John 9
Introduction
John 9 is one of the most carefully constructed narratives in the Gospel — a story about physical sight that is simultaneously a story about spiritual blindness and seeing. The healing of a man born blind provides the occasion for a multi-scene courtroom drama in which the man's growing perception of Jesus runs in exact inverse proportion to the Pharisees' hardening resistance. By the end of the chapter, the man cast out of the synagogue has become a worshiper, while the Pharisees — who can see perfectly well — are declared blind.
The chapter is set immediately after the "I am the light of the world" declaration in John 8:12, and that light now shines on a specific face. The theological logic is precise: if Jesus is the light of the world, the healing of blindness is what that claim looks like in flesh and mud. The chapter also introduces the term ἀποσυνάγωγος — "put out of the synagogue" — for the first time, signaling the institutional consequences of confessing Jesus that will become increasingly significant in John's narrative.
The Healing (vv. 1–7)
1 Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth, 2 and His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him. 4 While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man's eyes. 7 Then He told him, "Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
1 As he was passing along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned — this man or his parents — that he was born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but it is so that the works of God might be revealed in him. 4 We must do the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva, and he spread the mud on the man's eyes 7 and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
Notes
The disciples' question assumes a direct causal link between sin and suffering — a widespread belief in the ancient world, and one with some OT grounding (Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 28). But it runs into problems with congenital blindness: how could the man have sinned before birth? Some Jewish sources explored the possibility of prenatal sin. Jesus refuses both alternatives. The blindness is not punishment but occasion — ἵνα φανερωθῇ τὰ ἔργα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ — "so that the works of God might be manifested in him." This does not mean God caused the blindness for this purpose; it means that God's redemptive purpose reaches even into this man's lifelong suffering and finds an occasion for revelation.
The mud (πηλός) made with saliva and spread on the eyes carries a creative echo: God formed man from the dust of the ground in Genesis 2:7. Jesus acts here as the one through whom all things were made (John 1:3), giving sight to eyes that had never seen — a new creation act. Saliva was thought in antiquity to have healing properties; Jesus uses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary.
The Pool of Siloam — Σιλωάμ, which John translates as ἀπεσταλμένος, "Sent" — is the same pool whose water was drawn during the Sukkot water-drawing ceremony (John 7:37-38). John's translation of the pool's name is not incidental: the man is sent to wash in the waters of the Sent One. The pool becomes a sign pointing to Jesus' own identity as the one sent by the Father.
Neighbors and First Interrogation (vv. 8–17)
8 At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some claimed that he was, but others said, "No, he just looks like him." But the man kept saying, "I am the one."
10 "How then were your eyes opened?" they asked.
11 He answered, "The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight."
12 "Where is He?" they asked.
"I do not know," he answered.
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. 15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.
The man answered, "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see."
16 Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a sinful man perform such signs?" And there was division among them. 17 So once again they asked the man who had been blind, "What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?"
"He is a prophet," the man replied.
8 The neighbors and those who had previously seen him as a beggar were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?" 9 Some were saying, "It is he." Others were saying, "No, but he resembles him." He himself kept saying, "I am the one."
10 So they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?" 11 He answered, "The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyes and told me, 'Go to Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed and received my sight." 12 They said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and I see."
16 Some of the Pharisees therefore said, "This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath." But others said, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man, "What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
Notes
The man's repeated self-identification in v. 9 — ἐγώ εἰμι, "I am the one" — uses the very formula John has been building as a divine name throughout chapters 6–8. Whether intentional irony or not, a blind beggar uses the divine self-identification to insist on his own identity. John is likely playing with the resonance: the one who has just received sight from the great I AM now says "I am."
The man's testimony is a model of honest testimony under pressure: he reports what he knows, no more and no less. "The man called Jesus" — he doesn't yet know much about who Jesus is. He describes the mechanics: mud, washing, sight. When asked where Jesus is: "I do not know." When pressed for a theological verdict by the Pharisees: "He is a prophet." Each answer represents the limit of his current knowledge, honestly stated. His perception will grow through the chapter.
The Pharisees' division in v. 16 mirrors the divisions we have seen throughout chapters 7–8. The Sabbath argument is not trivial: making clay (κλίνειν πηλόν) could be considered a violation of the Sabbath prohibition on work. But others point to the sign itself as evidence of divine origin — a sinful man cannot do such things. The tension between legal observance and miraculous action is not so easily resolved.
The Parents Questioned (vv. 18–23)
18 The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents 19 and asked, "Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?"
20 His parents answered, "We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. 21 But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself." 22 His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23 That was why his parents said, "He is old enough. Ask him."
18 The Jews therefore did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" 20 His parents answered and said, "We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. He will speak for himself." 22 His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him."
Notes
The parents' evasion is psychologically realistic and theologically instructive. They confirm the two facts they cannot deny — he is their son, he was born blind — and then deflect everything else. The reason John gives is explicit: ἐφοβοῦντο τοὺς Ἰουδαίους — "they were afraid of the Jews."
