Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind

Jesus is still in Jerusalem on the Sabbath. As he and his disciples are walking in the city, they see a beggar who has been blind from birth. The disciples ask Jesus: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, so that he was born blind?”​—John 9:2.

The disciples know that the man has no invisible soul that existed before he was born, yet they may wonder whether a person might sin while in his mother’s womb. Jesus answers: “Neither this man sinned nor his parents, but it was so that the works of God might be made manifest in his case.” (John 9:3) So neither this man nor his parents were guilty of a specific error or sin that caused his blindness. Rather, as a result of Adam’s sin, all humans are born imperfect and are subject to defects, such as blindness. But the man’s blindness provides an opportunity for Jesus to make manifest the works of God, as he has done at other times in healing people of their sicknesses.

Jesus stresses that it is urgent to do these works. “We must do the works of the One who sent me while it is day,” he says. “The night is coming when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the world’s light.” (John 9:4, 5) Yes, soon Jesus’ death will plunge him into the darkness of the grave where he can do nothing. In the meantime, he is a source of enlightenment to the world.

But will Jesus heal the man, and if so, how? Jesus spits on the ground and with the saliva makes a paste. He puts some of it on the blind man’s eyes and says: “Go wash in the pool of Siloam.” (John 9:7) The man obeys. When he does, he can see! Think of his joy at seeing for the first time in his life!

Neighbors and others who knew him to be blind are amazed. “This is the man who used to sit and beg, is it not?” they ask. “This is he,” some answer. But others cannot believe it and say: “No, but he looks like him.” The man himself responds: “I am he.”​—John 9:8, 9.

Hence, they ask him: “How, then, were your eyes opened?” He replies: “The man called Jesus made a paste and smeared it on my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and gained sight.” They then ask: “Where is that man?” The beggar answers: “I do not know.”​—John 9:10-12.

The people lead the man to the Pharisees, who also want to know how he gained sight. He tells them: “He put a paste on my eyes, and I washed, and I can see.” It would seem natural that the Pharisees would want to rejoice with the healed beggar. Instead, some of them denounce Jesus. “This is not a man from God,” they claim, “for he does not observe the Sabbath.” Yet others say: “How can a man who is a sinner perform signs of that sort?” (John 9:15, 16) So they are divided.

Faced with these conflicting views, they turn to the man who now can see and ask: “What do you say about him, since it was your eyes that he opened?” He has no doubts about Jesus and responds: “He is a prophet.”​—John 9:17.

The Jews refuse to believe this. They may think that there is some scheme between Jesus and this man to fool the people. They conclude that one way to settle the matter is to question the beggar’s parents about whether he really was blind.

The Pharisees cannot accept that Jesus gave sight to the man who was born blind, so they call in his parents. The parents know that they face the possibility of being “expelled from the synagogue.” (John 9:22) Such cutting off of fellowship from other Jews would have severe social and economic consequences for the family.

The Pharisees ask two questions: “Is this your son who you say was born blind? How, then, does he now see?” The parents reply: “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. But how it is that he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know.” Even if their son had told them what had happened, the parents are cautious as to how they respond and say: “Ask him. He is of age. He must speak for himself.”​—John 9:19-21.

Hence, the Pharisees call the man back and intimidate him by claiming that they have evidence against Jesus. “Give glory to God,” they demand. “We know that this man is a sinner.” Deflecting their charge, the man who was blind says: “Whether he is a sinner, I do not know.” Yet he states: “One thing I do know, that I was blind, but now I can see.”​—John 9:24, 25.

Unwilling to leave the matter at that, the Pharisees continue: “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” The man shows some courage in replying: “I told you already, and yet you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become his disciples also, do you?” Enraged, the Pharisees charge: “You are a disciple of that man, but we are disciples of Moses. We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where he is from.”​—John 9:26-29.

Expressing wonderment, the beggar comments: “This is certainly amazing, that you do not know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes.” The man then makes a logical argument as to whom God hears and approves: “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will, he listens to this one. From of old it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind.” This leads to the conclusion: “If this man were not from God, he could do nothing at all.”​—John 9:30-33.

Unable to refute the beggar’s reasoning, the Pharisees revile him, saying: “You were altogether born in sin, and yet are you teaching us?” They throw him out.​—John 9:34.

When Jesus hears what happened, he finds the man and asks: “Are you putting faith in the Son of man?” The healed man responds: “And who is he, sir, so that I may put faith in him?” Leaving no doubt, Jesus says: “You have seen him, and in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”​—John 9:35-37.

The man replies: “I do put faith in him, Lord.” Showing faith and respect, the man bows down before Jesus, who makes a profound statement: “For this judgment I came into this world, that those not seeing might see and those seeing might become blind.”​—John 9:38, 39.