Born blind and born again

Sometimes chapter divisions get in the way of the story. We tend to think of them as discrete units and lose the flow of the story. The Good Shepherd in John 10 should be connected with the healing of the man born blind in chapter 9. After his healing, the Pharisees conduct an investigation for one purpose, to determine if Jesus gets credit because they have already agreed that if anyone confesses Jesus as the Christ (Anointed One, Messiah) they will be put out of the synagogue. This is a severe punishment to be kept out of the communal gathering and worship and the man's parents are careful to avoid the trap set for them: "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself."

They weren't there so they have no first hand knowledge of how this happened. They do, however, know what they have undoubtedly heard about the healing but the punishment is more severe than they are willing to bear. The man himself, though, knows and isn't afraid of what they can do to him for confessing Jesus as the healer. He has already lived in a type of prison of blindness and as such has more or less nothing to lose. His blindness has already made him unclean and unfit for public worship, thus the disciples question that begins the chapter, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" He knows that in forty years none of these have healed him so he knows the difference between these men and Jesus and isn't afraid of them.

In Luke 12 Jesus tells them not to fear those who have power over only the body, but to fear the one who has power over the soul as well. This man has already experienced the power of Jesus and seen that it is greater than the power these men wield, he is unafraid to stand up to them. His logic is irrefutable, I was blind but now I see, sound familiar? He has received amazing grace and now he is receiving the opposite of grace from those who had nothing to do with the healing, I think I will follow the healer, whatever the consequences.

The Pharisees' summary judgment on the matter, They answered him, "You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?" And they cast him out. They didn't have to ask the question the disciples asked about who sinned, they had already decided the answer to that question and they were unteachable. He has been born again, and indeed he does have something to teach them.