John 9:1-7 A man born blind

John 9:1-7 Jesus gives another metaphor to explain how He is the light of the world. (cf John 8:12) The story begins with the disciples asking a question that is perennial. Why did this bad thing happen? The disciples are stuck in the mindset that suffering must be the direct result of sin. So their only question is whether it was this man or his parents that committed the sin that resulted in the man's blindness. Jesus' response to this question can be taken in two ways. The most common interpretation is that this happened so that the works of God could be displayed in Him. While God is sovereign and could do as He wishes, this explanation seems to fly in the face of God's nature and character. An alternative view of this passage is that Jesus is saying that neither this man nor his parents sinned, but does not connect that to the next statement. His next statement is that this is an opportunity for the works of God to be displayed, and that He must do the work of the Father. It is the day because He is the light of the world and He is in the world, so He must work. The question of why this man suffered blindness is not important, or at least not nearly as important as Jesus' need to act to heal him. So without spending effort listening to the disciples or the Jews bloviating about the problem of pain, Jesus makes clay from His spit on the ground, and applies it to the man's eyes, and sends him to the pool of Siloam to wash. And when the man does as Jesus tells him, he is healed.

         In John 8:12, Jesus speaks of being the light of the world in being the context of enabling people to recognize the truth and their own sin. Here He uses the metaphor of giving sight to the blind.