A Study of John 9:35-41

“Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.””

John 9:35–41 ESV

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

Jesus heard the blind man He had healed was cast out of the synagogue by the Pharisees, so Jesus went to the man and asked if he believed in the Son of Man. The man asked Jesus who this was so that he could believe in him, and Jesus told the man that he was speaking to Him (Jesus). Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped Jesus. Next, Jesus said He came into this world for judgement so that those who are blind may see and those who see may become blind. Some nearby Pharisees heard this and asked Jesus if they were also blind and Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.”

Textual Analysis and Implication (what is being said and what does this mean?):

In the verses previous to these Jesus healed a man, who had been blind from birth, on the Sabbath. The people from the surrounding area were astonished by this and took the man to the Pharisees to get their opinion on this miraculous event. As the man and the other eyewitnesses shared their testimony, it became clear a miracle had taken place by the hands of Jesus, and the Pharisees, who were wrongly convinced Jesus was a sinner, were furious because Jesus had violated their man made traditions that forbid healing of any kind on the Sabbath except in the case of a life threatening injury. As the facts of the case came out and demolished their wrongful presuppositions the Pharisees cross examined and re-questioned the man, hoping to trip him up in his words, but they were unsuccessful. The man stubbornly held to his testimony that Jesus healed him, and only someone sent from God could have done that.

Then, growing exasperated with the continued questioning of the Pharisees, and having seen through their false veil of impartiality, the man asked asked if they wanted to be Jesus’ disciples too, and then proclaimed again that if Jesus were not from God, He (Jesus) could not have healed him (the healed man). With this, the Pharisees fully revealed their disdain for the common man as they insulted him and cast him out of the synagogue, effectively excommunicating him from the community.

All this leads up to verse 35, where Jesus, having heard about what happened to the man, found him and asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”. Psalm 27:10 says, “For my mother and father have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in.” This man had just experienced his own parents, who were afraid of being cast out, distancing themselves from him because of his testimony of Jesus’ work in his life. Now, he has also endured insults from his religious leaders and been cast out by them. Essentially, a division has taken place, a division between those granted spiritual sight and those who are spiritually blind. The Pharisees have rejected the light, and by extension they have rejected this man who testified about the light. But true to the words of Psalm 27:10, the LORD, Jesus, will not forsake this man, even though his own family abandoned him and the religious authorities insulted and reviled him.

Although the man still had much to learn about Jesus, he remained firm in his truthful testimony of what Jesus did for him, and after he had been cast out, Jesus went to him. As He approached the man, Jesus asked him if he believed in the “Son of Man.” The title, “Son of Man,” in this context is a Messianic title and can be counted as equivalent to the title, “Son of God.” For this reason, and because of some manuscript variants, some translators choose to translate this title in this verse as “Son of God” instead. Either way, it means the same thing. Importantly, by asking this, Jesus is inviting the man to place his faith in the divine revelation of God to man, meaning, Jesus Himself who is God incarnate.

In response to Jesus’ question, the man replied, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”. By this point, the man had experienced the power of God in a profound way. He also had completely lost trust in the religious authorities and he was eager for Jesus to identify exactly who the “Son of Man” is so that he could trust in Him.

In verse 37, in a way not dissimilar to how Jesus revealed Himself to the Samaritan woman, Jesus told the man, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” To which the man replied, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshipped Jesus. The man’s physical sight had already been healed, but now his spiritual vision is coming into greater focus. In being told that Jesus, the one who healed him, is the Messianic “Son of Man,” the formerly blind man declared his believing loyalty and worshiped Jesus. And importantly, Jesus accepted his worship. This is further evidence that Jesus is God and knew Himself to be God. Other prophets who worked miracles had been sent by God in the past, but none of them received or accepted worship because that only belongs to God. But here, Jesus rightly receives this man’s worship, because He is God and this worship was rightfully His to accept. This man may have been cast out by the Pharisees and abandoned by his family, but Jesus, the God who formed him and loves him, came to welcome him in.

