John 9:24-25 24Then for a second time, they called for the man who was blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25Then that man answered, “If he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know is that though I was blind, now I see.”
When the Jews called the man in for a second time, they basically offered him an opportunity to reject Jesus and conform to their wishes. Their opening statement reflects Joshua 7:19, which calls for glorifying and recognizing God, and is almost like swearing before God to tell the truth. They were putting significant social and religious pressure on the man to agree with their assessment of Jesus as a sinner. They had determined Jesus to be a sinner because he did not conform to their interpretation of the law about the Sabbath. Influenced by the Pharisees, these Jews interpreted the Sabbath very narrowly and determined that by healing on the Sabbath, Jesus had broken the law, and thus was obviously a sinner.
The man’s response shows that he really did not create what these people thought about Jesus. He was healed, and that is all that mattered. They could have their theological debates, but he could see. His words to the Jews have a spiritual quality to them that the readers of this Gospel could speak into their own lives. There are many forms of blindness besides being physically unable to see. Blindness is like walking in the dark. Darkness represents unbelief and sin in John’s writings. People stumble, fall, run into things, and injure themselves in the dark. Jesus, as the Light of the world, provides spiritual sight and shows the way to new life. This man had experienced physical healing. The question remains about his spiritual healing.
For older posts, click here.
