John 9 Verses 13-23 

John 9:13 “They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. 14 And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes. 15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. 16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. 17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet. 18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight. 19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see? 20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: 21 But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. 22 These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.” 

From the above we make several observations: 

1.  The neighbors and others that knew the man before he was healed of his blindness were afraid of the Pharisees, because they knew the self-righteous tyrannical power of the Pharisees and that the Pharisees would cast them out of the synagogue if they did not report what the Pharisees held as a violation of the Sabbath day. 

2.  The Pharisees in asking the man how he received his sight were looking for a violation of their perverted interpretation of the law of the Sabbath Day.   

3.  The man reported the events of the healing as they had happened.   

4.  The Pharisees had no compassion for the man who was healed, nor even considered that the healing had to be by the power of God.  They had made their perverted interpretation of the law their God.   

5.  The Lord had previously and elsewhere told us that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath Day: Matt. 12:10 “And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.”  Therefore, we see that the Pharisees in rescuing their sheep on the Sabbath Day were violating their own perverted interpretation of the law.  It was never unlawful to do well on the Sabbath days. 

6.  The Pharisees accused Christ of not being of God because he had done contrary to their perverted interpretation of the Sabbath Day.   

7.  The man who was healed declared that the one who had healed him was a prophet.  This was based on the information that he had at the time.  Later he would learn that Jesus was the Son of God. 

8.  Even among the Pharisees, however, there were some who saw through the fallacy of their accusation and said, “How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?”   

9.  As this miracle of healing went against their perverted interpretation of the law of the Sabbath, they did not believe he was born blind or that he had previously been blind.  Therefore, they asked his parents. 

10. The parents confirmed that their son was born blind, but would not confess that they knew how he was healed.  They were afraid of being put out of the synagogue and thus be ostracized from the society of that village. 

11. The Jews had already made it clear that if anyone confessed that Jesus was the Christ, then they would be put out of the synagogue.   

John 9 Verses 24-34 

John 9:24 “Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner. 25 He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. 26 Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes? 27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples? 28 Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples. 29 We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is. 30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. 31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. 32 Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. 33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. 34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.” 

Again from the above we can draw several observations: 

1.  Pharisees called the man and said unto him, “Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.”  The irony of this is astounding.  They acknowledge that God was responsible for the man’s healings and then declared the one who had administered the healing a sinner and violator of God’s law by healing the man on the Sabbath Day.   

2.  The man’s statement “I was blind, but now I see” was probably the inspiration for the verse in John Newton’s song “I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” 

3.  When they asked him again how the Lord had healed him, the man knew they were trying to catch him in his words, and responded by telling them that he had already told them and now why do you ask me again, would you be his disciples?  These self-righteous Pharisees reviled the man and said that the man was his disciple but they were Moses disciples.  They said they knew that God spoke to Moses, but we know not whence Jesus is. 

4.  The man’s response put to silence the arguments of the Pharisees so that they accused him of being altogether born in sins and in their arrogant self-righteous elitist attitude declared that he wasn’t worthy to teach them.   

5.  They put him out of the synagogue because he held fast that Jesus was of God.   

6.  The elitist self-righteous Pharisees of our day will disassociate anyone who holds to the truth whenever it is contrary to their perverted belief system.