Monday, April 4, 2011

John 9

Manifestations Versus Theories

This chapter describes the only miracle in the Gospels relating to a person who was born blind. The Jews connected sufferings with sin, but this person was born with the infirmity of blindness. Therefore, they asked Christ, "Is this man's blindness due to his own sin or to the sins of his parents?" During the period when Christ ministered in Jerusalem, Jews believed that the sins of parents could result in various sicknesses of their children. They also believed that human souls pre-existed in the world prior to the Garden of Eden in a "seventh heaven," or some type of “chamber" awaiting entrance into a physical embryo. It was also believed that souls could become corrupt as they waited for existence in the physical world of humanity. In this passage John makes no connection between sinfulness and suffering. He only states that a person's sicknesses are an opportunity for God to express his sovereignty. In John 9:6 – 12, Jesus healed the blind man by making mud with his spittle and rubbing it onto the eyes of the blind man. As strange as this seems, using spittle for a situation such as this was practiced at that time in the ancient world. In that culture spittle, especially from a distinguished person, was believed to possess certain curative qualities. Jesus employed methods and customs that were familiar to people of the society where he existed in order to accomplish his purposes. Naturally, when this miracle was reported to scribes, they investigated the episode to validate its occurrence. After receiving assurances of the legitimacy of the miracle, the scribes began questioning the authenticity of Jesus as an individual. They were suggesting that even though the miracle occurred, it could not have been from God because Jesus was a Sabbath-breaking sinner. They reasoned that he was clearly a sinner because he did the work of healing this blind individual on the Sabbath. The blind man who was healed retorted, "Whether he is a sinner, I do not know. One thing I do know – I used to be blind and now I can see." Like the blind man, Christians sometimes are unable to articulate their faith with precise, theologically correct language. In spite of this, each Christian can witness about what Christ has done for them as spiritual beings. Stating that Jesus gives a person's life meaning and fulfillment is a wonderful concept that has a richness that does not exist in any theory no matter how innovative it might be. As a true follower of Christ it is important for us to simply confess that we once were blind, but now we can see.

- Terry Minter