Out Of Darkness, Light
John 9
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 And his disciples asked him,“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesusanswered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of Godmight be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day;night is coming, when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light ofthe world.” 6 Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with thesaliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in thepool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had seen him before as a beggar were saying, “Is thisnot the man who used to sit and beg?” 9 Some said, “It is he.” Others said, “No, but he islike him.” He kept saying, “I am the man.” 10 So they said to him, “Then how were youreyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man called Jesus made mud and anointed my eyesand said to me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed and received my sight.”12 They said to him, “Where is he?” He said, “I do not know.”
13 They brought to the Pharisees the man who had formerly been blind. 14 Now it wasa Sabbath day when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes. 15 So the Pharisees againasked him how he had received his sight. And he said to them, “He put mud on my eyes,and I washed, and I see.” 16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for hedoes not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do suchsigns?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they said again to the blind man,“What do you say about him, since he has opened your eyes?” He said, “He is aprophet.”
18 The Jews did not believe that he had been blind and had received his sight, untilthey called the parents of the man who had received his sight 19 and asked them, “Is thisyour son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?” 20 His parentsanswered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he nowsees we do not know, nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him; he is of age. Hewill speak for himself.” 22 (His parents said these things because they feared the Jews,for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone should confess Jesus to be Christ, he wasto be put out of the synagogue.) 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.”
24 So for the second time they called the man who had been blind and said to him,“Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he is asinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” 26 Theysaid to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 He answered them,“I have told you already, and you would not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Doyou also want to become his disciples?” 28 And they reviled him, saying, “You are hisdisciple, but we are disciples of Moses. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses, butas for this man, we do not know where he comes from.” 30 The man answered, “Why, thisis an amazing thing! You do not know where he comes from, and yet he opened myeyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of Godand does his will, God listens to him. 32 Never since the world began has it been heardthat anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, hecould do nothing.” 34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would youteach us?” And they cast him out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, “Do youbelieve in the Son of Man?” 36 He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe inhim?” 37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.”38 He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. 39 Jesus said, “For judgment I cameinto this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may becomeblind.” 40 Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are wealso blind?” 41 Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but nowthat you say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
(ESV)