"A Prophet" (9:13–23)

"A Prophet" (9:13–23)

The Pharisees were the faith's guardians, so it was right to bring the healed man to them. The fact that they looked into this miracle so closely is more proof that Jesus did heal the man. The miracle was even more amazing because the man had been blind since birth. This is because blindness caused by illness or injury can sometimes go away on its own. His enemies can look closely at the miracles of our Lord.

But the Pharisees were very worried that Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath day on purpose. It was against the law to work on the Sabbath, and Jesus had done three illegal "works" by making the clay, putting it on the man, and healing him. Instead of praising God for a miracle, the Pharisees looked for proof to arrest Jesus.

If people would rather not face the truth and instead run away from it (see John 9:22), it's impossible to reach a consensus. Once more, Jesus was the reason for the split (John 9:16; see also 7:12, 43). The religious leaders were only judging based on one thing: anyone who breaks the Sabbath can't be a true prophet of God. They only thought about one thing, which is similar to how some religious people think today. The Pharisees didn't understand that Jesus was giving the people something better than the Sabbath: the real spiritual rest that comes from God (Matt. 11:28–30).

But the Pharisees' threats didn't scare the beggar. When someone asked him who he thought Jesus was, he boldly said, "He is a prophet!" (See John 4:19 for a similar example.) Moses, Elijah, and Elisha are some of the Old Testament prophets who did miracles. The Jewish people considered their prophets to be men of God who could do great things with God's help.

But the religious leaders didn't want to see Jesus get that kind of high title. "This man is not of God" (John 9:16). They might be able to make the miracle seem false. If that's the case, they could convince the people that Jesus had planned the whole thing and was lying to them. He cleverly "switched" beggars so the man who could see wasn't the same as the blind one.

The best way to get that kind of proof would be to question the beggar's parents. So, they brought them in and asked them two questions: (1) "Is this your son?" And (2) "If he is, how does he see now?" They were in trouble if they didn't answer either question or if they answered in a way that the leaders didn't like. What a tough choice!

They told the truth when they answered the first question: he was their son and he had been born blind. They didn't answer the second question directly; they said they didn't know how he got better or who did it. Then they used the old-fashioned trick of "passing the buck" by telling the Pharisees to ask the man himself. He was of age, after all!

What was going on behind all of these questions and sneaky answers? The dread of individuals. We met it at the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:13), and we will meet it again at the last Passover of our Lord (John 12:42). These people wanted to be honored by other people, not by God (John 5:44). Being kicked out of the synagogue was bad, but rejecting the truth and being lost was worse. "The fear of man bringeth a snare" (Prov. 29:25). The Pharisees sought to deceive Jesus, while the parents aimed to avoid conflict; ultimately, all parties were eventually exposed and caught. Isaiah 51:7 and 12 told the parents what to do.

The Pharisees could make a "good case" for what they believed. They had the law of Moses and hundreds of years of Jewish tradition to back them up. They didn't realize that Jesus Christ had already fulfilled all of this ceremonial law and was now bringing in something new. Moses prepared the way, but Jesus Christ brought it all together (see John 1:17).