Charles Ellicott Commentary John 9:35

"Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" — John 9:35 (ASV)

Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him.—There is no hint of time or place. We may naturally suppose that this seeking and finding on the part of our Lord followed immediately on the expulsion by the Pharisees. His parents had, for fear of the Pharisees, forsaken him; and those who should have been as the shepherd of this sheep of the flock of Israel, had thrust him from them; but in his case, too, the words of the Psalmist were to be fulfilled, “When my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord taketh me up.” The Good Shepherd, who gathers the lambs with His arm, and carries them in His bosom, is at hand to lead him.

Do you believe on the Son of God?—There is much doubt about the true reading here. A majority of the best manuscripts have “the Son of Man,” which is the usual term applied by our Lord to Himself. But compare Notes on John 10:36; Matthew 26:63; and Matthew 27:43. On the other hand, the reading, “Son of God,” is certainly as old as the second century, and seems to supply the sense which the context requires.

The man had been cast out. Our Lord hears of this, and knows it is because of his bold confession that He was a prophet.

The lesson He had before taught him had been learned, and had borne fruit. He will lead him from that confession to a higher one. He marks him out as distinct from others, and asks a question which is meant by its form to lead him to an affirmative answer, “Do you believe on the Son of God?”

This question follows naturally on the truth which the man had grasped: “If this Man were not of God, He could do nothing” (John 9:33). This title, “Son of God,” was one of the theocratic names of the Messiah .

The title, “Son of Man,” could hardly have conveyed to him the same meaning. Its insertion in some of the manuscripts here is probably to be traced to the fact that copyists substituted the title which our Lord more generally used for the rarer one.

We should carefully bear in mind that though our Lord does not usually apply the title “Son of God” to Himself, He constantly asserts the truth which it expresses (Compare, for example, in this Gospel, John 5:7, John 5:8).