John 9
The Blind Men of Israel
Jesus has just finished proclaiming Himself as the Light of the World in ch 8. And now He demonstrates His "Light Giving" abilities. 
WHO are the Blind MEN of this story? There are MORE than ONE, you know. Tho physically blind, this man was ready to believe, to respond to the Power of the Gospel. Tho able to see and in fact able to see that same power's effect on the "blind" man, the Pharisee's were unwilling to respond. Having already decided to reject Jesus, THEIR main problem was trying to discredit the ever growing overwhelming mountain of evidence! No WONDER they were so cranky! Imagine their constantly rising level of frustration...
v1-3  God can call us to the hard painful places in the world, in our life, so we can be ready to be used by Him for ETERNAL purposes, and His eternal glory
This man was physically blind for 20 or 30 years and yet because of it gained an Eternity of salvation.
Had Jesus just healed his eyes, he would have lived another 20 years maybe with vision, and an eternity in Hell; and also just as easliy lost his vision again a week later in one of the 1000 other ways men went blind in those days...
The disciples faced a theological conundrum here with this fellow: believing that ALL suffering was the direct result of SIN, HOW could this man be BORN with this? Either he somehow sinned in his mother womb, or his parents sinned. Jesus was ready for them and answered NEITHER. Now He is not saying that this is a sinless family, only that this blindness was not caused by a SPECIFIC sin. The question often asked is "Did God MAKE this man a blind baby?" Please understand, given this fallen imperfect world, God did not have to "make" anything happen. Did He "allow" it to happen? YES, just as He allows all mankind to continue in it's dead sinful state rather than bringing instant and righteous, deadly and terrifying judgment on it as His infinitely Just Character would require. His infinitely Loving Character TEMPORARILY holds His justice back, and even causes Him to seek out those who need something GREATER than mere physical healing, eternal life. Ultimately ALL suffering can be "blamed" if you will on the fallen sinful state of all creation. Even without specific sins, we live in a sinful broken universe, and as a result, all creation experiences the result: imperfections, disease, old age and death, just as God had promised Adam and Eve. This man's problem did not need a direct cause by himself or his parents to occur, just as OURS don't, either. Just by being born into this fallen creation, we are subject to it's character, it's side effects. The wonder is that God can take ANYTHING and redeem it, that is, exchange it for His glory and His blessing.

v4  "I must work..." in the KJV, is trans in the better texts "WE", or lit it is necessary for us to work. Thus Jesus associates the disciples with Himself
v6-7  The use of spittle was a common remedy for the eyes in those days, even as a charm employed in incantations. Esp "fasting saliva", ie the saliva in the mouth before eating that morning. Ironically enough, medically, there are NO benefits to it, as the mouth has a LOT of bacteria in it, and the human bit is much more likely to get infected that an animal bite (assuming the critter ain't got rabies!). But really, I think Jesus was using the clay as an aid to develop the man's faith, rather than as medicine. To obtain physical sight he must not remain passive, but must wash in the Pool. Just as in salvation we must consciously and intentionally accept God's gift to us, to "wash" if you will, in the cleansing "water" of Jesus salvation. 
WHY that Pool? Why not the nearest one? I think Jesus chose it on purpose. Even John wanted to be sure his readers would understand, esp the NON-Hebrew speaking ones, that Siloam means "Sent". It would also have meant something to the man being "sent". This was the smallest of all the Jerusalem pools. The water flows into it through a subterranean conduit, hence the water was not from a natural spring, but was conveyed to it artificially, "sent" to it by the channel carved by ancient workmen. This was the water used in the Temple for pouring on the alter during the Feast of Tabernacles to symbolize the outpouring of God's provisions to Israel during their desert sojourn. John wants the reader to appreciate that NOW Messiah is here, "SENT" as it were by God to be an outpouring of blessing, of salvation to ALL the world, even as God poured out "salvation" to Israel in the wasteland. 

v8-9  the Gr is lit "the one sitting and begging" which carries the feeling of something customary, as if he were still at it. As one commentator said, you can't experience the power of Jesus and remain unchanged, it marks you and everyone around you somehow see's it, and KNOWS something is different, not the same, sometimes it's so marked they don't even recognize you...
vs 11  This is a classic example to us on how to be a "witness". What did this man do? He stated WHAT HE KNEW, nothing fancy, no embellishments, just the facts. Also note this: is he saved yet? NO! Who is Jesus to him? "The MAN Jesus...". All he knows so far is that Jesus is a Man who HEALED him, and so he SAYS so. He knew it was Jesus although he has NEVER seen Him. Remember, he was blind when he left Jesus. When asked a question he didn't know the answer to, he very un-apologetically SAID so: I don't know.
v13-15  Here John starts to use a common technique, he begins to speak in the present tense, to give the listener a more IMMEDIATE feel for the story. So the LIT trans would be "They BRING to the Pharisees..." Again, we see a perfect example of how to witness, an example of the vs in 1 Peter 3:15 where it says to be ready to give an account to everyone who asks you to explain the Hope that is within you. 

