Saturday 25 July 2026

Psalm 100

Background
This is the only account of a miracle in the gospels where the individual who is healed is said to have been afflicted from birth. For the disciples, his situation presented an opportunity to ask Jesus a difficult question about the relationship between sin and suffering.

As a prison chaplain, I sometimes notice a link between parents’ sin and their son’s suffering. The parents may have been addicted to drugs, they may have abused their child and abandoned him at an early age. This ties in with the Old Testament concept of the link between sin and suffering (Exodus 20:5 and Numbers 14:18).

Jesus dismissed this connection – neither the parents nor the man sinned, he replies. It is worth noting that the account does not give any indication that Jesus spoke to the blind man before he healed him or that the blind man himself spoke.

During my Methodist local preacher training the module ‘Salvation history and the life of Christ’ remains one of the most memorable moments of study. The work of the Revd Professor Frances Young introduced me to a more profound understanding of judgement, repentance and Jesus' death on the cross. The Revd Frances’ son Arthur was born with profound disabilities and in this film 'Cross & Redemption' she says that this led her to question her faith in God. Revd Frances mentions John’s account of the healing of the blind man and the anger she felt reading verse 3, where Jesus says "...he was born blind so that the works of God might be revealed in him." Revd Frances asks why should this man be born blind and have all those years of struggle just so Jesus could wave a magic wand and put things right?

But then she reflects: "I realised that actually the extraordinary thing about the gospel of John is that the cross is the glory. The hour of glory is the hour on the cross and that what the whole gospel is about is not Jesus waving a magic wand, but Jesus entering into the very depths of all the darkness of the world. And in that process enabling the darkness itself to be transformed into glory. And this was a kind of liberating vision which enabled me to find my way back into faith."

To Ponder:

• Why do you think John makes no mention of any conversation between Jesus and the blind man and just talks about Jesus healing him?
• What implications does this account have for a Christian understanding of judgement and salvation?

Prayer
Jesus, help me to wash away
The things that prevent me seeing
Your glory. Amen

Bible notes author: Dr Tom Lunt
Dr Tom Lunt is a Methodist local preacher, prison chaplain and lecturer. He lives with his wife Liz in East Sussex.