The Gospel According to John (American Standard Version, 1901) · 17 of 37 · tr. American Standard Version (1901)
9:15-9:39
[9:15] Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. And he said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and I see.
[9:16] Some therefore of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, because he keepeth not the sabbath. But others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such signs? And there was a division among them.
[9:17] They say therefore unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, in that he opened thine eyes? And he said, He is a prophet.
[9:18] The Jews therefore did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight,
[9:19] and asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?
[9:20] His parents answered and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind:
[9:21] but how he now seeth, we know not; or who opened his eyes, we know not: ask him; he is of age; he shall speak for himself.
[9:22] These things said his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man should confess him to be Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
[9:23] Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.
[9:24] So they called a second time the man that was blind, and said unto him, Give glory to God: we know that this man is a sinner.
[9:25] He therefore answered, Whether he is a sinner, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.
[9:26] They said therefore unto him, What did he to thee? how opened he thine eyes?
[9:27] He answered them, I told you even now, and ye did not hear; wherefore would ye hear it again? would ye also become his disciples?
[9:28] And they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are disciples of Moses.
[9:29] We know that God hath spoken unto Moses: but as for this man, we know not whence he is.
[9:30] The man answered and said unto them, Why, herein is the marvel, that ye know not whence he is, and yet he opened mine eyes.
[9:31] We know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and do his will, him he heareth.
[9:32] Since the world began it was never heard that any one opened the eyes of a man born blind.
[9:33] If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.
[9:34] They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
[9:35] Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
[9:36] He answered and said, And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?
[9:37] Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and he it is that speaketh with thee.
[9:38] And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
[9:39] And Jesus said, For judgment came I into this world, that they that see not may see; and that they that see may become blind.
Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.
The healed man's 'one thing I know, that whereas I was blind, now I see' exemplifies salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine at work, contrasted with the Pharisees' reliance on doctrinal authority and ritual observance.
Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.
Jesus' closing statement 'that they that see not may see; and that they that see may become blind' uses deliberate reversal to destabilize the Pharisees' self-assured spiritual sight and expose its blindness.
The phenomenon where spiritual messengers or healers are rejected by their own community due to familiarity or lack of awe.
The entire passage dramatizes the healer-prophet being rejected by his own religious community (Pharisees, synagogue authorities) who cast out the very person he healed, a canonical instance of the prophet rejected by his own people.
Critique of outward religious observance that lacks inner transformation; form without substance.
The Pharisees' rigid Sabbath-keeping and institutional authority are implicitly critiqued as form without substance, since they reject the evident divine healing in favor of legalistic observance and social conformity.