Was Blind But Now I See

Was Blind But Now I See is a fast-paced and thought-provoking courtroom drama where faith is on trial—literally! When a blind beggar named Stephan is miraculously healed by Jesus, the temple authorities drag him into court to prove it was all a hoax. With colorful characters like a grumpy judge, over-the-top lawyers, and surprise witnesses (including Peter and Philip), this play mixes humor, heart, and powerful truth straight from John 9.

Great for youth and adult casts, this 35-minute skit keeps audiences laughing, gasping, and ultimately reflecting on what it truly means to see.

Cast: 12

• Prosecutor Simon, explosive, overbearing
• Defense Attorney Jonathan, quiet, calculating
• Man Born Blind Stephan, factual
• Peter, disciple, rough edges, says what’s on his mind
• Philip, disciple, factual
• Mother of blind man, afraid she will be in trouble
• Judge Adam, rather “Night Court” old TV show type
• Court Clerk, slow moving, no emotion, like clerk in “Judge Judy” TV show
• Pharisee Legalle, pompous
• Neighbor 1- Barak, factual
• Neighbor 2 - Dinah female gossipy type
• Expert Witness Aaron, pompous

Bible Reference: John 9:1-29

Set:

• courtroom scene or bare stage with chairs, desk, etc.

Sound: wireless mics if available

Song: none

Lighting: standard

SFX: none

Props:

• chairs, tables, office identified
• usual papers and files as would be used in courtroom

Costumes:

• could be traditional but contemporary suggested

Special Instructions:

• Peter is purposely cast as a bit of a loose cannon, not at all careful about what he says. This personality works well in contrast to some of the other characters.

Time: 35

Sample of script:

All except Judge and Clerk are seated.
Clerk enters and surveys those already on stage.

Clerk:
His Excellency Emperor Tiberius Caesar Augustus’ Supreme Court for the Area of Jerusalem for the hearing of motions and applications is now in session.
All persons having anything to do thereat may attend and they shall be heard.
All hail Emperor Tiberius.
His Lordship Justice Adam presiding.
All rise!

(Judge enters.)

Clerk:
All may be seated.
Case 7369B, Sanhedrin versus The Questionably Blind Man, Stephan.
(Points to each)
Prosecutor Simon.
Defense Attorney Jonathan.
Your Honor, all witnesses have been sworn in and we are ready to proceed.

(Prosecutor jumps up and moves quickly toward the bench.)

Prosecutor:
Your Honor, this whole matter is a farce and a waste of this court’s time. This man who comes before you never was a blind man. He was simply a lazy beggar who found more joy in sitting at the city gates begging for money than undertaking a decent and honorable living.

Judge:
Prosecutor Simon, you have not been summoned to speak. Do this court the courtesy of going through usual, time-honored protocol. Your time to speak will come in due course, I assure you. First, we shall go through the preliminaries, after which you can...

Prosecutor:
Your Honor, there are much higher priorities for this court—and for me—than to chitchat the frivolous meanderings of some itinerant Nazarene preacher!

Defense:
Your Honor, the Prosecutor is apparently unaware that it is not a preacher, itinerant or otherwise, who is on trial. Rather, it is Stephan, the man born blind.

Prosecutor:
Purported! Alleged to have been born blind, Your Honor! That he was born blind is a matter we and our witnesses will put to the lie—straightaway, Your Honor!

Defense:
Surely the Prosecutor knows it will take more than empty words shouted in a “mightier-than-thou” tone—divested of both facts and truth—to convince.

Judge (pounding gavel):
The bench has heard quite enough of your theatrics, both of you, and another outburst and I shall hold the both of you in contempt!

Prosecutor:
But Your Honor...!

Judge:
One more word, Prosecutor Simon! Just one more word! You appear to be questioning the will of this court to remove you from these premises!
Make my day! Force me to have the Sergeant-at-Arms reacquaint you with the outside air!

Prosecutor:
Sorry, Your Honor...

Judge:
Indeed, I hope you are, sir. But just in case you lose your sorrowful attitude, best you keep your coat on. You’ll need it if a walk outside becomes necessary.
Now then…
What transpired to cause this... controversy to first erupt?

