To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out. (John 9:34)
Expanded Passage: John 9:28-34
When I walk through a city, it’s hard to know what to do when I meet a homeless person asking for money. It just seems so complicated: should I give money to someone who I know very likely will misuse it? Should that really matter, or should I give and just let God sort it out? It’s hard because it confronts me with something I’d rather not think about—the fact that I really am prosperous, and that God will hold me accountable for how I use my wealth. This homeless person, probably not a Christian, is challenging me with a theological dilemma. How do I follow Jesus with my money?
Sometimes I want to do what the Pharisees do here. They resent the way the man’s experience is exposing the weakness of their religious beliefs. They believe Jesus is sinful; and yet they also have to acknowledge that Jesus has done something miraculous. They are angry at the contradiction, and so they throw the man out so they don’t have to think about it anymore.
When we follow Jesus, we need to be willing to face the hard questions. Sometimes these come from people who aren’t Christians at all. But rather than throw them out or silence them, we need to listen, sit with our discomfort, and even grow because of the hard things they ask us.
Listen to the challenging questions posed by uncomfortable experiences.
J. Michael Jordan is associate professor of theology at Houghton University, and the author of Worship in an Age of Anxiety (IVP, 2024).
© 2025 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
