Joh 9:32 | KingComments | STEP | The hatred of the religious leaders erupts through what they see as the man’s defiant and brutal words. This is the limit. Become a disciple of Him? Never! They revile the man for being a disciple of Him. The testimony of the man was not vague. He has constantly testified of the Lord Jesus in simplicity and clarity, without knowing much about Him. He knows only “one thing” ( ) and that is enough to testify of Him. And that testimony has been heard. Only it is rejected. He may be a disciple of Him, but they are disciples of Moses. They boast on knowing that God spoke to Moses, but they are blind to the fact that Moses spoke about Christ. They don’t know where “He is from”. It is a culpable ignorance because they do not want to believe in Him. So much is clear now after the sign of the healing of the born blind man and his abundant testimony and the many other signs of the Lord Jesus. The reason for this is that they do not want to abdicate from their throne in order to let Him take place on it. To bow before Him is unthinkable because they are after their own honor and the honor of people. Every interference in their own interests is answered by them with hatred, rejection and murderousness. The Lord Jesus is the greatest threat to their position of prestige that they want to hold on to at any price. The ignorance of the religious leaders surprises the man. How on earth is it possible that they do not know where He comes from? Surely they also see what happened to his eyes and that this cannot be the devil’s work? The man then gives a beautiful testimony of Christ. He speaks in plural: “We know.” It is a knowledge of all Jews. They all acknowledge that God does not hear sinners ( ; ; ; ), but that He only hears someone who is God-fearing and does His will ( ; ). The Lord Jesus is the perfect God-fearing One and always fulfills God’s will. He is therefore heard by God ( ). It is also a general principle for us. What the man says is of great practical significance for our prayer life and the hearing of our prayers (cf. ). The man points out that it is an unprecedented wonder in history. It has never happened before. Surely this wonder can only have been performed by Someone Who is God-fearing and does God’s will, isn’t it? It can’t be otherwise or “this man” must be from God. If it were not, He could do nothing at all. Not only would He not have been able to heal him, but He would not have been able to perform other wonders either. The conclusion is clear: He must be from God. They can’t do anything against the man’s simple arguments. There is nothing left for them to do but call him a sinner and an ignorant man and put him out. How dare such a layman, such an illiterate, such an ignorant, such a man born in sin teach them – them, the scholars, the knowing, the theologians. Get out! They put him out, out of Judaism, for the sake of truth. This system has no place for him. He is expelled, he becomes a pariah in Israel. He has nowhere left to go. But where does the man end up? Out, but in the arms of the Lord Jesus Who will never cast out His own ( ). The man experiences what applies to the Lord from the beginning of the Gospel ( ). What the enemies do is what the Lord calls in the next chapter the calling and even the putting forth of His own sheep from the fold. The enemies become the means to lead out and put forth the sheep.

‏ John 9:32

Put Out

The hatred of the religious leaders erupts through what they see as the man’s defiant and brutal words. This is the limit. Become a disciple of Him? Never! They revile the man for being a disciple of Him.

The testimony of the man was not vague. He has constantly testified of the Lord Jesus in simplicity and clarity, without knowing much about Him. He knows only “one thing” (Jn 9:25) and that is enough to testify of Him. And that testimony has been heard. Only it is rejected. He may be a disciple of Him, but they are disciples of Moses.

They boast on knowing that God spoke to Moses, but they are blind to the fact that Moses spoke about Christ. They don’t know where “He is from”. It is a culpable ignorance because they do not want to believe in Him. So much is clear now after the sign of the healing of the born blind man and his abundant testimony and the many other signs of the Lord Jesus.

The reason for this is that they do not want to abdicate from their throne in order to let Him take place on it. To bow before Him is unthinkable because they are after their own honor and the honor of people. Every interference in their own interests is answered by them with hatred, rejection and murderousness. The Lord Jesus is the greatest threat to their position of prestige that they want to hold on to at any price.

The ignorance of the religious leaders surprises the man. How on earth is it possible that they do not know where He comes from? Surely they also see what happened to his eyes and that this cannot be the devil’s work? The man then gives a beautiful testimony of Christ. He speaks in plural: “We know.” It is a knowledge of all Jews. They all acknowledge that God does not hear sinners (1Sam 8:18; Psa 66:18; Isa 1:15; Eze 8:18), but that He only hears someone who is God-fearing and does His will (Psa 34:15; Pro 15:29). The Lord Jesus is the perfect God-fearing One and always fulfills God’s will. He is therefore heard by God (Jn 11:41-42).

It is also a general principle for us. What the man says is of great practical significance for our prayer life and the hearing of our prayers (cf. Jam 5:16b).

The man points out that it is an unprecedented wonder in history. It has never happened before. Surely this wonder can only have been performed by Someone Who is God-fearing and does God’s will, isn’t it? It can’t be otherwise or “this man” must be from God. If it were not, He could do nothing at all. Not only would He not have been able to heal him, but He would not have been able to perform other wonders either. The conclusion is clear: He must be from God.

They can’t do anything against the man’s simple arguments. There is nothing left for them to do but call him a sinner and an ignorant man and put him out. How dare such a layman, such an illiterate, such an ignorant, such a man born in sin teach them – them, the scholars, the knowing, the theologians. Get out! They put him out, out of Judaism, for the sake of truth. This system has no place for him. He is expelled, he becomes a pariah in Israel. He has nowhere left to go.

But where does the man end up? Out, but in the arms of the Lord Jesus Who will never cast out His own (Jn 6:37). The man experiences what applies to the Lord from the beginning of the Gospel (Jn 1:11 ; Jn 15:18). What the enemies do is what the Lord calls in the next chapter the calling and even the putting forth of His own sheep from the fold. The enemies become the means to lead out and put forth the sheep.