John 9:13–23

Read the passage.

As the community thinks it has sreen a miracle where a man blind from birth can now see, they take him to the the authorities to get some clarity on just what has happened among them. The man gives his testimony to the Pharisees, which becomes a theologicaly quandry for them. Healing is God’s prerogative, but in their view He only does miracles for righteous people. As it was the Sabbath, they considered the work that Jesus did to apply mud to the man’s eyes and then to tell him to go wash in the pool to be against the Fourth Commandment. (Never mind that “do no work” is not actually defined and delineated in the Torah.) So, if Jesus is breaking God’s Law (according to them), how can He do God’s work in this man’s life?

The confusion and contention get so bad that some of them start to think this man wasn’t born blind after all and is therefore faking a miracle. They track down his parents to see if they corroborate his story. While they do identify him as their son who was born blind, they also distance themselves from what he is saying to the council. John lets us know that the Pharisees and other Jewish leaders had already decided that Jesus was not the Christ, and anyone who said so would be removed from the synagogue, excommunicated. The man’s parents knew about this, and despite what Jesus had done for their son, they didn’t want to get in trouble with the people in charge of their spiritual lives.

All of the different factions of the Jewish leaders thought they had God’s plans figured out. But when Jesus came along and showed them that they really didn’t, they didn’t believe Him. They were blinded by their pride, their self-righteousness, and, ultimately, their own sinfulness. The Pharisees in particular were very religious, very devoted to studying Scripture and doing what they thought God had told them. And they were wrong. And so, too, can we. God speaks to us through His Word, and it is through the illumination of the Holy Spirit that we can understand the message that He intends us to hear. Many people have come to saving faith just by reading the Bible, but many people have not, also, despite reading just as much. Be humble. Seek the Lord while He may be found.

Do not let us rely on our own understanding, but lead us to Yourself.