John 9:12-16

12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”
13 They brought the once blind man to the Pharisees.
14 But it was a Sabbath on the day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
15 That was why the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight. “He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”
16 That was why some of the Pharisees said, “This person is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was a schism among them.

don’t give up on sceptics

John draws attention to the division among the Pharisees over Jesus. He actually uses the word σχίσμα, which serves quite well to describe the nature of the division. The Pharisees were die-hard literalists. They wanted to believe that healing came from God, but could not understand Jesus’ willingly coloring outside the lines, by ignoring Sabbatarian regulations.

That schism wasn’t resolved that day. It percolated in the minds of people like Saul of Tarsus, and led some of them to eventually profess faith in Christ. His acts of kindness spoke more loudly than their preconceptions.

Don’t give up on sceptics. It may be that the godly life you live and your unexplained actions will cause some of them to question their long-held presuppositions.

LORD, show us how to love the lost so much that they dare to believe our testimony about you.