Chapter Six
One Thing I Know: That Though I Was Blind, Now I See
The Setting
Situated on the leveled hilltop of Mount Moriah, the Temple in Jerusalem once rose above acres of pavement, surrounded by columned terraces along the walls; a towering edifice of white marble capped with gold filigree gleaming in the autumn sunlight. The building itself enclosed two courtyards where services were held, and sacrifices were made upon a great altar. The people gathered outside on the terraces to barter, buy, and sell, exchange currency, or just sit and rest.
A part of the colonnade known as Solomon’s Porch was opposite the wide marble stairway that led up to the Temple entrance and the bronze doors of the Beautiful Gate. The picture would seem quite glorious if we didn’t have to include all the people that would be gathered there. For, amongst all the bustle of traffic, this was the perfect place for the infirmed, the cripple, and the blind to impede the entry of wealthy worshippers in their fine robes with their cries for a few alms. Jesus often used Solomon’s Porch as a place to teach his followers and debate his foes. On their way to and from the terrace, Jesus and his disciples would often pass by those same desperate, needy people. (read John 9:1-41)
The sixth Signpost stands here by the Temple marking the path of true spiritual sight. It points towards Siloam where the waters of the Gihon Spring fill a pool. There, pilgrims on their way to the Temple stop to honor the traditions of the elders with rituals of cleansing. Since the waters ran clear out of the spring it was considered ‘living water’ and would also be used in ceremonial washing in the Temple.
The Pool of Siloam was at the downward slopes of Mount Moriah in the Lower City; an area known as the City of David. This was the home of common working folk, a close-knit neighborhood with small homes on narrow streets. The steep and winding cobblestone path from the Temple through the Lower City to Siloam might not seem long or difficult to us … but imagine if you were born blind!
The Background
Three times a year people from all over Israel, and far beyond, would take a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, the site of the Holy Temple. The autumn harvest festival is known as the Feast of Tabernacles and is characterized by erecting shelters outdoors to remind the Jewish people that their ancestors lived in tents before settling in the land promised to them by God. The Feast is preceded by the Day of Atonement when special sacrifices are made to cover the sins of the nation. Then comes the building of the shelters, and seven days of celebration for the year’s bountiful harvest. Extended families gathered together from near and far, as the population of Jerusalem and the nearby villages swelled many times greater during the Feast days.
Special sacrifices were made in the daily services, and by night, crowds gathered in the Temple under towering seventy-foot pillars topped by flames to illuminate the courts below. The greatest celebrations took place on the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles when the High Priest poured water from the Pool of Siloam upon the Great Altar as a symbol of the spirit of life poured into the heart of men. Jesus took the opportunity of this religious practice to shout loudly to the crowd, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.” (read John 7:11-52) This outburst caused an uproar and a schism, with the people debating where the Messiah would come from, and the leaders now even more intent upon killing him. Our current story happens on a day after the end of the Feast.
The Event
Our narrative evolves through several scenes. In the morning the disciples gathered around Jesus as he taught in Solomon’s Porch. There, an incident occurred to challenge Jesus’ claims of authority. The outcome: it taught his opponents to consider their own sinful condition before accusing another. Nevertheless, after the challengers left, conflicts continued throughout the morning with the academic and religious leaders vehemently opposing Jesus. They would not accept his teaching about forgiveness or his authority to forgive sin. At midday, a hiatus seemed desirable, so they left the terrace to retire to the gardens on the Mount of Olives.
As they crossed the pavement below the Beautiful Gate, with the morning’s disputes still in mind, some disciples turned to Jesus to ask a question that perplexed them. “Teacher,” they inquired, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” To Jesus, this sounded exactly like the reasoning of his enemies. Hadn’t he just demonstrated to them the power of God’s forgiveness? What would it take for them to believe?
His reply contradicted both alternatives and gave an altogether different perspective. Jesus recognized that the Father wanted to make his authority more apparent with a sign, so, Jesus stepped toward the blind man and told them, “This has happened so the power of God could be seen in him.” Then he spat on the ground, made some mud, and spread it over the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “Wash yourself in the Pool of Siloam.” So, the blind man obeyed and went as instructed (the name Siloam means ‘sent’), while Jesus and his disciples continued.
The Blind Man traversed the rugged, winding road downhill to Siloam and washed the mud from his eyes. And as he lifted his head from the waters of the pool, he saw everything for the very first time! He wandered the streets near his home staring and gawking, only to be stopped by neighbors asking, “are you the blind man?” He assured them he was the same man.
But some religious leaders were outraged and dragged him before the local council. The leaders asked several times who healed him and how he was made to see, but they refused to believe the man and accused Jesus of being a sinner because the healing took place on the Sabbath. Still, others questioned, “how can an ordinary sinner do such miraculous signs?” The questioning of the leaders so exasperated the blind man that he finally answered back, “I don’t know whether he is a sinner, but I know this: I was blind, and now I see! We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but He is ready to hear those who worship Him and do His will. Since the world began, no one has opened the eyes of someone born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do it.”
The Sign
Sometime later, Jesus heard what had happened. When Jesus found the man he asked him, “Do you believe?” To which he replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe!” Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.”
But some of the academic and religious leaders were standing nearby and heard him say this. They bristled at his words and asked, “are you saying we’re blind?” So, Jesus replied, “if you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty. But you remain guilty because you claim you can see.”
Jesus’s time was growing short, and the rejection of the leaders was mounting into a tumult of confusion and hatred.
Self-justified authoritarians would not humble themselves or release their hold on power. They were spreading lies that distracted and misled the people. But if they would not recognize his miraculous works and believe his words, they would have to face the ultimatum this sign imposed upon them. Would they finally acknowledge their own blindness and be delivered? Or would they remain in the dark of doubt and unbelief?
The Conclusion
There was a time when Jesus questioned his disciples asking, “Who do you say that I am?” At that moment, Peter expressed the realization that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. The apostles followed Jesus because he had the words of life and there was nowhere else to go. All of his miracles, and all of his teachings, beg the same question of anyone who becomes acquainted with them.
After so long a time the people and their leaders should have embraced his message and grown in their faith. But instead, they halted in a darkness of their own choosing. The question given to the blind man stands out before you as well; do you believe? The arguments of the academics and the rituals of the religious have no standing before the claims of Christ. If you believe he is who he says he is, then your eyes will be opened to all of the truth; for there is peace in the forgiveness of sin found in our Savior Jesus Christ. But if you doubt, your disbelief will keep you in the darkness and the guilt of your sin will remain
When St. John wrote his gospel, his hope was that after reading so many signs you should have found your way, for the path to eternity is clearly marked. Jesus said he came into this world to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind. To SEE the path ahead of you, you must let go of your pride, humble yourself, embrace God’s forgiveness, and walk in His light. No one stumbles through the darkness of this world into heaven.