John 9:34-41 (ESVST)
They answered him, “ You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out.
After the used to be blind men gave reasons why the Pharisees and the leaders of the church should have known that Jesus was fom God because of what he is doing. They continued to insult him by saying that he was born in utter sin, indicating that because he was born blind, then he was born in sin because his parents must have sinned for him to be like that. They then said since he was born in sin and a sinner himself, what can he teach them. This shows how ignorant and empty the Pharisees and the leaders were when it came to scripture. Even after the man referred them to scripture, they still were too spiritually blind to see. Instead they chased him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “ And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” 37 Jesus said to him, “ You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” 38 He said, “ Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.
Cearly this man could not have spoken like this unless the Holy Spirit had guided him to speak. Clearly this man was already regenerated and all that was left was for Jesus to ask him the most important question that all of us must answer if we are to enter the kingdom of God and that is, Jesus asked him if he beleived in the son of man or the son of God and the man who was clearly already regenerated by the Holy Spirit and ready to recieve Jesus, answered yes and he worshipped Jesus as we should all also do. This is a clear example of Ezekiel 36 in play.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 (ESVST)
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Clearly this man was not the same person that went to speak to the Pharisees and the leaders. He was a change men. This proves unconditional election and irresistible grace beyond a shadow of doubt. What Jesus did for the man by asking him, was to do the next logical step after regeneration which is to believe in Jesus Christ. This man was regenerated by God through the Holy Spirit and once that was done, he could not resist the grace that was given to him and accepted it without question. This is how God works in all our lives.
39 Jesus said, “ For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “ Are we also blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “ If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see, ’ your guilt remains.
Then Jesus explains exactly what happened to this man by saying that he is here so that the spiritually blind may see and those that falsely believe that they are not spiritually blind, may become blind. The Pharisees understood this (but only understood Jesus to be talking about physical blindness) and asked Jesus if he thought they were blind. Jesus told them that it would have been good for them if they were spiritually blind but because they say they are not, then their guilt remains, not you are guilty. It means your guilt remains confirming what he said to Nicodemus in John chapter 3
John 3:18 (ESVST)
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Their guilt started the day they refused to believe in the one whom God has sent.