John Calvin Commentary John 9:24

"So they called a second time the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give glory to God: we know that this man is a sinner." — John 9:24 (ASV)

A second time, therefore, they called the man who had been blind. There can be no doubt that they were constrained by shame to call the blind man, whom they had previously found to be too firm and steady. In this way, the more fiercely they struggle against God, the more numerous are the cords that they put around their neck, and the more strongly do they bind themselves. Besides, they put the questions in such a way as to try to make the man say what they wish. It is a plausible preface, indeed, when they exhort him to give glory to God; but immediately afterwards they strictly forbid him to answer according to the conviction of his mind. Therefore, under the pretense of the name of God, they demand servile obedience from him.

Give glory to God. Though this solemn charge may be related to the current matter—that the blind man should not obscure the glory of God by ascribing to a human being the benefit that he had received—yet I am more inclined to agree with those who think that it was a solemn formula, which was customarily used when an oath was administered to someone.

For Joshua solemnly charges Achan in those very words when he wants to draw from him a true confession of having taken away the accursed thing (Joshua 7:19). By these words, they reminded him that no small insult is offered to God when anyone, in His name, commits falsehood.

Indeed, whenever we are called to swear, we should remember this preface, so that truth may not be less highly valued by us than the glory of God. If this were done, the sacredness of an oath would be viewed in a very different light.

Now, since most people—not considering that they deny God when they invoke His name to support a falsehood—rashly and daringly rush forward to swear, the result is that every place is full of perjuries. Meanwhile, we see how hypocrites, though they pretend to have the greatest reverence for God, are guilty not only of hypocrisy but also of insolent mockery. For at the same time, they express a wish that the blind man should wickedly swear as they instruct, with open contempt of God. Thus God drags to light their wicked designs, no matter what attempts they may make to give them a plausible appearance or to conceal them with hypocritical pretenses.