A brief outline of John 9 places the Disciples' question and Jesus' response in 9:1-5 in parallel with the Pharisees' question and Jesus' response in 9:40-41. In short here are the two questions:
1) Teacher, who sinned to cause this man to be born blind, the man or his parents?
2) Surely you don't think that we are blind, do you?
Here are the two responses:
1) This man was born blind to cause the works of God to be revealed through him
2) If you were blind you wouldn't have any sin, but you have sin because you say that you see.
It appears to me that the teaching of this passage is relatively simple. It revolves around the concept of reality. Reality TV is anything but real. Reality is admitting to the state of affairs as they actually are, not as we want them to be or think that they are. Reality is when the perspective of God becomes the lens through which all things are seen.
We have two main characters here, the blind man (whom everyone but Jesus characterized as somehow being under the power of sin) and the Pharisees (whom everyone but Jesus characterized as not being under the power of sin). In the eyes of Jesus the blind man was not under the power of sin because he willing permitted God to work through him while the Pharisees were under the power of sin (I am repetitive here but I can't presume that everyone can complete a parallel thought) because they would not allow the works of God to be revealed in them.
If that is the case, does it change how you think about sin?
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