The Blind Man is Cured
NARRATOR.
As he went along, he saw a man who had been born blind from birth. His
disciples asked him:
DISCIPLES.
Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents?
JESUS.
Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God might
be displayed in him. While it is still day, I must do the works that
I was sent by Him to do. The night is coming when no man can work. As
long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
NARRATOR.
After he had spoken, he spat on the ground and made a paste with the
spittle. He then smeared the clay on the eyes of
the blind man and said: "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam"
[a name which means - sent]. So the man went off and
washed and away being able to see. His neighbors and people who had
previously seen him and knew he was blind said:
PEOPLE.
Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?... Yes, it's the same man...
No, it only looks like him.
BLIND MAN.
I am the one who was blind.
PEOPLE.
How then did you get your sight?
BLIND MAN.
A man named Jesus made clay, smeared it on my eyes and said; 'Go to
the pool of Siloam and wash.' I went, washed
and I was given my sight!
PEOPLE.
Where is he?
BLIND MAN.
I don't know.
NARRATOR.
They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. It had been
on a Sabbath Day that Jesus made the paste and opened the man's eyes.
The Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. BLIND MAN.
He put a clay paste on my eyes, I washed and I can see.
PHARISEES.
This man can't be from God, he doesn't keep the Sabbath... How can a
man who's a sinner produce signs like this?
NARRATOR.
And there was a division among them.
PHARISEES.
Since you were the one he gave sight to, what do you have to say?
BLIND MAN.
He is a prophet!
NARRATOR.
However, the Jews wouldn't believe that the man who now could see had
been born blind until they verified that he had
been born blind by directly questioning his parents. Calling his parents
they asked:
JEWS.
Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How is it that can see
now?
PARENTS.
We know this is our son and that he was born blind. The reason he's
able to see now, we don't know. He's old enough,
ask him, he can speak for himself.
NARRATOR.
His parents spoke like this because they feared the Jews. Previously,
the Jews agreed that anyone who would
acknowledge that Jesus was the Christ would be expelled from the Synagogue.
That's why the parents said, 'He's old
enough, ask him.' Again, they called the man who had been blind and
said to him:
JEWS.
Give God the praise, we know this man is a sinner.
BLIND MAN.
Whether he's a sinner or not, I don't know. I do know however that I
was blind and now I can see.
JEWS.
What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?
BLIND MAN.
I've told you already, but you wouldn't listen. Why do you want to hear
what happened again? Do you also want to
become his disciples?
JEWS. [angrily]
You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. But as for this
man, we don't know where he comes from.
BLIND MAN.
This is a wonderful [marvelous] thing that's happened, he opened my
eyes and you don't know where he comes from?
We know that God doesn't listen to sinners. But anyone who worships
God and does His will, this person he will listen
to. Since the beginning of the world, it has never been heard of that
a man opened the eyes of someone who had been
born blind. If this man wasn't from God, he could not do anything.
JEWS.
You were completely born in sins and you're teaching us.
NARRATOR.
The Jews drove the blind man out. When Jesus heard that they had thrown
the man out, he went and found the man and
said:
JESUS.
Do you believe in the Son of Man?
BLIND MAN.
Who is he Lord, so that I might believe in him?
JESUS.
You are looking at him and it is he who's speaking to you.
BLIND MAN.
Lord, I believe.
NARRATOR.
And he worshipped him.
JESUS.
It is for judgement that I've come into the world, so that those who
cannot see, might see and those with sight, might be
made blind.
NARRATOR.
Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to
Jesus:
PHARISEES.
Are we also blind?
JESUS.
If you were blind, you would have no sin, but because you say, 'we see',
your sin remains.
Used with permission from The Book of Jesus