John 9:24-34 – So for a second time they summoned the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” 27 He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” 28 They spoke abusively to him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” 30 The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if someone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and yet you are teaching us?” So they put him out.
“So for a second time they summoned the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” The man who had been healed from blindness had told a simple, not hard to understand story. He said that he was blind from birth until Jesus healed him. He said I was blind but now I see. It is a simple statement of fact, with witnesses. Now the Pharisees who were troubled by these facts wanted to hear him say the story again not because the facts are hard to understand but because of the pre-conceived notions they did not believe the facts could be true. They were trying to make out the truth to be a lie. They did that for their own selfish reasons. They wanted to change the facts to fit their doctrine. This tactic of questioning over and over again, even though the story remained unchanged, is still being used. If someone is questioning you about the same thing over and over again you can be sure that they don’t believe you because they find your story unbelievable because of their preconceived notions.
We know that the most seductive lies are mixed with truth. They told this healed man to glorify God and not a man whom they claim is a sinner. All the facts point to the truth of the story of the healing as had been reported. They was no contrary evidence. They attempted to bully the man from the truth to something they would accept as truth. They said stop giving Jesus glory that He did not deserve and give the glory to God who healed you. They were telling him that he should come clean and glorify God. They could not see that glorifying God was exactly what the man had been asserting.
“He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” The Pharisees would have liked to cloud the issue for the man and argue the law, written and oral tradition, instead of simply the man telling what he knew had happened. He did not take the bait and simply held to his story. The Jews were experts in the law and did not want to argue with them about that. The man was an expert of his own testimony. Sometimes we are unnecessarily called into arguments about faith. Although it’s certainly wise to study and prepare to give an answer to those who question the Word, we are safest when we, like the healed man did, merely stick to what we know. What we know is that before Jesus we were blind, but after Jesus we could see. Praise the Lord!
“So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” Who can explain how God does His miracles. The Pharisees asked the man how did Jesus heal him? The man had already explained what Jesus did but the man could not explain how what He did caused the healing. The man knew what Jesus had done but He could not explain the intricacies of the miracle. Moses knew that God would part the Red Sea for the Israelites to walk though on dry land, but He didn’t know how what God did would work. Moses simply knew God would do it. God is not under obligation to fully explain to anyone how He does it, it the job of His people merely to believe. We walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) That has always been the obligation of those who believe in and follow the Lord God. None of the prophets explained how God did the miracles, they just trusted that He would.
“He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” The healed man had already repeated himself. He was not going to lie for the Pharisees benefit. So he asked why the Pharisees wanted to hear the story. These arrogant authorities had obvious insincere motives. The man answered sarcastically asking them if they intended to become disciples of Jesus. It is interesting that the man asked if they wanted to become disciples “too.” It seems to imply that the man had his mind set to follow Jesus.
“They spoke abusively to him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.” Obviously the proud Pharisees got their tail feathers ruffled and responded saying that this man seemed to be disciple of Jesus but they took what they thought the superior position that they were disciples of Moses. They reminded that God had spoken to Moses (Exodus 33:11). They, not recognizing Jesus as coming from and representing the Father, didn’t know where Jesus came from. Yet if they were the strict disciples of Moses they claimed then they should have recognized what Moses had told of Jesus.
“The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is the amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if someone is God-fearing and does His will, He listens to him. 32 Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” Here the healed layman asked them a question about their qualifications. He brought up to the Pharisees what they had taught which they were now contradicting themselves. The Pharisees had erroneously taught that God does not listen to sinners. If God will not listen to sinners then how can he hear a sinner repent and then forgive him as He is apt to do? (Ezekiel 18:21-23, Proverbs 28:13) So this brought a dilemma to the Pharisees, if Jesus was sinner then God would not have listened to Jesus and then performed the miracle (according to their own teaching.) But since the miracle was done through Jesus, and if what they taught was true, then that proved Jesus was not a sinner.
“They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and yet you are teaching us?” So they put him out.” How do people who cannot support their argument respond? Since they cannot support their argument they personally smear their opponent, which is what the Pharisees did. Then their pride rose up and they asked who he was to question them, to suppose to teach them. So, this man’s parents did not want to argue with the Pharisees because they would kick him out of the Jewish community, and that is what they did to their son.
Joshua stood up to the majority and told them “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15) Peter and John stood up to the religious authorities and declared “But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20 As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19-20) Joshua, Peter and John stood for God and have received their eternal prizes. Let us stand strongly for God and we too shall be given the same prize. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will Hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, Oh man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 – The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.