John
9:35–39 (RSV)
35 Jesus
heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe
in the Son of man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may
believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he
who speaks to you.” 38 He said, “Lord, I believe”; and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not
see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
NOTE: The Pharisees
threw out the blind man because he gave credit to Jesus for the miracle. The
Pharisees wanted him to give credit to God and not to a man. Jesus' words
against the blind Pharisees effectively shows that he disagrees with their
conclusion, thereby claiming deity for himself. To strengthen this point, when
the man then meets Jesus again, he worships him. Matthew's clear point is
Jesus' claim of deity. It was well understood by the leadership and by Jews of
that time, although somehow argued against by the critics of today. They, like
the Pharisees of the time, when they don't like a conclusion, attack the
person. They want conformity of opinion. Diversity is not acceptable when it
comes to certain opinions of Jesus Christ. And that is not surprisingly. Truth,
by nature, is exclusive. It cannot include all opinions, for truth is one thing
and one thing only. It does not care what a person believes or how many people
believe it. It exists of its own accord and does not change to fit anyone.
Rejecting truth or forcing people to change their mind about truth or calling
it a lie does not change truth in any way, only our perception of it. The
Pharisees tried to eliminate the thought that Jesus was God because it did not
fit with what they desired truth to be. But they were fighting a losing battle.
Rather than rejecting it than should have been searching for it.
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