Week Six - Chapters 8, 9 and 10

One of the things that didn't get mentioned in class this week was that the healing of the blind man in chapter nine of John is the 6th sign of the 7 signs that John uses to represent the full spectrum of Jesus' work.  The 7th sign will be the raising of Lazarus in chapter eleven. We will cover that next week.

How the blind man responds is very telling of the ascending order of response Jesus receives to the signs that John records Jesus performing through His ministry.  Among all others present during the healing and subsequent investigation, the healed blind man is the one who can truly see who Jesus is and the scope of what He has come to do. It is blindness in its full sincerity that qualifies us to be restored by Jesus.  Pretending or claiming that we can see produces long term blindness both to what Jesus desires for us and in terms of what His long term effect is on us.

I hope you caught the sense of how Jesus interprets "sin" as opposed to how the religious leaders of Judaism defined it. Jesus is talking about full alienation and death whereas the religious leaders made "sin" about transgression of the law. No wonder Jesus keeps healing on the Sabbath and challenging their view of "sin." It's not transgression of the law that He is concerned about. Everyone in that sense is a transgressor since the law is impossible for fallen humanity to keep in its entirety. The law demands that it be kept fully - not in part. No one on earth has that ability. The Jews are looking to restore immediate wholeness of Israel in terms of obedience to the law while Jesus is looking to restore humanity to relationship with the Father for eternity. In this sense the wholeness of humanity will trump keeping the law any day.

God's community is defined by its focal point: Jesus.  Jesus is the centre, the one through whom humanity is restored to community with God. Belonging does not center on rule keeping but on relationship keeping - initiated and empowered by Jesus Himself. Lazarus will become the 7th and most significant sign that speaks physically of what Jesus desires to restore to humanity.  Giving new life is what Jesus is on earth for and it will be accomplished by his own resurrection - thus disabling sin and death and giving us "life." This will be the reason the Greeks come in chapter 12 to inquire of Jesus - the one who brings people from death to life.

Lecture Recordings:

Portico John Lecture - Chapter Eight Part II

Portico John Lecture - Chapter Eight Part III

Portico John Lecture - Chapter Nine - Forgiveness of Sins

Portico John Lecture - Chapter Ten - The Shepherd and His Flock