The Gospel of the Man Born Blind?

After discussing John chapter 9 (which is like one of those episodes in a TV series in which the actor playing the main character has some time off, and the show carries on without him) a student expressed interest in researching whether the reason for this unusual story, from which Jesus is mostly absent, might not be that it is autobiographical in some sense. It might not be that the author was healed in the manner depicted in the story, with this happening during the historical public activity of Jesus, but that the author living in a later time and attributed his recovery from blindness to Jesus, and wrote himself into the story.

I’ve encountered so many different suggestions about who might have written the Fourth Gospel, but don’t recall anyone having suggested that this nameless formerly blind man in chapter 9 might be responsible. If anyone knows of someone who has made this suggestion, please do let me know.

I’d also be interested in any treatments of the practice of Greco-Roman authors regarding writing (or refraining from writing) themselves into the story.

An exploration of this topic is unlikely to lead to a definitive answer to the question of authorship. But it might be worth exploring nevertheless, and if it turns up something interesting, it would be poignant to think of the Gospel’s and epistles’ emphasis on “seeing” in this light (if you’ll excuse the Johannine pun).

This same group of students has expressed interest in exploring the “Jesus on Trial” theme in the Gospel of John by making some “Law and Order” style videos. I’ll let you know if anything comes of that idea!