The inquiry of the Pharisees: V. 13. They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind. V. 14. And it was the Sabbath-day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. V. 15. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see. V. 16. Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This Man is not of God because He keepeth not the Sabbath-day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them. V. 17. They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of Him that He hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.
The matter was of such importance that the people deemed it their duty to bring the man to the rulers of the people, among whom the Pharisees were the most prominent. To these sticklers for external forms and observances the most important point was of course this, that the healing had been done on a Sabbath. The mixing of the clay, in their estimation, was the work of a mason, and the order to the man to go and wash himself an unnecessary piece of work. So the Pharisees promptly took the man and cross-questioned him as to how he had received his sight. The man's testimony was not to be shaken.
He gave them the same account which he had given the neighbors. And the hypocrites immediately pounced upon the fact that the healing had been done on the Sabbath; that was the charge against the Healer. Jesus had, as it seems, purposely per1ormed the miracle on the Sabbath, in order to give offense to the Pharisees. He gave these malicious people, that refused to accept the truth, reasons to become ever more offended and thus to fulfil the measure of their transgressions. That is the terrible punishment of unbelief, the self-hardening of the heart.
But some of the members of the Sanhedrin, whose spiritual insight had not been altogether lost, made the hesitating remark: How can a sinner do such signs? They felt that God would not permit an open transgressor of His holy Law to go unpunished, much less give to him such unusual powers to perform miracles.
The result of the entire discussion was that there was a division in the council, they could not come to an agreement in their judgment of the case. For a digression, they asked the former blind man what he thought of his benefactor. He did not hesitate for a moment to confess Christ, whom he had never seen, as a great prophet sent by God, thus ascribing his healing to God. The enemies of Christ are always on the lookout for someway of discrediting the miracles of the Gospel, but they have no success; the Word of God stands too secure.