Testimony, par excellence- 4th Sunday of Lent – Year 1
John 9: 1-41

Today’s Gospel was intended for two audiences; Jesus’ audience, which by extension includes us, and the audience of John’s community. Just as there was a controversy in today’s gospel between the Pharisees in the story and Jesus, so also, the Christian community of John faced hostility. It was they who were expelled from the synagogues in the first century. This expulsion and its repercussions were ever present in the mind of the first century Christian, who until now, were still part of the synagogue service.

This expulsion from the synagogue is reflected twice in the narrative. The parents are afraid to testify to their son’s healing, lest they be expelled from the synagogue. Finally, the blind man is expelled himself, because he takes on the Jewish establishment in favour of Jesus. This talk of expulsion would ring a bell in John’s first century Christian community.