At the chiastic center of John 9, the Jews interrogate the blind man’s parents, threatening them with expulsion from the synagogue if they confess Jesus. Why do the parents appear? The answer goes back to the disciples’ question at the beginning of the chapter: Jesus says the parents have not sinned to cause blindness. At the center, though, the parents hesitate when confronted by the Jews, in order to stay in the good graces of the leaders. As Jesus says at the end of the passage, the Jewish leaders are blinded, and blind because of their sin. The parents were not responsible for the man’s blindness, but by the end of the chapter through fear they are standing with the ones who are blinded.
There also seems to be a generational issue here. The older generation fears expulsion, and only the younger man receives light from the Light and sees the Lord.
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