The Blind man and Jesus

The Blind man and Jesus

What did he believe?

Sami Zaatari

I have already documented how none of the eyewitnesses in the Gospel of John believed that Jesus was God, rather quite the opposite, that he was a prophet, the Messiah, and a messenger from God:

http://muslim-responses.com/Just_a_Prophet/Just_a_Prophet_

I now provide ANOTHER eyewitness who did not believe that Jesus was God, what makes this case more interesting is that this eyewitness had a miracle performed on him as well! Christians often point to Jesus' miracles as a sign of his divinity, yet as we shall shortly see, a blind man who had a miracle worked on him by Jesus does NOT end up with the belief that Jesus is God, quite the opposite infact, we read:

As Jesus went along, he saw a man who was blind. He had been blind since he was born. Jesus' disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned? Was this man born blind because he sinned? Or did his parents sin?" "It isn't because this man sinned," said Jesus. "It isn't because his parents sinned. This happened so that God's work could be shown in his life. While it is still day, we must do the work of the One who sent me. Night is coming. Then no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." After he said this, he spit on the ground. He made some mud with the spit. Then he put the mud on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him. "Wash in the Pool of Siloam." Siloam means Sent. So the man went and washed. And he came home able to see. His neighbors and those who had earlier seen him begging asked questions. "Isn't this the same man who used to sit and beg?" they asked. Some claimed that he was. Others said, "No. He only looks like him." But the man who had been blind kept saying, "I am the man." "Then how were your eyes opened?" they asked. He replied, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed. Then I could see." "Where is this man?" they asked him. "I don't know," he said. They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ The day Jesus made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath. So the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see. "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied. "Then I washed. And now I can see." Some of the Pharisees said, "Jesus has not come from God. He does not keep the Sabbath day." But others asked, "How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?" So the Pharisees did not agree with each other. Finally they turned again to the blind man. "What do you have to say about him?" they asked. "It was your eyes he opened." The man replied, "He is a prophet." (John 9:1-17)

So here we see Jesus healing a blind man, and later on the blind man is asked what he thinks about Jesus, and the blind man confesses his belief that Jesus is a PROPHET; the blind man does not confess that Jesus is his all mighty God who came in the flesh!

Some Christians might try to get desperate and run to verse 38 were the blind man ?worships' Jesus, we read:

Jesus heard that the Pharisees had thrown the man out. When he found him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" "Who is he, sir?" the man asked. "Tell me, so I can believe in him." Jesus said, "You have now seen him. In fact, he is the one speaking with you." Then the man said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshiped him. (John 9:35-38)

So Christians will say ?see! The blind worshipped Jesus and called him his Lord!' Well for starters as anyone knows, the Bible was not written in English, it was written in Greek, now the word for worship that is used in the Greek is ?proskyneô', so basically in the Greek it reads that the man made proskyneo to Jesus. Now anyone who studies this word will know that it has several meanings, such as the following:

1) to kiss the hand to (towards) one, in token of reverence

2) among the Orientals, esp. the Persians, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence

3) in the NT by kneeling or prostration to do homage (to one) or make obeisance, whether in order to express respect or to make supplication

a) used of homage shown to men and beings of superior rank

1) to the Jewish high priests

2) to God

3) to Christ

4) to heavenly beings

5) to demons

So the word Proskyneo has a wide range of meanings, it could mean a kiss to a persons hand, it could mean paying respect to a man of superiority, or it could even mean worship to the all mighty God. So with all of these meanings how do we determine the specific meaning of Proskyneo when used in John 9:38? Well it's very simple, and it's what the scholars do, they determine the precise meaning of the word by its CONTEXT. We have already seen that the blind man believed Jesus to be a PROPHET, not the all mighty God, hence the context has determined that when the blind man made Proskyneo to Jesus, he was paying homage to a more superior man, he was showing his respect to his prophet.

Hence the man did not WORSHIP Jesus, he was simply showing his respect, something that was very common back then, especially to religious leaders.

Now what about the man calling Jesus Lord? Well again, the meaning of Lord in the Biblical Greek is ?Kyrios' and this word has a wide range of meanings, the word Lord ?Kyrios' in the Biblical Greek is not solely limited to the all mighty God, but is also used for leaders, men of high ranking, men with respect and so forth. So again we use the context to determine the specific meaning of the word when used, and as the blind man called Jesus a prophet, we then know that when he calls Jesus a ?Kyrios' that he is not intending this word to mean the all mighty God, rather he is addressing Jesus with a title of respect and honor.

So there we have it, another eyewitness, another NONE BELIEVER in Jesus' divinity, but a true believer in Jesus' prophethood, basically a Muslim.

And Allah Knows Best!