"A Man of God" (9:24–34)

"A Man of God" (9:24–34)
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The Pharisees were eager to settle the case, so they brought the man in and made him swear. "Give God the praise" is a Jewish way to "swear in" at court (see Josh. 7:19).

But the "judges" were biased from the start! "We know this man is a sinner!" The witness was being told that he needed to work with the court or he might be kicked out. But the beggar was too strong to be scared. He had seen a miracle, and he wasn't afraid to tell them what had happened.

He didn't argue about who Jesus Christ was because he didn't know enough about Him. But he did know one thing: he could see now. His testimony (John 9:25) makes me think of Psalm 27. From the healed beggar's point of view, read that psalm in light of this chapter and see how meaningful it becomes.

The question is asked for the fourth time: "How did He open your eyes?" (see John 9:10, 15, 19, and 26). I can see how the man would be getting very impatient by this point. He had been blind his whole life, and now there was so much to see. He definitely didn't want to stay in a synagogue court any longer, looking at angry people and answering the same questions!

We think it's brave of the man to ask the angry Pharisees if they wanted to follow Jesus. The man thought the answer would be no, but he was brave enough to ask. The judges couldn't refute the evidence, so they started to insult the witness. This is when Moses comes back into the picture (John 5:46). The Pharisees were careful people who thought of themselves as conservatives, but they were really "preservatives." A real conservative uses the best of the past, but he also knows what God is doing now. The old gives rise to the new (Matt. 13:52). A "preservative" just keeps the past alive and protects it. He doesn't want things to change and fights against what God is doing. If the Pharisees had really understood Moses, they would have known who Jesus was and what He was doing.

The leaders were sure about Moses, but they weren't sure about Jesus. They had no idea where He came from. He had already told them that the Father had sent Him from heaven (John 6:33, 38, 41–42, 50–51). They were sure that He was Mary's and Joseph's real son and that He came from Nazareth (John 6:42; 7:41–42). They were judging "after the flesh" (John 8:15) and not using their spiritual judgment.

The healed man thought it was crazy that the Pharisees didn't know the Man who had opened his eyes. How many people were walking around Jerusalem, making blind people see? These religious leaders should have been learning from the One who did the miracle instead of looking into the miracle itself. They were not accepting the Stone that was sent to them (Acts 4:11).

The beggar then taught the "experts" a lesson in real-life theology. He might have been thinking of Psalm 66:18, which says, "If I regard iniquity [sin] in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:." The leaders said Jesus was a sinner (John 9:24), but God used Jesus to heal the blind man.

He made another strong point by saying that Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth. This had never happened before, as far as they knew. God not only heard Jesus, but He also gave the man sight. So, how could Jesus have sinned?

Religious bigots don't want to deal with either facts or logic. They have made up their minds. If the Pharisees had really thought about the facts, they would have realized that Jesus is the Son of God. They could have trusted Him and been saved.

The leaders insulted the man again and told him he was born in sin. But he would not die in his sins (see John 8:21, 24); before this chapter ends, the beggar will believe in Jesus Christ. We are all born with sin (Ps. 51:5), but we don't have to live in sin (Col. 3:6–7) or die in it. Believing in Jesus Christ saves us from sin and gives us a happy, free life.

The religious leaders kicked this man out of the local synagogue for good. The Jews saw the man as a "publican and sinner," which meant he couldn't see his friends and family. But Jesus came for the "outcasts" and always kept his word.