John 9 - King James Version Bible Commentary

Jn 9:1-2. Christ is confronted with a man which was blind from his birth. The disciples immediately raise a theological question. Was the blindness a result of the man’s sin or his parents’ sin? A common belief among the Jews was that physical sickness directly resulted from sin (Ex 20:5)

Jn 9:3-7. Christ is looking to the future, not the past. The blindness gave opportunity for God’s power to be manifested. I (probably Gr “We”) must work the works. The disciples had asked the question, “Why?” but Jesus was interested in “What?” What could be done for the man’s need? This statement is the premise for the action that is about to follow. No explanation is given as to why Christ chose this method in healing the blind man. He was probably testing the blind man’s faith and obedience. Christ sent him to Siloam and told him to wash. This story is similar to that of Naaman. However, the blind man responded immediately and was healed.

Jn 9:8-9. There is confusion over the man’s identity. The miracle had changed the man’s appearance. Finally, the man said, I am he.

Jn 9:10-12. Having been assured that it really is the man who was blind, the next logical question was how he had received his sight. The man related the story and the neighbors responded by wanting to know the location of Jesus.

Jn 9:13-14. Because the man had been healed on the Sabbath, the neighbors took him to the Pharisees. To make clay on the Sabbath was illegal.

Jn 9:15. Again. The second time he was asked to tell his story of healing.

Jn 9:16-17. The Pharisees knew Christ had broken the Sabbath. Since Christ had broken the Sabbath, He could not be of God. Others argued that it was impossible for a sinner to perform miracles. Since Christ did perform a miracle, maybe He was not a sinner. There was a division among them. They asked the man his opinion of Christ. He responded that He is a prophet.

Jn 9:18-21. The Jews refused to admit the miracle until they talked to the man’s parents, who confirmed that this was their son and that he was born blind. However, they did not explain the means of what happened.

Jn 9:22-23. Because they were afraid of the Jews, they wanted their son to speak for himself. The Jews had agreed that anyone who would recognize Christ as the Messiah would be excommunicated from the synagogue.

Jn 9:24. They recall the blind man. Give God the praise. They want the blind man to attribute the miracle to God alone and to admit that Christ is a sinner. Rather than being objective, the Jews had already made up their minds about Christ; He was a sinner.

Jn 9:25. Note the I know not and the I know. The Jews said we know He is a sinner, but the man says, I know not if He is a sinner, but I know, whereas I was blind, now I see. The receiving of sight is a fact, not an opinion

Jn 9:26-27. Again, the Jews ask him what happened and how it happened. The man becomes impatient with their repeated questions. Will ye also be his disciples? If I repeat it again, will you become Christ’s disciples?

Jn 9:28-29. Angered by the fact that their authority has been questioned by a beggar, the Jews make a distinction between the followers of Christ who broke the Sabbath and the followers of Moses who obey the law.

Jn 9:30. The blind man now rubs salt in the wound. It is astonishing, he argues, that the religious leaders did not know where Christ came from when He had performed such an outstanding miracle. How could these leaders be knowledgeable and yet not know something so important?

Jn 9:31-33. The blind man continues his argument as follows: God only listens to those who do his will and not to sinners. This man performed a miracle that no one else had ever done, and God helped him do it; therefore, Christ is not a sinner, for if he were, he could do nothing.

Jn 9:34. The Pharisees had been defeated by a poor beggar and so they cast him out of the synagogue.

Jn 9:35. Christ found the outcast and began to meet his spiritual needs. Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

Jn 9:36-37. The man is ready to believe but needs some direction. Christ reveals Himself.

Jn 9:38-39. The man responds in faith and worships Christ. Observing the man’s humble response, Christ declares that He came to judge. Those who do not see but who want to see (the blind man), will see. Those who think they see (the Pharisees) will be made blind.

Jn 9:40-41. In disdain, the Pharisees ask, Are we blind also? If ye were blind. If you were ignorant of God’s law, Jesus responded, and yet desired to be saved, then ye should have no sin. You would be saved. We see. You are proud in your religious enlightenment, and you have rejected me. Therefore, your sin remaineth.

I. Christ as the Good Shepherd.John 10:1-42

This story is an allegory rather than a parable (vs. Jn 10:6); this means that the details are relevant to the main idea. In this allegory Christ is referred to as the Good Shepherd and as the door into the sheepfold.