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The Pharisees Try To Find Out
13-14The day when Jesus made the mud and healed the man was a Sabbath. So the people took the man to the Pharisees. 15They asked him how he was able to see, and he answered, “Jesus made some mud and smeared it on my eyes. Then after I washed it off, I could see.”
16Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus doesn't come from God. If he did, he would not break the law of the Sabbath.”
Others asked, “How could someone who is a sinner work such a miracle?”
Since the Pharisees could not agree among themselves, 17they asked the man, “What do you say about this one who healed your eyes?”
“He is a prophet!” the man told them.
18But the Jewish leaders would not believe that the man had once been blind. They sent for his parents 19and asked them, “Is this the son that you said was born blind? How can he now see?”
20The man's parents answered, “We are certain that he is our son, and we know that he was born blind. 21But we don't know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. Ask him! He is old enough to speak for himself.”
22-23The man's parents said this because they were afraid of their leaders. The leaders had already agreed that no one was to have anything to do with anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah.
Reflect
People sometimes wonder why God doesn’t perform miracles anymore (he does from time to time, by the way). They think if only he did miracles, then non-believers would be convinced of his existence or the faith of marginal believers would be strengthened. But is that really so?
Here, neighbours and people who had seen this blind man can’t make sense of his restored sight. They know him, some of them for his whole life. They know he was born blind, and now he’s healed. Yet, they can’t even agree that it really is him! It makes more sense to deny what their own eyes are telling them, than to believe God performed a miracle. They seek other explanations, and they take him to the Pharisees to sort it out for them. This is spiritual blindness.
The Pharisees refuse to believe the testimony of the crowd, which has no stake in the matter, and they refuse to believe the man himself. They have a view of Jesus and it will not be changed. This is willful spiritual blindness.
The parents are interesting. They know the truth of the situation: their blind son was healed by Jesus. But they won’t admit it, for fear of the Pharisees. They fear man more than God, and they do not grasp the significance of the miracle. This is also spiritual blindness.
None of them were open to believing that Jesus was the Christ, that he was God with them. It was impossible for them to believe a blind man forced into the life of a beggar, who had suddenly been healed, had been shown mercy by the God of the universe. God’s power and majesty, on display here, were shockingly overlooked.
Miracles don’t create faith. It takes an open heart to see Jesus for who he really is.
Respond
Dear Heavenly Father, you are all powerful and can do anything through Christ. Open our hearts to your miracles in the Bible and today, and help us to better understand you. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Jo Lynne Duck (Sheane)
Once found on the national airwaves as a reporter, Jo Lynn Duck (Sheane) now lives in Windsor, Ontario joyfully living as a wife and mom of two school-aged children. She also completed a Master of Theological Studies at Tyndale Seminary. She taught journalism at St. Clair College and worked as a local producer until she switched gears completely. She is now the Admissions and Marketing Coordinator for Maranatha Christian Academy in Windsor.