Tuesday 28 July 2026
- Bible Book:
- John
He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped him. (v. 38)
Background
We have been reading in John 9 how Jesus restored a blind man's sight and the Pharisees were sceptical. Carrying on the story, today we have two brief paragraphs of contrasting tone.
The tone of the first (vs 24-34) in which the Pharisees are speaking to the formerly blind man is argumentative. This is a robust confrontation. It's also full of drama – including irritation, sarcasm and mockery, abuse and bombast.
The most astonishing feature is that the formerly blind man (who hitherto had been alienated from society) is now so confident, focused and courageous – he is determined to speak common sense about what has happened to himself. He was blind; now he sees. How could that be anything but the will of God? Is it not enough to reveal that Jesus is greater than Moses?
His interrogators, however, are blinded by dogma and contempt for his origins (being born blind implied God’s punishment for sin). Ironically it is the befuddled Pharisees who arrogantly called on their opponent to speak the truth (which is the meaning of "Give glory to God!" in verse 24). But they have power and so they exclude the man from his Jewish community.
The second paragraph (vs 35-39) features a generous and patiently constructive conversation between Jesus and the excluded man. Jesus seeks him out and presents himself humbly and indirectly (‘the Son of Man’). He is careful to ensure that the man is genuinely free to make his own choice whether to have faith in and devotion to Jesus (v. 38).
The quiet mood is interrupted by the nosy and self-serving Pharisees, prompting from Jesus a statement of his mission. ‘Sin’ is the human propensity to get things the wrong way round, relative to God’s truth and light. Stubbornly to call the light ‘darkness’ and the truth ‘falsehood’ is to be mired in sin. Jesus came to put the right labels on moral issues, to enable people to see situations as God sees them and to live in a way that pleases God.
To Ponder:
- Do you fight shy of heated arguments about faith and discipleship? Is that because you lack confidence, or because you are uncertain about what you believe? Or does it seem ‘unchristian' to argue in a heated way?
- Christians believe that the Holy Spirit which filled the heart and mind of Jesus now dwells in their hearts, and slowly forms within them the mind and character of Jesus. Is there someone you turn to regularly because they remind you, gently and patiently, of the presence of Jesus?
Prayer
Lord, just as the man born blind stood firm when the world demanded he deny your miracle, give me courage to speak of what you have done in my life. Amen.
Bible notes author: The Revd David Deeks
David is a Methodist supernumerary presbyter, living in Bristol.