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 Stand-In for Jesus:Narrative Cues and the Man Born Blind in John 9
 Exegetical Paper  NE502 - Exegetical Method and PracticeDr. Joel B. GreenDecember 11, 2008Matthew Lumpkinmattlumpkin@gmail.com
 
Lumpkin 2At the end of John 8, Jesus narrowly escapes a brutal stoning in the temple for his use of a phrasewith deep theological significance:
e0gw/ei0mi/
. John the gospel writer makes Jesus’ next action to be the healing of a man born blind. After sending the man to be healed, Jesus leaves the scenefor the first significant amount of time since chapter 1 and another character takes the stage. Iwill argue that John uses a number of narrative cues to suggest to the reader that the man born blind is functioning as a narrative stand-in for Jesus who bridges his argument from earlier in the book by illustrating it on two levels: by illustrating the “works of God” that are the basis of Jesus claim to divinity, and by illustrating the identification of one “sent” with the one who senthim.I recognize that this represents something of a departure from the traditional emphasis inthis passage. I am not denying the character's narrative function as a powerful manifestation of Jesus as "light of the world," nor the dramatic reversal in which the blind man can see Jesus for who he is while the Jewish leaders cannot. Instead I propose the thesis above complements thistraditional reading by emphasizing the rhetorical force of the man in John 9 with reference toJesus' rhetoric preceding and following it
.
 Since this thesis rests on close attention to the rhetorical arc of John's narrative we will begin with some discussion of the broader argument in which our passage plays a part. After looking at the narrative and rhetorical context of John 9, I will highlight the two levels in whichthe healed man illustrates Jesus' argument while answering some possible objections along theway.
1.
 
Narrative and Rhetorical Context
 1.1 Sent by the Father: Jesus' Argument in JohnWhile the theme of having been sent by the Father starts as early as chapter 1, we first seeJesus' argument fully expressed in 5:36b-38: "for the works which the Father has granted me toaccomplish, these very works which I am doing, bear me witness that the Father has sent me.And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness to me... you do not have his word abidingin you, for you do not believe him whom he has sent." Jesus alludes to this argument repeatedly
 
Lumpkin 3in John, sometimes in part, sometimes as a whole.
1
In light of the breadth of these passages, wemight summarize Jesus' argument in this way: 1. the “Father” sent him, 2. his authority (as ateacher, a religious critic, doer of signs etc.) comes from this fact, 3. this fact is proved by thecharacter of the works he does sharing in the character of the one who sent him. 4. Those who donot believe him don’t recognize this because they don’t know this sending One, the Father.
2
Wewill now turn to the immediate context of Jesus use of this argument in debate with the Jews inthe Temple (7:14 - 10:39).1.2 Immediate Context: Jesus Teaches in the TempleJohn 7:14 sets the stage for the confrontation that immediately precedes our passage.Jesus is teaching in the temple despite his knowledge that the Jews intend to kill him (7:1). Johnseems to be compressing several scenes of confrontation, teaching and dialogues between Jesusand those present (alternately "Pharisees" and the more general "Jews").
3
It is important toremember that these public debates were no idle verbal sparring but were important contests of honor and shame, happening before an audience of “the people” --that is, the Jews, in the templewith real consequences for religious authority hanging in the balance.The Jews are amazed at his teaching especially as something of an outsider to templeeducation. In order to explain, Jesus employs the argument identified above. He responds, "myteaching is not mine, but his who sent me" (7:16). Jesus insists that he is not speaking on hisown authority but God's. His opponents push him to assert the basis of his claim. This becomesthe focus of the temple debate which grows more heated throughout most of chapter 8 until his
1
 
Other than the passages we will discuss, see Jesus' use of this argument in these passages 6:38; 8:16-18,28; 10:25, 32, 37-38; 12:49-50; 14:10-12; 15:24; 16:27-28; 20:21.
2
 
In her discussion of “the sent one” or 
 shaliach
, Marianne Meye-Thompson sees this concept she presentin some of the texts cited above and asserts that this same dynamic may also be expressed in some non-contemporaneous rabbinic literature. In this literature, the one sent is like the one who sends and is legally obligatedto be treated with the respect due the sender. It would make sense for Jesus to ground his unconventional argumentin an accepted social convention. The texts support her argument in that the Jews never dispute the soundness or legitimacy of Jesus argument. Instead John portrays them as unwilling to accept the obvious way in which Jesus'works point his having been sent by God. Marianne Meye Thompson,
The God of the Gospel of John
(GrandRapids, Mich: W.B. Eerdmans, 2001), 126-130.
3
 
The seams between distinct episodes around the feast of tabernacles are intentionally visible and often aremarked in the text with
ou0n
and
pa/lin
. Cf. 8:12, 21.
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