As Jesus was walking, he saw a man who had been blind since birth and Jesus’ followers asked him, “Teacher, did this man or his parents sin, causing him to be born blind?”

Jesus replied, “This man didn’t sin and neither did his parents. This happened so that God’s works could be shown through him. We need to do my sender’s work during the daytime. Nighttime is coming when no one can work. I am the world’s light while I’m in the world.”

After talking, Jesus spat on the ground and made mud with the dirt and saliva. He then smeared the mud on the man’s eyes.

Jesus said to him, “Go and clean yourself in the Siloam pool.”

Siloam means ‘sent’. So the man cleaned himself and could see when he came back.

The neighbours and people who had seen the man before when he was a beggar asked, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

“It’s him,” some people said.

Others said, “It’s not, but he looks like him.”

“I am him!” The man said.

The people asked him, “How did your eyes start working?”

He replied, “The man named Jesus made mud and spread it on my eyes. He said, ‘Go to Siloam and clean yourself’, so I went and washed, and then I could see.”

The people asked, “Where’s this man?”

“I don’t know,” he replied,

The people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees.

It had been the Sabbath rest day when Jesus made the mud and made the man see.

The Pharisees asked the man again how he could see, and he explained, “He put mud on my eyes, I cleaned it off and then I could see.”

Some Pharisees said, “This Jesus isn’t from God because he doesn’t do the Sabbath rest day.” Others said, “How can a sinning man do miracles like that?”

The Pharisees were divided.

They asked the formerly blind man again, “What are you saying about the man who made you see?”

“He’s a prophet,” The man replied.

The Jews didn’t believe that he had really been blind and then could see until they interviewed the man’s parents.

They asked the parents, “Is this your son who you said was born blind? How can he see now?”

His parents replied, “We know he is our son and he was born blind, but we don’t know how he can see now or who fixed his eyes. Ask him. He’s an adult and can tell you himself.”

His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had previously agreed that if anyone said Jesus was the Christ, they would not be allowed to come to the temple, so the parents said, “He is an adult. Ask him.”

The Jews talked to the formerly blind man again and said, “Tell the truth and you’ll be praising God. We know that Jesus is a sinner.”

“I don’t know if he is a sinner,” the man said. “I only know that I was blind, and now I can see.”

So the Jews asked, “What did he do to you? How did he make you see?”

“I already told you but you’re not listening,” the man replied. “Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become one of his followers?”

They swore at him and said, “You’re one of his followers. We follow Moses. We know God spoke to Moses but we don’t know where this Jesus comes from.”

The man said, “The amazing thing is that he opened my eyes, but you don’t know where he is from. We know God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if someone follows God and does what God wants, God will listen to them. No one has ever heard that someone helped someone see after being born blind. If this Jesus wasn’t from God, he wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“You were born full of sin, and you’re trying to teach us things?” The Jews replied, and they threw the man out of the temple.

Jesus heard they threw the man out and went to find him.

He asked the man, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

“Who is he so I can believe in him?” the man answered.

Jesus said, “You’ve seen him. He is talking with you right now.”

The man said, “I believe, Lord” and worshipped Jesus.

Jesus said, “I came into the world to judge, so the people who cannot see can see, and those who do see become blind.”

Some Pharisees nearby heard this and asked Jesus, “Are you saying we’re also blind?”

Jesus replied, “You wouldn’t be guilty if you were blind. But you’re saying ‘we understand’, so you’re still guilty.”

John Chapter 9 Summary

Jesus heals a man blind from birth, showing God’s power and challenging the traditional beliefs about sin and suffering. His disciples ask whether the man’s blindness was caused by his or his parents’ sin. Jesus explains that it happened so God’s works could be revealed. The man’s healing confuses his neighbours, who can’t recognise him. His testimony about Jesus causes division. Some Pharisees tell Jesus off for healing on the Sabbath, while others wonder how a sinner could perform miracles.

