John 9:30-34 30The man answered and said to them, “Wow, this is an amazing thing, that you yourselves do not know where he is from, and he opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is god-fearing and does his will, God listens to this one. 32Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he is not able to do anything.” 34They answered and said to him, “You were born completely in sin, and you teach us?” And they threw him out.
The sad humor of the story continues as the man responds again to the narrowmindedness of the Jewish leaders. The funny part of this is how the man knows more theology than the teachers who supposedly knew the Scriptures and appealed to the law of Moses as their guide. The man was quick-witted in his response. The man himself was surprised by the situation, as his opening exclamation indicates. We can imagine the scene in our minds, with a man, who was likely poor and poorly dressed because of his prior difficult situation of being blind, standing before likely well-dressed and groomed leaders. John does not tell us the specific location of this scene, but it is certainly possible that it was the temple courts. These Jews represented the elite of Jerusalem and were the ones trying to get rid of Jesus.
The man was surprised that these smart and well-educated leaders did not know where Jesus came from. The evidence was clear enough for anyone with an open mind to accept. In verse 31, the man gives simple logic and basic Jewish theology. In verse 32, he states the obvious, that nowhere in the Bible or Jewish history is there evidence of anyone born blind being healed. The obvious conclusion is that this miracle could only be done through God’s help. The Bible teaches in many spots that God hears the prayers of a righteous person. It would take a praying person to be a channel of this much power.
There are many stories throughout history and various cultures about how Satan can masquerade as God’s power. But Satan or any witch doctor could not do the miracles that Jesus did. There are a lot of people who claim to be miracle workers, but a genuine miracle comes only through God’s power and blessing. God can use anyone, anywhere, and anytime to do his will, but there is a special place for the true believer connected to God’s healing power. The man’s conclusion in verse 33 is self-evident to anyone with common sense and clear thinking. It was obvious that Jesus was a special person to do an extraordinary miracle like what happened to this man.
The sad part of the story resurfaces with the response of the Jews. The Jews, likely headed up by the Pharisees in the crowd, had no argument against the man’s theological argument. Rather, they responded with emotions, shame, and blame. This type of response is common when people have nothing of substance to say. Instead of presenting clear evidence to the contrary (which they cannot do because the other position is true), they respond by attacking the other person or party. This happens sometimes in politics, family arguments, or personal relationships.
The pride and arrogance of the Jews are also evident in their rhetorical question about the man teaching them. They were the teachers; he was just an ignorant man being manipulated by the charlatan, Jesus. They did not believe or accept Jesus was the Messiah. They did not even know their own Scriptures that prophesied that the Messiah would heal the blind (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; 42:7). The evidence was right before them. Their ridicule of the man reached a new low by claiming he was completely born in sin, which was demeaning to the man’s disability, though they did not realize in that prejudiced statement that they were acknowledging the power of Jesus to heal. Throwing him out could have been a form of excommunication from the temple. Likely, the man could care less because he now could see. The Jews’ hardness of heart is sad but serves as a warning to the reader of how blind people can be to the power and truth in Jesus. The physical blindness of the man had passed over to the hearts of these Jews and become spiritual blindness. They were walking in the darkness of unbelief.
For older posts, click here.
