John 9:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of the man who had received his sight

NIV: They still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man's parents.

NASB: The Jews then did not believe it about him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight,

CSB: 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.

NLT: The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents.

KJV: But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind, and received his sight, until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.

NKJV: But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.

Jesus has miraculously given eyesight to a man born blind (John 9:1–7). This not only fulfills prophecies of the Messiah (Isaiah 29:18; 35:5; 42:7), it also occurred on a Sabbath day (John 9:14), further irritating the religious leaders of Jerusalem.

The gospel of John uses the term "the Jews," in most cases, as a reference to the scribes and Pharisees of Jerusalem. These are the spiritual and religious leaders of the nation of Israel, as well as those who follow their leadership. Here, as in other instances, Jesus' harshest critics and greatest resistance come from the very people who ought to know better.

The fact that this man had always been blind, and was known to be blind, leads to extreme skepticism. The religious leaders of Jerusalem simply refuse to believe that this man has been given sight, so they summon his parents. Their goal is to confirm—or, in their case to hopefully disprove—that this is the same man who was known as a blind-from-birth beggar. The skepticism of these leaders is not entirely unjustified. Their role is to shepherd the people of Israel, and that includes investigating spiritual claims. Where they go wrong is not in asking questions; their error is in taking their skepticism to such extreme levels that they refuse to believe, no matter what.

John 9:13–34 describes the Pharisees' reaction to Jesus' healing of a man born blind. Rather than being swayed by an obvious sign of divine power, they look for excuses and criticisms. Seeking to discredit the miracle, they interrogate the man's parents, who timidly defer back to their son. The healed man knows nothing more than this: ''though I was blind, now I see.'' His matter-of-fact responses to the Pharisees highlight their obvious prejudice. As a result, they excommunicate the healed man from the synagogue. Jesus will meet with the man in the next passage to give more context for the miracle.

Jesus encounters a man who has been blind his entire life. In typical fashion for that era, the disciples assume this condition is due to some specific sin--either the man's sin or his parents' sin. Jesus challenges this idea, and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation, as 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 is able to meet with the 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, where Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy. 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, recorded in chapter 10, including several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.