TEACHING THE TRUTH IS A MARVELOUS THING

John 9:30-34 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvelous thing, that ye know not from whence He is, and yet He hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this Man were not of God, He could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. (Also see John 9:24-29)

The man, whose blindness from birth was miraculously healed by Jesus, had already been questioned by these Jewish Pharisee leaders without receiving the condemnation of Jesus that they desired. Then they questioned his parents who told them that they knew nothing, and suggested that they seek answers from their son, since he was old enough to reliably speak for himself. So again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner (Vs. 24). Many bible scholars seem to think that these Pharisees were asking the man to testify, as if under oath, to tell nothing but the truth about this event. They desired for him to say that God is to be praised for his healing but not Jesus, because they considered Him to be nothing but the lowest mortal among blaspheming sinners. The man would only answer that he knew nothing about the character of Jesus; he could only speak about the things that he knew for sure, which was that whereas I was blind, now I see (Vs. 25).

Although the man had already told these Pharisees everything he knew about how he was healed (See Vss. 13-16 above), they continued their interrogation by asking him the same question: What did He to thee? How opened He thine eyes (Vs. 26)? Such practices are often used to cause a person to contradict a previous answer or even deny an answer that was said before. However, in this instance, the man only confirmed what was previously said (Vs. 27a). At the end of this verse we find an interesting rhetorical question posed by the man that was healed. He asked those questioning him, will ye also be His disciples (Vs. 27)? In a sense, the man was asking them if I repeat my answer over and over again, will you then believe that Jesus was a Man of God and become His following disciples?

This inference seemed to irritate these Jewish leaders into speaking contemptuously toward the man. They vehemently accused him of being a believer and follower of Jesus, but claimed themselves to be Moses' disciples (Vs. 28). They claimed to be believers in, and followers of, the Law of Moses. Yet the Messiah that Moses foretold that was fulfilled in Christ Jesus, they rejected, even claiming that He violated the law of the Sabbath. They assured the man that God spoke directly to Moses, but of Jesus they knew nothing about Him or where he came from (Vs.29). The lesson text then tells us that the man that was healed quickly defended Jesus as the one that hath opened mine eyes. The man correctly told them that God hears only those that worship Him (Vs. 31). He also confessed to the Jews that no human being was ever given sight to one that was born blind; therefore, If this Man were not of God, He could do nothing.

Not only was this miracle a marvelous thing because Jesus healed the man blind from birth, but the manner in which the man upheld Jesus as a man of God against possible severe reprimand by the Jewish leaders, serves as a wonderful example for all children of God to emulate. He did not give in to the peer pressure that led his parents to compromise the will of God manifested through His Son, Christ Jesus. Realizing the power of God that had been demonstrated through Jesus, this ordinary, handicapped man fully realized and interpreted God's word to those that profess to have more knowledge of the Mosaic Law than all other Jews. The man continued to believe and attest to the fact that Jesus, as a man of God, gave him sight for the first time in his life. Because the man continued to adamantly give God all glory through Jesus, these Jewish Pharisees became so exasperated they could do nothing but severely rebuke him by saying that his blindness was the result of being born in sins. They were irritated by, who they perceived as a common Jew, blind from birth, attempting to teach them a doctrine that they steadfastly refuted. Knowing no other way to oppose the man short of death, they cast him out.

When there is no avenue left to keep a man from teaching God's truths, unbelievers will cast him out!