John 9

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.” 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. 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. 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. 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.” 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. 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.”

Life is short. Where are you going?

You just read God’s own words, and one day every one of us will stand before Him. “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes” (James 4:14). This life will be over sooner than you think — do you know where you are going when it is?

The Bible says, “Man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). If you died today, would you be ready?

Are you a good person?

Most of us think we are. But God doesn’t measure us against other people — He measures us by His Law. Look honestly at the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3–17):

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall not make for yourself an idol.
3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
5. Honor your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness.
10. You shall not covet.

Have you ever told a lie — even a small one? Have you ever taken something that wasn’t yours? Have you ever used God’s name as a curse word? Have you ever wanted what belongs to someone else? Jesus said that anyone who looks with lust “has already committed adultery … in his heart” (Matthew 5:28), and the Bible says “everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15).

If we’re honest, we have all broken God’s Law — and “whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). “There is no one righteous, not even one … there is no one who does good, not even one” (Romans 3:10–12).

That leaves every one of us guilty before a holy God. “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), and “whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36). This is why our world is full of tragedy — and without Christ, every life ends in the greatest tragedy of all.

But God made a way

“God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Jesus lived the perfect life we never could, and on the cross He took the punishment we deserved: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Three days later He rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3–4).

It’s like standing guilty in court when the judge steps down and pays your fine himself. Forgiveness is a free gift — you can’t earn it: “It is by grace you have been saved through faith … it is the gift of God, not by works” (Ephesians 2:8–9). “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.” Jesus — John 10:10

What will you do with Jesus?

“Repent and believe in the gospel!” (Mark 1:15). Turn from your sin, and put your trust in Jesus alone — “if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Don’t put it off — “now is the time of favor; now is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

And when you turn to Him, you won’t be met with a frown — you’ll be met with a celebration. Jesus said, “there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). God says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11). He is “mighty to save. He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17). Like the father who ran to embrace his lost son, He is waiting with open arms — and heaven throws a party when you come home (Luke 15:20–24).

If you died today, where would you spend eternity? Today you can be forgiven, made new, and have real, abundant life — now and forever.

Join the Party — give my life to Jesus Find a Party — a church near me

Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.