Jesus’s disciples and Job’s friends would have gotten along great, logical fallacies and all.
This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is March 19, 2025 and this episode of Scripture for Students is called Jesus vs. Job’s Friends. Grab your Bible and let’s get started.
Our readings for today are Exodus 30, John 9, and Proverbs 6.
Please open your Bibles to John 9.
They say that there are dog people and there are cat people. But, my friends, this is a logical fallacy. A logical fallacy is an error in reasoning and this particular logical fallacy is called a false dichotomy. A false dichotomy either intentionally or unintentionally reduces the number of available options and thus ignores other possibilities. So, there are dog people and there are cat people. Which are you? You see the logical fallacy, right? It’s true that there are dog people and it’s true that there are cat people, but it is also true that there are people like me, which is “why would you have an animal inside your house on purpose people.” If you are a dog person or a cat person, of course that’s fine with me, as long as we can all dispense with the logical fallacy and agree that there are other options.
In today’s Scripture for students, the disciples of Jesus meet a man who has been blind from birth and they embark on a little logical fallacy of their own. Let’s see if you can spot it. Follow along with me as I read John 9:1–7,
1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud
7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
May the Lord bless the reading and the hearing and the keeping of his Word.
Ok, you spotted the false dichotomy in the disciples’ reasoning, right? They see a guy who has been blind since birth and they figure: we got two options here. Either this guy sinned or his parents did. And Jesus will probably know which, let’s ask him. So their question is short-sighted, but there is a deeper problem with what they are asking. Not only do they not recognize that there are other possible explanations, but they are like Job’s friends: they assume that if someone is suffering, then that someone must have sinned. Or someone close to him, like his parents.
And of course, Jesus isn’t having it. Jesus does not accept the disciples’ premise and immediately points out to them that this man is not blind as a direct result of specific sin. He is blind in order to demonstrate the power of God’s work in the world.
I really wish that John recorded the disciples’ reaction for us. Were they surprised, blown away even? You would think that by now they would be prepared for the idea that maybe Jesus wants to step into this situation and show his mercy in action. And that’s exactly what he does.
This brings us to the second thing we should think about here. Did you notice the kind of unusual method Jesus uses to heal this guy? We’ve read about other miracles that Jesus has done that are basically instantaneous. In John 5, Jesus just spoke words to a guy: “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And the guy did it immediately. So it certainly seems plausible that Jesus could have just said to this guy, “Open your eyes and look around.” But there are a few times where Jesus seems to heal people more slowly or by using certain steps to heal. And this happens in a few other places, too. In Mark 7:33, Jesus heals a deaf and mute man by putting his fingers in the guy’s ears, then spitting, and then touching his tongue. In Mark 8:24, Jesus heals a blind man part of the way and he said, “I see people, but they look like trees, walking.” And then Jesus healed him all the way. And here, Jesus spits on the ground, makes some mud, smears it on this man’s eyes and tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam.
Have you ever wondered why Jesus did it like this? Why doesn’t everyone just immediately get healed? That’s a great question. I wish I had a great answer for you. The Bible doesn’t actually tell us and we should always be careful about going beyond what the Bible actually says. And there is probably a different explanation for each story. In this case, it could be that Jesus did it this way because it set up the drama in the rest of the chapter. When the man comes back and has suddenly gained vision that he’s never had in his entire life, his neighbors aren’t even sure he’s the same guy. If the neighbors had all been looking on as Jesus healed this guy, their faith would not have been tested in the same way as it was by having to rely on this guy’s testimony about Jesus.
In fact, this chapter contains what I think is one of best bits of dialog in the whole Bible. There is a whole sequence of interaction. It starts with the formerly blind man’s neighbors in 9:8–12. They can’t believe it, so they drag him to the Pharisees in 13–17. The Pharisees can’t believe it so they drag in the man’s parents. His parents are terrified, so they punt and in verse 23, they say, “He’s old enough. Ask him!” So the Pharisees turn their sights back on the man and let him have it. But this guy is a brawler. He starts taunting them in verse 27, “Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples?” The Pharisees lose their minds at this but the man keeps his wits when everyone about him is losing theirs. He gives a wonderful testimony to the grace of God. In John 9:30–33 he says,
30 The man answered, “Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes.
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind.
33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
This formerly blind man does not yet know everything he needs to know to be a follower of Jesus. But he knows enough to be courageous and to speak clearly with a compelling testimony to the glory of Jesus Christ.
It reminds me of 1 Peter 3:14–16, which says,
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled,
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
There may be a time coming when someone will question you about your faith. Let’s learn from this formerly blind man how to be courageous and name Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. And let’s learn from 1 Peter how to do that clearly but with gentleness and respect so that our good behavior will put those who slander and revile us to shame. And we’ll pray that that will lead them to become followers of Jesus.
That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.
This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!