John 9

This chapter is one of the sign narratives (accounts of miracles that reveal Jesus' identity) in the first half of the Gospel of John. In John 8, Jesus calls himself "the light of the world" (John 8:12) and leaves the temple after nearly being stoned. Chapter 9 opens as Jesus, passing by, sees a man blind from birth.

Outline

• Verses 1–5: The disciples ask whose sin caused this man to be born blind. Jesus answers that it was neither the man's sin nor his parents', but that the works of God might be made manifest, and he calls himself the light of the world.
• Verses 6–7: Jesus spits on the ground, makes clay, anoints the man's eyes with it, and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man washes and comes back seeing.
• Verses 8–12: The neighbors disagree over whether he is the man who used to beg. He says that he is that man and explains how he was healed.
• Verses 13–17: Because it is the Sabbath, the people bring him to the Pharisees. The Pharisees are divided, and the man says that Jesus is a prophet.
• Verses 18–23: The Jews summon his parents and question them. Fearing the decision that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be put out of the synagogue, the parents tell them to ask their son.
• Verses 24–34: A second interrogation follows. The man confesses the "one thing" he knows, argues with those who claim to be Moses' disciples, and is cast out.
• Verses 35–38: Jesus finds him again and asks whether he believes in the Son of Man. He says, "Lord, I believe," and worships him.
• Verses 39–41: Jesus says that he has come so that those who do not see might see and those who see might be made blind, and he then engages in an exchange with the Pharisees.

Key Verses

• John 9:3: "but that the works of God should be made manifest in him." This verse challenges the assumption that suffering is simply the penalty for sin (John 9:1–3).
• John 9:25: "one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." This is a classic expression of testimony grounded in personal experience.
• John 9:39: "that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind." These words close the chapter by extending the theme of blindness to a spiritual meaning.

Characters and Places

• Jesus Christ: heals the blind man and seeks him out again after he is cast out.
• The disciples: ask about the cause of the man's blindness.
• The man born blind: a man who sat by the road begging; the text does not give his name. The event is treated separately in the article Healing of the Man Born Blind.
• His parents: avoid testifying for fear of being put out of the synagogue.
• The Pharisees: call Jesus a sinner on the grounds of the Sabbath question and cast out the healed man.
• Moses: the name the Pharisees invoke when they say, "we are Moses' disciples."
• The pool of Siloam: a pool in Jerusalem. The text interprets its name as meaning "Sent."

Points for Reflection

• Sin and suffering: The answer in verse 3 concerns this man's particular case. Interpreters differ on whether it should be extended into a general principle explaining all suffering. A similar question appears in Luke 13:1–5.
• Punctuation of verses 3–4: The original Greek text has no punctuation. Some scholars therefore read the end of verse 3 together with verse 4, taking the sense to be "so that the works of God might be made manifest, we must work."
• Being put out of the synagogue (v. 22): One view reads this as describing the situation in Jesus' own time. Another holds that it reflects conflict between the synagogue and Christians around the time John's Gospel was written.
• Clay and washing: Some interpreters in the early church linked the clay with the creation account in Genesis 2:7 and the washing at Siloam with baptism. These are later interpretations that the text itself does not state.
• Following text: This chapter is counted among the seven signs of John's Gospel. The parable of the Good Shepherd in John 10 continues Jesus' words to the Pharisees in this chapter.
• Translation: The word sogyeong ("blind man") used in the Korean Revised Version was replaced with maengin in the New Korean Revised Version.

In the Korean Church

• Verse 25 is frequently quoted in testimonies of conversion.
• Verses 1–3 are often taken up in sermons and Bible studies on disability and suffering.
• In the Revised Common Lectionary (a list assigning readings for each Sunday according to the church year), used by churches that follow the liturgical calendar, this chapter is the Gospel reading for the Fourth Sunday in Lent in Year A.
• The line "was blind, but now I see" from the original English lyrics of the hymn "Amazing Grace" (No. 305 in the Korean New Hymnal) is widely regarded as an echo of verse 25.