Chapter nine of the gospel of John describes how Jesus healed the eyes of a man who had been blind from his birth. There are a number of details in this account which are easier to understand if we see how Jesus took this occasion to set the stage for a trap for the Pharisees.

There was no healing quality in Jesus’ saliva, nor in the dust on Jerusalem’s street. But it was a Sabbath day, so Jesus went to work and made some mud, then did more work by spreading that paste on the blind man’s eyes. The he told the man to go down the hill and do some more work by washing that paste from his eyes. When the man came back up the hill, he could see.

And the Pharisees were furious, just as Jesus knew they would be. “This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day.” “We know that this man is a sinner.”

To which the man replied: “Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.”

Whereupon the Pharisees excommunicated hi from the synagogue. Now the Pharisees were held in high reputation among the people for their outward appearance of holiness. But they walked right into the trap Jesus had set up on the stage before many people and allowed them to see just how hard hearted and lacking in compassion they were.

Jesus sought the man out and asked him, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God? “
He replied, “Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?”
And Jesus said, “Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.”
And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped him.

Then Jesus said to the people standing there, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.”
And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, “Are we blind also?”
Jesus said unto them, “If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”

It seemed that at every encounter Jesus was undermining the Pharisees reputation for being more holy than other people. Is it any wonder they decided they needed to get rid of this itinerant preacher?

And so they did. At least they thought they had. But soon they were faced with thousands of people claiming Jesus was alive and they had found salvation through trusting in his blood and resurrection.