John 9:18–23

John 9:18-23 - Daily Devotion - 29 April 2026 St Barnabas Anglican Church Fairfield & Bossley Park 18 The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents 19 and asked, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?”20 His parents answered, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”REFLECTIONSWritten by Stephen SheadToday’s passage gives us a picture of two different fear responses: threats and staying quiet.I suspect the Jewish leaders were afraid of losing their positions of power and influence if people started believing in Jesus. They responded to their fear by threatening to excommunicate anyone who confessed Jesus as the Messiah. You would think that they would have been eager to consider this man Jesus – after all, the Old Testament prophets had said that when God’s promised salvation arrived, the eyes of the blind would be opened (Isaiah 35:5). But they had already prejudged Jesus – they thought they had too much to lose. The blind man’s parents were afraid for a much more obvious reason: the threats of the Jewish leaders. They respond by staying quiet. They don’t want to talk about how their son had been gloriously healed. Instead, they throw their son under the bus – “Leave us alone, go talk to him.”I can relate to their fear response. I’ve kept quiet instead of speaking up about Jesus. I’ve felt intimidated and nervous when someone challenges me on whether faith in Jesus is credible. But I was also remembering today that as Christians, we really do have the power in us to overcome that fear and not worry about people’s disapproval or threats. It’s not a power of our own, it’s the Holy Spirit who lives in us. In Miriam Bradshaw’s latest prayer letter from Spain, she shared about a boy called Christian who is 16 (and yes, he’s a Christian!). One of his teachers told them to bring a physical book to school to read for one hour a week. He started taking his Bible. Miriam said, “He’s attracted the ire of his teacher but the interest of his friends, two of whom he’s since bought Bibles for too.” What a contrast to the blind man’s parents! I’m sure Christian felt intimidated by his teacher’s disapproval, but he’s a great reminder of the difference that knowing Jesus makes. When you have the assurance of knowing that God is with you and you have eternal life, you can learn to overcome your fear and speak about your faith in Jesus. And God will use our words, in his time, to bring others to find new life in Jesus. ABOUT THE AUTHORStephen is our senior minister.