John 9 - NIV Foundation Study Bible

9:1 a man blind from birth. Most likely he was a beggar. Beggars waited by the gates of the temple for gifts from worshipers. Therefore, it is likely that this scene took place near the temple.

9:2 who sinned. It was commonly supposed that sickness was a result of sin. It would follow that sin committed by a baby still in the womb or sin committed by parents could result in a baby being born with a disease. Jesus rejected both suggestions (v. 3).

9:7 Pool of Siloam. Hezekiah had a tunnel cut through solid rock to transport water from Gihon into the city of Jerusalem, to the pool of Siloam (2 Kin. 20:20; 2 Chr. 32:30). John emphasizes that the name Siloam means “Sent,” because Jesus had just announced that He had been sent by God (v. 4).

9:22 put out of the synagogue. To take this action was a form of excommunication. The Jews had three types of excommunication: one lasting 30 days, during which the person could not come within six feet of anybody else; one for an indefinite time, during which the person was excluded from all fellowship and worship; and one that meant absolute expulsion forever. These judgments were very serious because no one could conduct business with a person who was excommunicated.

9:30–33 remarkable. There is no healing of a blind man recorded anywhere in the Old Testament.

9:38 Lord, I believe. Note the progression throughout this chapter of the healed man’s understanding of the person of Christ. First, he called Jesus “a man” (v. 11); then, “a prophet” (v. 17); and finally, he realized that Jesus is the Son of God (vv. 35–38).