John 9:1-12
Sight Given to a Blind Man
Read the passage
1Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth,
2and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him.
4While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
7Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
8At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
9Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” But the man kept saying, “I am the one.”
10“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.”
12“Where is He?” they asked. “I do not know,” he answered.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
As Jesus passes by, He sees a man blind from birth. His disciples ask whether the man's sin or his parents' sin caused the blindness. Jesus rejects the assumption that the man's condition is a punishment for a particular sin.
Jesus says this happened so that God's works would be displayed in the man. He then speaks of doing the work of the One who sent Him while it is day. He is the light of the world. Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud with the saliva, anoints the man's eyes, and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam.
The man goes, washes, and comes back seeing. His neighbors and those who had seen him begging ask whether he is the same man. Some say he is, while others say he only looks like him. He keeps saying that he is the man.
They ask how his eyes were opened. He tells them that the man called Jesus made mud, anointed his eyes, told him to wash, and that he went, washed, and received sight. When they ask where Jesus is, he says he does not know.
The disciples began by looking for someone to blame. Jesus sees a person in whom God's work will be shown and acts to give him sight. He does not answer every question we may have about suffering. He does overturn the accusation against this man and his parents, and He gives the man help that the question alone could never provide.
Questions
1 What assumption do the disciples make?
AnswerThey assume the man's blindness must be connected to his sin or his parents' sin. Jesus rejects that attempt to explain his condition through blame.
2 What does Jesus do?
AnswerHe makes mud, anoints the man's eyes, and tells him to wash in the pool of Siloam.
3 What happens after the man washes?
AnswerHe returns seeing. His neighbors struggle to believe that the man who now sees is the same person who used to beg.
4 How does the man describe Jesus' role?
AnswerHe describes what Jesus did and told him to do. He went and washed as Jesus instructed, and received his sight. Jesus is the One who healed him.
What This Means for Us
Jesus refuses the cruelty of explaining disability as a simple punishment. A household should not add spiritual blame to physical suffering; it should ask how God's works of care and justice can become visible.
The man's testimony is plain and limited to what he knows. Families can value truthful witness without requiring someone to explain every mystery before their experience is believed.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, protect people who suffer from careless blame. Give our household compassion, truthful eyes, and willingness to act when Your works of mercy can become visible through us. Amen.