From Blindness to Sight: Seeing Jesus Clearly (John 9:1-41)
Sometimes we take sight for granted—being able to see the people, colors, and world around us. But in John 9, Jesus does more than just give physical sight to a blind man. He opens the door for all of us to see something even more important: the truth about who He is.
Let’s walk through this powerful story together.
A Man Born Blind
As Jesus walked by with His disciples, they saw a man who had been blind since birth. The disciples immediately asked, “Who sinned—this man or his parents?” They assumed the man’s suffering was someone’s fault.
But Jesus gave a surprising answer. He said the man’s blindness wasn’t about guilt—it was so that God’s power could be shown. Jesus wasn’t interested in blame. He wanted to bring healing and hope.
Healing with Mud and Faith
Jesus did something unusual. He spit on the ground, made mud with His saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. Then He told the man to go wash in a nearby pool called Siloam.
The man obeyed—and when he washed his eyes, he could see for the first time in his life! Just imagine the joy and shock he must have felt. The people around him were stunned too. Some didn’t even believe he was the same person.
But he kept telling them, “I was blind, and now I can see—because of Jesus.”
The Pharisees Start Asking Questions
The religious leaders, called Pharisees, got involved. They were upset because Jesus had healed the man on the Sabbath, a day when no work was supposed to be done.
They questioned the man, then brought in his parents. They asked over and over how he was healed. The man kept saying, “Jesus did it.” At one point he even said, “Do you want to become His followers too?”
That really upset them. They didn’t like his boldness, and eventually, they kicked him out of the synagogue.
Jesus Finds the Man Again
After all that, Jesus went looking for the man. When He found him, He asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
The man didn’t know who that was, so Jesus told him plainly, “You’re talking to Him—it’s Me.”
Right then, the man believed in Jesus and worshiped Him. His eyes had been opened in more ways than one—now he saw with both physical and spiritual sight.
Who Is Really Blind?
Jesus finished the moment with a powerful message: He came to help the blind see and to show that some people who think they can see are actually blind.
The Pharisees heard this and asked, “Are you saying we’re blind?” Jesus basically told them, “If you really understood, you’d see your need. But because you think you already know everything, your guilt remains.”
What This Means for Us
This story isn’t just about a miracle from long ago. It’s a reminder that:
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Jesus sees us—even when others overlook or judge us.
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He brings light and healing—not just to our eyes, but to our hearts.
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Spiritual blindness is real—we can know a lot about religion but still miss the truth.
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Faith opens our eyes—when we trust Jesus, we begin to see clearly.
So here’s the big question: Are we like the man who was healed and humbled, ready to see and believe? Or are we like the Pharisees—certain we have all the answers, but missing the truth right in front of us?
Jesus is still opening eyes today. Will you let Him open yours?
John 9:1-41 (WEB)
9:1 As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”3 Jesus answered, “This man didn’t sin, nor did his parents, but that the works of God might be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of him who sent me while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” 6 When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man’s eyes with the mud, 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away, washed, and came back seeing.8 Therefore the neighbors and those who saw that he was blind before said, “Isn’t this he who sat and begged?” 9 Others were saying, “It is he.” Still others were saying, “He looks like him.”He said, “I am he.”10 They therefore were asking him, “How were your eyes opened?”11 He answered, “A man called Jesus made mud, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received sight.”12 Then they asked him, “Where is he?”He said, “I don’t know.”13 They brought him who had been blind to the Pharisees. 14 It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 Again therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put mud on my eyes, I washed, and I see.”16 Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.”Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” So there was division among them.17 Therefore they asked the blind man again, “What do you say about him, because he opened your eyes?”He said, “He is a prophet.”18 The Jews therefore didn’t believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight, 19 and asked them, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”20 His parents answered them, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; 21 but how he now sees, we don’t know; or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said these things because they feared the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if any man would confess him as Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”24 So they called the man who was blind a second time, and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.”25 He therefore answered, “I don’t know if he is a sinner. One thing I do know: that though I was blind, now I see.”26 They said to him again, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t also want to become his disciples, do you?”28 They insulted him and said, “You are his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. But as for this man, we don’t know where he comes from.”30 The man answered them, “How amazing! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, he listens to him. 32 Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.”34 They answered him, “You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us?” Then they threw him out.35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and finding him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”36 He answered, “Who is he, Lord, that I may believe in him?”37 Jesus said to him, “You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you.”38 He said, “Lord, I believe!” and he worshiped him.39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”40 Those of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?”41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.