NOTES for Joh 9:5

In the Synodal translation, a difference in grammatical forms can be traced here, and also in John 8:12, and in Matt. 5:14. It turns out that when Jesus addresses the disciples, He calls them "the light of the world," and when He speaks of Himself, He uses the expression "light to the world." On this basis one can build a whole sermon, can one not? However, when the Greek text is examined, no such difference is found. Accordingly, practically all modern translations put here the same grammatical form as in Matt. 5:14: "the light of the world." And this too has meaning, if the Teacher speaks of Himself and of the disciples in the same expressions. Simply while He lives an earthly life, He performs this function, bringing light into this world enveloped in darkness, and after His Ascension this function passes to His disciples.