A Miracle & Unbelief

John 9:13–34

God Himself calls all men to believe in His Son, but the vast majority do not. The vast majority also did not when God’s only Son was here on earth. John’s gospel was written in order to bring us to belief. But it is at the same time A Chronicle of Unbelief.

This specific chapter is an example of the pathology of unbelief. Through this story in John 9, we see
the character of unbelief. It is a graphic demonstration of the schism between Christianity and Judaism.

We’re going to see how unbelief reaches conclusions before it performs examinations. It starts with the intellectual, becomes emotional, then becomes verbal, and ends up physical.

Unbelief is Hostile Toward Truth

Be Open Always to Truth

John 9:16 Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not of God, because he does not keep the Sabbath day.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?” And there was a division among them.

This was supposed to be an investigation, which meant the conclusion was supposed to come at the end. In this case, the conclusion preceded the investigation.

How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs? Some people other than the Pharisees had their own logical syllogism. (a deductive scheme of a formal argument). Only God can open blind eyes.
Jesus opened the eyes of this man born blind. Conclusion: Jesus is from God. But the Pharisees said: It is a Sabbath issue! The others said: It is a supernatural issue! The Pharisees remained unmoved in their preconceived conclusion.

Unbelief is Stubborn

Relieve yourself of the pressure of being right all the time. Be open to listening to and learning from
others, and to adapting as needed, with God’s help.

John 9:19 And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then is it that he can see?”

They’re not really considering or buying his testimony, nor the testimony of the neighbors. No matter what. They would not bend and cannot possibly be convinced.

The blind man told them exactly what happened, and there were people around affirming the reality of this. This is the nature of determined, willful unbelief that it “wants more evidence,” but never wants to do anything with it, even if it is given. It’s really only a mad search or desire to discredit. It keeps dodging or probing, not because it seeks the truth, but because it seeks justification for its predetermined conclusion.

Deuteronomy 32:20 And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; for they are a very perverse generation, children in whom is no faith.

From a predisposed viewpoint, they decide to dig deeper into this, because they will not give up the notion that this man is a sinner and he is not from God.

Unbelief is Irrational

Pay attention to the facts.

Apply reason with God’s help.

When true facts are presented and you come to a wrong conclusion, you’re being irrational.

John 9:26 Then said they to him again, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

John 9:27 He answered them, “I have told you already, and you did not hear. Why would you want me to tell you again? Do you want to become His disciples also?” The blind man was healed, but they were determined not to attribute his healing to God, through Jesus.

This blind man knows the truth, tells them the truth, but they will not receive the truth. This blind man is an outcast, talking to the in-crowd. He is a man who’s feeling the joy, the confidence, and experiencing the strength of the conviction that he knows he’s dealing with a man who is from God.

Unbelief is Abusive

Recognize and embrace that God teaches us from many unexpected sources, people and experiences.

John 9:34 They answered and said unto him, “You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?” And they cast him out.

This blind man says ‘no one has ever done this; He must be from God! He opened my eyes, He created new eyes, so He must be from heaven, because God alone is The Creator. Satan can destroy, and falsify, but only God can create. He has opened my eyes, and you don’t know where He’s from?’ When unbelief investigates a miracle, it will come up with the conclusion that it starts with, typically completely unaltered, even if it has to function in an irrational way.

The blind man goes back to the truth of the Old Testament. He was a reasonable man. He says: God would not do this through this man if He were a false prophet.

Psalms 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

He’s giving them an explanation of reality—a sensible, reasonable, logical explanation, to which they continue to respond with unbelief and abuse. When they threw him out it was a clear, definitive sign they would remain in their unbelief concerning Jesus. Be aware of this, and let’s guard our own hearts to be open to learning and growing in God’s truth, always.