sighted and enlightened: his sight is restored by Jesus and he believes who Jesus is.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the cure of Tobit’s blindness (Tb 11: 7–14) is the only reported instance of such a miracle, but Tobit was not born blind. So, this sign in John’s gospel is an extraordinary event, which indicates that Jesus is the fulfilment of God’s covenant promises, he is the long-awaited Messiah, who will progress the covenant saga to completion.

Unfortunately ‘the Jews’, do not seem to ‘see’ what is happening. John identifies ‘the Jews’ as other. By the time the fourth gospel was written, Christian communities had separated from the synagogue and there may have been some animosity between Jewish and Christian communities, which is discernible in the undertone of this passage.

World in front of the text

Unlike the blind man, we cannot look directly into the face of Jesus, but we can recognise Jesus in the face of others. If we use the eyes of faith we can recognise Jesus embodied in: the teacher who sees potential in every student; in the parent who looks at their child with sheer delight; in the child who watches out for others, not just their friends. However, there is another dimension to notice and a more challenging reality to address. That is, our responsibility for the homeless person, the troubled or troublesome child, the old person who has outlived family and friends. It is on us, as Christians, to be the embodiment of Christ, the ‘light of the world’, for them.