Exegesis of John 9:39 in Context of Spiritual Blindness
Jesus pronounces in John 9:39, "I am come unto judgement into this world, that they which see not, might see: and that they which see, might be made blinde" [1]. This declaration concludes the narrative of the man born blind, whose healing and subsequent interrogation by the Pharisees occupy the entire chapter. The verse functions as both verdict and interpretive key, transforming a physical miracle into a sustained meditation on spiritual perception.
Literary and Historical Context
The chapter opens with Jesus encountering "a man blind from birth" [3], whose condition prompts the disciples to ask about the cause of his affliction. After healing the man with mud and sending him to wash in the pool of Siloam, Jesus disappears from the narrative while the formerly blind man faces escalating interrogation from neighbors, then Pharisees, then his parents, and finally the Pharisees again. The man's testimony grows bolder with each encounter, culminating in his confession of Jesus as Lord and his worship. Only then does Jesus reappear to deliver the judgment of verse 39, directly addressing Pharisees who have overheard his words [6].
The Fourth Gospel was written in the late first century to a community navigating tensions with synagogue authorities. John consistently employs physical signs as vehicles for spiritual revelation, and blindness serves throughout Scripture as a metaphor for ignorance of divine things [2, 5]. The prophetic tradition anticipated that opening blind eyes would mark the Messianic age [4, 9], making this healing programmatic for Jesus's identity claims.
The Paradox of Judgment
The statement "I am come unto judgement" appears to contradict Jesus's earlier assertion in John 3:17 that he came not to judge but to save. The resolution lies in understanding krisis (judgment) as separation or division rather than condemnation alone. Jesus's presence forces a crisis: those who acknowledge their blindness receive sight, while those who claim to see are exposed as blind. The judgment is self-executing, determined by one's response to the light.
"That they which see not, might see" refers to those like the blind beggar—marginalized, aware of their need, open to revelation. The man's repeated confession "I do not know" throughout his interrogation contrasts sharply with the Pharisees' confident assertions [7]. His spiritual poverty positioned him to receive sight. Conversely, "that they which see, might be made blinde" describes those who, like the Pharisees, claim comprehensive religious knowledge. Their presumed sight becomes the very obstacle to true vision.
The Pharisees' Response and Jesus's Explanation
When the Pharisees ask, "Are we blind also?" [6], they grasp that Jesus speaks of spiritual rather than physical blindness. Jesus's response in verse 41 sharpens the paradox: "If ye were blind, ye would have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth" [1]. John Gill explains that if they were "sensible of it, and knew yourselves to be blind, and were desirous of light and knowledge, ye would have no sin: or your sin would not be so aggravated" [10]. The issue is not ignorance itself but willful rejection despite evidence. Their claim to see—their confidence in possessing Moses, their certainty about Jesus's sinfulness—renders them guilty.
This judicial blindness appears throughout Scripture as divine response to persistent rejection. Aquinas distinguishes two aspects: the human movement toward evil and away from divine light (which God does not cause), and "the withdrawal of grace, the result of which is that the mind is not enlightened by God" [8]. The Pharisees' blindness results from their choice, yet God confirms it by withholding further illumination. Isaiah 29:10 describes this "spirit of deep sleep," which Gill notes "was remarkably fulfilled in the Jews, in the times of Christ and his apostles, who choosing darkness rather than the light of the Gospel...were righteously given up to such a temper of mind" [11].
The chapter thus dramatizes how spiritual blindness operates: not as mere ignorance but as willful imperception, a refusal to see what threatens established certainty. The beggar's progression from physical to spiritual sight inverts the Pharisees' regression from claimed insight to confirmed blindness. Jesus's coming forces the choice, and the choice reveals what was already present—either humble receptivity or proud resistance.
