John 9:35

John 9:35
(KJV) Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God?

(NWT-Jehovah‘s Witnesses) Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and, on finding him, he said: “Are you putting faith in the Son of man?
(RSV) Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of man?"
(NRSV) Jesus heard that they had driven him out, and when he found him, he said, ‘Do you believe in the Son of Man?’
(NAB-Roman Catholic) When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, he found him and said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
(NIV) Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
(NASB) Jesus heard that they had put him out, and finding him, He said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
(ESV) Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and having found him he said, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
(HCSB) When Jesus heard that they had thrown the man out, He found him and asked, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"
(THE MESSAGE) Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and went and found him. He asked him, "Do you believe in the Son of Man?"

Textus Receptus
hkousen o ihsouV oti exebalon auton exw kai eurwn auton eipen autw su pisteueiV eiV ton uion tou qeou

Hort-Westcott
hkousen ihsouV oti exebalon auton exw kai eurwn auton eipen su pisteueiV eiV ton uion tou anqrwpou

Effect
The word “Theou” (God) is changed to “anthropou” (man) in the following corrupted manuscripts: Aleph (Sinaiticus), B (Vaticanus), D (Bezae Cantabrigiensis 5th century), W (4-5th century), Both D & W manuscripts contains the 4 Gospels and the Book of Acts alone.

The TR plainly calls Jesus the “Son of God” but the modern versions reduce him to son of man. In the New Testament the term “Son of Man” is used to describe the Lord Jesus 88 times in 84 verses so there is ample allusion to this earthly title of the Lord Jesus Christ identifying Him as coming in the flesh. The term “Son of God” is used 47 times in 46 verses. It is used ten times in the book of John, seven times in the book of 1 John, and one time in the book of Revelation.

Some may ask, “what is the problem with the term “Son of Man?” Well there is nothing wrong with that term since it is used copiously in the New Testament but the problem is that in this particular verse, God did not use the word for “man,” instead He originally used the word for “God.” This word was surreptitiously changed for no reason expect another attack on the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you look at the context in which this verse occurs, it is where Jesus had given sight to the blind man. If you look in John 9:38, you will read a very important clause:

(John 9:38 KJV) And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.

The man who received his sight was having a dialogue with the Lord Jesus and the culmination of that dialogue was that the man had worshiped the Lord Jesus.

(Rev 22:9 KJV) Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.

In the context of this verse in Revelation John began to worship at the feet of the angel who was showing him these things but the angel tells him to worship God.

(Luke 4:8 KJV) And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Satan had tried to get the Lord Jesus Christ to worship him in exchange for world domination but the Lord Jesus told him and told us that we are to worship the Lord our God. Now back to John 9:35, if we follow the modern versions and keep the changed term as “son of man,” then we will have this man worshipping a mere human being. The modern versions keep John 9:38 intact with the term “worship.” The problem with the context of this dialogue in John 9 would look like this in the modern versions, we will use the NIV.

John 9:35 (NIV) Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when he found him, he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
John 9:38 (NIV) Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him.

Jesus: Do you believe in the son of man?
Man: Lord I believe, and he worshiped him.

Instead of the man worshipping the Son of God, he would be worshipping the son of man! A very, very, big difference! If God wrote “Theou” (God), then it is to be translated and read “God” and not changed to “man” by the Gnostic theologians of the second century nor endorsed by the contemporary church. We see this principle of identification revealed to us in Matthew 19:16-17:

(Mat 19:16-17 KJV) And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? {17} And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

This is the narrative of the Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus and called Him “Good Master.” Jesus rejected the title “Good Master” in this dialogue, but why? The young ruler was looking at Him as a human being and not as God. This is why Jesus said to Him that there is none good except God.

(Rom 3:10-12 KJV) As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: {11} There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. {12} They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

So by changing “God” to “man” we would be seeing the man worshipping man.

(Rom 1:25 KJV) Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Do you see how important just one word can be? Stick to the King James and let the Lord bless you by giving you more understanding than those who hold to the modern versions because some unbelieving scholar says so. Don’t worship the creature, worship the Creator! The modern versions have changed the truth of God into a lie!