There are four stories of healing physical blindness in the New Testament, two in Mark, one in Matthew, and this one in John. Not surprisingly, the story in John varies quite a bit from the others.
In the first Mark story (8:22-26), an un-named man is brought to Jesus for healing by “some people”, maybe friends, family, maybe strangers. We can infer that since the man follows Jesus out of the village that he indeed wants to have sight. Jesus puts saliva on the man’s eyes, and twice puts his hands on the man’s eyes. The man can now see. Jesus then tells him to go home.
In the second Mark Story (10:46-52), a man named Bartimaeus is made aware that Jesus is approaching, so he calls out to him, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowd rebukes the man but he repeats his request. After Bartimaeus is brought to Jesus, Jesus asks him what he would like him to do for him. The man requests to have his sight again. Done. His faith has made him well, he is told by Jesus. Bartimaeus follows Jesus.
Matthew’s story (20:29-34) is similar to the story in Mark 10. The differences being that there are two blind men and that Jesus just touches their eyes for them to have sight, possibly for the first time, as they do not request to have their sight again. They also start following Jesus.
In this passage from John, the man has been blind from birth. He does not ask for his sight, nor does anyone ask on his behalf. Jesus makes mud by mixing his saliva and dirt which he applies to the man’s eyes, and then sends him to the pool of Siloam to wash. There is no interaction between Jesus and the blind man in the opening scene until Jesus makes mud and applies it to the man’s eyes. The interaction is between Jesus and his disciples initially, as they ask
Who sinned that this man was born blind?
Whose fault is it?
Is it his fault?
His parents?
A prevalent way of thinking about illnesses, disabilities, or any befallen struggle or hardship in Jesus’ time, was through the lens of shame. Things like blindness, leprosy, and similar situations often left people at the margins of society with the belief that their situation was punishment for their, or a family member’s, misdeed. The individual, or the family, has brought shame upon themselves. This is their punishment. This is their fault.
How often do we engage in similar thinking today, wanting to put blame somewhere, even if there is no one, or nothing, to blame? Who sinned, who did something wrong to deserve this punishment?
Stuff happens. Sometimes really awful, difficult, and painful stuff. And it sucks.
Even now, when difficult situations and circumstances arise, some people see them as punishment. Sometimes we beat ourselves up as being responsible for a situation, even if we had no control over it. Other times we ascribe blame to others for their circumstances, whether we know their story or not. Don’t get me wrong, we humans are good at making lousy or risky decisions that leave us in trouble.
In this passage, the disciples are asking that very question about the blind man. Who is to blame? Because in the culture and society of Jesus’ day, someone sinned for this man to be blind or for someone to have leprosy or a person to be lame, or mute, or any other ailment. Dishonor and shame belong to the blind man and his family.
While John’s story is the only one which brings up the question of who sinned, all three blind men in Matthew’s story and Mark’s second story cry out for mercy. If we understand mercy as not getting what we deserve…punishment of some kind…then it is possible that these individuals also believed they were being punished.
Except in John, Jesus tells his disciples otherwise. No one sinned. And most people would agree with that. His reasoning though, does not necessarily sit well. In this translation, the NRSVUE, the response in verse 3 is:
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned; he was born blind so that God’s works might be revealed in him.
I suspect I’m not the only one who cringes at this verse. Did God want him to be born blind? Does God also want some people to be born deaf, with one hand, or any other number of disability? Does God want some people to experience debilitating events or great losses? Does God want us to suffer?
It’s not uncommon to understand this verse to be saying that the man’s blindness was intentional to show God’s glory and power. The translation above sure seems to be saying that and is the common interpretation in commentaries and by scholars. Personally, I’m not one that is comforted by people saying a difficult situation is “part of God’s plan.” While hardships, are part of life for us humans, I do not believe that is God’s desire, or plan, for us. I don’t believe some suffer more than others because that’s what God wants for them nor has a need to punishment.
Was not the death of Jesus on the cross supposed to put an end to that line of thinking? Why do we perpetuate the image of a vengeful God instead of a loving God?
Doing some digging around into the Greek text and commentaries, it seems there is a minority view about the Greek word hina (ἵνα), most commonly translated as “that,” “so that” or ” in order that”. The minority view is that in John’s verse, it is a form which would work as “let” something happen, instead of “so that” something happens.
If we come at this verse as “letting” something happen, maybe the paraphrase found in The Message version is a possible alternative (bold emphasis is mine):
Look instead for what God can do.
Another translation to consider might be the Contemporary English Version:
But because of his blindness, you will see God work a miracle for him.
Throughout this gospel, the author of John is pointing to Jesus, telling the original community and us, that Jesus is the Christ, the divine Son of God. This collection of stories this Lenten season have been about seeing who Jesus really is; about coming out of various forms of darkness and into the light.
No, this blind man was not born blind because of something he did; nor would most people today say the parents were to blame. And yet, because he was blind, his community had the opportunity to God’s good work.
And the sad part is, in the rest of the story, the man who was blind since birth is overjoyed to have sight; but the rest of the community and his parents struggle to accept him and what Jesus had done for him.
Today, where are we blind to seeing God’s good work being done through the Holy Spirit, through the hands of people around us? How are we being the presence of Christ for one another instead of victim blaming those who are struggling with the challenges of life? In these four stories of five blind men getting their sight, Jesus doesn’t lay blame on them.
Can we lay aside our blame, our shame, and our disbelief? Can we in turn see the goodness of creation, a loving God, and the face of Christ in our neighbors? Lord, open our eyes.
Photo Credit: Mike Mayer