John 9:24-34

THE QUESTIONED BECOMES QUESTIONER

Text 9:24-34

24

So they called a second time the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give glory to God: we know that this man is a sinner.

25

He therefore answered, Whether he is a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.

26

They said therefore unto him, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?

27

He answered them, I told you even now, and ye did not hear; wherefore would ye hear it again? would ye also become his disciples?

28

And they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are disciples of Moses.

29

We know that God hath spoken unto Moses: but as for this man, we know not whence he is.

30

The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and yet he opened mine eyes.

31

We know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and do his will, him he heareth.

32

Since the world began it was never heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.

33

If this man were not from 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.

Queries

a.

What do the Pharisees mean by saying, Give glory to God?

b.

What is meant by, God heareth not sinners?

c.

Why did the Pharisees say the beggar was altogether born in sin?

Paraphrase

So for the second time the Pharisees called the man that had been blind, and adjured him, Give glory to God; we know that this particular man is an open sinner. The beggar replied, Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know; one thing I do knowI was blind and now I can see! So they said to him, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? Deliberately the man answered them, I have told you already and you would not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become his disciples, do you? They reviled him vociferously, sneering, You are that one's disciple; we are the disciples of Moses. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow we do not know where he has come from. The man replied, Well this is astonishing, that you say you do not know where he comes from and yet he has opened my eyes. We Jews know that God does not hear willful sinners, but if a man is a worshipper of God and seeks to do His will, to such a man God listens. Now, since the world began it was never heard that a man opened the eyes of a man born blind. It follows then that if this man were not from God, he would never be able to do anything like thisThey interrupted vehemently, You were absolutely conceived and begotten in sin; and are you now presuming to teach us? And they cast him out!

Summary

The poor beggar is not awed by the presence of the Pharisees. He is a man with a good and honest heart upon which the truth has fallen and is slowly bringing forth fruit. The beggar is more amazed at the willful blindness of the Pharisees than anything else. By his sincere, innocent and capable logic he becomes the questioner and exposes the stiff-necked unreasonableness of the Pharisees. He is summarily excommunicated for his troubles.

Comment

The adjuration, Give glory to God, could be either the administration of an oath or simply a statement that the man should give Jehovah the glory for His healing rather than Jesus whom they know to be a sinner. The commentators are disagreed. We prefer to think that this tribunal was attempting to intimidate their precocious opponent by the adjuration of an oath. There were many different formulae used to express the judicial oath among the Jews (cf. 1 Samuel 14:39; 1 Samuel 14:44; 1 Samuel 19:6; 1 Samuel 20:3; 1 Samuel 20:23; 2 Samuel 11:11; 2 Samuel 14:19; 2 Samuel 15:21; Matthew 5:34; Matthew 23:16; Matthew 26:63). This particular phrase is used in Joshua 7:19 when Achan was adjured to Give glory to God, and tell the truth as to his guilt. The Pharisees, having been thus far confounded and put on the defensive, bring to bear all the ecclesiastical and judicial authority they possess. They must regain the offensive. This naive and common beggar has, in his sincere adherence to the facts, shown the Pharisees for what they really arebigoted, ambiguous and dishonest. The rulers have already pronounced Jesus an open sinner, yet this beggar dares to call Him a prophet. To protect their proud position and to find an occasion for condemning Jesus to death, they threaten this man with an oath.

The arrogant, we know on the part of the Pharisees is not new. They were certain that they alone possessed knowledge. They were the intelligentsia and all others were ignorant (cf. John 7:14; John 7:45-52). The rebuke of Job to his three friends, No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you, would be fitting for the Pharisees.

But the man was not awedhe would not be intimidated. The beggar had been presented irrefutable evidence that this Jesus was more than a mere man. His evidence is empiricalthe highest type of evidencethat which appeals to the senses of man. Such evidence is so overwhelmingly factual he must stand in opposition to Pharisaic opinion regardless of the consequences. Furthermore, the very nature of the evidence makes only this one thing outweigh all the force of Pharisaic authority and prestige.

Now, having been bested in cross-examination and having their bigotry exposed, the only way they can think of to carry out their nefarious bluff is to repeat their question concerning the how of the alleged miracle. Perhaps they are hoping to trip the beggar into a contradiction in his account.

The beggar's bravery is exciting to behold! In view of the power residing in this tribunal of Pharisees the man's courage is challenging. It is no less than amazing that his ironic answer in John 9:27 did not incite the ire of the Pharisees more than it did! Only their all-consuming concentration on killing Jesus saved the beggar from probable bodily harm at this moment. The apostle Paul was later struck in the mouth for alleged impertinence in the same type of situation (Acts 23:2). He has told them over and over again from his own personal experiencethey have heard plainly enough, but refuse to accept the truth which is necessarily implied if they do acknowledge the miracle. The man's exasperation with these opinionated, self-righteous dogmatists is understandable. What man is able to retain his patience with those who deliberately and continually refuse to admit that which is undeniable.