The healed man’s parents confirm his blindness but avoid talking about Jesus, scared of being separated from their community. The man, however, states that Jesus must be from God. He is sent out of the synagogue. Jesus finds him and confirms that he is the Son of Man, and the man believes and worships him. Jesus compares spiritual blindness with physical sight, telling the Pharisees that they are guilty because of their lack of humility.

John Chapter 9 Bible Study Questions and Answers

1. What does Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question about the blind man’s sin teach us about suffering?
Answer: Jesus teaches that suffering is not always a result of sin or disobedience, but it can be a chance for God’s work to be revealed. This reminds us to trust God and look for his purpose in difficult times.

2. How does the blind man’s boldness when talking about Jesus challenge us in sharing our faith?
Answer: The man speaks honestly and bravely about Jesus, even under pressure from the Pharisees. This inspires us to be confident in our faith without worrying about people who oppose us, or rejection.

3. Why did the Pharisees refuse to accept Jesus, even when shown a clear miracle? How can we avoid similar spiritual blindness?
Answer: The Pharisees’ pride and keenness to hold to tradition blinded them to the truth. To avoid spiritual blindness, we must be open to God’s work in our lives, and be willing to see beyond our assumptions.

4. What does the blind man’s growing understanding of Jesus show about how our faith can grow?
Answer: His faith grows from seeing Jesus as a healer to understanding Jesus as a prophet, and finally worshipping him as the Son of God. Faith often grows through experiences and deeper understanding of who Jesus is.

5. How does Jesus’ teaching about spiritual blindness apply to us today?
Answer: Jesus warns that claiming to “see” while rejecting him leaves us guilty. This challenges us to examine whether we truly look for God’s truth or rely on our own understanding.

John Chapter 9 Explained

John 9 begins with Jesus and his disciples meeting a man blind from birth. When the disciples assume his blindness is a result of sin, Jesus teaches them that not all suffering is punishment. Instead, God can use hard times to reveal his nature and glory. This challenges us to think carefully about how we view suffering in our own lives.

Jesus heals the man in a strange way—by making mud with his saliva, rubbing it on the man’s eyes, and telling him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The act of healing on the Sabbath (day of rest) was controversial. The Pharisees, focused on religious rules, question both the man and his parents to try and get Jesus in trouble. They refuse to believe in Jesus, despite clear evidence, because of their spiritual blindness.

The healed man, however, grows in faith. At the start, he knows little about Jesus but fearlessly tells everyone about his healing. His bravery and honesty is quite different to his parents, who, out of fear, don’t acknowledge what Jesus did. The man’s journey of faith grows when Jesus reveals himself as the Son of Man. The man worships Jesus, showing the ultimate response to meeting Christ, which is faith and dedication.

The man who was physically blind gets not only physical sight but spiritual insight. The Pharisees, despite their religious knowledge, remain spiritually blind because of their pride and unwillingness to accept Jesus. Jesus’ teaching that he came to give sight to the blind, but blind those who claim to see shows this truth.

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Continue exploring John 9

If you’d like to read John 9 in other translations, here are a few BibleHub links:
For a translation that aims to be word-for-word, try John 9 in the English Standard Version.
For a translation that aims to be more thought-for-thought, try John 9 in the New International Version.
For a translation that aims to communicate the overall meaning, try John 9 in the Contemporary English Version.

If you prefer to read the Bible in a hard-copy format, here are cheaper versions from Amazon:
[These are Amazon affiliate links which support the production of this blog]
For a translation that aims to be word-for-word, ESV Economy Bible
For a translation that aims to be more thought-for-thought, NIV, Economy Bible, Paperback: Accurate. Readable. Clear.
For a translation that aims to communicate the overall meaning, Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version

If you’d like to explore John in more depth, here are two commentaries I would recommend:
[These are Amazon affiliate links which support the production of this blog]
Easy to access commentaries that include life applications:
The NIV Application Commentary: John
For a commentary that goes into more depth:
The Gospel of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)