"I Once Was Blind But Now I See." John 9, Introduction.

We're going to be in John 9 for a while.

The story of Jesus is told in the Gospels by narrative (stories) and discourse (speeches, monologues.)  The Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5-7) is a discourse, as is the final discourse of Jesus in John 14-17.  The meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus that we just finished is a narrative -- a story in which God is revealed through the interaction and dialogue that takes place.

John 9 is narrative.  It is, I believe, the longest story in the Gospels.  If you know that to be inaccurate, please post which Gospel story is longer.

Where the narrative between Jesus and Nicodemus is almost more discourse -- Jesus does a lot of expounding -- the healing of the blind man in John 9 is pure and simple a well-told story with a real punch at the end.  Jesus has a small part in the introduction and the miracle of healing, and a short piece at the end.  The drama and comedy take place with him off-stage.  If you like short stories this one is akin to an O. Henry short story, in my opinion.

There are sections to this story and subsections within the main part.  Were I a more sequential fellow I'd lay that outline before you now.  Too bad! I'm not.  But we will step through those sequences on our way.  Maybe one of you who IS more sequential could outline it for us and post it when we get through with the chapter.  That would be nice.  If you do this, you will get extra credit towards your grade at the end of the quarter.

You may want to read through the whole story to ground yourself, then read through each section as we cover it.  That way you've seen the whole as we focus on the parts.

Have I written that John always writes at two levels?  If so, it bears repeating.  For instance the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana, John 2, first section.  At face value it's a nice story about Jesus going to friends' wedding and making sure they have enough wine.  But, it's also his first miracle and John puts it there (no other Gospel records it) to make a declaration about the purpose of Jesus coming.

Think about it . . . TWELVE jugs of water for JEWISH CEREMONIAL CLEANSING become the TWELVE jugs of the BEST WINE anyone has tasted -- when the best wine should have come first.

Where does the number 12 pop up in both the Old Testament and around Jesus?

What is the qualitative difference between drinking hand-washing water and having a wonderful glass of top quality wine?

If you didn't know, wedding feasts are a metaphor through-out Scripture for the coming of the realm of God to us.

See what I mean about the two levels?  So . . . enjoy the surface level of John 9, it's a well told story.  A person condemned to a life of beggary due to congenital blindness is given sight and freed from his darkness.  But look for themes we have already spoken about and the deeper levels in the story.  Think about the man's condition -- blindness, the inability to see.  Have you ever known anyone who refused to see what was right in front of them?  We are again confronted with the Johanine theme of light and darkness.


That's enough for today.  If you want to prepare for the next blog, at least read John 9:1-8.

Credit

Much of the basis of my comments about John 3 are based on work that Dr. Lane McGaughy, Professor Emeritus of Willamette University did.  I took a quarter of Greek from him about 5 years ago.  He spent much of a class period with the Greek in John 3.  It made a lasting impression on me.


He also provided the Greek for me when I set out to write the 4 blog pieces on John 3.

Thank you, Lane.

"I Have Decided To Follow Jesus, No Turning Back" (Gospel Song) John 3:17-18

<sup>Remember that in John 3 we are looking at key dual meaning words that Jesus speaks to take us to a deeper relationship with Him and with the Godhead.  The fourth and final word of John 3 is krinae.

John 3:17-18
Read the two translations below.  Krinae is translated "judge" or "condemn," it is the word we will talk about today.
The first is from Young's Literal Translation, Ed. 1.  (Young's seeks to translate the Greek as closely as possible into English.  It is not particularly readable, but a good look at word meanings.)</sup>

¹⁷For God did not send His Son to the world that he may judge the world, but that the world may be saved through him; 
¹⁸he who is believing in him is not judged, but he who is not believing hath been judged already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

The second is the NRSV (New Revised Standard Version), a popular current translation.

¹⁷“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 
¹⁸Those who believe in him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already, because they have not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Krinae.  Young's Literal translates it "judge."  The NRSV, the original Revised Standard, the King James and others translate krinae as "condemned." 

There is a third way to translate this word, but let's stick with the two before us for now.

Do you hear a difference in meaning between "judge" and "condemn?"  Can you be judged and not condemned?  Yes.  Can you be condemned without judgment? I'd have to say no.  "Condemn" has a harsher connotation, don't you think?

