“Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.”
Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth — the man appeals to a theological principle: God hears (listens to, accepts the prayers of) those who are righteous and do God's will, but does not hear sinners. If Jesus performs such a work (opening blind eyes), and if his work succeeds, then Jesus must be one whom God hears—which means he must be a 'worshipper of God' who 'doeth his will.' By the logic of prayer and divine response, Jesus's work proves his righteousness.
Church Fathers on John 9:31
The parents having referred the Pharisees to the healed man himself, they summon him a second time: Then again called they the man that was blind. They do not openly say now, Deny that Christ has healed you, but conceal their object under the presence of religion: Give God the praise, i.e. confess that this man has had nothing to do with the work.
Deny that you have received the benefit. This is not to give God the glory, but rather to blaspheme Him.
The man, that he might neither expose himself to calumny, nor at the same time conceal the truth, answers not that he knew Him to be righteous, but, Whether He is a sinner or no, I know not.
Read all 18 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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