John 9 · WEB
Healing the Man Born Blind
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
2His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"
3Jesus answered, "This man didn't sin, nor did his parents; but, that the works of God might be revealed in him.
4I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.
5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man's eyes with the mud,
7and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.
8The neighbors therefore, and those who saw that he was blind before, said, "Isn't this he who sat and begged?"
9Others were saying, "It is he." Still others were saying, "He looks like him." He said, "I am he."
10They therefore were asking him, "How were your eyes opened?"
11He answered, "A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash.' So I went away and washed, and I received sight."
12Then they asked him, "Where is he?" He said, "I don't know."
13They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees.
14It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
15Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, "He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see."
16Some therefore of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he doesn't keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" There was division among them.
17Therefore they asked the blind man again, "What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."
18The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight,
19and asked them, "Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"
20His parents answered them, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;
21but how he now sees, we don't know; or who opened his eyes, we don't know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself."
22His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.
23Therefore his parents said, "He is of age. Ask him."
24So they called the man who was blind a second time, and said to him, "Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner."
25He therefore answered, "I don't know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see."
26They said to him again, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"
27He answered them, "I told you already, and you didn't listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don't also want to become his disciples, do you?"
28They insulted him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
29We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don't know where he comes from."
30The man answered them, "How amazing! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.
31We know that God doesn't listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God, and does his will, he listens to him.
32Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind.
33If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."
34They answered him, "You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?" Then they threw him out.
35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"
36He answered, "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?"
37Jesus said to him, "You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you."
38He said, "Lord, I believe!" and he worshiped him.
39Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, that those who don't see may see; and that those who see may become blind."
40Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said to him, "Are we also blind?"
41Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains."
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Summary
Jesus heals a man born blind by anointing his eyes with mud and sending him to wash in the Pool of Siloam, prompting an investigation by the Pharisees because the healing happened on the Sabbath. The healed man defends Jesus with bold simplicity ("one thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see") and is thrown out of the synagogue for it. Jesus seeks him out and reveals himself as the Son of God, and the man worships him. The chapter ends by exposing the spiritual blindness of the Pharisees, who claim to see but remain in their sin.
Themes
- Physical healing as a sign of spiritual sight
- Suffering and the works of God
- Bold testimony in the face of opposition
- Spiritual blindness of the religious establishment
- Jesus as the Light of the World
Key verses
- John 9:25 — “One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.”
- John 9:39 — “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don't see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”
- John 9:41 — “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.”
- John 9:5 — “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Context & background
John wrote his Gospel c. AD 85-95, likely from Ephesus (modern western Turkey), for a mixed audience of Jewish and Gentile believers. The Pool of Siloam was located in the southeastern part of Jerusalem (modern Israel) at the southern end of Hezekiah's tunnel; archaeologists uncovered the first-century steps of this pool in 2004. The name "Siloam" means "Sent" — a deliberate echo of Jesus, who is the One sent from the Father. Being "put out of the synagogue" was a serious social and religious sanction in first-century Judaism, cutting a person off from community life, worship, and economic networks.
Cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 — Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers; spiritual sight is a divine gift.
- Isaiah 35:5 — "Then the eyes of the blind will be opened" — messianic prophecy fulfilled.
- Isaiah 42:7 — The Servant comes "to open the blind eyes."
- John 8:12 — Jesus declares himself the light of the world; chapter 9 demonstrates it.
- Matthew 15:14 — Jesus calls the Pharisees "blind guides of the blind."