Exodus to light

Peter J. Leithart, March 05, 2007

John 9 tells an exodus story: The man born blind crosses through water, from darkness to light. Perhaps this is also a Jordan crossing, because as soon as he passes through the water he is involved in warfare with the Jews.

But there's another liminal moment in the story: Having crossed through the water and fought with the Jews, he is pushed over the threshold of the synagogue outside the camp.

Through this double-crossing he finds Jesus and confesses faith. Baptism in Siloam places him on Jesus' side of the battle for Judaism; confession of faith leads to worship. Baptism and confession make the blind man a new man, passed not only from darkness to light but from death to life.