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And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

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I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

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

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When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed ° the eyes of the blind man with the clay,

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And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, ° (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.

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The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

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Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him: but he said, I am he.

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Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened?

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He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight.

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Then said they unto him, Where is he? He said, I know not.

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They brought to the Pharisees him that aforetime was blind.

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And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.

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Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.

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Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.

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They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.

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

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And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say ° was born blind? how then doth he now see?

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His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:

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But by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.

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These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

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Therefore ° said his parents, He is of age; ask him.

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Then again called they the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is a sinner.

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He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see. °

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Then said they to him again, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?

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He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ° ye also be his disciples?

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Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses' disciples.

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We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.

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The man answered and said unto them, Why herein ° is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes.

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Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.

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Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind.

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If this man were not of God, he could ° do nothing.

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They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.

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Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

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He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him?

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And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.

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And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

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And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

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And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are ° we blind also?

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Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

John 9:3

9:3 nor his parents. Jesus here confirms the truth made so emphatic in Job. That is, physical infirmities or other human sufferings are not at all necessarily related to human sin. God has often allowed sufferings for reasons known only to Him, but always with good reason, as confirmed in Romans 8:28.

John 9:4

9:4 I must work. Jesus Christ, the Creator, has rested from His work of creation (Genesis 2:1-3). However, in His work of conservation (Hebrews 1:3) and redemption, He is still very active (also see John 5:17).

John 9:6

9:6 with the clay. This blind man had not asked for healing, as others had (e.g., Mark 10:46-52), and thus had not yet exhibited any kind of trust in Jesus. This is probably why Jesus used a process, rather than merely a word, to heal on this occasion. The man whose eyes had been anointed with the clay still had to exhibit faith by washing in the pool of Siloam before he could see.

John 9:7

9:7 pool of Siloam. This pool still exists in Jerusalem, receiving water through Hezekiah’s tunnel (II Kings 20:20) from the Gihon Spring. Its name is said, apparently providentially to refer to Messiah, “the One Sent.” Possibly it was named because of the miraculous deliverance of the city from the Assyrians during Hezekiah’s reign (II Kings 19:35).

John 9:7

9:7 and came seeing. This is the sixth miracle of creation to be selected and described by John to demonstrate Christ’s deity. See the note on the first such miracle (John 2:11; also John 20:30, 31).

John 9:22

9:22 put out of the synagogue. This was a threat of excommunication, not only from access to the religious activities in the synagogue, but also from Jewish business and social life in general.

John 9:30

9:30 a marvellous thing. This is marvelous sarcasm. These men professed to be teachers of the laws and works of God, yet knew nothing about the uniquely powerful teacher sent from God.

John 9:34

9:34 cast him out. That is, they put him out of the synagogue, the threat which had intimidated his parents.

John 9:38

9:38 Lord, I believe. Faith requires both a willing heart and knowledge concerning the object of faith. As soon as the blind man knew who Jesus claimed to be, he believed.

The Institute for Creation Research

New Defender's Study Bible Notes

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