This verse states the basis for the controversy that follows. The day that Jesus healed the blind man was a Sabbath, and the Jews had strict rules regarding what could or could not be done on the Sabbath. For example, to heal someone on the Sabbath day was considered unlawful unless life was in danger. Obviously, this man’s life was not in danger, since he had been blind from birth. It was also forbidden to knead bread or clay on the Sabbath, and Jesus had done so when he made the mud to rub on the man’s eyes. So the Pharisees accused Jesus of failing to obey the Sabbath law (verse 16.)

Some translations treat this verse as a parenthetical statement. Both Phillips and New American Bible set it off in parenthesis. In Phillips it is introduced by “It should be noted that” and in New American Bible by “Note that it was.” Moffatt ties this verse to the following one, “As it was on the sabbath day that Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes, the Pharisees asked him….” It is also possible to interpret this parenthetical statement as explaining why the people took the man to the Pharisees. No doubt they would have been concerned about healing which had taken place on the rest day. However, it is probably better not to try to identify a specific causal relation with either the preceding or the following sentence. It is this activity on the Sabbath which colors the entire story and makes the event a religious issue.

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .