Healing the blind at birth

The healing of a man born blind is a miraculous story of the Bible according to John's Gospel (Jn 9:1-41 EU). It is one of the seven wonders of this gospel narratives.

Action

The story tells how Jesus and his disciples passes by a man born blind and is asked of them, who then blame the blindness of this man had: he or his parents. Jesus answers that God's work will be revealed to him and heals him by stroking him a mixture of saliva and earth on the eyes and sends him out to the pool of Siloam. There follows an argument with some Pharisees, because, it is said only now, there has been healing on the Sabbath.

Interpretation

A common perception saw then in an illness or disability a direct punishment from God for past debt. Since the man was, however, already been born blind, employs the disciples the question of whether he can for himself be to blame for his or her disability or whether his parents have more guilty and were punished with the birth of a child who is blind. Jesus breaks on these cause-and - context by the question of the cause with " nor " answered and instead indicates that the disability of this man a purpose have: the works of God should - be revealed to him - in the subsequent healing.

The Lehmbrei, Jesus emphasizes the man 's eyes, can be interpreted in several ways. For one, it could well have been a reference to medical treatment methods of the time. Strikingly, however, is that Jesus in many of his healings touching the patient does not shy away without any fear of cultic impurity. The gesture is also an allusion to the creation of man, which reflects the Bible with the earth symbol, which forms the God and he breathes the breath of life.

The narrative is in direct connection with a dispute with some Pharisees on the question of whether may be healed on the Sabbath. Unlike the synoptic debates about the Sabbath sounds through here that the evangelist to the question of the Sabbath and the Jewish groups at the time of Jesus has been a greater distance.

The story of the healing of the blind is in the overall context of a dualism of the terms " blindness " and "seeing" that are used of Jesus in a figurative sense.