John 9:26-29 26Then they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?” 28And they reviled him and said, “You are that man’s disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God has spoken to Moses, but we do not know where this man comes from.”
The Jewish leaders continue to interrogate the now-healed man with more questions. They attack the man thinking they are attacking Jesus. People who are bent on an agenda will often attack others as surrogates. They repeat the question they asked already in verse 15. Like lawyers and judges sometimes do, they ask the same question hoping to trip up their witness. Perhaps they were trying to trap the man into discounting his testimony. Maybe this all was just made up. Or, if they could get the man to say something against Jesus, he could be used as a witness against Jesus.
The man’s answer to them is one of the humorous parts of a humorous but sad story from the Jews’ perspective. The man had been honorable and respectful thus far, simply answering their questions. But his next reply implies impatience and diminishing respect. The first part of his response echoes a key question implied in the whole book of John. The message of truth has been clearly proclaimed, but people would not listen to it (1:5; 3:19). The Jewish leaders were prime examples of walking in darkness; ironically, they thought they were right and had the truth but were deceived by the great Deceiver, Satan.
The man was optimistic and is a good example of a witness for Jesus. He did not give up on the Jews yet and asks if they wanted to become Jesus’ disciples also. The irony is that they were just the opposite. It is always worthwhile asking something to become a follower of Jesus. It puts the guilt on them and not on us.
The Jews’ response to him shows they are reaching the limits of their patience. The discussion has reached a critical point. The man’s response crossed the line when he ask them about becoming disciples of Jesus. Something had indeed stirred in the man’s heart since his healing because he had become a disciple. He believed in Jesus who had changed his life. He did not need to have a long theological sermon but only the power of his simple testimony. The Jews’ assessment of him was true: he had become that man’s disciple.
The core question for the Jews was one of authority and source of truth. The Jews’ appeal to authority was based on a narrow interpretation of the Hebrew Scriptures. They appealed to Moses as their authority. By Moses, they meant the law God gave through Moses and their oral interpretations of it. They believed they had the true interpretation, and anyone who disagreed with them was wrong. We have to be careful of taking the opposite position of relativism, that everyone has their own truth. There is only one source of truth: Jesus. All other “truths” will agree with and be derived from God’s revealed truth in Jesus.
The end of verse 29 gives the big problem: the Jews did not recognize that Jesus was the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth (1:14). Jesus had spoken clearly about his connection to God. The Jews should have recognized how he fulfilled all that Moses wrote (5:39-40, 45-46). Jesus fulfilled the previous revelation and brought a new revelation that was consistent with the old revelation. It was all one revelation from God. Jesus did not contradict Moses but completed the law Moses gave (1:17-18). Those with faith saw this and experienced new life. Those who refused to make this connection lost out and would face judgment.
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