This weekend we celebrate the 4th Sunday in Lent, the encounter of Jesus and the man born blind. In yesterday’s post we completed our inspection of the various interrogations. Today, we arrive at the “fish or cut bait” moment. The authorities drive the man away (v.34), then Jesus finds the man and asks: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Continue reading →

This weekend we celebrate the 4th Sunday in Lent, the encounter of Jesus and the man born blind. In yesterday’s post we began to consider the first wave of post-miracle interrogations. Today, we continue to explore the unfolding interrogations – note: it is a long one! Continue reading →

This weekend we celebrate the 4th Sunday in Lent, the encounter of Jesus and the man born blind. In yesterday’s post we began to consider the details of the text, discussing the settings of the encounter and the healing itself. Today, we move into the repercussions of the healings: a series of interrogations. It is the longest section of the read and will be covered over the course of today and tomorrow. Continue reading →

This weekend we celebrate the 4th Sunday in Lent . In yesterday’s post we considered St. John’s treatment of “sin.” Today we move into the text itself.

If you wanted a one sentence summary of this account – here it is: “I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind”(v.39). Or: as a sign that he is the light, Jesus gives sight to a man born blind. But there is a richness to be gained in a detailed look at the text and narrative.  The Johannine scholar, Fr. Raymond Brown suggests the following outline: Continue reading →

This weekend we celebrate the 4th Sunday in Lent . In yesterday’s post we considered the purpose of miracles (signs) in the fourth gospel. Today, we will see how St. John treats the category of “sin.” In our passage, the concept of sin will be quickly introduced via the disciples’ question in v.2 : “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”  This reflects traditional Jewish speculation on the relationship of illness and sin. In 1st century Palestine, people commonly assumed that disease and disorders on both the personal and national level were due to sin, as summarized in the rabbinic saying from around 300 CE that “there is no death without sin and there is no suffering without iniquity” (b. shabbat 55a). Continue reading →

The gospel for this 4th Sunday in Lent is taken from the ninth chapter of the Gospel of John. It is important to note that in John 8 one of the key points is Jesus’ self-identification as the “light of the world.” Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world (8:12) is repeated in 9:5, and the healing miracle in John 9 stands as a demonstration of this claim. In addition, the Mishnah identifies Siloam, the water in which the blind man bathes (v.7), as the source of the water for the water libations of the Tabernacles feast, also mentioned in the previous chapter.  John 8 also captures an on-going engagement with the religious authorities – an engagement which continues in conflict in John 9. Continue reading →