John 9:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Holy Scripture must not be read simply or carelessly, but with all diligence, lest we fall into difficulties.

In the present case, someone might rightly be perplexed. How, after saying, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath," do the Jews say to the blind man, "What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?"

They did not say, "What do you say about Him Who violated the Sabbath?" Instead of an accusation, they now point to what could serve as His justification.

What, then, should be said? These were not the ones who said, "This Man is not from God."

They were those who had separated from them and said, "A sinful man cannot do such signs."

Who were those asking, "What do you say about Him?" They were among the prudent.

For they had said, "How can a sinner do such things?" So that they might not appear to be defenders without cause, they bring as witness the very one who received the benefit.

He had experienced His power in himself, and they do this in order to stop the mouths of the slanderers.

See how prudently they ask. They did not say, "What do you say about Him, since He made clay, since He did not keep the Sabbath?"

Rather, they remind him of the miracle, "because He opened your eyes," as though urging the healed man to speak the very truth about Christ.

They remind and encourage him: "Because He opened your eyes." They are saying, "He benefited you. Therefore you must proclaim Him."

“Therefore they said again to the blind man: What dost thou say of Him, since He hath opened thine eyes?” They think to mock those who wish to judge rightly, forgetting, as it seems to me, the saying: “Judge righteous judgment,” Deut 1:16.

As though bound by the bonds of envy, they do not wish at all to hear a voice that renders honor to Christ. They turn away, as from some greatest enemy, from the one who wished to testify concerning the miracle.

Caring little for themselves, they address arrogant words to the man who had been healed. Again they ask what they have already often heard. At last they call Him evil and sinful who did something on the Sabbath.

"And there was a division among them." That day separated light from darkness.

They were seeking how to malign the man, so that they might cast him out of the synagogue. But Christ finds him.

Yet all along he spoke what he felt. He said, "He is a prophet."

At that time, not yet anointed in heart, he did not yet confess the Son of God. Nevertheless, he did not lie. For the Lord Himself says of Himself, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country" (Mt 13:57).

"What do you think about Him? What is your opinion? What is your judgment?"

They were seeking how to insult the man, so that he might be cast out of the synagogue and be found by Christ.

But he firmly expressed what he perceived. For he said, "He is a prophet."

"They said again to the blind man, 'What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?'" This was said not by those who had said, "This Man is not from God," but by those who had separated from them. So that they might not seem to be defending this man, they leave the question to him, as one who had experienced the power of Jesus Christ in himself. "He said, 'He is a prophet.'" Men sent by God were generally called prophets. Thus he openly says that Jesus Christ is from God. He does not fear the wrath of those who said that He was not from God. He was a courageous, truthful, and well-disposed man.

They asked the blind man not because they wished to hear from him who this Christ was. They had already said that this man was not from God because He broke the Sabbath, and the blind man had heard this. Therefore they question him, thinking that he too will condemn Jesus Christ as a transgressor of the law. Then the miracle would be concealed and remain forgotten. Yet the blind man remained unchanged and, fearing nothing, answered boldly: "I say that the One who gave light to my eyes is a Prophet." Christ seemed such to the blind man by likeness, for the prophets also had the grace of working miracles.

The embittered enemies of Christ, defeated by their own companions, turn to the healed man, hoping to find support for their opinion in him. They expected that he would not dare oppose them, since, by decree of the Sanhedrin, anyone who acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Messiah, was to be put out of the synagogue (Jn 9:22). "What do you say about Him?" "He is a prophet," answered the healed man.

Then, as the first party, the skeptics, visibly gained the upper hand in the dispute, the desire to cast suspicion on the miracle became clear.

In all likelihood, they were the very ones who earlier had sought to kill Jesus and had taken up stones against Him.

Their desire was to refute the reality of the miracle, and to find testimonies and data that could serve as a more or less plausible pretext for rejecting what was obvious to all.

One can only marvel at the twists of casuistry of which unbelieving thought is capable when it wants to refute a fact that does not fit its prejudiced view.

What did the Pharisees and scribes not resort to?

"What do you say?" Amid such a difference of opinions, the Pharisees ask the opinion of the healed man himself.

It seems that the unbelieving ones ask him, with the aim of finding in his words something to which they could cling, so as to cast suspicion on the reality of the miracle or reinterpret it.

The healed man's brief answer, "He is a prophet," of course did not serve this aim. Therefore they carried the matter further in another way.

A prophet: the man born blind concluded this from the miracle performed upon him, just as others had drawn the same conclusion from the same kind of evidence; cf. Jn 3:2, Jn 4:19, Jn 6:14, and others.

Thus the seed of faith begins to sprout and take root in this man's heart amid the Pharisees' dispute.

Having first called the Lord a Man (Jn 9:11), he now already calls Him a prophet, and fearlessly confesses this before His enemies.

Verses 15-17. When questioned, the blind man simply and openly told the Sanhedrin how he had been healed. Disputes arose among the members.

There were good men even among the members of the Sanhedrin: "Many even of the rulers believed in Him" (Jn 12:42).

The honorable devotees of the law said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath."

The sensible ones observed, "How can a sinful man do such signs?"

A miracle, and one as great as the healing of a man born blind, could be accomplished only by the power of God. And where God Himself acts, is there any room for a question about Sabbath rest?

Some of the sensible members, at least in their souls, of course went further.

The simplicity of faith contends with crafty unbelief. Faith came to the blind man who had received sight and enlightened the eyes of his mind. He sees the truth clearly. See how logical everything is with him. They ask him, "What do you say about Him who gave you sight?" He answered, "He is a prophet," that is, a messenger of God clothed with wonder-working power. An incontestably faithful conclusion!