Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said to them, He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and do see.
the Pharisees.
John 9:10,11,26,27 Therefore said they unto him, How were thine eyes opened? …
The man answered, “He put mud on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
The man's response is a straightforward account of the miracle performed by Jesus. The use of mud, made from Jesus' saliva and dirt, is significant as it echoes the creation narrative in Genesis, where God formed man from the dust of the ground. This act symbolizes Jesus' authority over creation and His role as the divine healer. The instruction to wash in the Pool of Siloam, a site with historical and ritual significance in Jerusalem, further emphasizes the connection between physical and spiritual cleansing. The man's testimony is a powerful witness to the transformative power of Jesus, aligning with other biblical accounts of healing and restoration, such as the healing of Naaman in 2 Kings 5.
The religious leaders have already been informed that Jesus healed on the Sabbath (John 9:13-14). Their repeated questioning shows more than curiosity—it reveals resistance to a work that challenges their traditions (John 5:16).
• They seek a loophole, not truth, hoping to prove Jesus broke the law.
• Like the temple officials who grilled the healed crippled man (John 5:12-13), their interrogation spotlights the tension between grace and legalism.
• Yet their attention, however hostile, helps spread eyewitness testimony of the miracle (Luke 20:1-2).
They narrow in on method, as if process could invalidate power.
• Miracles often prompt this very question (John 9:10); unbelief wants an alternative explanation.
• Nicodemus earlier admitted, “No one could perform the signs You are doing if God were not with him” (John 3:2), but the group mindset here is different—skeptical, even antagonistic.
• The detail-oriented inquiry unwittingly builds a legal record confirming the reality of the healing (Mark 2:10-12).
The man states the facts simply, echoing verse 6.
• Jesus chose dust and spit—ordinary elements—to display extraordinary power (John 9:6).
• The gesture recalls Genesis 2:7, where God forms man from “the dust of the ground,” hinting at the Creator’s touch recreating sight.
• By using mud, Jesus also exposes the Pharisees’ obsession with outward regulations about Sabbath work; the true “work” is God’s mercy (Matthew 12:7-8).
Obedience is the hinge between promise and fulfillment.
• Jesus’ command, “Go, wash in the Pool of Siloam” (John 9:7), required faith; the man had to grope his way to water he could not yet see.
• Similar faith-filled washing brought Naaman’s healing (2 Kings 5:10-14).
• Simple acts of trust become channels for divine power (John 2:7-9).
The outcome is undeniable, public, and complete.
• Isaiah had foretold, “Then the eyes of the blind will be opened” (Isaiah 35:5); the prophecy stands fulfilled before their eyes.
• Physical sight mirrors the spiritual illumination God gives: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made His light shine in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 4:6).
• The healed man’s clarity contrasts with the Pharisees’ increasing blindness (John 9:39-41).
John 9:15 captures the straightforward testimony of a man transformed: questioned by skeptics, he recounts the simple sequence—Jesus acted, he obeyed, and sight followed. The verse highlights (1) religious scrutiny, (2) the verified method of a supernatural cure, (3) obedience as the bridge to blessing, and (4) the unmistakable result that backs Scripture’s promise of opened eyes. The miracle stands as living proof that Jesus is the light of the world, able to recreate, cleanse, and give clear vision to anyone who trusts Him.
(15) Then again the Pharisees also asked.--As the neighbours and acquaintances had done before (John 9:10).He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes.--The answer is the same as before, but briefer. It is that of a man who is answering against his will (comp. John 9:27) and does not care to say more than he is obliged to.
And do see.--This differs from "I received sight" (John 9:11). He now speaks as in conscious possession of the power to see. (Comp. John 9:25.)
Verse 15. - Again therefore the Pharisees, before whom the blind man had been brought, unwilling to rest with mere hearsay evidence of such grievous transgression of the Law, themselves also - or, in their turn - asked him (ἠρώτων, imperfect, were interrogating) how he received (recovered) his sight (see note on ver. 11). Not the miracle itself, but the manner of it interested and excited them. And he said to them, (He) put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and I see. This is a shorter and significant abridgment of the process already described. The healed man seems to guess, by their manner, that some charge was being meditated against his Benefactor, and he shrewdly omits the saliva and the making of the clay, and the order of the Savior, and the place whither he had been sent to wash.