John 9:40 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, "Are we also blind?"

NIV: Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, "What? Are we blind too?"

NASB: Those who were with Him from the Pharisees heard these things and said to Him, 'We are not blind too, are we?'

CSB: Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these things and asked him, "We aren’t blind too, are we?"

NLT: Some Pharisees who were standing nearby heard him and asked, 'Are you saying we’re blind?'

KJV: And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?

NKJV: Then some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we blind also?”

According to Jesus' prior statement, those willfully ignorant of spiritual matters claim they have knowledge—"sight"—when they're spiritually blind. A major component of Jesus' conflicts with religious leaders was their arrogance. Too often, these men started from the assumption that they knew best. Jesus could not be true, they thought, simply because He didn't agree with them. As Jesus pointed out, that wasn't because God had failed to provide evidence (John 5:36). It was because these men refused to accept the truth (John 5:39–40).

As part of their debate against Jesus, the Pharisees now ask a pointed question. This is meant to be rhetorical—they ask with the assumption that the answer is an obvious "no." By their own standards, the Pharisees were the most moral, well-educated, and spiritually capable of men. One can imagine a modern Pharisee asking, sarcastically, "you're not saying I don't understand spirituality!" and laughing.

Jesus' response (John 9:41) shows this is exactly the case. Worse, for the Pharisees, is their arrogance and presumption. Those who recognize their weakness while seeking truth find forgiveness and grace (John 9:35–38; Mark 9:24; Matthew 7:7). Those who claim they have knowledge will be judged according to their own standards (John 9:41).

John 9:35–41 shows Jesus meeting with the man He healed, who had been blind since birth. His healing and subsequent conversation with the Pharisees resulted in the man being excommunicated from his synagogue. Jesus reveals His identity to the man and explains how this episode summarized His earthly ministry. The Pharisees again prove their spiritual stubbornness, giving Jesus an opportunity to connect greater knowledge with greater responsibility.

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.