The Healing of the Blind Man

Chapter 9 of John, the story of Jesus healing the blind man, connects with several of the themes about time from Chapter 11 of Jesus Before Christianity. The man in this bible passage was blind from birth, so this was a time in which he was unable to see both physically and spiritually. Upon meeting the man, Jesus gave the man sight, and with that sight the man could experience “a new time” in his life. Through this miracle, the previously blind man experienced metanoia (or a conversion) through which he realized that Jesus was a true prophet. John 9:5 in which Jesus says, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world,” seems to encapsulate the idea that Jesus presents a new image of a compassionate God to the world.

Brett Dennen

Chapter 18 deals with government corruption. It seems like throughout all history, those holding the most power tend to have a tendency to grow corrupt. However, it seems like a cycle that never changes. Enjoy.

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Brett Dennen - Ain't No Reason - Click here for the funniest movie of the week

Chapter 18: On Trial

Nolan describes the two different court systems at the time of Jesus' trial. Pontius Pilate headed the Roman court, while there was a Jewish Court called the Sanhedrin court. Jesus could have been tried by the Jewish court for a couple of things such as blasphemy, but was brought up on one charge by the Roman court instead. Jesus was only charged with attempting to be the Messiah. Then Pilate is described as a stubborn, hard-nosed criminal who extorted at multiple times during his career as an official. Bribery and theft were not out of the ordinary for Pilate. When a group of Jews went to look for relics of Moses, Pilate sent his army after them to slaughter them. He was constantly afraid of rebellions against him, and his paranoia often led to action. The main question in the first half of the chapter is which court is the one that drove Jesus into trial? While it does seem that the Roman court is to blame, the Jewish court played an equal part by aiding the Romans is arresting Jesus. Had the Jewish court attempted to save Jesus, a war would have followed. On trial, Jesus spent no time defending himself. Jesus tested everyone else, event though he was on trial. No one stood up for Jesus, while there were people who believed in him. There is a time for everything, and this was certainly a time for trials. Peter and Judas and the disciples were tested, Pilate was tested, and Jesus was tested as the Son of Man.

John Chapter 9-Healing of the Blind Man

In John chapter 9, verses 39 and 41 caught my attention and interested me. Verse 39 states: And Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind." Jesus's purpose on earth was to spread the word of God and to tell people of his love and how they will eternally live with God forever if they are forgiven of their sins. Jesus healed those who were sick, and made the blind see. The quote- "that those who see may become blind" Jesus's other purpose was to help people realize their sins and ask for forgiveness. He wanted everyone one to know that God is within him spreading the word that they may live with God forever. He wanted everyone to know so they would all be able to one day.
Another verse that I was interseted in was verse 2. When the disciples ask Jesus who is to blame for the man's blindness he replied: "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him." I think this quote has alot to do with the saying that "everything happens for a reason". Like for example if something bad happens to us, we ask first why God did this to us. But we then realize that God wouldn't put us through something we could not handle. Once in our lives, we will have to carry the cross on our shoulders, but God will give us the strength to bear through it.

Chapter 11: A New Time

In order to better understand the teachings of Jesus, we must recognize his views about time, particularly concerning the present and/or future of the “kingdom”. The Western way of thinking focuses on time as a measurement. This view of time with regard to clocks and calendars is called quantitative time. However, the Hebrew spoke of time as a quality, expressed in the Ecclesiastes passage seen on the right of the blog. The prophets of Israel told people that the meaning of the particular time in which they lived was in view with a divine act, and God defined the times. This builds on the idea of an eschaton, or an ultimate event. Both John and Jesus had very different ideas concerning time because of the events they each looked towards-- John towards the judgment of God while Jesus towards the salvation of God. For John, metanoia (or a conversion) means doing penance for one’s sins but for Jesus metanoia means accepting an invitation. Along with this new idea of time, Jesus also presents a new image of God. He uses images such as the prodigal son and the sign of Jonah in the whole to point to a forgiving, compassionate God. Jesus addresses God as abba, an intimate family name, which further emphasizes the image of a liberating God in solidarity with us.