John 9:35 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

NIV: Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'

NASB: Jesus heard that they had put him out, and upon finding him, He said, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man?'

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

NLT: When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked, 'Do you believe in the Son of Man? '

KJV: Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

NKJV: Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”

The man Jesus healed of lifelong blindness has been excommunicated by the scribes and Pharisees (John 9:22, 34). Beyond his support for Jesus (John 9:25), this man also embarrassed local religious leaders by exposing their hypocrisy. Though he knew little about the man who healed him, this formerly-blind beggar knew more than enough to recognize a messenger of God (John 9:30–31). His challenge to the religious leaders earned him their insults, and their hatred (John 9:28).

Prior to this moment, this man has not actually "seen" Jesus. His blindness was healed when he obeyed Jesus' command to wash off his eyes (John 9:6–7), so Jesus was not there when the beggar gained eyesight. Now, Jesus finds the man after his run-in with the scribes and Pharisees.

As He often does, Jesus challenges the man by asking him to explain his own beliefs. This question is important for several reasons. The term "Son of Man" is one that Jewish people associated closely with the Messiah. To this point, the once-blind man has not said he thinks Jesus is the Messiah—only that he believes Jesus has been sent by God (John 9:11).

As the following verses show, this once-blind man is more than willing to follow what he has learned from his experiences; he only needs to be told how (Matthew 7:7).

John 9:35–41 shows Jesus meeting with the man He has healed, formerly blind since birth. His healing, and subsequent conversation with the Pharisees, has resulted in the man being excommunicated from his synagogue. Jesus reveals His identity to the man, and explains how this episode summarized His earthly ministry. The Pharisees, once again, prove their spiritual stubbornness, giving Jesus an opportunity to connect greater knowledge with greater responsibility.

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.