30 The man answered and said to them, “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! 31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
The man healed of blindness now increased his boldness.
9:30
The man answered and said to them,
The blind man replied with a classic statement about
heeding facts.
“Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you [emphatic] do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!
Religious leaders are supposed to represent God’s view on things but they failed to recognize what God did for this man. Unbelief in the face of evidence astounded this man. “These religious leaders cannot even accept the facts of reality.”
9:31
Now we know that God does not hear sinners;
The beggar shared his theology of God. He matched their “we know” with his own “we know.”
but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.
His argument was that the Father obviously heard Jesus.
9:32
Since the world began
Jesus healed congenital blindness in the beggar. This has not happened in the world before or since the healing of this man.
it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.
This man proclaimed his unique healing in the history of the world. He stood before them with the facts of clear-sighted vision.
9:33
If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
The man asserted the certainty of Jesus’ healing ministry. He could do nothing if He were not from God.
PRINCIPLE:
Skepticism rests on a finite view of reality.
APPLICATION:
The premise of prior belief systems requires people to believe what they want to believe. They must resort to their fallback positions. Authorities will also attempt to fall back on their credentials.
Skepticism has its origin in the natural man, who does not have capacity to relate to God. Unbelievers are people dead in their sins. They will deny the undeniable if they start from themselves (1 Co 2:14). It takes the Holy Spirit to supernaturally open their eyes (Jn 6:44).
