New Testament in a Year

A Sign of the Triumph of the Light^[a]

Chapter 9

Jesus Cures a Man Born Blind.^{[b] 1} As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ Jesus answered,

⁶ When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made a paste with the saliva, and smeared the paste on the eyes of the blind man. ⁷ Then he said to him, “Go and wash in the Pool of Siloam.”^[c] (The name means “Sent.”) The man went forth and washed, and he returned seeing.

That Man Is a Prophet.^{[d] 8} His neighbors and those who had seen him begging asked, “Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?” ⁹ Some were saying, “Yes, this is the same man,” but others insisted, “No. It simply is someone who looks like him.” He said, “I am the man.”

¹⁰ Therefore, they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?” ¹¹ He replied, “The man called Jesus made a paste and smeared it over my eyes. Then he said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and then I was able to see.” ¹² They asked him, “Where is he?” He replied, “I do not know.”

¹³ They then brought the man who had formerly been blind to the Pharisees. ¹⁴ Now it was on a Sabbath day that Jesus had made the paste and opened his eyes.

¹⁵ The Pharisees also asked him how he had gained his sight. He said to them, “He put a paste on my eyes. Then I washed, and now I can see.”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man cannot be from God, for he does not observe the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” Thus, they were divided in their opinions. ¹⁷ And so they spoke again to the blind man, asking, “What do you have to say about him? It was your eyes that he opened.” He replied, “He is a prophet.”

¹⁸ However, the Jews refused to believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned the parents of the man who had received his sight ¹⁹ and asked them, “Is this your son who you say was born blind? How then is he now able to see?” ²⁰ His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind, ²¹ but we do not know how he is now able to see, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him. He is of age. He can speak for himself.”

²² His parents responded in this way because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged Jesus to be the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. ²³ This is why his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”