John 9:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, "Is this not the man who used to sit and beg?"

NIV: His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, "Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?"

NASB: So the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, 'Is this not the one who used to sit and beg?'

CSB: His neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar said, "Isn’t this the one who used to sit begging?"

NLT: His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, 'Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?'

KJV: The neighbours therefore, and they which before had seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?

NKJV: Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”

Jesus has just given eyesight to a man born blind: a powerful metaphor for how God grants faith and belief to those who would otherwise never have it. This incident included Jesus' explanation that not all suffering is caused by the hurting person's own sin (John 9:1–4). Jesus also breached the Pharisees' traditions by not only healing on the Sabbath (John 9:14), but also by mixing clay (John 9:6): a crime according to their oral laws.

When Christ healed the lame man at the Pool of Siloam (John 5:1–9), the subject would have been well-known for his condition. It was not an unknown, possibly staged actor. Here, the same idea applies. This man's lifelong blindness was common knowledge. There is no possibility this was a mere trick. Questions raised about this man's identity are not all expressions of doubt. Most are simply declarations of surprise. The people know exactly who this man is, and precisely what his problem was. For that specific person to suddenly have sight is shocking.

Of course, there will always be hardened cynics (John 9:9). Some in the crowd try to suggest this is not actually the well-known blind beggar, but an uncanny lookalike. Despite the man's own claims, and the witness of the crowd, some chose to reject the evidence of a miracle. This is a common occurrence even today. It demonstrates why the claim, "show me a miracle and I'll believe" is not an honest response to the gospel.

John 9:1–12 contains the sixth of this gospel's seven miraculous ''signs'' of Jesus' divinity. This miracle is the healing of a man who has been blind since birth. Jesus corrects His disciples' misconceptions about sin and suffering, then grants this man an ability he has never had before. This will lead to more angry confrontations with local religious leaders. Critics continue to purposefully ignore the spiritual message being proven by Jesus' works.

Jesus encounters a man who has been blind his entire life. Consistent with notions of that era, the disciples assume the disability is due to some specific sin: either the man's or his parents'. Jesus challenges this idea and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation. The Pharisees try to discredit Jesus' miraculous work. The healed man's simple, straightforward perspective embarrasses the religious leaders, who excommunicate him in frustration. Jesus meets with the healed man, explaining more about His identity and the purpose of His ministry. Jesus also reminds the Pharisees that those who ought to know better, spiritually, will be held more accountable as a result.

Jesus has begun to actively confront the false teachings of local religious leaders. His most recent debate included a heated exchange with the Pharisees. There, Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy (John 8). Here, Jesus continues to antagonize religious hypocrites by healing a man who was born blind. The ensuing ruckus further exposes Jerusalem's religious leaders as shallow, prejudiced, and false. This event launches Jesus into another lengthy discussion of His ministry. That, recorded in chapter 10, includes several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.