John 9:39 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.”

NIV: Jesus said, 'For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.'

NASB: And Jesus said, 'For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.'

CSB: Jesus said, "I came into this world for judgment, in order that those who do not see will see and those who do see will become blind."

NLT: Then Jesus told him, 'I entered this world to render judgment — to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.'

KJV: And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

NKJV: And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”

Jesus' comment here can be confused with statement such as John 3:17 and John 12:47. In those verses, Jesus states that He did not come to "condemn." Here, Jesus states that He did come for "judgment." The reason for Jesus' earthly ministry was to secure our salvation; this required judgment on and against sin. The result of this ministry, however, is the—eventual—condemnation of those who reject Him.

The reference to those who see versus those who are blind is meant to explain this entire incident with the blind beggar and the religious critics. Those who admit their need, and trust in God, are those who will be granted sight—just as the blind man was given both sight and knowledge by Jesus in response to his sincere faith. Those who are arrogant and presume they already know, will be hardened by the presence of Jesus, instead. Despite their knowledge (John 5:39–40), they'll allow their own prejudice to blind them (2 Corinthians 4:4), making them incapable of understanding what they don't want to understand, anyway (John 7:17).

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.

Accessed 5/2/2024 9:38:12 PM