One of the arguments used to support the theory that Jesus is God is found in the gospel of John:

John 9:35-38 (NASB) Jesus heard that they had put him out [the man who had been born blind, whom Jesus had healed], and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶ He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” ³⁷ Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” ³⁸ And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him. (emphasis added)

Proponents of Jesus’ deity stress that only God can be worshiped and because the man worshiped Jesus, Jesus must be God.  They further postulate that the miracle Jesus’ performed provides additional proof that he is God.  Indeed, the NASB translators supplied this portion of Scripture with a heading that reads: Jesus Affirms His Deity.[1]  But does the context support this interpretation? 

Background

In John 9:1-34, Jesus and his disciples passed a beggar who had been blind from birth.  The disciples questioned Jesus as to the cause of the man’s blindness.  Was it his sin or that of his parents that caused the malady?  Jesus answered that it was neither the man’s sin or that of his parents but that the “works of God might be displayed in him.”[2]  Jesus then applied a salve made of clay and spit to the man’s eyes and instructed him to “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam.”[3] The man obeyed Jesus and was miraculously healed.

Confusion and controversy soon arose as people questioned if the man, who could now see, was the same man who used to sit and beg.  The man insisted that he was and some agreed.  Still, others questioned him as to how his eyes had been opened.  The seeing-beggar relayed that it was Jesus who had healed him.

The controversy escalated when the man was brought before the Pharisees where his healing was scrutinized because it had occurred on the Sabbath.   The Pharisees were divided in their response to the miracle.  Some said Jesus was not from God but was a sinner because his working of a miracle violated the Sabbath.  Others queried, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?”[4]  The council then questioned the man’s parents who, fearful of being thrown out of the synagogue, deferred to their son. [5]

What Does Worship Mean?

In our quest to rightly exegete this passage, it is important to understand what the word worship means.  According to The Complete Word Study Dictionary, worship or proskuneô in Greek means: 

To worship, do obeisance, show respect, fall or prostrate before.  Literally, to kiss toward someone, to throw a kiss in a token of respect or homage.  The ancient oriental (especially Persian) mode of salutation between persons of equal ranks was to kiss each other on the lips; when the difference of rank was slight, they kissed each other on the cheek; when one was much inferior, he fell upon his knees and touched his forward to the ground or prostrated himself, throwing kisses at the same time toward the superior.  It is this latter mode of salutation that the Greek writers express by proskuneo.  In the NT, generally, to do reverence or homage to someone, usually by kneeling or prostrating oneself before him.[6]

Accordingly, proskuneô or worship is not reserved for God alone.  Rather, it is an act that can be offered to anyone deemed worthy.  Naturally, only God can be worshiped or revered as God, but man can be worshiped as well.[7]  Scripture records instances where worship or proskuneô is offered to man.  For instance, Jesus encouraged believers in Philadelphia that he would make their enemies worship before them:       

Revelation 3:9 (KJV) Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. (emphasis added)

The word worship here in Greek is proskuneô, the same act of reverence that the man healed of blindness offered to Jesus.

Another instance where a non-deity received worship is in the parable Jesus told of the king who wanted to settle an account with one of his servants. The servant, who owed his master ten thousand talents, was brought before the king where he fell down and worshiped him:

Matthew 18:26 (KJV) The servant therefore fell down and worshiped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. ²⁷  Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. (emphasis added)

As the servant’s superior, the king was worthy of honor and reverence because of his position and the authority he had over the servant’s life. Thus, the servant worshiped his master.

Modern translations deviate from the way King James Bible translates proskuneô.  When proskuneô refers to men it is rendered as bow down or something similar.  But when the word is used of Jesus it is often rendered as worship, thus giving the reader the impression that Jesus is God.  This inconsistent interpretation of proskuneô reveals the translators’ bias.  One discerning author addresses the inconsistency this way:

When the King James Bible was written, “worship” could be used to describe both exhibiting reverence for God and prostrating oneself. While not perfect, it’s a decent translation [of proskuneô]. As a result, throughout the King James Bible, people “worship” many things. A slave worships his owner, the assembled of Satan worship an angel, and Roman soldiers mocking Jesus worship him. In each of these instances, the word does not mean “praise God’s glory” or anything like that; instead, it means to bow or prostrate oneself. But English Bibles adopted later—the New International Bible, the New American Standard Bible, the Living Bible and so on—dropped the word worship when it referenced anyone other than God or Jesus. And so each time προσκυνέω [proskuneô] appeared in the Greek manuscript regarding Jesus, in these newer Bibles he is worshipped, but when applied to someone else, the exact same word is translated as “bow” or something similar. By translating the same word different ways, these modern Bibles are adding a bit of linguistic support to the idea that the people who knew Jesus understood him to be God. In other words, with a little translational trickery, a fundamental tenet of Christianity—that Jesus is God—was reinforced in the Bible, even in places where it directly contradicts the rest of the verse.[8] (emphasis added)

Context

Since both God and man can rightly be offered worship, the key to properly understanding why the healed man offered proskuneô to Jesus is to examine the context of John chapter 9.  What did the people who were present that day have to say about Jesus?  Who did they believe he was?  What did Jesus say about himself?  How was Jesus able to perform such an incredible miracle?  The answers to these questions will help us determine if Jesus was worshiped as God or as a man.

The Pharisees

In chapter 9, the Pharisees viewed Jesus in one of two ways: as a man who was from God, as evidenced by the miraculous healing, or as a sinner who broke the Sabbath law and was thus not sent by God:

John 9:13-16 (NASB) They *brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. ¹⁴  Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. ¹⁵  Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” ¹⁶  Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them…

John 9:24-29 (NASB) So a second time they [the Pharisees] called the man who had been blind, and said to him, “Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.” ²⁵  He then answered, “Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.” ²⁶  So they said to him, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?” ²⁷  He answered them, “I told you already and you did not listen; why do you want to hear it again? You do not want to become His disciples too, do you?” ²⁸  They reviled him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are disciples of Moses. ²⁹  “We know that God has spoken to Moses, but as for this man, we do not know where He is from.”

