The neighbors or friends, when they found that the man who had been born blind had been made to see, took him to the leaders in the temple to show them what a great miracle Jesus had done. The man told them that Jesus put clay on his eyes and told him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and he washed and could see.
But the men would not believe that he had been born blind, and they sent for his parents to ask them. The parents said he was their son who was born blind. But they were afraid to say who had made him see, because those leaders had declared that whoever spoke of Jesus as the Christ, the One with power from God, would be put away from the synagogue (or congregation). They said their son was old enough and that they should ask him.
Courage Faces Hatred
It would seem that the son was a young man, since his parents were questioned, and also from their words that he was “of age”, which in that nation was from the time a young man was twenty years old (Num. 1:1818And they assembled all the congregation together on the first day of the second month, and they declared their pedigrees after their families, by the house of their fathers, according to the number of the names, from twenty years old and upward, by their polls. (Numbers 1:18)). In any case the son had courage to speak of Jesus, though his parents did not. He had told them that Jesus must be a prophet, one whom God directed, and he said again He must be from God or He could not have done as marvelous a thing as to “open” his eyes.
He told them that they should know that such a man was from God. It made them very angry that he should talk so plainly to them, and they put him away from the temple. These men were called Pharisees, a party among the Jews of that time who taught much about the law and rules which had been made by leaders before them, but few of them truly believed or honored God.
It was a great disgrace for anyone to be put out of the company of the other people who could come to the temple, and the man may have been sad at such treatment. However he soon had the company of the Lord Jesus, who had heard he was put out and came where he was.
Belief
The man may not have seen Jesus before, but he believed His power because He had caused him to see. He also believed Jesus should be obeyed. When Jesus asked him if he believed on the Son of God, he at once asked, “Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him?”
When Jesus said, “It is He that talketh with thee,” the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and worshipped Him.
Though the man had always been blind, he had listened well to God’s words when he heard them, for he believed One from God was to come to earth. He believed that One must be without sin to do so great good. Though he could no more go to the temple, he must have learned more of Jesus with others who believed Him, the Christ, the Son of God.
We might say that man would have been very ungrateful for his sight if he had not told who had made him to see. Is it any less a miracle that Christ now saves from darkness forever, anyone who believes on Him? Should we not now say who has done so great a miracle for us, even to those who are against Him?
Further Meditation:
1. What is the youngest this healed man could have been?
2. Who else faced persecution from the religious leaders because they chose to follow Jesus Christ?
3. If you would like to study more on the subject of persecution for Christ’s sake you can find some help in 1 Peter 2. Help in understanding that chapter may be found in The Epistles of Peter: An Expository Outline by H. Smith.