Read the Bible

The Sixth Sign: Healing a Man Born Blind

¹ As he was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth. ² His disciples asked him: “Rabbi,^(C1) who sinned, this man^(C2) or his parents,^(C3) that he was born blind?”

³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,”⁴ We⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶ After he said these things he spit on the ground, made some mud^(C1) from the saliva, and spread the mud on his eyes. ⁷ “Go,”

⁸ His neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, “Isn’t this the one who used to sit begging?” ⁹ Some said, “He’s the one.” Others were saying, “No, but he looks like him.”

He kept saying, “I’m the one.”

¹⁰ So they asked him, “Then how were your eyes opened?”

¹¹ He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud, spread it on my eyes, and told me, ‘Go to Siloam

¹² “Where is he?” they asked.

“I don’t know,” he said.

The Healed Man’s Testimony

¹³ They brought the man who used to be blind to the Pharisees.^{(C1) 14} The day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.^{(C1) 15} Then the Pharisees asked him again how he received his sight.

“He put mud on my eyes,” he told them. “I washed and I can see.”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God,^(C1) because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a sinful man^(C2) perform such signs?” And there was a division^(C3) among them.

¹⁷ Again they asked the blind man, “What do you say about him, since he opened your eyes?”

“He’s a prophet,”^(C1) he said.

¹⁸ The Jews did not believe this about him—that he was blind and received sight—until they summoned the parents of the one who had received his sight.

¹⁹ They asked them, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

²⁰ “We know this is our son and that he was born blind,” his parents answered. ²¹ “But we don’t know how he now sees, and we don’t know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he’s of age. He will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jews, since the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed him as the Messiah,^(C1) he would be banned from the synagogue. ²³ This is why his parents said, “He’s of age; ask him.”

²⁴ So a second time they summoned the man who had been blind and told him, “Give glory^(C1) to God.^(C2) We know that this man is a sinner.”

²⁵ He answered, “Whether or not he’s a sinner, I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I can see!”

²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷ “I already told you,” he said, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? You don’t want to become his disciples too, do you?”

²⁸ They ridiculed him: “You’re that man’s disciple, but we’re Moses’s^(C1) disciples. ²⁹ We know that God has spoken to Moses. But this man—we don’t know where he’s from.”^(C1)

³⁰ “This is an amazing thing!” the man told them. “You don’t know where he is from, and yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners,^(C1) but if anyone is God-fearing and does his will,^(C2) he listens to him.^{(C3) 32} Throughout history^(F1) no one has ever heard of someone opening the eyes of a person born blind.^{(C1) 33} If this man were not from God, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.”^(C1)

³⁴ “You were born entirely in sin,”^(C1) they replied, “and are you trying to teach us?” Then they threw him out.^(C2)

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, and when he found him, he asked, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

³⁶ “Who is he, Sir,^(C1) that I may believe in him?” he asked.

³⁷ Jesus answered, “You have seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”

³⁸ “I believe, Lord!” he said, and he worshiped him.

³⁹ Jesus said, “I came into this world

⁴⁰ Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, “We aren’t blind too, are we?”

⁴¹ “If you were blind,”