Clerk:
Well, Your Honor, it seems that the— (glances at Prosecutor)—itinerant preacher, one Jesus ben Joseph, and some of his followers passed by the spot where Stephan, the Blind Man...

Prosecutor:
The purported, alleged, and totally unproven blind man, Your Honor!

Judge:
Fine, Mr. Prosecutor—the purported, the alleged, the... whatever you said.
May we please just continue?
Clerk, give us more background.

Clerk:
Yes, Your Honor. As I said, it seems that the Followers of the Way—as the ones who follow Jesus ben Joseph are called—were walking down the street and...

Prosecutor:
Your Honor, all of this is conjecture and hearsay! No one has been found to corroborate this drivel!

Defense:
Pardon me, Your Honor, but there are in the courtroom today two men who were there and who have offered to testify.

Judge:
Would these men please stand and give their names?

(Peter and Philip rise.)

Peter:
I am Peter.

Philip:
And I am Philip.

Prosecutor:
This is completely unacceptable. We have no idea who they are or—

Clerk:
The two have been examined and sworn in, Your Honor.

Judge:
Wonderful. Then let us hear from them.

Prosecutor:
Your Honor, these two are members of The Followers of the Way. They have no credibility and certainly can’t be found to be impartial.

Judge:
Prosecutor Simon! I am sure that if these two say anything untoward, we can count on you to bring it to the attention of the court.
Now then, continue, shall we?
Peter...
Philip...
Tell us what happened that day.

Peter:
Be glad to, Adam...

Clerk:
Your Honor.

Peter:
Naw, me—I’m just plain old Peter, fisherman from Galilee. You don’t need to be sayin’ uppity things to me.

Clerk:
Excuse me, I...

Judge:
That’s fine, Clerk. Go ahead, Peter—tell us all what happened.

Peter:
I will... See, we—the Teacher and the rest of us—we were comin’ into town to stock up on supplies, groceries, and all. The number of folks in our group was growin’ day by day. Every time the Master met with sick and hurtin’ folks, he healed them of what ailed them...

Prosecutor:
Your Honor! Why are these lies and foolishness being allowed in a court of law?

Judge:
Overruled. Go ahead, Peter.

Prosecutor:
Your Honor!

Judge:
What part of “overruled” don’t you understand, Prosecutor?
Now sit down!
Peter, go ahead.

Peter:
Thanks again, Adam.

(Clerk starts to object. Judge waves him off.)

Peter:
Anyways, we was walkin’ down the street and this here fella—turns out it was that there fella (points to Stephan)—Stephan over there.

Prosecutor:
Your...

Judge:
Overruled. Go ahead, Peter.

(Prosecutor grows more upset each time.)

Peter:
Anyways, like I said, this fella Stephan, he was layin’ at the side of the street...

Philip:
Actually, Stephan was standing at the side of the street, but...

Prosecutor:
Aha! Your Honor, these two supposedly reliable witnesses can’t even agree on whether this person was standing or lying down! Likely they don’t even agree that this was the person there that day!

Judge:
We can deal with that.
Philip, Peter—(points to Stephan)—was this the man who you saw on the street that day?

Peter:
For sure, Adam—it was him.

Philip:
Yes, it was Stephan, Your Honor.

Judge:
OK then, Philip. Why don’t you carry on and tell us what happened?

(Prosecutor starts to object. Judge waves menacingly.)

Philip:
Well, we noticed Stephan having trouble—couldn’t see where he was going, bumpin’ into people and things.
Peter here, he said to the Teacher...

Judge:
The Teacher being whom?

Philip:
We all called Jesus ben Joseph the Teacher.

Peter:
Yeh, on account’a he was like teachin’ us the stuff we all needed to know.

Philip:
So Peter, he asked Jesus who had sinned to cause the blindness. Was it his parents? Or was it Stephan himself who had sinned?

Prosecutor:
Your Honor, these unbiased witnesses have just testified about the appalling lack of integrity of this Stephan and his entire family!

Judge (menacing look at Prosecutor):
Continue... What was the Teacher’s—that is, what was Jesus ben Joseph’s response?

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