Light of the World - Good Shepherd - Door

In John chapter 9 we experience the church in conflict and a test of faith. A blind man is physically healed, and immediately his faith is tested. It is through conflict that his faith is challenged to grow.


Holy numbers are interesting. Three, seven, and twelve are frequent. The story of the blind man has 7 scenes:

1) Jesus and the disciples (believers) encounter the blind man and he is healed by Jesus.

2) The former blind man encounters his neighbors.

3) The former blind man's first trial before the Pharisees.

4) The former blind man's parents are summoned for questioning.

5) The former blind man is summoned again by the Pharisees.

6) The former blind man encounters Jesus and confesses his faith.

7) Jesus encounters the Pharisees and pronounces judgement on them.


The church in conflict. Leaders who cannot see. Radical life changing events. This is exciting stuff!

In Chapter 10 we have a collection of allegories to help explain what has happened to the blind man (10:21). The shepherd theme is borrowed from the Old Testament. The door to the sheepfold is the proper way to enter and then to lead the sheep out into a new pasture. The way the shepherd leads is to call the sheep by name. The formerly blind man's faith journey will require him to move from the safety of the synagogue to a new place, but he is not alone. In The Storyteller's Companion to the Bible, Vol. 10 it puts it this way, "the path of true faith requires movement into an unknown future "(pg. 102).

Other characters include the counterparts to the shepherd - the thief and the wolf. The doorkeeper prepares the way for the shepherd (John the Baptist). The hired hand runs away when danger threatens.

As we end for the day - "the Jews" are divided. The church is in conflict.

Back to religious numbers. Two weeks ago Waddy and I were at Mont Saint Michel - a monastery built on a rock in France. It was built to focus on the journey of faith from the physical to the spiritual. The journey from the physical to the spiritual looking toward the divine and the holy (3 separations of approaching the church which was at the top of the rock).
Google Mont Saint Michel. As we arrived on Sunday morning, the shepherds were leading their sheep from the salty grasslands across the causeway, stopping traffic flowing in for sightseeing and for worship. Wow. Have a great day!