What is the context?
Jesus hears that the man has been thrown out and finds him. The healing is not the end of His care. He asks about faith in the Son of Man, identifies Himself, and receives the man’s confession and worship. The BSB reads Son of Man in verse 35; its footnote records Son of God in other manuscripts. Older commentaries using the latter wording should not silently replace the BSB text.
The word translated worshiped is προσκυνέω, proskyneō (pros-koo-NEH-oh). Thayer’s lexicon describes bowing or showing deep honor, with the setting determining whom the person honors and what the act means. Here it follows Jesus making Himself known and the man confessing belief. John describes a personal response to Jesus, rather than giving the order of a worship service.
Jesus then explains a deeper division revealed by His coming. The man who lacked physical sight now receives Jesus, while people confident in their own sight resist Him. Some Pharisees hear the words and ask whether they are blind too. His reply directs attention to their claimed knowledge and continuing guilt. He is not saying that a physical disability makes someone sinful or that every person who knows little is automatically free of sin.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Christians commonly see the man’s response as faith and honor directed toward Jesus, with the final sayings contrasting receiving His light and resisting it. Wesley’s notes on verses 35–41 emphasize teachability and the greater responsibility that comes with opportunities to know.
Commentators differ over how fully the man understands Jesus’ identity at this moment. John Chrysostom, Homily 59, sees his worship as an acknowledgment of Jesus’ divine power. Calvin on verse 38 sees honor beyond that given to an ordinary man or prophet, while allowing that his understanding of Christ’s deity is still incomplete. Their difference concerns the man’s understanding, not whether Christ is divine.
Where does this fit in God's plan?
The healing and this meeting belong together. Isaiah 42:5–9 connects God’s Servant with light, opened eyes and release from darkness. John’s account shows restoration reaching beyond a physical change to a person recognizing and trusting Jesus.
The rejected man is found by Christ. The story then leads directly into Jesus’ teaching about the shepherd who knows and cares for his sheep in John 10. That connection helps us see the direction of the chapter: Jesus does not merely perform a sign and leave; He makes Himself known to the person who received it.
What is our position?
Our study What Does Worship Actually Mean? uses John 9:38 to describe a personal act of reverent honor rooted in faith. The man responds to Jesus making Himself known by bowing in acknowledgment of Him. The study does not treat this scene as a description of a scheduled service or a set of required meeting practices.