John 9:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and asked them, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"

NIV: "Is this your son?" they asked. "Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?"

NASB: and they questioned them, saying, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? Then how does he now see?'

CSB: They asked them, "Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? How then does he now see?"

NLT: They asked them, 'Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?'

KJV: And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then doth he now see?

NKJV: And they asked them, saying, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”

The parents of the man born blind are being interrogated by local religious leaders—referred to in the gospel of John as "the Jews." When Jesus grants the man eyesight, the skeptical scribes and Pharisees want to be sure that the now-seeing man is really the same person who was known as a blind beggar.

Questioning a spiritual claim is not at all a sin (1 John 4:1; Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:20–21). These men are charged with leadership over the people of Israel; they are supposed to investigate such events. Where they go wrong is not in being thorough. They are insincere, with no interest in truth. They are only looking for reasons to reject Jesus and His miracles.

The way these leaders phrase their question to the blind man's parents betrays that prejudice. Rather than simply asking, "is this really your son?" they suggest the parents might be lying. The healed man is referred to as the one "who you say was born blind." The implication is that perhaps the man was never blind. Or, that he was not always blind, giving these men further opportunity to discredit Jesus.

This disrespect also includes a sense of intimidation. As further verses show, these same religious leaders already declared that those who supported Jesus would be excommunicated (John 9:22). Answers from the healed man's parents show they're fearful of the Jewish leaders and want no part of this controversy.

John 9:13–34 describes the Pharisees' reaction to Jesus' healing of a man born blind. Rather than being swayed by an obvious sign of divine power, they look for excuses and criticisms to discredit the miracle. They interrogate the man's parents, who timidly defer back to their son. The healed man knows nothing more than this: ''though I was blind, now I see.'' His matter-of-fact responses to the Pharisees highlights their obvious prejudice. As a result, they excommunicate the healed man from the synagogue. Jesus will meet with the man in the next passage to give more context for the miracle.

Jesus encounters a man who has been blind his entire life. Consistent with notions of that era, the disciples assume the disability is due to some specific sin: either the man's or his parents'. Jesus challenges this idea and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation. The Pharisees try to discredit Jesus' miraculous work. The healed man's simple, straightforward perspective embarrasses the religious leaders, who excommunicate him in frustration. Jesus meets with the healed man, explaining more about His identity and the purpose of His ministry. Jesus also reminds the Pharisees that those who ought to know better, spiritually, will be held more accountable as a result.

Jesus has begun to actively confront the false teachings of local religious leaders. His most recent debate included a heated exchange with the Pharisees. There, Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy (John 8). Here, Jesus continues to antagonize religious hypocrites by healing a man who was born blind. The ensuing ruckus further exposes Jerusalem's religious leaders as shallow, prejudiced, and false. This event launches Jesus into another lengthy discussion of His ministry. That, recorded in chapter 10, includes several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The disciple John wrote the gospel of John decades after the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls "signs"— to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.