‘There arose a division among the Judaisers, because of these words. And many of them said, “He has a devil and is mad, why do you listen to him?”. Others said, “These are not the sayings of one possessed with a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?”
His suggestion that He had total control over His own destiny caused division between the Judaisers. The fact is often overlooked that they were not all against Jesus. Some were clearly almost convinced that He was from God. Others said, ‘He is demon-possessed and mad. Why listen to him?' While still others said, ‘These are not the words of a demon-possessed man. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind'. The latter echoed their own officials, ‘no man ever spoke like this man' (John 8:46). They were impressed both by His teaching and His actions, especially the opening of the eyes of the man blind from birth. The growth of belief among some of the Judaisers is an interesting and constantly emphasised aspect of John's Gospel, but they were ever the minority.