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Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.
John 9:14 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
  • KJV And it was the sabbath day when Jesus made the clay, and opened his eyes.
  • NKJV Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.
  • NASB Now it was a Sabbath on the day that Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.
  • NLT because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

John notes that Jesus performed the healing on a Sabbath. This detail explains the Pharisees' coming objection.

Overview

The narrator highlights that the miracle occurred on the Sabbath, which the Pharisees regarded as a violation of their rules. This sets up the controversy over whether Jesus could be from God while seeming to break the Sabbath. The conflict reveals how human traditions can blind people to God's gracious work.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • John 5:9Immediately the man was made well, and he picked up his mat and began to walk. Now this happened on the Sabbath day,
  • Luke 13:10–17One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,
  • Matt 12:1–14At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
  • John 7:21–23Jesus answered them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed.
  • Luke 14:1One Sabbath, Jesus went to eat in the home of a leading Pharisee, and those in attendance were watching Him closely.
  • Mark 2:23One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain as they walked along.
  • John 5:16Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.
  • Luke 6:1–11One Sabbath Jesus was passing through the grainfields, and His disciples began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — John videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on John 9:14YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JohnMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.

How John 9:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.