John 9 has particular relevance for our study, as it was taken by Martyn as the starting point for his interpretation of the Gospel on two levels, one reflecting Jesus and his ministry, the other reflecting the needs and experiences of Christians in conflict with the synagogue. There seems to be a large amount of agreement that the conflict and debate portrayed in John 9 reflect those which were taking place between certain Christians and opponents in their local Jewish community or communities. It is thus a logical place to look for evidence of the Evangelist's legitimating activity.

The point at issue in the conflict

John 9 contains one of the clearest and most straightforward examples of the sort of objections which were being raised by the Johannine Christians' Jewish opponents: ‘We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from’ (John 9.29). This objection is coupled with an expression of the view that Jesus is a sinner and therefore cannot be from God. The point is that, whereas Moses' credentials are indisputable, the Jewish authorities regard Jesus as a lawbreaker, and take this as definitive evidence against his claim to reveal God and speak authoritatively on God's behalf. As Martyn observes, the theme of ‘Jesus versus Moses’ is one that occurs repeatedly in the Fourth Gospel, and represents a key point of conflict between church and synagogue with which John himself wrestled.