In your life, there are three kinds of people.
One, negative people will oppose you no matter what you do. Even good things you do will be twisted by them to convince others that you are bad.
Two, neutral people can be for you one day and against you the next day. Neutral people are more easily swayed by what others think about both you and them. So, if they are in relationship with people who support you they are inclined to draw closer to you. But, if they are in relationship with people who oppose you they are inclined to distance themselves from you.
Three, positive people will love you and support you pretty much no matter what. They have made up their mind that they are with you and for you.
Jesus had the same kinds of people in His life. In John 9 He heals a man who had been blind since birth. Despite doing such a wonderful thing, the reactions were varied.
Religious leaders who were threatened by His popularity and offended by His breaking of their Sabbath rules and regulations were only negative. They called Him a mere “man” “sinner” and someone “not from God”. They harassed Jesus publicly, first trying to deny the healing, then trying to denounce the Healer.
The parents of the blind man were torn. On one hand, they had to be overjoyed that their son blind since birth and relegated to a life of begging for survival was healed. But, they “feared” the threats of the religious leaders and so they remained neutral and did not support or oppose Jesus but instead avoided the issue altogether.
The blind man healed by Jesus quickly became a positive and devoted follower of Jesus. He shared his testimony of healing openly and publicly, did not back down in conflicts with religious leaders (and even made fun of them a bit), and called Jesus a “prophet” at first but then came to accept Him as “Lord”.
Why would the least educated man come to the right conclusion about Jesus while the most educated religious leaders closed their spiritual eyes to the Lord who opened His physical eyes? Perhaps his secret is simply this – as a beggar he had spent his entire life humbly receiving. And, the only way to be saved is to humbly receive the gift of salvation that Jesus gives – the same humility that the proud religious leaders lacked.
Which category are you in regarding Jesus Christ – negative, neutral, or positive? How has this changed over time?