Threat of Ostracism

June 23, 2025 | Read and Think About John 9:13-34

This passage from John's gospel immediately follows another miraculous healing by Jesus (restoring sight to a blind man). Again this occurred on a Sabbath, and again some religious leaders accused Jesus of being a rulebreaker, even going so far as to investigate the occurrence.

This is now very late in Jesus' earthly ministry. Some sources put it approximately six months before the crucifixion. The tension around the works and teachings of Jesus, at least for the leaders, feels almost at a boiling point.

An indication of the leaders' animosity toward Him is seen in verse 29: "... as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from." To us, it may seem like a subtle dig at Jesus over the rumors that Mary had conceived out of wedlock and his actual father is unknown. But in that time, it was anything but subtle. It was an over-the-top insult hurled by them.

In the passage, John reveals another tactic used by the leaders to prevent people from following Jesus. According to verse 21-23, the parents of the formerly blind man were brought into the investigation. The council asked them many questions: is this your son? Was he blind? How long had he been blind? How were his eyes were opened? Who opened them?

And the answer they gave is remarkable: our son will need to speak to this himself; we cannot be witnesses in this matter.

"His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue." verse 22.

In the time and place, this threat of ostracism was coercion. To be cast out of the synagogue would strike at the very social and economic fabric of a family. Friendships would be lost. A person's livelihood would be jeopardized. This threat of being put out was not just a practical or moral lever, but a psychological one as well.

John is showing that this group of leaders would stop at nothing to silence the Lord and turn people away from following Him.

And if you are asking the question "Why," go to the Bible passage featured in the next post.