Jesus makes mud with saliva, anoints the man’s eyes, and tells him to wash in the Pool of Siloam (John 9:6–7). The man goes, washes, and returns seeing (John 9:7).
In John 9:1–7, Jesus notices a man who has been blind since birth. The disciples assume someone’s wrongdoing must explain the condition, but Jesus rejects that setup and redirects attention to God’s work being shown. He speaks of an urgent time for doing the work he has been given, and of himself as “light” while present. This scene follows escalating tension between Jesus and religious leaders, and it begins as Jesus is moving along after that conflict (the narrative flows directly into an encounter with someone in need).
John presents the healing as more than a kindness to one suffering person. It is also a public “work” that points beyond itself. The disciples start with a blame-question (“who sinned?”). Jesus refuses that framing and shifts the meaning of the moment toward what God is doing. Jesus also ties the event to his mission.
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with John 9:6-7, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
6When he had said this, he spat on the ground, made mud with the saliva, anointed the blind man`s eyes with the mud,
7and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means "Sent"). So he went away, washed, and came seeing.