Bible Strands
John 9:3
Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus answers His disciples' question about the cause of a man's congenital blindness. He speaks immediately after they ask whether the man or his parents sinned to bring about his condition.
The words — The verb Ἀπεκρίθη (Apekrithē) literally means "answered," while οὔτε ἥμαρτεν (oute hēmarten) translates to "neither sinned." These terms establish Jesus' direct negation of the disciples' sin-causation premise.
The thread — The text frames the event as a vehicle for divine action, echoing John 11:4 and John 11:40 where sickness and death are linked to God's glory, and paralleling Job 2:3 where suffering is detached from personal guilt. This connects the passage to a broader biblical pattern of divine purpose overriding human assumptions about cause and effect.
Why it lands — The text states that the man's condition exists so God's works would be displayed in him, not because of prior sin. It requires the reader to abandon the automatic equation of suffering with personal guilt and to recognize events as opportunities for divine action.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Cross-references
- John 11:4 When Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
- John 11:40 Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?”
- Job 2:3 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.”
- Ecclesiastes 9:1 So I took all this to heart and concluded that the righteous and the wise, as well as their deeds, are in God’s hands. Man does not know what lies ahead, whether love or hate.
- Job 42:7 After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and your two friends. For you have not spoken about Me accurately, as My servant Job has.
- Matthew 11:5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
- Acts 4:21 After further threats they let them go. They could not find a way to punish them, because all the people were glorifying God for what had happened.
- Job 1:8 Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”
- Acts 28:4 When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
- Job 22:5 Is not your wickedness great? Are not your iniquities endless?