Berean Standard Bible
(BSB)

Jesus Heals the Man Born Blind

SETTING ^<1>Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth, ^<2>and

INCIDENT His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

COMPLICATION ^<3>Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him. ^<4>While it is daytime, we must do¹ the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. ^<5>While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

ESCALATION ^<6>When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes. ^<7>Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”).

CLIMAX So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.

OUTCOME – Neighbors ^<8>At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”

^<9>Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”

But the man kept saying, “I am the one.”

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

^<11>He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”

^<12>“Where is He?” they asked.

“I do not know,” he answered.

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

OUTCOME – Pharisees ^<13>They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ^<14>Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. ^<15>So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.

The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”

^<16>Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.”

But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?”

And there was division among them. ^<17>So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?”

“He is a prophet,” the man replied.

OUTCOME – Parents ^<18>The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents ^<19>and asked, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?”

^<20>His parents answered, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. ^<21>But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”

^<22>His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. ^<23>That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”

OUTCOME – Pharisees ^<24>So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”

^<25>He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!”

^<26>“What did He do to you?” they asked. “How did He open your eyes?”

^<27>He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”

^<28>Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses. ^<29>We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.”

^<30>“That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. ^<31>We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will. ^<32>Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ^<33>If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.”

^<34>They replied, “You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?” And they threw him out.

Spiritual Blindness

OUTCOME – Jesus ^<35>When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man² ?”

^<36>“Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.”

^<37>“You have already seen Him,” Jesus answered. “He is the One speaking with you.”

^<38>“Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus.

EPILOGUE ^<39>Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.”³

^<40>Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”

^<41>“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

Word Come Alive
(WCA)
(An extended translation)*

Seeing God at work

^<1>As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man. Jesus knew the man had been blind ever since he was born. ^<2>Jesus’ apprentices asked him, ‘Teacher, why was this man born blind? Is his suffering the punishment for his own sin or his parents’ sin?’

^<3>Jesus replied, ‘You’ve got it all wrong. It’s time to stop asking your theological questions about what may or may not have happened in the past. He wasn’t born blind because of a terrible sin committed by him or his parents. This happened to give an opportunity for people to see God powerfully at work in him. ^<4>While it is still day, we—that is, you together with me—must get on with the works of the One who sent me. Be active now, before it is too late. Just as you make good use of daylight to work, so take every opportunity to serve God by doing good to others. The night is coming when no one will be able to work. ^<5>As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. I give light to everyone in the whole world.’

^<6>After Jesus said this, he spat on the ground and mixed some of his saliva with the dust to make mud, which he put on the man’s eyes. ^<7>He then told the man, ‘Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam’ (‘Siloam’ means ‘Sent’.) Jesus may have directed him there as a reminder that Jesus had been sent by the Father. The man simply did as Jesus said. He immediately went and washed. He returned home able to see. Jesus had healed him!

^<8>The healing surprised the man’s neighbors and the people who used to see him begging. They looked at him and asked, ‘Isn’t he the same man who used to sit and beg?’

^<9>Some people thought it was him, but others were skeptical. ‘No, it only looks like him.’

But the man himself insisted, ‘Yes, it’s me all right. I used to sit and beg but now I can see.’

^<10>The people were puzzled and asked, ‘How come you can see? How were your eyes opened? Tell us what happened!’

^<11>The man answered and told them the plain facts. ‘The man called Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I did exactly what he said. I went and washed and then I could see.’

^<12>The people asked, ‘Where is the man who did all this; where is he now?’

The man replied, ‘I’ve no idea.’

The Pharisees cannot see the light

^<13>They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. ^<14>Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and restored the man’s eyesight was a Sabbath. ^<15>The Pharisees were angry that Jesus had performed the miracle on a Sabbath, so they asked the man how he had received his sight. The man told them the facts plainly, ‘He put mud on my eyes, I went and washed, and now I can see.’

^<16>Some of the Pharisees said, ‘This man cannot have come from God, because he breaks the Sabbath law. A prophet sent by God wouldn’t do any work on the Sabbath.’

On the other hand, a different group of Pharisees seemed to have been persuaded. They asked, ‘How can a sinner perform such miraculous signs?’ The Pharisees were divided about Jesus.

^<17>They wanted to know more. So they kept on asking the man who had been blind, ‘What have you got to say about him? After all, you say it was your eyes he opened! Who do you think he is? Tell us!’

The man was beginning to realize who Jesus was. He plucked up courage and declared, ‘He is a prophet.’

