John 9:16

"Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.”"

Key Reflection

In John 9:16, Jesus' response to the Pharisees highlights the dramatic change in the blind man’s condition, which is both a physical and spiritual sign of divine intervention. The act of putting mud on the eyes—a gesture associated with ritual cleansing—was seen as a miraculous deed by those who witnessed it. This event challenges the religious authorities’ rigid adherence to their understanding of Sabbath laws, revealing the tension between traditionalism and faith in divine acts.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Verse 16. This man is not of God. Is not sent by God, or cannot be a friend of God. Because he keepeth not the sabbath-day. They assumed that their views of the Sabbath were correct, and by those views they judged others. It did not occur to them to inquire whether the interpretation which they put on the law might not be erroneous. Men often assume their own interpretations of the Scriptures to be infallible, and then judge and condemn all others by those interpretations. A sinner. A deceiver; an impostor. They reasoned conclusively that God would not give the power of working such miracles to an impostor.

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