John 9–10

The Sixth Sign: Healing a Man Born Blind

9As He was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples questioned Him: “Rabbi, ^wwho sinned, this man ^xor his parents, ^ythat he was born blind?”

³“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” Jesus answered. “This came about so that God’s works ^zmight be displayed in him. ⁴We ^amust do the works ^bof Him who sent Me ^cwhile it is day. ^dNight is coming when no one can work. ⁵As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” ^e

⁶After He said these things He spit on the ground, made some mud ^ffrom the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. ⁷“Go,” He told him, “wash in the pool of Siloam” ^g(which means “Sent”). So he left, washed, and came back seeing. ^h

⁸His neighbors and those who formerly had seen him as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the man who sat begging?” ⁹Some said, “He’s the one.” “No,” others were saying, “but he looks like him.”

He kept saying, “I’m the one!”

¹⁰Therefore they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

¹¹He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam ⁱand wash.’ So when I went and washed I received my sight.” ^j

¹²“Where is He?” they asked.

“I don’t know,” he said.

The Healed Man’s Testimony

¹³They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees. ^k14The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. ^l15So again the Pharisees asked him how he received his sight.

“He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”

¹⁶Therefore some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, ^mfor He doesn’t keep the Sabbath!” But others were saying, “How can a sinful man ⁿperform such signs?” And there was a division ^oamong them.

¹⁷Again they asked the blind man, ^p“What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”

“He’s a prophet,” ^qhe said.

¹⁸The Jews did not believe this about him—that he was blind and received sight—until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.

¹⁹They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

²⁰“We know this is our son and that he was born blind,” his parents answered. ²¹“But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.” ²²His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him as Messiah, ^rhe would be banned from the synagogue. ²³This is why his parents said, “He’s of age; ask him.”

²⁴So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, “Give glory ^sto God. ^tuWe know that this man is a sinner!”

²⁵He answered, “Whether or not He’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”

²⁶Then they asked him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”

²⁷“I already told you,” he said, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become His disciples too, do you?”

²⁸They ridiculed him: “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’ ^vdisciples. ²⁹We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man—we don’t know where He’s from!” ^w

³⁰“This is an amazing thing,” the man told them. “You don’t know where He is from, yet He opened my eyes! ³¹We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, ^xbut if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, ^yHe listens to him. ^z32Throughout history ^ano one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind. ^b33If this man were not from God, He wouldn’t be able to do anything.” ^c

³⁴“You were born entirely in sin,” ^dthey replied, “and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out. ^ef

The Blind Man’s Sight and the Pharisees’ Blindness

³⁵When Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, He found him and asked, “Do you believe in the ^•Son of Man?” ^gh

³⁶“Who is He, Sir, ⁱthat I may believe in Him?” he asked.

³⁷Jesus answered, “You have seen Him; in fact, He is the One speaking with you.”

³⁸“I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped Him.

³⁹Jesus said, “I came into this world ^jfor judgment, ^kin order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind.” ^l

⁴⁰Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these things and asked Him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?”

⁴¹“If you were blind,” Jesus told them, “you wouldn’t have sin. ^mnBut now that you say, ‘We see’—your sin remains.

The Ideal Shepherd

10“^•I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber. ^o2The one who enters by the door is the shepherd ^pof the sheep. ^q3The doorkeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. ⁵They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t recognize the voice of strangers.”

⁶Jesus gave them this illustration, but they did not understand ^rwhat He was telling them.

The Good Shepherd

⁷So Jesus said again, “I assure you: I am ^sthe door of the sheep. ^t8All who came before Me ^uare thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. ⁹I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. ¹⁰A thief comes only to steal ^vand to kill and to destroy. ^wI have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

¹¹“I am the good shepherd. ^xThe good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ^y12The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them ^zand runs away when he sees a wolf ^acoming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. ¹³This happens because he is a hired man and doesn’t care about the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, ¹⁵as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. ^bI lay down My life ^cfor the sheep. ¹⁶But I have other sheep ^dthat are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. ^e17This is why the Father loves Me, ^fbecause I am laying down My life ^gso I may take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.” ^h

¹⁹Again a division ⁱtook place among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰Many of them were saying, “He has a demon ^jand He’s crazy! Why do you listen to Him?” ²¹Others were saying, “These aren’t the words of someone demon-possessed. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” ^k

Jesus at the Festival of Dedication

²²Then the Festival of Dedication ^ltook place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³Jesus was walking in the temple complex in Solomon’s Colonnade. ^mn24Then the Jews surrounded Him and asked, “How long are You going to keep us in suspense? ^oIf You are the Messiah, ^ptell us plainly.” ^qr

²⁵“I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works ^sthat I do in My Father’s name testify about Me. ²⁶But you don’t believe because you are not My sheep. ^tu27My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸I give them eternal life, ^vand they will never perish ^w—ever! No one will snatch ^xthem out of My hand. ²⁹My Father, ^ywho has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰The Father and I are one.” ^za

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone Him. ^b

³²Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works ^cfrom the Father. Which of these works are you stoning Me for?”

³³“We aren’t stoning ^dYou for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because You—being a man—make Yourself God.”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your scripture, ^eI said, you are gods? ^fg35If He called those whom the word ^hof God came to ‘gods’—and the Scripture ⁱcannot be broken— ³⁶do you say, ‘You are blaspheming’ to the One the Father set apart and sent into the world, because I said: I am the Son of God? ^j37If I am not doing My Father’s works, ^kdon’t believe Me. ³⁸But if I am doing them and you don’t believe Me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand ^lthat the Father is in Me and I in the Father.” ^m39Then they were trying again to seize Him, ⁿyet He eluded their grasp. ^o

Many beyond the Jordan Believe in Jesus

⁴⁰So He departed again across the Jordan ^pto the place where John ^qhad been baptizing earlier, and He remained there. ⁴¹Many came to Him ^rand said, “John never did a sign, but everything John said about this man was true.” ⁴²And many believed in Him there.