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(12) They asked him, Where is He? He said, I do not know. (13) Then they conducted to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. (14) Now it was on the Sabbath day that Jesus mixed the mud and opened the man's eyes. (15) So now again the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight. And he said to them, He smeared mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see. (16) Then some of the Pharisees said, This Man [Jesus] is not from God, because He does not observe the Sabbath. But others said, How can a man who is a sinner (a bad man) do such signs {and} miracles? So there was a difference of opinion among them. (17) Accordingly they said to the blind man again, What do you say about Him, seeing that He opened your eyes? And he said, He is [He must be] a prophet! (18) However, the Jews did not believe that he had [really] been blind and that he had received his sight until they called (summoned) the parents of the man. (19) They asked them, Is this your son, whom you reported as having been born blind? How then does he see now? (20) His parents answered, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. (21) But as to how he can now see, we do not know; or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age. Ask him; let him speak for himself {and} give his own account of it. (22) His parents said this because they feared [the leaders of] the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should acknowledge Jesus to be the Christ, he should be expelled {and} excluded from the synagogue. (23) On that account his parents said, He is of age; ask him. (24) So the second time they summoned the man who had been born blind, and said to him, Now give God the glory (praise). This Fellow we know is only a sinner (a wicked person). (25) Then he answered, I do not know whether He is a sinner {and} wicked or not. But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind before, now I see. (26) So they said to him, What did He [actually] do to you? How did He open your eyes? (27) He answered, I already told you and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Can it be that you wish to become His disciples also? (28) And they stormed at him [they jeered, they sneered, they reviled him] and retorted, You are His disciple yourself, but we are the disciples of Moses. (29) We know for certain that God spoke with Moses, but as for this Fellow, we know nothing about where He hails from. (30) The man replied, Well, this is astonishing! Here a Man has opened my eyes, and yet you do not know where He comes from. [That is amazing!] (31) We know that God does not listen to sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing {and} a worshiper of Him and does His will, He listens to him.
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Knowledge plays a part in the man's healing; this theme is suggested by the fact that each of the parties claim both to know and not to know something. Since the claims and the reasons for them differ, the contrasts highlight their various types of knowledge. By their questioning, the Pharisees try to discredit the man's testimony, attempting to find a cause to brand the healing a fraud and to attack Jesus (verse 19). They imply that the parents should stop lying and come clean (verses 20-21). Yet, the parents affirm two facts: that the healed man was indeed their son and that he was born blind. They knew this, and they were not afraid to affirm it.
Conversely, they denied knowing how he came to see and who did the miracle. Why do they not acknowledge what they know of Christ's role in the healing? “They feared the Jews.” They know that the leaders would excommunicate anyone who confessed Jesus as the Messiah. The parents simply did not want to get involved. They were afraid to acknowledge what had been revealed to them.
This is an accurate picture of many today. The truths of Christianity have been proclaimed to them—perhaps by parents, friends, or the church. Intellectually, they know and even believe these truths, but they will not admit them. They are afraid to acknowledge Christ for fear of the consequences.
— Martin G. Collins