John 9:1
King James Version (KJV)
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Translations
John 9:1 - Amplified Bible
AS HE passed along, He noticed a man blind from his birth.
John 9:1 - American Standard Version
And as he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
John 9:1 - Bible in Basic English
And when he went on his way, he saw a man blind from birth.
John 9:1 - Darby Bible
And as he passed on, he saw a man blind from birth.
John 9:1 - English Standard Version
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.
John 9:1 - King James Version
And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
John 9:1 - La Biblia de las Americas
Al pasar Jesùs, vio a un hombre ciego de nacimiento.
John 9:1 - The Message
Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?"
John 9:1 - New American Standard Bible
As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.
John 9:1 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
Al pasar Jesùs, vio a un hombre ciego de nacimiento.
John 9:1 - World English Bible
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from his birth.
John 9:1 - Young's Living Translation
And passing by, he saw a man blind from birth,
John 9:1 - Additional Comments
In this chapter we read about the miraculous cure of a man that was born blind (vs. 1-7).
Then, the conversations as a result:
1. The neighbors among themselves, and with the man (vs. 8-12).
2. Between the Pharisees and the man (vs. 13-34).
3. Between Christ and the poor man (vs. 35-38).
4. Between Christ and the Pharisees (vs. 39 to the end).
In the last chapter, Jesus and the Pharisees had a long contentious discussion, culminating with Jesus declaration of "I AM" (8:58), and then the Pharisees taking up stones to kill Jesus. Jesus then just walked through their midst. So there was a tremendous amount of tension. But Jesus was still focused on His rai d'etre, His reason for being here -- ministry.
You'd expect that Jesus at this point would want to make himself invisible, to avoid more confrontation, but that was not His style. In fact, this healing would lead to more confrontation.
Jesus could nothing but expose the light, as he asked us to do (Matt 5:14-16).
Jesus helped with man as He passed by -- we should do the same, looking for opportunities to help others wherever we find ourselves.
Notice Jesus never seemed nervous in front of crowds or even his detractors. Nervousness is simply an indication that you are worried about how people perceive you, and Jesus never had that selfish concern.
Notice also that Jesus was just slighted, rejected, and ostracized by the Jews, yet He bounces back and is ready to serve them again. Are we always ready to give to our enemies, looking for how we can meet their needs? (See Matt 5:38-44.)
I expect Jesus saw many people needing medical attention or with handicaps, but for some reason He took special attention to this man.
When Jesus saw Him, He saw the potential in the man, instead of just seeing his current darkened state. When we interact with people, we need to see them as they could be with God, not aggravated over their current state. Example - Karla Faye Tucker.
The great thing is that God can come to someone who is not even seeking Him -- see Isaiah 65:1. We were first known by Him, before we could see Him (Gal 4:9, Phil 3:12).
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