“If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” (John 9:33)
Expanded Passage: John 9:1-12, 28-41
The fallout from the healing of the blind man was intense: it drove the healed man to his knees in worship, profoundly grateful for the gift of sight. On the other hand, the religious leaders twisted themselves up in knots to argue that Jesus wasn’t from God, even though this healing seemed to be something divine. They knew that their powerful positions were in danger if Jesus was who he said he was, and so they could not acknowledge what was obviously true: Jesus was from God, and the miracles proved it.
A few chapters later, in John 14, Jesus told his disciples that they would do “greater things” even than he did, because the same Holy Spirit lives in them. When we operate with the Spirit’s power, we can expect that controversy will arise too. Some people—even some Christians—may look at the Spirit’s work and feel threatened, fearing upheaval. Others, though, will take courage at the work of the Spirit to bring new life in a dying world.
When there is controversy, it’s always tempting to defend ourselves. But however others feel, let’s not be overly worried about our reputations; let us only be concerned with living out the Spirit’s call until others recognize that we are what we are because we, too, are from God.
Follow Jesus with joyful confidence so that others see Christ in you.
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®.
