John 9:35-39 : Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” He answered, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you.” He said, “Lord, I believe!” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”

When Jesus heard that the man had been thrown out, He went to find him. One of the signs of a person who is ready to hear from Jesus is when the world is no longer worthy of them. The Bible also says good things about those who are persecuted for Jesus. Jesus said these words in Matthew:

Matthew 5:11,12 : “Blessed are you when people reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

It is good to note that Jesus refers to Himself as “the Son of God.” There is no indication from Jesus here that there are multiple sons of God or other “religious leaders” that are equal to Him.

It is interesting to read that, although this man believed that Jesus was a prophet, he didn’t yet believe that He was the Son of God. When he was told, he believed. People do need to be told who the Son of God is. God sends preachers into the world to tell people so that they can believe.

Notice, also, that Jesus allowed Himself to be worshiped. This, to the Jewish mind, is allowing yourself to be treated as God. No one other than God is to be worshiped. In the Old Testament, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a furnace for not bowing down to a golden statue (Daniel 3:1 – 4:3). In the book of the Revelation, John, the writer of this book, finds himself bowing down to an angel:

Revelation 22:8,9 : Now I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who had shown me these things. He said to me, “See you don’t do it! I am a fellow bondservant with you and with your brothers, the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”

So you see, if Jesus was not God, it would have been His responsibility to stop this man from worshiping Him. But He didn’t. This is because He is God. This man probably had learned from his life as a Jew that this Son of God was to come and that they were to do what He says and He would save them. John tells us that Jesus wasn’t just for the Jews, but is the savior of the whole world. He saves us from the judgment of God to come for those who have sinned.

We learned in John 3:17 that Jesus didn’t come to judge the world, but we learn here that He did come to judge some individuals. Some who could physically see, were doing nothing to help the people come to God and He declared their end. Some, who couldn’t see God, needed Jesus to come and show God to them.