There is probably a time lapse between the talk of Jesus with the man born blind and His discussion with the Pharisees in this section. The two are placed together here by John because of their relevance to each other.

Jesus is saying that He has come into the world so that those who have no spiritual sight may be enlightened and so that those who claim to have spiritual sight apart from Him may be shown as the blind men that they really are. Whenever a man is confronted with Jesus he must make a choice. He will either be aware of his blindness and seek to have his eyes opened or he will think that he knows everything and has no need of an increase in sight. We thus pass judgment upon ourselves. Only the one who is aware of his own need is the one God can touch. The baby bird that receives the worm from its mother is the one with its mouth open.