What does John 9:9 mean?

Confused responses by the people of Jerusalem are understandable. We recognize others by more than faces and voices. We also notice clothes, attitudes, movements, and surroundings. Seeing the same person in very different circumstances can be jarring; we may even wonder if it is the same person. In prior verses, Jesus created such a situation by healing a man who had been blind from birth (John 9:1–7). The people who regularly saw this man begging, and now witnessed him able to see, are understandably surprised (John 9:8). Most seem to recognize that this is the same man—their follow-up question in the next verse strongly supports this.

Others prefer to believe this is a close look-alike. They reject the man's own claims, and they reject the witness of others, choosing instead to believe this a scam. This is a common human response: our beliefs are most influenced by what we want, as is our response to what we see (John 7:17). When something challenges our preferences, our first instinct is to find excuses. Scripture reminds us that those who refuse to believe unless they see a miracle are fooling themselves. Such people won't believe, no matter what (Luke 16:19–31).

Controversy over the healing is made worse because the formerly blind man doesn't know where—or even who—Jesus is. The last time he spoke with Jesus, he was still blind and had his eyes covered in mud. The combination of arguments over this man's identity, and the mention of Jesus, is probably what leads the crowd to take him to the Pharisees (John 9:13). The Pharisees will demonstrate extreme skepticism about the man's healing, refusing to believe any part of it until speaking with the healed man's parents.