John 9–10

Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

9As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. ²His disciples asked him, “Rabbi,^p who sinned,^q this man^r or his parents,^s that he was born blind?”

³“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.^{t 4}As long as it is day,^u we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ⁵While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”^v

⁶After saying this, he spit^w on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. ⁷“Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam”^x (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.^y

⁸His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”^{z 9}Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

¹⁰“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

¹¹He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”^a

¹²“Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

¹³They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.^{b 15}Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.^c “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”^d

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?”^e So they were divided.^f

¹⁷Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”^g

¹⁸They^h still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹“Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

²⁰“We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²²His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders,ⁱ who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out^j of the synagogue.^{k 23}That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”^l

²⁴A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,”^m they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”ⁿ

²⁵He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

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

²⁷He answered, “I have told you already^o and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!^{p 29}We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”^q

³⁰The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.^{r 32}Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³If this man were not from God,^s he could do nothing.”

³⁴To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth;^t how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.^u

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe^v in the Son of Man?”^w

³⁶“Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”^x

³⁷Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”^y

³⁸Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.^z

³⁹Jesus said,^a “For judgment^a I have come into this world,^b so that the blind will see^c and those who see will become blind.”^d

⁴⁰Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”^e

⁴¹Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.^f

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

10“Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.^{g 2}The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.^{h 3}The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice.ⁱ He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.^{j 4}When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.^{k 5}But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” ⁶Jesus used this figure of speech,^l but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.^m

⁷Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I amⁿ the gate^o for the sheep. ⁸All who have come before me^p are thieves and robbers,^q but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^a They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life,^r and have it to the full.^s

¹¹“I am^t the good shepherd.^u The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.^{v 12}The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.^w Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴“I am the good shepherd;^x I know my sheep^y and my sheep know me—¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father^z—and I lay down my life for the sheep.^{a 16}I have other sheep^b that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock^c and one shepherd.^{d 17}The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life^e—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.^f I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”^g

¹⁹The Jews who heard these words were again divided.^{h 20}Many of them said, “He is demon-possessedⁱ and raving mad.^j Why listen to him?”

²¹But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon.^k Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”^l

Further Conflict Over Jesus’ Claims

²²Then came the Festival of Dedication^b at Jerusalem. It was winter, ²³and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.^{m 24}The Jewsⁿ who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”^o

²⁵Jesus answered, “I did tell you,^p but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me,^{q 26}but you do not believe because you are not my sheep.^{r 27}My sheep listen to my voice; I know them,^s and they follow me.^{t 28}I give them eternal life,^u and they shall never perish;^v no one will snatch them out of my hand.^{w 29}My Father, who has given them to me,^x is greater than all^c;^y no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one.”^z

³¹Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him,^{a 32}but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³“We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”^b

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law,^c ‘I have said you are “gods” ’^d?^{d 35}If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God^e came—and Scripture cannot be set aside^f—³⁶what about the one whom the Father set apart^g as his very own^h and sent into the world?ⁱ Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?^{j 37}Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father.^{k 38}But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”^{l 39}Again they tried to seize him,^m but he escaped their grasp.ⁿ

⁴⁰Then Jesus went back across the Jordan^o to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, ⁴¹and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign,^p all that John said about this man was true.”^{q 42}And in that place many believed in Jesus.^r