John 9:38 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

NIV: Then the man said, 'Lord, I believe,' and he worshiped him.

NASB: And he said, 'I believe, Lord.' And he worshiped Him.

CSB: "I believe, Lord! " he said, and he worshiped him.

NLT: Yes, Lord, I believe!' the man said. And he worshiped Jesus.

KJV: And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

NKJV: Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshiped Him.

This moment is similar to how Thomas will respond to his encounter with a resurrected Jesus later in this gospel (John 20:24–29). Prior to this moment, all the once-blind man knew is that he had been healed by "a prophet" from God (John 9:6–7, 11). When that healer—Jesus—found the man, he admitted that he did not know who the Son of Man was, but wanted to know so he could respond in faith. Hearing that this Messiah was Jesus, the man immediately responded with worship.

The religious leaders of Jerusalem respond to Jesus in exactly the opposite way. This man accepts the evidence he has, rather than looking for excuses about what he does not know (John 9:25). He seeks to follow God faithfully, but admits his own ignorance (John 9:36). The scribes and Pharisees don't want to understand the truth (John 7:17), and they reject all the knowledge they already have (John 5:39–40).

This moment is also important when discussing Jesus' claims to be God. In other portions of Scripture, worship of any being other than God is forbidden (Exodus 20:3–4). When someone mistakenly worships other beings, such as angels, those beings respond by refusing that worship (Revelation 19:9–10). As with Thomas, Jesus accepts the worship of this newly-seeing man. By implication, Jesus is agreeing that He can be worshipped, which from a Jewish perspective means He is claiming to be identical to God.

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.