“One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25
A beggar blind from birth, a hard question, clay, a pool called Sent, and a testimony that grows each time he is asked. Walk the streets, look closer, and watch him come to see.
In Jerusalem, Jesus saw a man who had been blind since birth. His disciples asked whose sin caused it. Jesus said no one’s: it was so “the works of God should be made manifest in him.” He made clay, anointed the man’s eyes, and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. The man went, washed, and came back seeing.
Neighbors were amazed. Pharisees questioned him and his frightened parents again and again. Each time, the man said more about Jesus, until they cast him out. Then Jesus found him and asked, “Dost thou believe on the Son of God?” The man said, “Lord, I believe,” and worshipped Him.
Eight stops from the street where Jesus saw him to the road where Jesus found him. Scroll, or tap a number on the map.
Part 2 of 7
The story, plainly
Four scenes: the street, the pool, the leaders, and the road outside. Look for the Savior in each one.
Read it plainly
The words that trip people up
Tap any dotted word for its meaning. The scripture stays exactly as written.1
John 9:3 “should be made Meaning: shown plainly.”
John 9:6 “made clay of the Meaning: spit.”
John 9:7 “the pool of Meaning: a pool in Jerusalem; John says the name means Sent.”
John 9:22 “put out of the Meaning: the local place of worship and community.”
John 9:24 “Give God the Meaning: credit and glory.”
Part 3 of 7
Look closer
Small details tell the story. Some cards are details in the text; others share insights from prophets. Each card says which.
0 of 9 turned
All nine. The question, the begging bowl, the light, the clay, the pool, the opened eyes, the parents, the closed door and the man who worshipped. John 9:1–41
Part 4 of 7
Where are you on the street?
People on this street wondered why, were asked to act, were afraid, or were cast out. Which feels most like you right now?
A next step for you
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Try it
His testimony grows
Each time he is asked about Jesus, the man sees a little more. Tap what he says about Jesus in the order he said it.
“One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see.” John 9:25
Part 5 of 7
Their world, their words
A little background helps us see what this man risked. Outside sources are labeled.
Apostle · Talmage
Only in John
Elder Talmage: “It is recorded by John alone, and, as usual with that writer, his narrative is given with descriptive detail.”4
John tells it slowly, step by step.
Apostle · Talmage
The disciples’ question
Elder Talmage: “The disciples’ question implied their belief in a state of moral agency and choice antedating mortality.”4
They wondered whether he could have sinned before birth.
Apostle · Talmage
Cast out
Elder Talmage: the rulers “had decreed that any one who confessed Jesus to be the Christ should be cast out from the community of the synagog.”4
That is why his parents were afraid.
Apostle · Holland
Anointing
Elder Holland: “twice in this narrative the Savior’s action was referred to as ‘anointing’ the blind man’s eyes, an act to be completed by washing.”3
Anointing, then washing.
Word study · Greek
epichrió ἐπιχρίω · “anointed” (John 9:6, John 9:11)
Bible Hub: “To anoint, to smear on.”5Outside · lexicon
Jesus did not just touch his eyes; He “anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.”1
What the text does not say
John does not say why Jesus used clay, or how the man felt as he walked to the pool. Jesus did say why the man was born blind: “that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”1
Part 6 of 7
Look to Him
He saw the man first, healed him, and then went looking for him when others pushed him out.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland: “These very unlikely ingredients declare that God can bless us by whatever method He chooses.”
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “And Now I See,” October 20253
“The impact of the Book of Mormon in my life is no less miraculous than was the application of spit and dirt placed on the blind man’s eyes.”
Everything on this page as a 11-page letter-size PDF: the map, scenes, cards, activity, word studies, tracker, Go deeper and sources. For home, class or a quiet Sunday.
Independent study notes from Weak Things, not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Scripture quotations are from the King James Version. This story is told in John’s own words; the insights in “Look closer” are labeled by source.