The term ἀποσυνάγωγος — "put out of the synagogue" — appears here for the first time in the NT (also at John 12:42 and John 16:2). Exclusion from the synagogue meant social, economic, and religious catastrophe in a Jewish community. It was not merely a loss of worship venue but expulsion from the community's entire social fabric. The parents choose their standing in the community over truth-telling. Their son, cast out of that community by the end of the chapter, will receive something far greater.
Second Interrogation and Expulsion (vv. 24–34)
24 So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner."
25 He answered, "Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!"
26 "What did He do to you?" they asked. "How did He open your eyes?"
27 He replied, "I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?"
28 Then they heaped insults on him and said, "You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from."
30 "That is remarkable indeed!" the man said. "You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will. 32 Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing."
34 They replied, "You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?" And they threw him out.
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner." 25 He therefore answered, "Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see." 26 They said to him, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?" 27 He answered them, "I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become his disciples?"
28 And they reviled him, saying, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he comes from." 30 The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." 34 They answered him, "You were born entirely in sin, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out.
Notes
"Give glory to God" (δὸς δόξαν τῷ θεῷ) is a formula from Joshua 7:19, used to solemnly invoke a confession of truth before God — essentially, "swear to tell the truth." The Pharisees are using it to pressure the man into recanting. Their conclusion is already fixed: "we know this man is a sinner." The interrogation is not an investigation; it is an attempt to manufacture the desired verdict.
The man's reply in v. 25 is one of the most memorable lines in the Gospel: "One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see." τυφλὸς ὢν ἄρτι βλέπω — "being blind, I now see." He cannot answer their theological question about Jesus' status; he can testify to his own experience. This is epistemically honest and rhetorically devastating: the fact of his sight is not in dispute, and no explanation they can offer removes it.
The man's boldness grows with each exchange. By v. 27 he is taunting them: "Do you also want to become his disciples?" — the implication being that he himself is becoming one. They call him a disciple of Jesus contemptuously; he does not deny it. His theological argument in vv. 31–33 is straightforward and effective: God does not give miraculous power to sinners; this man opened eyes that have never been opened in all of history; therefore this man is from God. It is better syllogistic reasoning than the Pharisees have offered.
The final blow — "you were born entirely in sin" (v. 34) — circles back to the disciples' question at the beginning of the chapter. They cannot answer his argument, so they weaponize the assumption that his blindness was divine punishment. They cast him out (ἐξέβαλον) — the same verb used for casting out demons, and for the disciples being "driven out" of the synagogues in John 16:2.
Jesus Finds the Man (vv. 35–41)
35 When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
36 "Who is He, Sir?" he replied. "Tell me so that I may believe in Him."
37 "You have already seen Him," Jesus answered. "He is the One speaking with you."
38 "Lord, I believe," he said. And he worshiped Jesus.
39 Then Jesus declared, "For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind."
40 Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, "Are we blind too?"
41 "If you were blind," Jesus replied, "you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains."
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" 36 He answered and said, "And who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?" 37 Jesus said to him, "You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking with you." 38 He said, "Lord, I believe," and he worshiped him.
39 Jesus said, "For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, "Are we also blind?" 41 Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now that you say, 'We see,' your sin remains."
Notes
The detail that Jesus "found" the man (v. 35) is tender: ηὗρεν αὐτόν. The man was cast out; Jesus sought him. This is the pattern of the Good Shepherd who goes after the one who is lost (Luke 15:4-7). The institution expelled him; Jesus finds him.
The question "Do you believe in the Son of Man?" is Jesus' invitation to complete what the healing began. The man has seen physically; will he see spiritually? His response — "who is he, so that I may believe?" — is perfectly pitched: he does not know yet, but he wants to. Jesus' revelation — "you have seen him, and it is he who is speaking with you" — echoes the Samaritan woman's encounter in John 4:26, where Jesus similarly reveals himself in direct speech: "I who speak to you am he."
The worship (προσεκύνησεν) in v. 38 is significant. In the Gospel of John, worship is offered to God. The man born blind, who could not see at all at the start of the chapter, now sees clearly enough to worship. The trajectory of the chapter is complete: from darkness to light, from unknowing to confession, from exclusion by the institution to encounter with Jesus.
The closing exchange with the Pharisees (vv. 39–41) delivers the chapter's theological verdict. Jesus' coming brings κρίμα, "judgment" — not as its primary purpose, but as its inevitable effect. Light reveals. The blind who know they cannot see receive sight; those who insist they can see remain in darkness. The Pharisees ask "are we blind too?" — still not understanding. If they were truly blind (ignorant, without any capacity to perceive), they would bear no responsibility. But they have seen enough to know — and have chosen to disbelieve. Their sin therefore remains.