THE GOSPEL OF JOHN Small Group Discussion Guide Text: John 9:1-12 Theme/ Big Idea: The light of the world is bringing light to the eyes of a blind man in order to give a visible parable of the work of redemption Jesus came to provide. Context/ Background Information: In John 8, Jesus claimed to be "the light of the world" and the great "I Am." Now in chapter 9 both of those claims are visibly displayed in the miraculous healing of a man born blind. The setting for chapter 7 and 8 was in the temple during the Feast of Tabernacles. Chapter 9 begins somewhere outside the temple as Jesus was leaving and "passing by" (John 9:1). It was not uncommon for those with physical ailments, especially the blind, to sit outside the temple and beg. As Jesus passed by he saw a man, John says, "blind from birth." This immediately elicits a question from the disciples regarding the relationship of suffering and sin. Jesus carefully redirects their question to the purposes of God in suffering. Jesus then heals the blind man, sending him as a living parable that Jesus is the great "I Am" come to give light to the world. THE QUESTION OF SUFFERING Immediately upon encountering the man blind from birth, the disciples asked Jesus, "Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (John 9:2). Their question is a question of theodicy. Theodicy is the attempt to explain the relationship of sin and suffering. More specifically, it is the attempt to understand the relationship of God to suffering and why suffering exists. Their question reveals the prevailing sentiment of the day. Like so many others, the disciples assumed that if suffering is present then it must be the result of personal sin. This sentiment is as old as Job. His friends assumed that the tragedy and suffering he experienced was directly related to sin in his life (Job 4:7-8; 5:17; 8:4; 11:6). Here, the disciples can only assume this man's blindness is the result of his sin or his parents. At root, the questions the disciples are asking is a question of "why?" Even more specifically, they are asking a question of fault. Whose fault is it that this man was born blind? Who violated the laws of God that resulted in this physical suffering? Is it this man's fault, or is it his parent's fault? One is a question of personal guilt. The other is a question of blame. While all suffering is generally the result of sin and the fall, the disciples falsely assume, like Job's friends, that all personal suffering is the result of personal sin. As Bruce Milne helpfully reminds, "Sin has produced a suffering world, but an individual's personal suffering is not always attributable to his or her personal sin." (1) THE PURPOSE OF SUFFERING Remarkably, Jesus transcends their question. The disciples asked a question of fault. Jesus, on the other hand, says it was neither this man's sin nor his parent's "but that the works of God might be displayed in him" (John 9:3). While the disciples asked a question of "why," Jesus redirected them to the question of "how?" In other words, this is not an issue of fault. This is an issue of opportunity. Jesus leads the disciples to consider a different question, specifically, "How will this occasion be used to glorify God?" First, Jesus says, "but that" or "so that." This gives clear indication of purpose. We are not given any specifics on why this man is blind. But we are told, and know for sure, that this occasion is not or nothing. This man's blindness and this encounter serve a divine purpose. Jesus' words are reminiscent of the story of Joseph. Even though Joseph was forsaken by his family, sold into slavery, accused of assault, and forgotten in prison, "The Lord was with Joseph" (Gen 39:2). Joseph rose to prominence in Egypt, and when confronting the brothers who betrayed him, he said, "you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" (Gen 50:20). Although we cannot always know "why," we can always know "that." Specifically, we can know that God is at work, that God is still on his throne, that God has not forgotten or forsaken us, and that God has a purpose. Secondly, Jesus says that this occasion and opportunity is so "that the works of God might be displayed in him" (John 9:3). Any time we see the phrase "works of God" in the Gospel of John, it refers to the works of God in Jesus. Jesus said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work" (John 4:34; 5:36; 17:4). What is that work specifically? It is the work of redemption. It is the work of the good news of the gospel that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Jesus transcended the disciples' question of who was at fault and redirected them to consider how God would use this occasion to accomplish his purpose of redemption. THE DISPLAY OF REDEMPTION In verse 6, Jesus reiterates something he first clearly proclaimed in John 8:12. He says, "I am the light of the world." John connects the following miracle directly to this claim saying, "Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing" (John 9:6–7). The light of the world is bringing light to the eyes of a blind man. If the purpose of this miracle is primarily to display the work of redemption in Jesus, then we must ask, "How?" There are two ways, one general and one more specific. First, in the previous accounts of Jesus' miraculous healings, he healed by command. When he healed the official's son in John 4:50, he did so without even being present and by the simple statement, "Go, your son will live." And again in John 5:8-9, when Jesus healed the paralytic, he simply issued a command for him to walk. Why then does Jesus cover the man's eyes with mud (making the issue of sight worse) and then send him to the Pool of Siloam to be healed? Some see in this an intensification of the man's blindness, thereby increasing the emphasis on the miraculous cure. That is possible. But it is more likely that intensifying the man's blindness, or darkness, actually highlights his obedience. Jesus made things darker and even harder for the man and then called for obedience and faith. Remember, the man is blind, but he can still hear and, therefore, can still receive instruction. Jesus covered his eyes and then invited him to trust and obey. What is happening here? In Genesis 2:16-17, God said to Adam, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." With this command was an implied invitation to obey without full explanation. It is a request to trust and obey. In Genesis 3 Adam and Eve believed the lies of Satan and believed their eyes. Genesis 3:6 says, "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…." All humanity and all of creation were instantly plunged into darkness and suffering. Then comes Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God. In John 8, he emphatically declared that the world is walking in darkness and that he was the light of the world. In other words, mankind does not see accurately, truly, or rightly. Therefore, Jesus invites us to "follow" him and receive "the light of life" (John 8:12). What is he inviting us to do? Jesus is inviting us to obey without a full explanation. In other words, he is inviting us to trust him with our lives. Now in John 9, we see a tangible example of this. A man born blind trusts, obeys, and submits to Jesus, and the result is that he sees! His blindness, darkness, and suffering are lifted. In this way, this healing of the blind man visibly displays the work of redemption Jesus came to accomplish. But there is a second, and more specific, way this miraculous healing of the blind man displays the work of redemption. After smearing the mud and saliva on the blind man's eyes, Jesus "said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing" (John 9:7). John specifically draws our attention to the fact that Siloam "means sent." Two things are happening here. First, a blind man with mud on his eyes immediately trusted and obeyed Jesus, marching down to a pool of water in front of crowds of people who claimed to see but refused to obey. He is blind, trusts Jesus, is enabled to see, and it leads to worship. They claim to see, reject Jesus, revealing they are blind, and leading to their condemnation.