Daily Bread

⁸ His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”^{(A) 9} Some claimed that he was.

Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”

But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”

¹⁰ “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.

¹¹ He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”^(B)

¹² “Where is this man?” they asked him.

“I don’t know,” he said.

The Pharisees Investigate the Healing

¹³ They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind. ¹⁴ Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man’s eyes was a Sabbath.^{(C) 15} Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.^(D) “He put mud on my eyes,” the man replied, “and I washed, and now I see.”

¹⁶ Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.”^(E)

But others asked, “How can a sinner perform such signs?”^(F) So they were divided.^(G)

¹⁷ Then they turned again to the blind man, “What have you to say about him? It was your eyes he opened.”

The man replied, “He is a prophet.”^(H)

¹⁸ They^(I) still did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight until they sent for the man’s parents. ¹⁹ “Is this your son?” they asked. “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?”

²⁰ “We know he is our son,” the parents answered, “and we know he was born blind. ²¹ But how he can see now, or who opened his eyes, we don’t know. Ask him. He is of age; he will speak for himself.” ²² His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders,^(J) who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out^(K) of the synagogue.^{(L) 23} That was why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”^(M)

²⁴ A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God by telling the truth,”^(N) they said. “We know this man is a sinner.”^(O)

²⁵ He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

²⁶ Then they asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?”

²⁷ He answered, “I have told you already^(P) and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples too?”

²⁸ Then they hurled insults at him and said, “You are this fellow’s disciple! We are disciples of Moses!^{(Q) 29} We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don’t even know where he comes from.”^(R)

³⁰ The man answered, “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes. ³¹ We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.^{(S) 32} Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. ³³ If this man were not from God,^(T) he could do nothing.”

³⁴ To this they replied, “You were steeped in sin at birth;^(U) how dare you lecture us!” And they threw him out.^(V)

Spiritual Blindness

³⁵ Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe^(W) in the Son of Man?”^(X)

³⁶ “Who is he, sir?” the man asked. “Tell me so that I may believe in him.”^(Y)

³⁷ Jesus said, “You have now seen him; in fact, he is the one speaking with you.”^(Z)

³⁸ Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.^(AA)

³⁹ Jesus said,^[a] “For judgment^(AB) I have come into this world,^(AC) so that the blind will see^(AD) and those who see will become blind.”^(AE)

⁴⁰ Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?”^(AF)

⁴¹ Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains.^(AG)