Healing the blind man Flashcards
What I AM saying does this sign link to?
‘I am the light of the world’
What strange performance does JC go through when performing this sign?
He makes a mud paste and rubs it into the mans face before telling him to wash it off in the Pool of Siloam, the previous signs have shown that JC’s word is enough, so he clearly didn’t need to do this
What might JC making the mud paste be a reference to?
God making Adam out of the Earth in Genesis 2:7. JC isn’t just curing this man, he is remaking him as a new human being
How was JC’s making of the clay paste probably a provocation?
Because making clay on the Sabbath counts as work and is therefore forbidden by Jewish Law. Just like in the healing at the pool, JC flaunts Sabbath rules to deliberately provoke the Pharisees
What is the significance of JC sending the man to the Pool of Siloam?
He is sending the man not only on a journey that will take him from physical blindness to sight, but more importantly on a spiritual journey that will take him from the spiritual darkness of ignorance to Light. The patient will come to realise that JC is much more than just a doctor, but this is a journey of faith he must make on his own
What is the significance of the pool being called Siloam?
Because this means sent. This is symbolically important because JC has been sent by God and JC sends the man on a spiritual journey
Why does this sign divide the Pharisees when they find out?
Because on the one hand, JC has performed a miracle, but on the other he has broken Sabbath rules, which does not fit into their legalistic approach
How does John’s gospel present the Jewish leaders in a humiliating light here?
Because the Pharisees are presented as bumbling investigators and the man and his parents run rings around them with increasingly biting and sarcastic replies to their questions
What is the importance of the remark about anyone who accepts JC as the Messiah being kicked out of the Synagogue?
Because Brown argues that this is exactly what happened to the Johannine Community in the 80s or 90s CE due to their hugh christology. John’s original leaders would have therefore identified very strongly with the blind man. They would have recognised the parents as people who wanted to come out as Christian but were too scared. Brown argues that John was originally written to encourage these crypro-christians to come out
What is the irony of the Pharisees saying they do not even know where JC comes from?
Because the Pharisees are the ones living in darkness who do not see that JC is the Word made Flesh and comes from God because they are spiritually blind.
How does the scene end?
With the man being thrown out of the Synagogue
What happens when JC reappears and introduces himself to the man?
He realises who Jesus and completes his spiritual journey
State John 9:38
‘The man said ‘Lord I believe’ and worshipped him’
What is the significance of the man losing contact with his neighbours and falling afoul of the Jewish authorities on his journey to believing in JC?
Because this happened to many early Christian converts
Explain how this sign sums up the previous signs
- It criticises petty Sabbath rules, like the healing at the pool
- It shows that JC is the source of life and must be believed in, like the healing of the official’s son
- Illustrates Christianity as growing out of and replacing the Jewish religion, like the Cana Wedding incident
- Reassures Christians that their sufferings draw them closer to God, like the sign of JC walking on water
- The man worshipping JC links to the feeding of the 5000, since JC is worshipped through the Eucharist
