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, in fact, the same person who was known as a blind beggar.

Questioning a spiritual claim is not a problem. These men are charged with leadership over the people of Israel, and they are supposed to investigate these kinds of events. Where they go wrong is not in being thorough. Their error is being insincere; these men have no actual interest in the truth. They are 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 that the parents themselves might be lying. The healed man is referred to as the one "who you say was born blind." The hidden suggestion is that, perhaps, the man was not really blind, or 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 had already declared that those who supported Jesus would be excommunicated (John 9:22). The formerly-blind man's parents answers will 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. Seeking 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 highlight 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. In typical fashion for that era, the disciples assume this condition is due to some specific sin--either the man's sin or his parents' sin. Jesus challenges this idea, and heals the man. His restoration leads to interrogation, as 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 is able to meet with the 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, where Jesus claimed to have existed before Abraham. This resulted in an attempted stoning for blasphemy. 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, recorded in chapter 10, including several crucial teachings on His role as Shepherd.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. 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”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.