I read a very good writing about that concept. The following is from the Bible Gateway pertaining to beliefs back then;
"People commonly assumed that disease and disorders on both the personal and national level were due to sin, as summarized in the rabbinic saying from around A.D. 300 that "there is no death without sin and there is no suffering without iniquity" (b. shabbat 55a). But the case of a person born blind raises the question of whose sin caused this condition, that of his parents or of the person himself while in the womb. The idea that the parents' sins can affect their children finds support in the Old Testament itself (Ex 20:5), as does its antithesis (Ezek 18:20). Likewise the rabbis debated whether fetuses could sin, some arguing they could (for example, Genesis Rabbah 63:6) and others that they could not (Genesis Rabbah 34:10). Obviously, such issues were matters of debate within Judaism (cf. Schrage 1972:290-91), including the time during Jesus' ministry, as our text indicates."
Jesus responded to the debatable question by saying it was neither. The man was blind for the purpose that, through Jesus, others would see the Fathers' love, mercy, and grace at work in the man and his situation. Jesus presented a sense of urgency to the disciples doing the work of the Father. His time with them was growing shorter as He said, "the night is coming, and then no one can work" (vs.4). Several times, Jesus pointed to Himself as the light of the world as He did in verse 5. In verse 5, He also stated "while He was here" He was the light of the world. That indicates that the light of the world would be gone when He is gone. The time was coming when He would be captured and killed and be placed in the tomb and no longer be with them. Jesus would be absent from them and the world. It would then be without Him (the light), it would then be night (without light) and no one would be able to do His work. Remember, when He was crucified, the disciples were all in hiding and Jesus' work was not being done.
Following His earlier words that they must quickly do what they were sent to do, He went right to the blind man. His brief explanation following Him going right to work was a tangible expression of what He had just said.
Jesus spit on the ground, mixed His saliva with some ground making mud. He then spread the mud on the blind mans' eyes. Jesus instructed the man to go and wash himself in the pool of Siloam, which means "sent." The man could have said the mud didn't work and could have left. There was more to what was happening than Jesus putting mud on the mans' eyes. We read over and over about faith being part of miracles and it is no different for this man. The man had to have faith that what Jesus was doing would lead to his healing. He had to believe Jesus was who He said He was and that He was able to do such great things. He had to believe and be obedient to Jesus. The pool meaning "sent" is significant looking at the end of verse 4 where Jesus said, "we must quickly carry out the tasks assigned to us by the one who sent us." We can see the tie that Jesus was sent to do the Fathers' work and expressed that by using the pool meaning "sent." The man took action, believing Jesus could do what the man expected Him to do, and came back with his sight.
The mans' neighbors were confused. Some believed it was the man who was blind, but others, who perhaps could not believe a healing could take place, could only believe he was not the blind man they knew but another man who probably always had sight. The man who once was blind kept telling them all it was he who was the blind beggar and now he had sight.
They kept asking him to tell them who healed him and he told them what Jesus had done. They asked him where Jesus had gone to which he replied he did not know. In verse 13, we read, "Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, BECAUSE
(emphasis mine) it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him." Again, people missed the work of God and missed Jesus as Messiah because they focused on a law. They ignored the amazing thing that happened and only wanted the breaking of the law dealt with. They could have been so amazed that they wanted the Pharisees to see the miracle, and as the woman at the well did, could have asked if Jesus could be the Messiah.
The Pharisees questioned him about what happened and he told them the same story. The Pharisees were outraged and wanted to know all about what happened so they could hold working on the Sabbath against the person who did this "work."
The Pharisees were divided about this. Some of the Pharisees asked how an ordinary sinner could possibly do such an amazing thing. Other Pharisees simply said Jesus was not of God because if He were, He would not be working on the Sabbath. Jesus and the Pharisees had discussions about the Sabbath several times before but the Pharisees would not believe anything other than that a person who would do such a thing is ungodly.
The Pharisees again questioned the man and asked him what his opinion of Jesus was. He answered by saying he thought Jesus must be a prophet. The leaders still would not accept any such thought. The leaders resorted to calling in the mans' parents and questioned them. They verified the man who was healed was their son and that he was blind from birth. If that was the case, they wanted to know how it could be that he now had sight. His parents were fearful of saying anything about Jesus maybe being the Messiah because if they did, they could be kicked out of the synagogue. The parents told them to ask their son about that as he was old enough to speak for himself. In their fear, they (as we say today) threw their son under the bus.
Again they called for the man who could now see and questioned him again. The man had said that Jesus healed him but the Pharisees told him God should get the credit for his healing. Perhaps it was an effort to prevent any other people from thinking Jesus was the Messiah. The way they presented their desire that God get the credit rather than Jesus was to say that Jesus was a sinner and should not get any credit for the healing. In their way of thinking, God may have done the healing by using this Jesus but the glory was God's not the sinner Jesus'. The man said he didn't know if Jesus was a sinner, all he knew was that Jesus gave him his sight. The leaders again asked the man what and how Jesus healed him.
The man was getting a bit tired of this foolishness and told them he told them the whole story already and wanted to know why they kept asking him the same things. He proposed their continued interest in the events of the day were because they wanted to become disciples of Jesus. That thought really got to them and they cursed him. They declared that they were disciples of Moses (giving them credibility) and expressed that they didn't even know where this Jesus came from.
The man answered, saying that Jesus healed his sight and wondered how they could not figure out where Jesus came from. He went on to explain that if Jesus was a sinner, He could not have healed him because God didn't listen to sinners but will listen to those who want to do His will. God had answered Jesus' desire to heal the man, therefore He had to be of God. He added, since the beginning of time, no one has ever been able to give sight to anyone born blind and concluded that if Jesus were not of God He could not have healed him.
The leaders were at a loss and the best they could do was to call the man out as being a total sinner from birth (for he was born blind and those born blind were blind because either they or their parents were sinful as we read earlier. They seemed to have decided he was blind due to his own sin.) They were indignant and yelled, "Are you (a person who they have already determined was a sinner from birth) trying to teach us ?"(the religious leaders who possessed great wisdom). The episode between them ended with the religious leaders throwing him out of the synagogue.
When Jesus heard what happened, He found the man and asked him if he believed in the Son of Man. Some Jews at that time associated the phrase, "Son of Man" with " the Messiah." To this man, Jesus was asking him if he believed in the Messiah. The man asked who he was and said he wanted to believe in Him. (vs. 37) "You have seen Him," Jesus said, "and "He is speaking to you!" The man responded by saying, (vs. 38) "Yes Lord, I believe!" and then he worshipped Jesus.
Jesus said that He came into the world to render judgement and to give sight to the blind and also to show those that think they see, that they are in reality blind themselves. Jesus has come to open the eyes of those who are blind to the truth of who He is and what He offers so they can see the truth and find salvation. He has also come to close the eyes of those that wrongly think they know the truth. Those who think they see the truth are actually blind to the real truth. Jesus has to cause them to be blind to wrong beliefs so they can see the real truth, thus gaining sight that sees the truth.
The Pharisees heard His comments and asked Him if He was saying they were blind. Jesus answered by saying, (vs. 41) "If you were blind, you wouldn't be guilty. But you remain guilty because you claim you can see."
ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK, WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE STUDY OF JOHN CHAPTERS 10, 11, AND 12 FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL.