22. They said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. The leaders had already decided that they would punish anyone who said Jesus was the Messiah. They would stop them from coming to the synagogue.
23. That is why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
24. So the Jewish leaders called the man who had been blind. They told him to come in again. They said, “You should honor God by telling the truth. We know that this man is a sinner.”
25. The man answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. But I do know this: I was blind, and now I can see.”
26. They asked, “What did he do to you? How did he heal your eyes?”
27. He answered, “I have already told you that. But you would not listen to me. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to be his followers too?”
28. At this they shouted insults at him and said, “You are his follower, not us! We are followers of Moses.
29. We know that God spoke to Moses. But we don’t even know where this man comes from!”
30. The man answered, “This is really strange! You don’t know where he comes from, but he healed my eyes.
31. We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he will listen to anyone who worships and obeys him.