Discipleship Reflection Paper: The Man Born Blind

Discipleship Reflection Paper: The Man Born Blind

Being a disciple of Jesus Christ entails many qualities. There are sacrifices that must be made, work that must be done, and lessons that must be learned. While all of these tasks may be very difficult for us to submit to, the gift that is offered is invaluable. What exactly does this look like? John 9:1-41 gives us an idea of some of the qualities possessed by a disciple of Jesus.

In John 9:1-41 Jesus encounters a man who was blind since birth. The interaction that this man has with Jesus is very simple, but the lessons learned from his example are very valuable. Many scholars have given their input on this text, discussing the mans obedience and belief (O’Day and Hylen 98). By looking at the decisions that this man did, we see what he contributes to the theme of discipleship.

The setting takes place outside in a public area where a blind man spends his days begging. As Jesus is passing by His disciples asked him “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (9:2). While the focus of discipleship is about the blind man in this story, Jesus’ disciples immediately demonstrate the importance of learning from Jesus. The disciples refer to Jesus as Rabbi, illustrating a teacher/student relationship with Jesus. Throughout the gospel, Jesus leads and teaches His disciples life lessons. An idea from Keener in the IVP New Testament Commentaries says that “A disciple is a learner, and the primary teacher in life is Jesus.”(Keener). It is crucial that a follower of Jesus has the desire to learn from Jesus.

The story continues with Jesus confronting the man, spitting on the ground to make mud, then putting it on the man’s eyes. Jesus then says to the man “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.” (9:6). This is the second characteristic of discipleship that we see in this passage, Obedience to Jesus. The man was not healed instantly, he had to do exactly what Jesus told him to do and go down to the pool of Siloam. The Commentary on John discuss how this mans obedience, not only responding immediately to Jesus, but doing exactly what Jesus told him to do, is the factor that healed him and demonstrated a part of discipleship (O’Day and Hylen 98).

Once the man is healed, people immediately begin to take notice. His neighbors and those who had seen him begging before began asking if it truly was him. Eventually the Pharisees caught on and began to investigate the healing, they told the man that Jesus was a sinner to which he replied “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (9:25). The Blind mans statement to the Pharisees demonstrated