Sources
- John “John 9:39 (Geneva1599) — And Iesus sayd, I am come vnto iudgement into this world, that they which see not, might see: and that they which see, might be made blinde.”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Blind — Blind beggars are frequently mentioned (Matt. 9:27; 12:22; 20:30; John 5:3). The blind are to be treated with compassion (Lev. 19:14; Deut. 27:18). Blindness was sometimes a punishment for disobedience (1 Sam. 11:2; Jer. 39:7), sometimes the effect of old age (Gen. 27:1; 1 Kings 14:4; 1 Sam. 4:15). Conquerors sometimes blinded their captives (2 Kings 25:7; 1 Sam. 11:2). Blindness denotes ignorance as to spiritual things (Isa. 6:10; 42:18, 19; Matt. 15:14; Eph. 4:18). The opening of the eyes of the blind is peculiar to the Messiah (Isa. 29:18). Elymas was smit”
- John “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. -- John 9:1”
- OpenBible.info “Cross-reference: Isa.35.5 → John.9.39 (confidence: 29 votes)”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Blindness, Spiritual — Explained -- Joh 1:5; 1Co 2:14. The effect of sin -- Isa 29:10; Mt 6:23; Joh 3:19,20. Unbelief, the effect of -- Ro 11:8; 2Co 4:3,4. Uncharitableness, a proof of -- 1Jo 2:9,11. A work of the devil -- 2Co 4:4. Leads to all evil -- Eph 4:17-19. Is consistent with communion with God -- 1Jo 1:6,7. Of ministers, fatal to themselves and to the people -- Mt 15:14. The wicked are in -- Ps 82:5; Jer 5:21. The self-righteous are in -- Mt 23:19,26; Re 3:17. The wicked wilfully guilty of -- Isa 26:11; Ro 1:19-21. Judicially inflicted -- Ps 69:23; Isa 29:10”
- John (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on John 9:40: Are we blind also? - These Pharisees understood Christ as speaking of blindness in a spiritual sense, and wished to know if he considered them in that state.”
- John (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on John 9:40: 9:40-41 Are you saying we’re blind? Jesus answered that those who claim to hold all religious truth will discover that they are blind, while those who recognize their spiritual poverty will find true sight. In the story, the blind man and his family frequently confessed that they did not know, while the Pharisees repeatedly stated their confidence and remained guilty because of their religious pride. If they had confessed their ignorance and admitted their spiritual blindness, they would be guiltless. Instead, their conscious and willful rejection of Jesus establish”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of the External Causes of Sin, Art. 3: Article: Whether God is the cause of spiritual blindness and hardness of heart? I answer that, Spiritual blindness and hardness of heart imply two things. One is the movement of the human mind in cleaving to evil, and turning away from the Divine light; and as regards this, God is not the cause of spiritual blindness and hardness of heart, just as He is not the cause of sin. The other thing is the withdrawal of grace, the result of which is that the mind is not enlightened by God ”
- Isaiah (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Isaiah 42:7: blind--spiritually (Isa 42:16, Isa 42:18-19; Isa 35:5; Joh 9:39). prison-- (Isa 61:1-2). darkness--opposed to "light" (Isa 42:6; Eph 5:8; Pe1 2:9).”
- John (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on John 9:40: Jesus said unto them, if ye were blind,.... And sensible of it, and knew yourselves to be blind, and were desirous of light and knowledge, ye would have no sin: or your sin would not be so aggravated; it would not be imputed to you; it would be pardoned and taken away from you: for the sense cannot be, that their blindness would not have been criminal, or they should have no sin in them, or any done by them; only, that had this been barely their case, there would have been some hope of them, that their sin might be forgiven, and put away, and be no more; see Ti1 1:13;”
- Isaiah (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Isaiah 29:10: For the Lord hath poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep,.... Gave them up to a stupid frame of spirit; to a reprobate mind, a mind void of judgment and sense; to judicial blindness and hardness of heart: this was remarkably fulfilled in the Jews, in the times of Christ and his apostles, who choosing darkness rather than the light of the Gospel, which shone around them, were righteously given up to such a temper of mind; and to nothing else can be imputed their obstinate rejection of the Messiah, against the most glaring light and evidence. The Apostle Paul produ”