Jesus' healing of a man born blind is clearly miraculous (John 9:1–7). It corresponds to Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; 42:7). And yet, Jesus' religious critics refuse to accept that He is acting with divine power (John 9:16). They go so far as to threaten those who accept Jesus' claims with excommunication (John 9:22). In an effort to debunk the miracle, the scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem interrogated the healed man (John 9:13), as well as his parents (John 9:18).

This is part of a second round of questioning of the formerly-blind man. Asking the same questions more than once is a common interrogation tactic. The questioner is looking for inconsistency, or other signs that the story is a lie. These men have already asked the healed man what happened, and he has already answered. Rather than simply repeating his story, the man takes a bold, brave, and incredibly effective approach. The following verses show how his sincere honesty embarrasses the prejudiced, conniving religious leaders.

John 9:13–34 describes the Pharisees' reaction to Jesus' healing of a man born blind. Rather than being swayed by an obvious sign of divine power, they look for excuses and criticisms. Seeking to discredit the miracle, they interrogate the man's parents, who timidly defer back to their son. The healed man knows nothing more than this: ''though I was blind, now I see.'' His matter-of-fact responses to the Pharisees highlight their obvious prejudice. As a result, they excommunicate the healed man from the synagogue. Jesus will meet with the man in the next passage to give more context for the miracle.

Jesus encounters a man who has been blind his entire life. In typical fashion for that era, the disciples assume this condition is due to some specific sin--either the man's sin or his parents' sin. Jesus challenges this idea, and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation, as the Pharisees try to discredit Jesus' miraculous work. The healed man's simple, straightforward perspective embarrasses the religious leaders, who excommunicate him in frustration. Jesus is able to meet with the man, explaining more about His identity and the purpose of His ministry. Jesus also reminds the Pharisees that those who ought to know better, spiritually, will be held more accountable as a result.

Jesus has begun to actively confront the false teachings of local religious leaders. His most recent debate included a heated exchange with the Pharisees, where Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy. Here, Jesus continues to antagonize religious hypocrites by healing a man who was born blind. The ensuing ruckus further exposes Jerusalem's religious leaders as shallow, prejudiced, and false. This event launches Jesus into another lengthy discussion of His ministry, recorded in chapter 10, including several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.

Accessed 5/4/2024 9:10:37 PM

© Copyright 2002-2024 Got Questions Ministries. All rights reserved.

Text from ESV, NIV, NASB, CSB, NLT, KJV, NKJV © Copyright respective owners, used by permission.

www.BibleRef.com