John 9

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.