v16-17  A Rabbinical precept declares, "It is forbidden to apply even fasting-spittle to the eyes on the Sabbath." Please note that not ALL the Pharisees were determined to reject Jesus. Even here the Messiah is getting some to realize He is fulfilling Prophecy. John, by the way, differentiates between the increasingly divided groups of Jewish leaders by referring to those who opposed Jesus as "the Jews", and a number of other terms to refer to those who were either undecided or were convinced He was Messiah. It occurs to me that Jesus did not truly violate the Sabbath since healing is NEVER "work" to God! The Rabbinical law was merely Man's attempt to create a false clarity where God had already spoken regarding the need to Minister to men, the absolute good, never to be denied or refused , of caring for another in need. 
Note the progression in this Healed man's faith: Jesus is no longer just a Man, but now also a Prophet. The longer he thinks about what happened to himself, the deeper his understanding of Jesus becomes. He wisely focused NOT on the gift, but on the GIVER. 

v18-23  OK, so out of frustration, those determined to disprove Him figure it's some kind of mistake, so they call the parents to confirm it all. There is a word used here for which there is no direct trans meaning "excluded from the synagogue". Three kinds of excommunication were recognized, of which only the third was the real cutting off, the first two being only disciplinary. The first and lightest was called a rebuke and lasted 7-30 days. The second was called "thrusting out" and lasted at least 30 days, followed by a "second admonition" that lasted another 30 days. THIS could only be pronounced in an assembly of 10 men. It was accompanied by curses and sometimes proclaimed with a blast of the horn. The excommunicated one would not be admitted into any assembly of 10 men, nor to public prayer. People would keep at the distance of 4 cubits from him, as if he were a leper. Stones were to be cast on his coffin when dead and mourning for him was forbidden. If all else failed the 3rd, or REAL, excommunication was pronounced, the duration of which was INDEFINATE. NO intercourse's were to be held with him; no one can show him the road, and although he can buy the necessaries of life, it was forbidden to eat and drink with him. It seems that these more severe forms were introduced later, after Jesus time, so it is most likely that the threat to any who believed in Jesus was separation from all religious fellowship and from all ordinary involvement's of life for maybe 30 days.
v24-25  This phrase "give glory to God" when addressed to an offender implies that by some previous act or word he has done dishonor to God and appeals to him to repair the dishonor by speaking the truth. "WE KNOW..." The "we" is emphatic, ie: WE, the experts and guardians of all that matters... How often the world tries to browbeat us into siding with them. Here are all the recognized experts and big-shots of the time, and THEY ALL KNOW Jesus is false, so HOW COULD HE, the healed man, EVER IMPLY OTHERWISE? HMMMM?? I saw this a lot in medical school, as if somehow, by having a lot of education and a high IQ, it made you and automatic authority on EVERYTHING! And HOW they could despise you from their high and lofty perch of the "higher education"!
See again, the perfect witness! He refused to speak to an issue he had no knowledge of, insisting instead on repeating the stark simple facts of the case withOUT commentary or embellishment: ONE THING I KNOW! I WAS blind, NOW I see! He refused to back down from it, to apologize for it or even beg anyone ELSE to BELIEVE it. HE knew it was so whether anyone ELSE did or NOT. We must NEVER underestimate the power of such a simple SOUNDING testimony! They can argue the philosophical nuances all they want, BUT THEY CANNOT DENY THE INESCABLE FACTS OF WHAT HAS OCCURED TO YOU! I mean, REALLY, YOU were THERE! 

v26  A pattern, when the Pharisees hit a wall they can't avoid or discredit, they ask the question again. WHY? stall for time? Or maybe like the police who insist on endless repitition of the story by the suspect they think is lying, hoping he'll slip, hoping to discover some inconsistancy, however slight, that would allow them to discount the story.
vs 27-28  He was BLIND, NOT stupid. He, having coped with his own blindness in that blaming society, was perhaps a student of human nature - he surely understood scorn, rejection, reproach. So recognized it in them. Hence his sarcastic answer, having NO patience for the group that almost assuredly attributed SIN as the original cause of his blindness and so tarred his parents and him with that brush all his life. Treating them all with that galling smug self-righteous disdane and so added their torments to the burden of a lifetime of blindness. 
NOTE: he said ALSO! So he had already decided to become His disciple. He never expressed bitterness at God's choice for him to allow him to be born blind. Perhaps for him it was a fleeting flickering instant of time compared to ALL ETERNITY to be with HIM.