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John 9 · a question people ask

Jesus says, "I came into this world for judgment" (9:39). Doesn't John's Gospel also say he didn't come to judge?

In the text

John's Gospel has both, and these notes set them side by side. "For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him" (3:17). "For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son" (5:22). "You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me" (8:15-16). Here: "I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind" (9:39). And later: "For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world" (12:47). Judgment in 9:39 is krima (G2917), which John's Greek has only here (counted in RP2018); judge in 3:17 and 12:47 is the verb krino (G2919), studied in Favor's chapter on John 3. These notes set the verses side by side and don't fit them together.

The verses

“For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him.”
John 3:17 · World English Bible
“For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,”
John 5:22 · World English Bible
“You judge according to the flesh. I judge no one. Even if I do judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am with the Father who sent me.”
John 8:15-16 · World English Bible
“Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.””
John 9:39 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of John 9

John 9: One thing I do know

When the man came back seeing (9:7) and was asked where Jesus was, he said, "I don’t know" (9:12). The next time the chapter brings them together, Jesus finds him after he was thrown out and says, "You have both seen him, and it is he who speaks with you" (9:37).

In Favor, questions like this come up right where they arise as you read, with the Hebrew and Greek behind the words and how the chapter leads to Jesus.

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Last reviewed October 1, 2026. Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions