John 9:17

They say therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, in that he opened thine eyes? And he said, He is a prophet.

This was not an admission of the miracle but has the meaning, "Seeing that you say he opened your eyes, who do you say he is?"

He is a prophet ... Some progression in the man's thinking appears in this. He referred to him first as "the man that is called Jesus," and now as "a prophet," reminding one of the progressive enlightenment of the woman of Samaria in John 4.

This recognition of Jesus as a prophet carried a strong negative thrust against the Pharisees' charge of sabbath-breaking. Dummelow pointed out that "prophets had authority over the sabbath."[7] Likewise Clarke stated that "According to a Jewish maxim, a prophet might dispense with the observance of the sabbath."[8] Thus, the blind man refuted the Pharisees' charge; but they would not allow to Jesus even the status of a prophet.

[7] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 791.

[8] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Holy Bible (London: Mason and Lane, 1837), Vol. V, p. 586.