The Man Born Blind

One Sabbath Jesus walks by a man blind from birth (dressed in bright green). The disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents(light green and yellow, standing behind the man), that he was born blind?” He tells them neither. “This happened so the works of God might be displayed in him….Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” (Top row in painting, left to right)

Then Jesus makes mud by spitting on the ground, puts it on the man’s eyes and tells him to wash in the Pool of Siloam. The man obeys and comes home seeing. (Second row, right to left)

His neighbors are astonished and take him to the Pharisees (in grey with white head dresses) who question the man and denounce Jesus for not keeping the Sabbath. (Third row, left to right)

The man proclaims Jesus is a prophet. The Pharisees send for the man’s parents who are afraid of the Jewish authorities and put the burden of proof on their son. The questioning continues until the man born blind confesses that Jesus must have come from God and asks if they want to become his disciples. (Fourth row, right to left)

Enraged, the Pharisees insult the man, saying he was steeped in sin at birth. Then they throw him out of the synagogue. Jesus finds him and reveals himself as the Son of Man. The man born blind worships Jesus.

“For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.” (Fifth row, left to right)

[Compare this healing with Jesus interaction with the invalid man at the Sheep’s Gate. Both men were cured but only one worshipped Jesus as Lord. The other turned him in to the authorities. Notice that the blind man is also mentioned in chapters 10 and 11.]