So at this first level of word usage what is the difference?  The more literal meaning would be that God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world.  This is different than being sent into the world with the purpose being to pronounce and carry out condemnation.  This is less harsh than a condemnation.  But, Jesus says, he didn't come even to pass judgment!

I hear Jesus saying that God didn't send him into the world to even pass a guilty or not guilty verdict.  Jesus is not about legal decisions but saving lives. 

He doesn't have to judge the world -- implied in coming to save us is that there is already a judgment and it has been against us.  We have to be saved from some sort of sentence or punishment only if it has been judged that we are going to be punished. 

It seems to me the curse of humanity is that we are turned in on ourselves -- selfish, self-centered -- every bit as much as as we are open and sharing with each other.  The classic Christian word for this seemingly natural condition is "sin."  Whether you particularly want that Christian notion or not, I hope you will agree with me that there exists in each of us this seemingly inbred condition of selfishness.

Our self-centeredness leads to all sorts of pain.  "Me and mine first," causes everything from hurt feelings and being excluded to World Wars, genocides, and the rattling of nuclear weapons between nations.

I hear Jesus saying that we do not need to be judged as selfish, we need to be saved from it, and that is exactly why he came -- why God sent him.  "God sent his son into the world not to judge it, but that the world might be saved through him."

So . . . at level one, Jn 3:17 -- The world passes judgment on itself.  We are stuck in our condition.  Jesus has come to save us from ourselves.  God didn't have to send him to judge us.  In other words, the purpose of Jesus is gracious, not legalistic.

Before Jesus we are stuck in our self-centeredness.  There is only one road that we can travel.  No matter how hard or how often we succeed in being open and self-less, we fall back into "me first."

Jesus is God's "fork in the road."  What Jesus does is to open another path to us, a path on which there is another option. That's what Jesus says in 3:18 -- whoever believes in Jesus is not judged (even though judgment has been passed before he comes.)  With the coming of Jesus there are two options:

1. continue to live in the strife filled world of self-centered competition and loss.
2. hold onto Jesus (believe) and receive a life that is full and fulfilled - a life of boundless possibility.

In verse 18 Jesus tells  Nicodemus that he can continue to believe that he has control of his life and of God through his religious practices; that he can continue to look within himself for life and turn down this Godly offer of salvation because of his short-sightedness.   When we do this God doesn't pass judgment on us.  We have judged ourselves.  And we judged it better to live our lives only for this world.

There is yet another way to read these two verses.  Krinae also means "decide," as well as "judge."  This gives us another possibility in relating to him beyond "judgment" and/or "condemnation."

"God did not send his son into the world to "decide" about it -- "decide" what to do about it -- but to save it (us) from the way it has already been "decided" about us from our natural selfishness."

"Whoever believes in him (I take that to mean whoever accepts Jesus and Jesus' words and actions as hope in a hopeless world) it has no longer been decided that s/he is trapped in the hopelessness of the world."

But there is a dark side to this, too.  Where there is choice there are alternatives.  Jesus is directly confronting Nicodemus with the alternatives.  Decide I am your hope, or decide to trust in yourself.  But, if you decide to trust in yourself - in the way of the world - you are stuck in the world and have missed out on the endless possibility of full life that Jesus comes to save us to.

Lutheran Christians get nervous about "deciding" for or against Jesus and salvation because we are adamant that God does the deciding and the granting of salvation.  I don't dispute this premise.  I think Jesus is pretty clear about that in John 3:17:  God sent Jesus to do the saving of us because we can't do it of our own choice.

But John 3:18 seems pretty clear that when Jesus comes with healing and salvation of our sin-infested hearts we are faced with a decision for or against the gift God offers -- Jesus and life or ourselves and death.  I think that with which Lutherans are uncomfortable is the notion that we are the ones who make the first offer to God - I want you in my life.  We're uncomfortable with that because it implies that we have more control then Jesus talks about in verse 17.

It has already been decided that we can't save ourselves or climb up to heaven to "ask God into our lives."  But the purpose of Jesus (verse 18) is to stand before us with a confrontation of choice -- chose life or death.  Chose me or chose yourself.

At that point we do have a choice.  Jesus, as you stand in front of me and offer yourself I jump at the chance to be yours.  I know too much about myself.  I'm just not that good.  I'm just not that trustworthy.  And, as much as I like the rest of you, either are you.