Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary John 9:8

"The neighbors therefore, and they that saw him aforetime, that he was a beggar, said, Is not this he that sat and begged?" — John 9:8 (ASV)

The man’s recovery of his sight created a genuine sensation. The effects of the miracle are described vividly by the responses of four groups or individuals: (1) the neighbors, (2) the Pharisees, (3) the parents, and (4) the man himself. The neighbors and acquaintances knew very well the man they had supported by their charity. To see him walking with normal sight was so incredible that they thought it must be a case of mistaken identity. He quickly settled the dispute by avowing that he was the man they had known.