Maliciously they turn upon the beggar with vile imprecations. The man has humiliated, outwitted and exposed these judges of Israel. He has further completely turned the tables in this investigationthe prosecutors have become the prosecuted! The only recourse imaginable to these Pharisees arises out of the very nature of their heartsto revile the man.
They could hardly think of any malediction more vile than to say, You are that one's disciple! They would not even so much as speak the name of Jesus. He was judged by the rulers and teachers of Israel as a blasphemera servant of Satan. Jesus was also pronounced a hereticadvocating (according to the Jews) destruction of the Law of Moses. The rulers had decided that Jesus must be destroyed (because of envy) and regardless of His truth and righteousness, anyone defending Him was also no better than a heretic.

As for themselves, the Pharisees boasted, we are the disciples of Moses. But Moses would never claim them! For Moses esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Moses, through what he wrote, condemned these pseudo-disciples. Moses wrote of the great Prophet that was to be raised up from among them (cf. Deuteronomy 18:15-19) and Jesus was that Prophet (cf. John 5:45-47; Luke 24:44; Acts 3:21-24). The warning of John the Baptist three years previous still applies (cf. Matthew 3:9), for God is not only able to raise up from stones children unto Abraham, but unto Moses as well.

Again the presumptuous, we know. Yes, they knew that God had spoken to Moses, but they lacked the essential thingwhat God had really spoken to Moses. But here is the marveljust as the blind man saw itthey knew so much about Moses which they had to accept on the testimony of the written record, yet they would not accept the first-hand testimony of this miracle which witnessed to Jesus! It simply astounded the guileless and straightforward beggar that men would so deliberately blind themselves to truth. This former blind man has a heart of the good and honest type, for to him Jesus-' origin is evidentHe is from God!

Their esteemed Moses, great as he was, had never performed any such miracle as thisopening the eyes of one congenitally blind. In fact, it had never been heard of in all the annals of history until the beggar's day and age. None of the prophets had done such a miracle.
As Hendriksen points out, the beggar is an excellent logician. His syllogism here is perfect:
Major Premise: God hears and answers and works through only those who worship Him and abide in His will and are sent from Him.
Minor Premise: This man Jesus performed an unheard of and astounding miraclegreater even than any Moses had wrought.
Conclusion: This man Jesus is just as definitely sent from God as was Moses. He cannot possibly be an open and flagrant sinner as the Pharisees accuse Him.

Not only does the beggar use logic to prove his point, but he evidently had in mind many of the Scriptures which the Pharisees should have remembered concerning God's relationship to the wicked. God does not hear nor answer the prayers of the willfull and blatant sinner John 15:29; Isaiah 1:15; Isaiah 59:2; Jeremiah 11:11; Jeremiah 14:12; Ezekiel 8:18; Micah 3:4; (cf. 1 Samuel 8:18; Job 27:9; Job 35:12; Psalms 18:41; Psalms 66:18; Proverbs 1:28, Zechariah 7:13; John 8:21; Acts 10:35).

This verse (John 9:31) has been abused. Some have taken it from its context and used it as a proof-text to declare that any person not affiliated with the Christian church cannot expect to have their prayers heard by God. It is very plain from Acts 10:35 that God hears the sincere and honest prayers of those who have not yet been obedient to that form of doctrine. In fact, in Cornelius-' case, God heard the prayer of one who had not yet even heard of the gospel of Christ! This, of course, may even be true of men and women today who have not yet heard the gospel, but are earnestly praying and seeking God's willGod may hear and answer their prayers.

On the other hand, God will not listen nor will He answer the prayers of men and women who regard iniquity in their heart. Wilfull sinnerspersistent disobeyerswill not be heard, regardless of their outward affiliations with whatever religious group to which they may belong (cf. all the Major and Minor Prophets). To be heard of God we must hear Himto receive of His bounty, we must be obedient and full of faith.

Note the beggar's growing faith and knowledge of Jesus. First, the man that is called Jesus. (John 9:11); next, he is a prophet. (John 9:17); next, ... from God. (John 9:33); and last, ... Lord, I believe. (John 9:38).

Here is a miracle that is a miracle indeedand the Pharisees cannot deny the veracity of its accomplishment. They themselves can readily see that the man has his sight. Both the neighbors and the man's parents testified under fear of banishment that the man had been born blind. The man himself testified under oath that Jesus of Nazareth had performed a miracle. The Pharisees could not disprove it.
The only way they could think to maintain their self-begotten prestige was to attack the character of the beggar and to excommunicate him from the synagogue. They inferred what Jesus had denied (cf. John 9:2)that the beggar's blindness was an indication of his and his parents-' wanton sinfulness. How dare he presume to teach the scholars of the Scriptures anything! This is normal procedure for the rulers of the Jewsif they cannot disprove the miracles attesting to Christ's message, they will threaten the messengers or do them bodily harm (cf. Acts 4:16-21).

Quiz

1.

What two reasons are given for the Pharisees saying, Give glory to God?

2.

What is the highest type of evidence to attest to a fact?

3.

Why is the beggar's bravery so exciting?

4.

Why was their boast to be the disciples of Moses absurd?

5.

Why did the beggar marvel?

6.

What two ways did the beggar prove Jesus to be from God?

7.

Does God ever hear the prayers of non-Christians? How do you know?