Was Jesus from God or was he a sinner? Either way, the Pharisees understood him to be a man and not God.

The Man Healed of Blindness

The man healed of life-long blindness understood Jesus to be a prophet sent by God, not someone claiming to be God:

John 9:16-17 (NASB)  Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them. ¹⁷  So they *said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.”

John 9:30-34 (NASB) The man answered and said to them, “Well, here is an amazing thing, that you do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. ³¹  “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. ³²  “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³  “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” ³⁴  They answered him, “You were born entirely in sins, and are you teaching us?” So they put him out.

The man who had been born blind had more insight and discernment than the sighted religious leaders.  He understood that Jesus was able to heal him because of the relationship he had with his God, not because he was God as orthodoxy would have us believe.  Indeed, the beggar recognized that Jesus was a prophet; an obedient, God-fearing man who had been sent by God.

The Healed Man’s Parents

The apostle John offers commentary regarding the parents of the man born blind, from which we can conclude that they believed Jesus to be the Christ, that is, the Messiah, the one anointed by God.

John 9:18-23 (NASB) The Jews then did not believe it of him, that he had been blind and had received sight, until they called the parents of the very one who had received his sight, ¹⁹  and questioned them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?” ²⁰  His parents answered them and said, “We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; ²¹  but how he now sees, we do not know; or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him; he is of age, he will speak for himself.” ²²  His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews; for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed Him to be Christ, he was to be put out of the synagogue. ²³  For this reason his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” (emphasis added)

The parents evaded the Pharisees’ direct questioning, deferring the matter to their son because they were afraid that if they said they believed Jesus was the Christ, they would be kicked out of the synagogue. 

Who Did Jesus Say He Was?

Who did Jesus say he was?  Did he, as the NASB translators claim, affirm he was God?  On the contrary, Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man:

John 9:35-38 (NASB) Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” ³⁶  He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?” ³⁷  Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” ³⁸  And he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshiped Him.  (emphasis added)

Son of Man was a title that emphasized man’s lowly state especially in light of God’s exalted one.[9]  It was used of men like Daniel and Ezekiel and mankind in general.[10] Son of Man was also used as a designation for the coming Messiah as seen in Daniel’s vision where the Son of Man is presented before the Ancient of Days and given dominion, authority, glory, and a kingdom.[11]  That the title is a designation for the Messiah or Christ is seen in the New Testament as well.  In particular, John records this exchange a few chapters after the one under review: 

John 12:34 (NASB) The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard out of the Law that the Christ is to remain forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” (emphasis added)

Son of Man is never used to refer to God in any passage of Scripture.  In fact, God specifically said that He is not a man or a son of man:[12]

Numbers 23:19 (NASB) “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (emphasis added)

Thus, when Jesus stated that he was the Son of Man, he was simply claiming to be the Messiah.

But What About the Miracle?

But what about the miraculous healing of the blind man?  Doesn’t that prove Jesus is God?  That Jesus’ miracles demonstrate he is God is yet another misconception that masquerades as orthodoxy.  The context reveals that the miracle Jesus performed was the work of God who sent him:

John 9:1-4 (NASB) As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. ²  And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” ³  Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. ⁴  “We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. (emphasis added)

The healing power belonged to God.  This truth was further emphasized by Peter in his sermon on the Day of Pentecost:   

Acts 2:22 (NASB) “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— (emphasis added)

Similarly, Jesus taught on another occasion that the works he performed were actually the Father’s works and that they served as a testimony that God had sent him:

John 5:36 (NASB) “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. (emphasis added)

Instead of Jesus’ miracles proving that he was God, they served as proof that he was the Christ sent by God.[13]  This is exactly how the blind man interpreted the miracle he received:

John 9:31-33 (NASB) “We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. ³²  “Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. ³³  “If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.” (emphasis added)

Why Did The Man Worship Jesus?

Despite misunderstandings about who can rightly receive worship or proskuneô and a biased, inaccurate heading supplied by translators, the context of John chapter 9 does not in any way support the notion that the man worshiped Jesus because he thought he was God.  Instead, the context states that the man was moved to worship Jesus because he was the Son of Man.  He prostrated himself before Jesus as a way to pay homage to the Christ, not because he thought he was God.

[1] The Gospel of John, New American Standard Bible, Grand Rapids, MI; Zondervan, 1999, p. 1537.

[2] John 9:3.

[3] John 9:6-7.

[4] John 9:13-16.

[5] John 9:18-23.

[6] The Complete Word Dictionary, New Testament, Spiros Zodhiates, ed., (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1993), p. 1233-34.

[7] This is the case in the Old Testament as well.  In addition to God, people also received shāḥâ or shachah, the Hebrew equivalent of proskuneô.  For example, see KJV 1 Chronicles 29:20 where God and the king are both worshiped.

[8] Kurt Eichenwald, The Bible: It’s So Misunderstood It’s a Sin, 12-23-14, accessed 1-19-21, http://www.newsweek.com/2015/01/02/thats-not-what-bible-says-294018.html

[9] Psalm 8:4; 144:3; Isaiah 51:12.

[10] Daniel 8:17; Used of Ezekiel ninety-three times. See Ezekiel 2:1, 3 and 6, for example.  See also previous footnote.

[11] Daniel 7:13ff.

[12] See also 1 Samuel 15:29 and Hosea 11:9.

[13] See also Acts 10:38.