Side by side
John 9
Our retelling next to the Bible text it comes from. Each row lines up one scene with the verses it retells.
Scene 1: "Who Sinned?"Verses 1 to 5
As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been blind since he was born.
His disciples asked a question. "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (9:2). Rabbi means teacher.
Many people back then thought that if something bad happened to you, it was a punishment for sin.
Jesus said no. "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him" (9:3).
Jesus said they must do God's work while it is day. "While I am in the world, I am the light of the world" (9:5).
1Now as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man blind from birth, 2and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him. 4While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Scene 2: Mud and WaterVerses 6 to 7
Then Jesus spit on the ground and made some mud. He put the mud on the man's eyes.
"Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam," Jesus told him (9:7). Siloam means "Sent."
The man went and washed. He came back seeing.
6When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes. 7Then He told him, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came back seeing.
Scene 3: "Isn't This the Man?"Verses 8 to 12
His neighbors were confused. "Isn't this the man who used to sit and beg?" they asked (9:8).
Some said it was him. Others said, "No, he just looks like him."
But the man kept saying, "I am the one" (9:9).
They asked how his eyes were opened. He told them: the man called Jesus made mud, put it on his eyes, and told him to wash. "So I went and washed and received my sight" (9:11).
"Where is He?" they asked. The man said, "I do not know" (9:12).
8At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?” 9Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” But the man kept saying, “I am the one.” 10“How then were your eyes opened?” they asked. 11He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed and received my sight.” 12“Where is He?” they asked. “I do not know,” he answered.
Scene 4: The Pharisees Ask QuestionsVerses 13 to 17
They brought the man to the Pharisees.
The day Jesus made the mud and healed the man was a Sabbath.
The Pharisees asked the man how he could see. He told them again.
Some Pharisees said, "This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath" (9:16). They thought making mud and healing counted as work.
Others said, "How can a sinful man perform such signs?" (9:16). They were divided.
They asked the man what he thought of Jesus. "He is a prophet," the man said (9:17). A prophet is someone who speaks for God.
13They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. 14Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath. 15So the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.” 16Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a sinful man perform such signs?” And there was division among them. 17So once again they asked the man who had been blind, “What do you say about Him, since it was your eyes He opened?” “He is a prophet,” the man replied.
Scene 5: Afraid ParentsVerses 18 to 23
The leaders still did not believe the man had been blind. So they called his parents.
"Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?" (9:19).
His parents said, "We know he is our son. We know he was born blind. But we don't know how he can see now. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself."
They said this because they were afraid. The leaders had decided that anyone who said Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. The synagogue was the place where people met to pray and hear God's word.
18The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents 19and asked, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? So how is it that he can now see?” 20His parents answered, “We know he is our son, and we know he was born blind. 21But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.” 22His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. 23That was why his parents said, “He is old enough. Ask him.”
Scene 6: "I Was Blind, but Now I See!"Verses 24 to 34
The leaders called the man back a second time. "Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner" (9:24).
The man answered, "Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!" (9:25).
They asked him again how it happened. He said, "I already told you, and you did not listen." Then he asked, "Do you also want to become His disciples?" (9:27).
They insulted him. "You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses" (9:28). They said they did not know where Jesus came from.
The man was amazed. They didn't know where Jesus came from, but Jesus had opened his eyes!
He said that God listens to people who worship him and do his will. "Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind" (9:32). If Jesus were not from God, he could not do it.
The leaders were angry. "You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?" (9:34). And they threw him out.
24So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25He answered, “Whether He is a sinner I do not know. There is one thing I do know: I was blind, but now I see!” 26“What did He do to you?” they asked. “How did He open your eyes?” 27He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?” 28Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses. 29We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know where this man is from.” 30“That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31We know that God does not listen to sinners, but He does listen to the one who worships Him and does His will. 32Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33If this man were not from God, He could do no such thing.” 34They replied, “You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?” And they threw him out.
Scene 7: Jesus Finds HimVerses 35 to 41
Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out. So Jesus went and found him.
"Do you believe in the Son of Man?" Jesus asked (9:35). "Son of Man" is a name Jesus used for himself.
"Who is He, Sir?" the man asked. "Tell me so that I may believe in Him" (9:36).
"You have already seen Him," Jesus said. "He is the One speaking with you" (9:37).
The man had never seen Jesus before. Now he looked at him.
"Lord, I believe," he said (9:38). And he worshiped Jesus.
Then Jesus said that he came so that blind people would see, and people who think they see would become blind.
Some Pharisees heard him. "Are we blind too?" they asked (9:40). Jesus said that because they claimed they could see, their guilt remained.
35When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, He found the man and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” 36“Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.” 37“You have already seen Him,” Jesus answered. “He is the One speaking with you.” 38“Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus. 39Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.” 40Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?” 41“If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”
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