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JHN

John 9 - Simple English

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Read John Chapter 9

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1As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.

2His disciples asked him, "Master, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?"

3Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned. It happened so that the works of God would be shown in him."

4"I must do the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work."

5"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

6When he had said this, he spat on the ground and made clay with the spit. Then he put the clay on the blind man's eyes,

7and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam." (Siloam means Sent.) So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.

8So his neighbours, and those who had seen him before when he was blind, said, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"

9Some said, "This is he." Others said, "He looks like him." But he said, "I am the man."

10So they said to him, "How were your eyes opened?"

11He answered, "A man called Jesus made clay and put it on my eyes. He said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I could see."

12Then they said to him, "Where is he?" He said, "I do not know."

13They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees.

14It was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

15So the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I see."

16So some of the Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath day." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such miracles?" And they were divided among themselves.

17They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet."

18But the Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight.

19They asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How is it, then, that he now sees?"

20His parents answered, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind."

21"But how he can see now, we do not know. Who opened his eyes, we do not know. He is old enough; ask him. He will speak for himself."

22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that anyone who said Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.

23That is why his parents said, "He is old enough; ask him."

24So they called the man who had been blind a second time and said to him, "Give God the praise. We know that this man is a sinner."

25He answered, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see."

26Then they said to him again, "What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?"

27He answered them, "I have told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to be his disciples?"

28Then they insulted him and said, "You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses."

29"We know that God spoke to Moses. As for this fellow, we do not know where he comes from."

30The man answered them, "Here is a wonderful thing: you do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened my eyes."

31"Now we know that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone worships God and does his will, God listens to him."

32"Since the world began it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind."

33"If this man were not from God, he could do nothing."

34They answered him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they threw him out.

35Jesus heard that they had thrown him out. When he found him, he said to him, "Do you believe in the Son of God?"

36He answered, "Who is he, Lord, so that I may believe in him?"

37Jesus said to him, "You have seen him. He is the one speaking with you."

38He said, "Lord, I believe." And he worshipped him.

39Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind."

40Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said to him, "Are we blind too?"

41Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, 'We see.' So your sin remains."

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Explanation

John 9

In short

Jesus heals a man born blind, and the story unfolds through two very different responses. The man who was healed comes to understand who Jesus is and believe in him, while the Pharisees who investigate the healing refuse to accept it and reject both the man and Jesus.

Context

This chapter stands alone as a detailed account. Jesus and his disciples encounter a blind beggar on the road. The disciples ask whose sin caused the blindness, reflecting common Jewish belief that suffering comes from sin. Jesus will heal this man and then the chapter follows what happens next, mainly the Pharisees' interrogation. The story shows the contrast between the healed man's growing faith and the Pharisees' hardening resistance.

What the text says

Verses 1-5 set up the healing. Jesus sees a man blind from birth and rejects the premise that sin caused it (verses 2-3). He says instead "that the works of God should be made manifest in him" and states "I am the light of the world."

Verses 6-11 describe the healing itself. Jesus makes clay, anoints the blind man's eyes, sends him to wash at the Pool of Siloam, and the man returns seeing. The healed man then explains to questioners that "a man that is called Jesus" did this.

Verses 12-34 record the Pharisees' interrogation. They discover it happened on the Sabbath, divide over whether Jesus can be from God if he breaks Sabbath law (verse 16), and question the man multiple times. His parents confirm he was born blind but refuse to say how he was healed, fearing expulsion from the synagogue (verses 19-22). When pressed again, the healed man argues that if Jesus were not from God, he could not open blind eyes (verse 33). The Pharisees then expel him.

Verses 35-38 turn the focus to faith. Jesus finds the healed man and asks if he believes in the Son of God. The man asks who it is, Jesus identifies himself, and the man responds "Lord, I believe" and worships him.

Verses 39-41 conclude with Jesus's words about judgment: he came "that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind." When some Pharisees ask if they too are blind, Jesus answers that if they were blind they would have no sin, but since they claim to see, their sin remains.

Takeaways

  • The formerly blind man's understanding of Jesus grows through the chapter from calling him a man, to a prophet, to worshiping him as Son of God.
  • The Pharisees' refusal to accept what happened hardens their position against Jesus despite evidence presented to them.
  • Jesus uses the physical healing as a sign of spiritual truth about sight, blindness, and judgment.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.

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