The Pharisees investigate the healing

Question 1

Who doesn’t this passage feature in person?

Answer 1

Jesus

Question 2

What does this passage continue the theme of?

Answer 2

Division

Question 3

What was the issue with Jesus healing the blind man?

Answer 3

He had broken Sabbath regulations by making clay and ordering the man to carry his burden home

Question 4

What is John trying to prove by having Jesus continually break the Sabbath?

Answer 4

That it is just a man made rule, since God himself does not keep it

Question 5

Why do the Pharisees summon the blind man’s parents?

Answer 5

To determine whether Jesus really helped him

Question 6

Why are the parents cautious when answering the pharisees

Answer 6

Because Jews who accept Jesus as the Messiah were being banished from the synagogues and thus separated from their families and neighbours

Question 7

Why does Rivkin reject passages like this in John?

Answer 7

Because he claims that the Pharisees debated religious differences but did not try to persecute opponents over them

Question 8

When did Christians being ostracised from the Jewish faith begin?

Answer 8

The council of Jamnia ruled that Christians were to be thrown out of the Synagogues of the Roman Empire in 90 CE

Question 9

Why do some critics see this passage as a later addition to the gospel?

Answer 9

They see it as reflecting the fears of the Johannine community in the 80s or 90s CE, rather than being something that happened during Jesus’ lifetime

Question 10

Why do some critics believe that this passage could have actually happened during Jesus’ lifetime?

Answer 10

The persecution of Christians by the Pharisees could have started much earlier than 90 CE, with the council of Jamnia merely making it official

Question 11

What does the blind man do when he is questioned by the Pharisees?

Answer 11

Answers their questions sarcastically

Question 12

Who do the pharisees make a distinction between?

Answer 12

The disciples of Jesus and the disciples of Moses

Question 13

Why is the Pharisees drawing a distinction between Jesus and Moses ironic for John?

Answer 13

Because it was the Logos who spoke to Moses, meaning Moses himself is a disciple of Jesus. When the Pharisees admit they don’t know where Jesus comes from, they are admitting their own spiritual ignorance

Question 14

What do the Pharisees say disabilities like blindness are?

Answer 14

A punishment for sin, Jesus rejects this teaching.

Question 15

Why does Jesus think that the Pharisees are the ones that are truly blind?

Answer 15

Because they cannot recognise the signs

Question 16

What does the blind man being thrown out refer to?

Answer 16

The expulsion of the Johannine Community from their synagogues

Question 17

Explain this passage in terms of blasphemy

Answer 17

Confessing that you see Jesus as the Messiah was seen as blasphemy by the Jewish leadership

Question 18

Explain this passage in terms of Jesus being a threat to power

Answer 18

The Pharisees no longer command the respect of the people and have to lead through fear. They are aware of this loss of status and it makes them angry

Question 19

Explain this passage in terms of political expediency

Answer 19

People who were thrown out of the synagogues were no longer considered of Jews and were therefore no longer part of a protected religion. This meant they could no longer refuse to worship the Pagan Gods or the Roman Emperor. If they refused it would be classes as political rebellion and they would be punished