The Bible — World English Bible
John 9
In brief
John 9 tells of the healing of a man born blind, the sixth sign in John's gospel. Jesus refuses to look for someone to blame and says that the works of God must be revealed in him. He opens his eyes, and then the story turns into a trial: the neighbors, the parents and the Pharisees each react in their own way. The healed man moves from recognizing a man to recognizing a prophet, and then confesses Jesus as Lord. The chapter is about sight and blindness.
The chapter in 5 parts
1As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3Jesus answered, “This man didn’t sin, nor did his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.
4I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man’s eyes with the mud,
7and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
8The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?”
9Others were saying, “It is he.” Still others were saying, “He looks like him.” He said, “I am he.”
10They therefore were asking him, “How were your eyes opened?”
11He answered, “A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received sight.”
12Then they asked him, “Where is he?” He said, “I don’t know.”
13They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees.
14It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
15Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.”
16Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” There was division among them.
17Therefore they asked the blind man again, “What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?” He said, “He is a prophet.”
18The Jews therefore didn’t believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight,
19and asked them, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20His parents answered them, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
21but how he now sees, we don’t know; or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself.”
22His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
23Therefore his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”
24So they called the man who was blind a second time, and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”
25He therefore answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
26They said to him again, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”
27He answered them, “I told you already, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t also want to become his disciples, do you?”
28They insulted him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
29We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don’t know where he comes from.”
30The man answered them, “How amazing! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.
31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God, and does his will, he listens to him.
32Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind.
33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”
34They answered him, “You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?” Then they threw him out.
35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
36He answered, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?”
37Jesus said to him, “You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you.”
38He said, “Lord, I believe!” and he worshiped him.
39Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”
40Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”
41Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
Key verses
Jesus answered, “This man didn’t sin, nor did his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.
Jesus rejects the idea that an infirmity is always the punishment for a specific sin. He replaces the question of cause with the question of purpose: that the works of God might be revealed.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Jesus presents himself as the light of the world. The miracle that follows illustrates this word: it opens closed eyes, and it reveals what was hidden.
He therefore answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
The healed man does not get lost in theology: he knows that he was blind and that he sees. His simple testimony, based on what he lived, holds up against the arguments of the authorities.
He said, “Lord, I believe!” and he worshiped him.
The healed man bows down and confesses his faith. His path goes from “a man” in verse 11, to “a prophet” in verse 17, and then to “Lord”.
Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
Jesus tells the Pharisees that if they were blind, they would have no sin, but they say they see. The real blindness is the certainty that we do not need light.
Test your knowledge
Characters in this chapter
Pray about this
What the sermons say
Frequently asked questions about John 9
What is the main message of John 9?
John 9 shows Jesus as the light of the world. He heals a man born blind, and the story reveals that the healed man sees more and more clearly about Jesus, while those who claim to see make themselves blind. Physical sight becomes the picture of spiritual sight: recognizing Jesus for who he is.
Why was this man born blind according to Jesus?
The disciples see it as the consequence of a sin, either the man's or his parents'. Jesus answers that it is neither, but that the works of God must be revealed in him. He does not give the whole explanation of suffering, but he refuses to blame the one who suffers and points to what God can do.
Why does Jesus use mud to heal the blind man?
The text gives no explanation. Some commentators connect the gesture with the creation of man from the dust of the earth in Genesis 2, as if Jesus were re-creating what was broken. Others stress mainly the obedience of the man sent to wash at Siloam, whose name means “Sent”. What matters is that the healing comes from the word and action of Jesus.
What does “One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see” mean (John 9:25)?
The healed man refuses to answer about what he does not know, such as the exact nature of Jesus, and sticks to what he has lived. This sentence has become the picture of Christian testimony: simply saying what Jesus has done in your life, without pretending to explain everything.
Articles quoting John 9
World English Bible translation — public domain.