^<18>Even after hearing this, however, the Jewish leaders still had serious doubts. They weren’t willing to believe he really had been blind and had actually received his sight until they asked for the man’s parents to come. ^<19>They asked his parents, ‘Is this really your son who you say was born blind? If so, how come he can now see?’

^<20>The parents were unsure how to respond. They replied, ‘We know our own son. Of course it’s him. We also know he was born blind. How could we make a mistake about that? ^<21>But we’ve no idea about how he can now see or who it was that opened his eyes. Why don’t you ask him? He’s old enough to speak for himself.’ ^<22>His parents dodged the issue because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who they knew had already decided that anyone acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah would be expelled from their faith community. ^<23>That is why his parents said, ‘You ask him. He’s old enough to speak for himself.’

^<24>The Pharisees again called the man who had been born blind. They said to him, ‘Give praise to God by acknowledging that it was him, not this man, who performed this miracle. It couldn’t have been this man because he’s a sinner.’

^<25>The man replied, ‘I’ve no idea whether he’s a sinner or not. Neither do I know the fine detail of how he did it. But I definitely know one thing: I was blind, but now I can see!’

‘Why can’t you see?’

^<26>The Pharisees asked the man, ‘What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes and make you see?’

^<27>The man was beginning to lose patience with them. He answered them boldly, ‘I’ve told you already but you weren’t listening! Why do you want to hear it once more? Why can’t you see? From all your endless questions, do you want to become his followers as well?’

^<28>They felt insulted that a mere beggar had mocked them. They shouted abuse at him, ‘So you’re one of his followers, are you? ^<29>We follow our teacher Moses and we know he was sent by God and God spoke to him. But we’ve no proof that this man was sent by God. We don’t know the source of this man’s authority nor even where he comes from!’

^<30>The man answered them, ‘That’s really amazing! You don’t even know the source of his authority nor where he comes from, but he still opened my eyes. ^<31>We all know that God doesn’t listen to hardened sinners, or enable them to perform miracles, but he does listen to those who worship him and do what he wants them to do. ^<32>Opening the eyes of someone born blind is unheard of: it’s never happened before! ^<33>If this man hadn’t come from God, he couldn’t have done anything. But because this man performed this miracle, clearly he must have been sent by God.’

^<34>The man’s argument humiliated the Pharisees and made them lose their temper with him. They answered with arrogant contempt, ‘You scum! How can someone as stupid as you think you know better than us? You’ve been full of sin ever since you were born! Who do you think you are, telling us off like that? How dare you try and teach us!’ They expelled him from the community.

The man truly sees Jesus

^<35>Later, Jesus heard that they had expelled the man from the community and he looked for him. When Jesus found him, he asked him, ‘Do you personally trust in the Son of Man?’

^<36>The man wanted to know more so responded, ‘Sir, who is he that I might trust in him?’

^<37>Jesus now gave the man a full revelation of himself in his answer, ‘You’ve seen him with your new eyes! In fact, it’s me. I am the Son of Man, the very One who is speaking to you right now.’

^<38>At last, the truth dawned on the man. He fully realized who Jesus was and replied, ‘Lord, I believe.’ Expressing his faith, he knelt down and worshipped Jesus.

^<39>Jesus then drew some conclusions: ‘My coming into this world divides people. Some people trust in me and are rewarded, but others reject me and are condemned. This is my verdict. Those who are blind will see but those who think they can see will become blind.’

^<40>Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and were offended because they realized he was talking about them. With a sneer, they asked him, ‘So we’re blind too, are we?’

^<41>Jesus told them, ‘If you realized you were spiritually blind—if you were aware you needed God—you wouldn’t be found guilty of sin. But in reality although you claim you can see the truth, you are in fact spiritually blind. You’re so self-satisfied that you cannot see the greatness of your sin, and you remain guilty.’

Study Guide

Read verses 1-7 (The Cured) several times and then write down in your own words how you would tell this part of the story to someone else.

Read verses 8-38 (The Confused) several times and then write down in your own words how you would tell this part of the story to someone else.

Read verses 39-41 (The Condemned) several times and then write down in your own words how you would tell this part of the story to someone else.

What is the spiritual truth Jesus taught through this man’s experience?

Read John 3:18 and write down how this verse relates to the study passage above.

Study Resources

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• Read the overview of the chapter at https://www.bibleref.com/John/9/John-chapter-9.html.
• Learn about each verse in the passage, beginning at https://www.bibleref.com/John/9/John-9-1.html. Read the commentary of each verse in the study passage.  (Also read the Context Summaries and the Chapter Summary.)

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