After this Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” By saying this, Jesus provided the healed man and those who heard a brief summary of what just happened. The recent miracle and confrontation with the Pharisees provided a living parable of sorts that helps to illustrate why Jesus came and what effect His coming would have. As we read Jesus saying He came into this world for judgment, we might recall Jesus said He did not come to condemn the world in John 3:17, but that verse must also be understood along with the verses that immediately follow. In John 3:18-21, Jesus went on to explain the world is already condemned for sin, and He came to save the world from this condemnation. So, Jesus made it clear that condemnation already exists for this world, and judgment will come. It is important to keep the whole context of Jesus’ statements on judgment in mind if we are to understand Him correctly. With that said, one primary reason Jesus came to Earth is for judgment.

Jesus’ main point is that He came to save the world, but saving a world already under condemnation will involve judgment on the condemned who refuse to accept Jesus’ free gift of salvation. For Jesus to bring grace to the world, He must also bring offense as He explains to the world that it is sinful and deserving of judgment. For we who dwell in this world and face condemnation to be saved, we must admit ourselves to be sinful and in need of salvation in order to then reach out and accept salvation. Because we are offered this choice, there are many who will reject this freely offered gift and face judgment for sin. While ultimate judgment will take place at Jesus’ second coming, the judgment already began with His first coming because with His arrival He has become a dividing line between all of humanity as some accept Him and believe while others reject Him and become all the more blinded by spiritual darkness.

When Jesus speaks of those who do not see, He is referring to the spiritual blindness all people live with. We are all born in spiritual darkness and it is the light of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ that can give us sight. Just like the man’s physical blindness could only be healed by Jesus (God Himself), in an even greater way, our spiritual blindness can only be healed by Jesus. But we must first admit that we are blind and in need of Jesus’ light. The ones “who see” refers to people like the Pharisees who stubbornly refuse to admit their spiritual blindness and sinfulness, and instead persist in the false belief that they see the truth and do not need Jesus. These are the sort of people John spoke of in chapter one who reject Jesus, the true light. Ironically, although they believe they can see, they are blind. To receive spiritual sight from Jesus requires the humility to admit we are spiritually blind.

As Jesus said these things to the healed man there were some Pharisees nearby who heard Him and asked, “Are we also blind?”. To which Jesus replied, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.” The Pharisees who overheard this exchange still did not understand what Jesus was saying. They only wanted to know if Jesus’ statements about the blind were directed at them. It is as if they were still bristiling and ready to take offense if Jesus confirmed that He was talking about them. But instead, Jesus replied, rather ironically, that if they were the spiritually blind ones he spoke of, and admitted the fact, then they would not be guilty of sin. But no, they are the ones who say, “We see,” and so their guilt remains.

In a sense Jesus is saying that it would be good for them if they were among the spiritually blind who admitted their need for divine illumination, but sadly, they are those who claim they see, and therefore will not admit their need to receive divine illumination. The condition of the Pharisees is what Proverbs 26:12 speaks to by saying, “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Pride is an impassable impediment. A humble acknowledgement of our need for the spiritual illumination only Jesus provides is mandatory to be forgiven our sin and receive salvation through faith in Christ.

This miraculous healing and the spiritual blindness Jesus spoke of also illustrate the point that Jesus did not come to a world that knows it is sinful and in desperate need of salvation. This world is under the curse of sin and exists in spiritual darkness. Jesus is the true light who came to this world and was not overcome by darkness, and His message is that we have all sinned, and we need Him to save us. But this message of our sinfulness and desperate need is an offensive one, and pride will cause a person to reject the truth of this message. However, a humble admission of our guilt and desperate need will enable us to receive the good news of the gospel which is that, by the grace of God, we can be forgiven our sin and granted eternal life in God’s Kingdom by faith Jesus Christ as our Lord God and Savior who died in our place and rose again.

Response (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

This passage should cause us to consider the reason Jesus said He came to this world. Jesus specifically said He came for judgment and explained there are two groups of people. There are those who humbly admit they are spiritually blind and those who pridefully refuse to acknowledge this fact. Those who admit their blindness have taken the first step towards salvation, because we must first admit our desperate need for spiritual illumination before we can ask for it and receive it from Jesus. But those who pridefully refuse to admit this fact cannot ask for and receive the light of the gospel from Jesus because they refuse to acknowledge their great need. Which group do we fall into?

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:8-9 ESV

Self Reflection:

1. Have I made a habit of asking Jesus to continue to open my eyes to see things rightly? Where am I not like you Lord? What else has pride blinded me to?
2. How can I graciously share the light of the gospel with others?
3. Is there at least one person in my life who I can be praying for to ask God to open their eyes?