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.